Wednesday, December 19, 2007

normal

i love hearing about normal things. i love hearing about how you carved 6 pumpkins for halloween. i love hearing about the cute guy you saw at safeway. i love hearing about the crafts you made with your kids, and the birthday cake for your church function. i love hearing about snow, and how many times you had to shovel it. i love hearing about trips to the shopping mall, or the bad haircut you just got.

and since i love hearing about your normal stuff, i will tell you about my normal stuff. i might live on a different continent than most of the readers, and granted a few details of my life are different, but i still do normal stuff.

i still press my snooze button at least 4 times before i get out of bed. i still make coffee in my french press for breakfast. i eat muesli or oatmeal for breakfast. i take a "shower" in the morning, with the only difference being that i have to heat my water with a coil and my shower head is my hand and a bowl.

i did laundry this morning. only this time, it took 2 hours to wash my underpants, one pair of jeans, two pairs of pajamas, a sheet and a towel. i hung them outside to dry before going to work.

i zap my lunch in a microwave and eat mr. noodles (ramen) because i am too lazy to cook. i check facebook after work to see what my friends are up to around the world. then i ironed all my clothes because i am scared of mango bugs laying their eggs in my clothes. i listened to emmylou harris while ironing.

when i am bored and/or need to procrastinate on the long list of things i have to do, i pop a dvd into my computer and watch ugly betty or scrubs. the nice thing is there are no commercials!

i bought some flashing christmas lights and strung them around my living room window. i bop around the house to boney m's version of "feliz navidad." i am too cheap to buy an ugly plastic tree, but i have an angel ornament made out of a piece of beer can (the irony!) and an ornament a friend sent me from canada. on my fireplace mantles are two "racing grannies" dressed up like myself and a friend. when i feel homesick, i wind them up and watch them hobble across the mantle with their walkers.

i don't have to shovel snow or mow the lawn for that matter. i have several built in lawnmowers and fertilizers. my neighbours sheep come over and do the job for me. my grass is nice and short and i haven't busted a sweat for it. when i start a garden i will have to put a fence around it to keep them out. but that is a small sacrifice for free lawn moving.

i live in a 3 bedroom house and i don't like cleaning it! nothing new there!! sometimes i don't have running water, but i have rain water outside that does the trick.

i have a sewing machine, and if i ever get around to it, i want to start quilting again.

i still have the notion that i should check my messages every time i walk in the front door even though i don't have a landline. i have finally figured out most of my cell phone although i still jump a mile when it vibrates.

i do normal stuff. i procrastinate, i go for walks, i go to supermarkets and shopping malls. i look at cute boys (well, once in awhile) and wonder if they look back. i do normal stuff. i will tell you my normal stuff if you tell me yours.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

eh! normal things for me this week! clear a foot of snow, had to fix tractor first,planning a fam. christmas get-together for about 30 for sunday, wish you where here, check your blog,talked to my main mission sponser,got a commitment towards my yet unknown next trip, anything to fix in your neighbourhood?admire what you are doing,a blessed christmas to all of you, joe r.

Elise said...

I love your normal stuff. Particularly the snooze button, the coffee press and the wind up grannies (where did you find those!!).

Missed you last weekend!! Thinking of you, and praying for you all the time!! Much love, dear friend!

fuller adventures said...

'This is normal' - how often did we say that in Eldoret, or up on Mount Elgon ... miss you Alida - amy too - thanks for good memories... being in NA is rather strange just now - reading the Kenyan news to see how the people on the mountain are faring and feeling frustrated by the lack of info.
But for today I will just say Merry Christmas - imagining you and Amy at Lake B driving the Corolla-- enjoy! Watch those 'speed bumps"... L

Anonymous said...

Hi Alida

Part of normal on December 25th is to celebrate, sing lustily, and eat voraciously. We remember you and the staff at Plateau, and pray for Grace on this Christmas day

Henry & Susan

Anonymous said...

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