On their heads.....

We were early for a meeting at the Effiduase Chapel the other day. I started to wonder how many people I could catch with things on their heads before the elders got there for the meeting. #1 The pillow salesman. (All are better if you click on them to enlarge.)
#2 The ladies with some kind of pastry.

#3 The peanut lady. Notice how each shell is stacked carefully on the tray.
#4. Selling something that comes in bottles.
#5 and #6 Something in a tall case and a pan full of beans.
#7 Tomatoes, I think.
#8 More peanuts for sale.
#9 I'm not sure, probably more peanuts.
#10 Man selling men's clothes.
#11 The vegetable salad lady.
#12 Everything but the kitchen sink.
#13 Even more peanuts for sale.
#14 and #15 Too far away to tell. You decide. This all took place within about twenty minutes. I took other photos, but a car would be in the way or I missed the shot. Now you see why "people watching" is never boring in this country. They are amazing. I'm still waiting to catch a shot of someone carrying their sewing machine on their head.

Peanuts, anyone?

We dug up one plant of our "beans that grow under the ground." This is what we found. We aren't sure what they are. They look like baby potatoes. We'll have to ask someone how to use them.
Last week the mission president canceled a meeting, so we decided to harvest our peanut crop that afternoon.
It was a slow, dirty process, but an interesting one. We have learned peanuts flower above the ground. When the petals fall off the flower the stem goes downward under the ground and the peanuts grow.
With all the rain we've been having, we decided it would be best to dry the peanuts inside the house. They certainly weren't getting dry in the back yard.
So here they will sit for a few days until they are dry enough to shell. Then we will freeze them to use at Christmas time. Elder Max has the idea they would make great peanut brittle.
They come in all shapes and sizes. We certainly appreciate those bags of peanuts we buy a lot more now. Picking and shelling them is a lot of work. There must be an easier way somewhere. (Probably some machine that does it in America.)

Beautiful ladies at church

This beautiful little girl came to our branch conference today with her grandmother.
Someone asked about babies being carried on mother's backs in Ghana. Here is one example. She is actually tied on with a white cloth underneath and then the mother covers that with fabric to match her dress. Sweet little girl and mom, who happens to be good friend.
All the sisters had on their nicest dresses for the conference. Their headwear was also more elaborate than usual.
District leaders: Primary President, Young Women's President, Relief Society President and a counselor.
Okay, so he's not a beautiful lady, but he is a good friend. He was baptized earlier this year and is a great member. I don't know why he had a coat. The temperature was in the eighties, but he could have still been cold. (Notice mother and baby in the background.)
These dresses always make me smile. The sisters wear them on special days. The cloth was produced for the 175 anniversary of the church in 2005. (Mother, daughter and a friend.)

The Adventurous Snail

I couldn't resist adding this little incident with a snail. Snails have been such a nemesis to Elder Max. The other day we walked outside and saw that this snail had climbed the coconut tree and crawled clear to the end of a leaf.
The wind had started to really blow and this poor snail was swaying to and fro. He seemed desperate as to what he was going to do.
He reminded me of the "Man on the Flying Trapese" as he went swinging back and forth.
Elder Max finally had his revenge for all the vegetables these snails have ruined in our garden.
But I couldn't help liking this adventurous little guy. The next day I came out and he had made his way back up the leaf. He was happily munching away.

Another week in Ghana/Aug 24

About a week ago we walked across this bridge and saw the most colorful little birds. I decided to bring my camera along for our morning walk the next time and see if I could photograph them.
Of course the only bird we saw was an old duck and even he hid behind the grasses. Maybe next time.
On the way home we did encounter Mother Guinea Hen and her teenage chicks.
Later in the day we went to Abomosu for a meeting. All along the road we encountered villagers carrying their wares to market or home on their heads. They work so hard. The whole family has to pitch in to be sure they have food, water, firewood, etc.
Just in case you have trouble trying to parallel park, we warn you not to come to Ghana. The gutters at the edge of the road are about four feet deep. We have seen quite a few people who misjudged and ended up in the ditch. (I have to get out on that side of the car, so I count my blessing that I've never fallen.)
Here is how they pour those gutters. This is along the stretch of road we have to pass to get to our house. They are slowly getting it finished, but none too soon for us. At least the road is dry for now.
And just to prove it is difficult to take a photo here without chickens in the road, count them for yourself. We turn right to our little trail/road where the car in located.

We ate the first pear/avocado from our own tree today. It is amazing how they are ripe without turning black. It was big and very tasty. That is a cup/saucer plate, so you can see how large they grow.
We also harvested our peanut/groundnut crop this week. We probably got about thirty plants like this one.
They will have to dry for about two weeks and then we will pick them off the vines. What happens to them next is anyone's guess. Roasted, maybe? Boiled or "bowled" as they say in Florida? We'll let you know.
I've read this Relief Society theme a number of times as it has hung in the Relief Society Room. The other day I noticed something about it.
If you look carefully you'll realize along with us why these dear saints have a hard time getting to their meetings on time. We smiled about it and had to have a photo.

The Bannermans and odds/ends

We found this scorpion outside our gate on the little road. We were glad someone else had gotten to it before it got to us. These black ones are very poisonous. One more thing to watch for when we take a walk.
On the way to Nkawkaw we pass by this area where they make the pounding tools for cassava. The wooden pestles for pounding are on the left and the wooden mortars are stacked. I have wondered what happens when the wind blows.
The district president and his counselor slid their car off the road on the way to the branch conference last Sunday. I had to take their photo because I was amazed they didn't come to the meeting covered with red mud. There is a bit on the shirt of the second counselor. He said that was because he was the one pushing. They are amazing.
This is what our car looked like after traveling on the same road. I'm glad we grew up driving on ice. It was the same kind of an experience.
Speaking of muddy roads. Here is our road we thought was fixed last week. Notice the men dumping water from the ditch onto the bad part of the road. By tomorrow we will be back to taking the detour again. When they finally get the cement ditches poured we may get some relief.
We had the pleasure of eating lunch with old friends, Mr and Mrs Bannerman, while we were in Accra.
They are two of the nicest people we have ever known. It was good to renew our friendship from four years ago. The food was also delicious.
It was dark when we came to dinner in 2004. I knew the yard was lovely, but couldn't see much in the night. This time I enjoyed just looking at all the beautiful plants and trees.
We will be sure to stay in touch for the rest of the time we are here.
A very nice afternoon with wonderful people.