and the award for the oddest day so far goes to:

*****Drum roll*****

Friday, October 23, 2009.

The day started at 4:30am when I went to the Guest House to check out two guests who turned out to be four guests who were staying for one night that turned out to be 3-4 nights.  After they left for the day, I washed the few glasses they left, refilled the water pitcher, dumped the water out of the ice cooler, cleaned up the bathroom, and replenished the toilet paper supply and it wasn’t it even 5am. 

I came back home and went back to bed.  I had Creole class at 9 so I figured I’d get in a couple more hours of sleep.  I must have slept hard.  I didn’t even know it rained; until Suzanne told me.  Marco, my Creole teacher, arrived shortly after 9 and within 10 minutes it started to rain again, and it got windy and cold.  And it didn’t stop raining,this time, until almost noon.   We usually have class outside at the picnic table under an almond tree, but today we had class on the porch and I wore a fleece because it was cold, in Haiti.

Suzanne and Beth were both leaving today to go to a Women’s retreat in Port au Prince and it was just going to be me all weekend.  I decided that I didn’t need the House Ladies to come today or tomorrow.  There were plenty of leftovers in the fridge to get me through the weekend and I could certainly receive the food from the market which Annette usually does on Saturday.  I figured after all, I SHOULD be able to put stuff in the fridge. Because they weren’t here, the house was quiet.  Except for the rain, which came and went all afternoon. 

I had decided this weekend that I was going to get caught up on laundry and do some extra laundry to boot.  Because of the open nature of our houses here and the high humidity that is Haiti, mold and mildew grows pretty easily here.  And so from time to time, you have to air out your closet and do some extra laundry and housekeeping.  My closet also has a pretty big leak and when it rains the ceiling is wet and sometimes drips into a bucket that has been placed beneath the leak.   And so, the closet was starting to smell.  And so were many of my clothes.  So I needed to wash them.  What better time than when Beth and Suzanne were gone; I could just get it all done without being in the way.  There was what I thought was a break in the rain, long enough to make me think it was done.  I started with my laundry.  And I proceeded to wash 4 loads, totaling 74 pieces ranging from undergarments to t-shirts to skirts, dresses, linens and lots of things in between.  I even hung extra line on the covered porch, adding to the lines that are already strung.  It was a great idea, except that its raining again.  It has been steady since about the time I finished the laundry.  That was around 5.  And the laundry is still wet. 

Since the ladies didn’t come today, we had accumulated lots of dirty dishes; dishes from dinner last night, breakfast this morning, my dishes from lunch, and any other dishes we happened to have used.  And so I did them while I was waiting for my last load of laundry to wash.  We don’t have hot water in the house so to do dishes we boil water in kettles on the stove and pour the water into wash pans. And so, I did that too.  I washed a lot of dishes and boiled a lot of water.  But, the point is, I did the dishes. 

And then, I hung the last load of laundry.  And then I ate dinner.  And then I went to the Guest House to refill the ice chest, and turn on lights ,and get the place prepared.  And then I waited so we could make arrangements for the next couple days.  But they didn’t come, so I came home.  And then, almost immediately they called me.  Heh. 

Its been a long day.  But I’ve gotten a lot done.  Its also been a very odd day.  But I’ve gotten a lot done. 

I’m tired.  But I can’t sleep.  My clothes are clean.  But they aren’t dry.  And its raining.  I’ve got an oscillating fan on the porch, blowing on my clothes.  Hopefully they’ll be dry in the morning.  Or maybe the sun will come out and finish the job I started today.  And Bubba’s in my room.  He usually sleeps on the front porch.  He also usually gets more attention from Suzanne.  Tonight when I put him on the front porch he seemed lonely.  And then he started whining.  And the porch is right off my room.  So I let him in.  And now he’s asleep. 

And its still raining.

Oh wait, I think that's the fan.