TGIF

Garbage workers were on strike for a few days, but not long enough for things to get too stinky. Garbage is picked up every day here (well, every evening) and our garbage "bins" are itty bitty baskets on a pole so it wouldn't take long for things to get out of hand. We are understandably happy that the strike was short. It ended at midnight on Wednesday and they immediately revved up their engines and hit the town. Yay!

We've had bags of peach refuse every day for a while. In an effort to getitoveralready, we invited friends to come pick peaches on Sunday. But alas even with their help we still have peaches. As our Ugandan friends would say, they have about "defeated us". And so each evening, out goes another bag of peach peelings and pits.

My co-worker came over this afternoon and we spent several fun hours preparing crafts for the kids for our upcoming missionary conference. We're trying to get some done each week so we're not overwhelmed at the end. Conference is the first week of March.

This week the hubby built a loft in the garage and I'm in the midst of going through boxes so we can store the things we don't need/can't use yet. Today he began putting together his larger, stationary tools since the area under the loft will be his "shop". He can pull the car out during the day and have space to work. Not sure who's more excited -- him at finally having a shop, or me because now he'll be able to start building bookshelves and bed platforms and a pantry cabinet and...

I'm feeling pretty good about Spanish although still understanding very little when I listen to the radio. Which may be a good thing since this morning the hubby suddenly turned to a different station after exclaiming, "That's downright raunchy!" I asked my tutor for recommendations and she gave me the number on the dial for the station she listens to. She also said that during the summer the talk shows often interview entertainers in town for a show and they're not always very appropriate.

But I just feel like I'm starting to see light at the end of the tunnel. Getting a better handle on verbs we use a lot, increasing my vocabulary, and gaining confidence in conversations with others. I have a LOOOOOONG way to go, but I feel like I've turned a corner. Woohoo!

Also feeling pretty good about getting up every morning and walking first thing. That was a hard thing yesterday because I was so tired, but I did it anyway. The rest of the day was pretty much a wash since my energy level was almost nil, but at least I walked in the morning.

With all we've had going on, TGIF! I'd like to leave you with a picture of what's outside my living room window. [Ignore the container and messy yard next door. We're pretty excited that it will be gone before long, as the property owner is getting ready to build a house there.] Look at all the flowers! Roses, trumpet vine and agapanthas. Around the corner you'd find hydrangeas, honeysuckle, oleander, and more roses. Yay for summer!