Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Wedding!!!

We were honored to participate in the wedding of Mis Louda, one of
our Haitian nurses. It's typical of Haitian weddings to have a "Marenn
and Parren", sort of like a godfather and mother... We were a little
surprised when she asked us to fill that role (along with a Haitian
couple), but we really enjoyed it!!! Here's the couple finishing their
preparations before heading to the wedding....

At the wedding... We sat across from them...

Shana, the other Marenn, and the bride... Mis Louda- or rather Madam
Denny as she is now- is about 32...


The pastry confection is my wife's creation, and the cake
was created by Anita, but the rest of the food is authentic
Haitian....AND delicious, as always!!! (Have I mentioned
that we LOVE Haitian food???)
Parenn and Marenn...

Solar panel project...


We were really excited to get our solar panels up- finally!!!

Here's Darwin, helping with painting just before we placed the panels up.
They're about 18 feet up in the air, and HOPEFULLY we put enough
cement in the base to keep it there in a hurricane... I estimated there's
about 3 thousand pounds down there, so....?
BTW... Nice shades, Darwin... (Sorry, couldn't resist...)
The finished product. We've already noticed a significant decrease in time
that we need to run our generator, so that's a blessing!!! Generally when
the ladies run the wringer washer, we would need to start the generator
to have enough power. Now, during the day with the sun shining bright,
they can do laundry to their hearts content and the solar panels more
than compensate for the energy being used...
Mr. John Hofer, from Manitoba. (But we don't hold that against him...)
A new friend of ours, who came down on a work team in January.
Just a candid (and typical!) moment.... :)

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Ti Guave...














Last Wednesday, the 5th, we took Amy Widowski on a run to Ti Guave
to get cement, and the ladies spent a few hours in the market.
That's always an intriguing experience for those who visit...
Heading out in the morning...

Here they are shopping with our good friend and neighbor, Selma. The
Ti Guave market is composed of several long, narrow buildings side-by-
side, with a confused and seemingly endless series of tarp-draped shacks
 interspersed with occasional solid structures, out behind the buildings.
The vendors pack every available inch of space full of their wares,
making for a very interesting shopping experience!

I
Ah, just the right pair of sandals!!!


On our way home, heading up the trail that evening. The roundish peak
on the right is known as Fort Gary; on top you will find the remnants of
a fortress constructed by the Haitian people during their war for
independence against the French...








Chubbers, doing what he does best...

...Which is- looking cute, of course!!!!!

Whoa, looking like a big boy there Claudsie!!!