September 24

Now that I am in my house for a few days it is starting to feel (sort of) like home. I am still confined to the one
room however. This afternoon the booster pump was hooked up and now there is real pressure in the lines. My shower
works although there is no shower curtain just yet but that will not matter for now.

Today all of the flat stone floors were finished. What remains is for them to be cleaned and then sealed with two
coats. At that point the inside will be mostly finished. All of the rooms are painted with a white acrylic paint waiting a final coat of some kind of color in the future.

A lot of work has been done on the grounds to remove stones and level things out. We are planning to bring in a
couple of large trucks black soil next week to begin some kind of landscaping that will involve a smooth grounds and
planting some kind of grass. This will depend on the influx of funds over the next week or so.

I need to try and get some pictures out but at this time internet is still challenging especially when it comes to
including pictures in my posts. If I use the Wi-Fi at Eagles’ Rest I can do it but now that is a special trip. They
are fine with me coming by and having a cold drink and using the internet. Often involves visiting with family members which seems to be mutually enjoyable.

I have noticed another obstacle in driving. Here you have to be aware of the other drivers (most of whom seem to know
how to hit an accelerator and ‘keep it between the ditches’ as we used to say. Except here it means literally between
the ditches because sometimes lanes mean little to Zambian drivers. But, you also have to watch for pedestrians who
seem to regard the road as their passageway along with cars. They walk with a casual indifference to vehicles around
them. Then there are those on bikes and the wandering livestock. Outside of Siavonga goats are everywhere and no one
seems to watch or control them so they are all over the roads. They will mostly react to a horn but the sheep and
cattle seem to move at one speed indifferent to whatever else is on the road. Then there are potholes and the roads
themselves… It is a lot like running an obstacle course here. Then there is the big city, Lusaka. Oh yes…the other
obstacle…people (mostly boys/men) who are walking around with headphones on. They don’t hear you coming and sometimes
even honking your horn does not get their attention. Since in town especially they are not bashful about walking in
the middle of the road it is just one more thing you have to deal with. Some wear the big headphones but others have
the little buds and you can’t always see them or the wires. On reflection…another thing common in the states…cell
phones; drivers who talk on the cell phone while they are driving. Given the general lack of driving skills this only
compounds the problem of being on the road with them. It is truly a world away from driving in the US as bad as that can seem sometimes.

The house is really coming along. All the floors inside have been stoned and now cleaned and mostly sealed. There
remains one room and part of another. All the walls are painted. They began to plaster the outside walls above the
lower window sills. Below that we will put flat rock. Along with the plaster they are “sealing” the wall between
what was built and the roof. Essentially they are closing it off from the outside: all in all looking pretty good.

Tomorrow I pick up the desk that I had made. With that I can then begin to put my office in order. There is a chair
with it and a shelf below to put the printer. We have contacted a carpenter about shelving along one wall for now.
The carpenter will put the door on the storage room tomorrow. With that I can then move the washer, dryer and freezer
into that room and out of my office. I began opening some of those boxes today and will continue to clear them out tomorrow and Saturday. I will try post some pictures this weekend.

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