Rabbits and Re-purposed sheets

How time flies………let me tell you what we've been up to.

First, Vinicent and I finished the rabbit pen.  I had a rough idea in my head of how the pen would work, but did not feel the need to draw it out, make dimensions, or otherwise plan it very well.  As my mom can attest to in regards to the majority of my projects (especially those involving sewing) that doesn't typically work well for me.  So imagine my delight and surprise when this one did :)  I taught Vinicent how to measure the stakes so they would at least be equi-distant from each other, and Daniel was in charge of cutting the binding wire into equal pieces for attaching the chicken wire to the stakes.   The other children supervised and gave all kinds of helpful chattering advice in swahili.   I left a message for the hospital fundi (carpenter/workman) asking if I could borrow his saw to make the bottom of the stakes into points so they can be driven into the ground.  I had also planned to show Vinicent how to use a saw……….of course, assuming I was more skilled with a saw than he.   When I got home from the wards I found that Vinicent had already done it……and done a better job than I would have.  I guess 12 yr olds are a little more independent and capable here compared to what I'm used to :)  These kids humble me on a daily basis.

The next day we put the girls to work as well adding the finishing touches, which, of course, involved duct tape.   The rabbits seem to be enjoy their new fenced-in freedom, and made short work of the grass.   We now have a fully functioning, and completely portable, rabbit enclosure.  Not too shabby for a mzungu girl and a 12 yr old boy.

(Pictured behind the rabbit fence is the animal house, where the rabbits and chickens go at night).

On another note, I enjoyed a long awaited victory: Back when I was first moving the kids into the children's home, I had a frustrating incident involving sheets.  I bought 8 sets of sheets (pink for the girls, blue for the boys) and was very pleased with myself, both with my matchy-cutesy efforts as well as the good deal I got.  That is-until I got them all washed and on the beds……..it was then I realized there were about 6 inches shorter than the mattresses on both ends.  What?!  

"Oh," Jacky had said, "You got boarding school sheets."  That got a blank stare from me. 

 "You know, they're for students," she said, as if it were an explanation.  Okay……….Why students don't require the full length of bed covering is still a mystery to me, but long story short-I've had a trunk full of worthless sheets for over a year.  Every time I go in the back room to get something off the shelves, I see it there, taunting me.  Reminding me of my cultural ignorance and wasted funds.  Grrr……

So imagine my delight during my annual inventory, when I found we needed new curtains in several rooms and 6 pillowcases needed replacing.  Ah ha!  The sheets will be redeemed.  I asked Jacky to get her sewing machine threaded up, and I showed her my project.   Some of them could be hung lengthwise as double curtains, others cut in half and made into pillowcases.  Well.  That just sent Jacky into a fit of giggles.  When she finally composed herself, she said, "I've never known a mzungu (white person) who made things, instead of just buying them.  You are such a clever girl, Jessie."  Makes me wonder about the other Americans she has encountered in her lifetime………...

I don't know if hanging a curtain-sized piece of fabric in a window and calling it a curtain is necessarily "clever", but when the expectations have been set low,  it's easy to impress :)  

We now have new curtains and pillowcases in the rotary house and the children's home-and more importantly-my useless sheets have been redeemed :)  

Thank you Lord, for the small things.  

Jessie :)