is Mercury in retrograde?

The day began when I woke up about twenty minutes late after having fallen asleep at 8pm. I felt as if I needed to keep sleeping. Whatever bug is making itself at home inside me is really laying me low. No time for breakfast so a quick protein "shake" minus the cold water and ice.

The key was officially lost to our office so they had to bust the padlock and get a new one. The electricity was out at the center so we had no internet. The man I gave roughly $10 worth of shillings (!) to last week -in order for him to buy Simba food so that she can nurse her ten puppies and not look like a walking skeleton- decided to either pocket the money or eat the fish for himself, I've decided I don't care which. That food was supposed to last her one month and it is gone. I won't even go into detail on my mortifying experience in the pit latrine- let's just say I sincerely hope it never ever happens again.

The seed bank was also completely ransacked overnight by some very greedy rats that came in through a broken window and apparently feast not only on loads of seeds that have been carefully saved and dried but entire LIDS from the plastic containers the seeds were stored in. I'd like to donate the cat from the house to guard the seed bank. I'm also on a mission to find glass jars with tin lids one way or another. Peris said they are really hard to come by here.

As soon as we got home, our newly hired live-in "house girl" (she's really a woman and mostly does laundry and some cooking) explained she needed to be taken to the hospital. About an hour after Samuel took her they arrived back home with the diagnosis of malaria. While they were gone, Peris and I scrambled to make dinner for 7 on short notice, during which time the power decided to go out. Peris needed to rest. So I made dinner for 7. In the dark. With a really annoying cat meowing at me the whole time.

On a happier note I think tomorrow Samuel and I are going to do some practice run soil sampling at G-BIACK in order to prepare for testing we will do later at the center and at 4 sites in the field where G-BIACK has trained communities. The project is a 4 year study on how soil involved in the Grow Biointensive method differs from other soil. It is funded by an American organization I have never heard of. Really wishing I had brought my soil notes from my PDC class.

At last I am a proud new owner of my very own gumboots. They are at least 1 and 1/2 sizes too big but I can walk in them and they are white so that my feet won't cook in the sun. They came just in the nick of time too, since I was going to have to wash my other shoes that are officially trashed from dirt and mud and now I can put that off until tomorrow evening. Every time I think of the word gumboots I think of Paul Simon.

Is anyone other than my mom still alive after reading this??? What is happening in the U.S.???