baby cat

So this teeny tiny cat walked out into the street about a week ago when we were walking to dinner with friends. 

Couldn't just leave him there. Asked all of the guards on the street, and he had been dropped off by someone who didn't want him.

People suck sometimes. He's only about four weeks old, and still needs his mom.

So, we have another animal in the house.. but we seem to have forgotten what to do with little kitties!

Thankfully, they sleep a lot.

And play

And help with homework (see Jaffa's lap)

and sleep some more (and climb up your bare leg with their little sharp claws!!!)

Blu is curious...

...and decided it might be okay to give him a chance.

But he--we think it's a 'he'--is soooo tiny!

Stay tuned!

Ngor Island

Thanks to my friend Lisa who had the fabulous idea, we went to Ngor Island a week ago Sunday to hang out and eat Italian food. 

It took about 4 minutes by motorboat to head across the channel, and within minutes we were happily installed 

in our sun chairs where we stayed planted most of the afternoon. It was lovely.

the view of Dakar

kids hunting hermit crabs

Zeric and the kids on the paddle board

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

dog (not ours) in kayak

Jaffa eating my tiramisu

It was a really nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon!!

Mommy/Daddy's helper

Jaffa has clients. So far, she has three families where she goes on weekends and helps with kids.  

The parents are there, but she keeps them busy and safe while the parents do things they need to get done. 

Sometimes, the kids even come to our house. 

Jaffa is getting great kudos and really enjoys her work (and the cash!).

Still surfing

Not such a bad place to be a couple times a week!

And look at Eben go!!!!

Blu would like to join too, please.

Cow butts

There are herds of cows wandering Dakar's streets, sometimes with a person guiding, sometimes not.

Imagine by surprise when I came out of the vet's office and was 'parked in' by cow butts! 

They are huge animals, by the way. I had somehow forgotten.

Antonio aka Bandit

On a Sunday night not too long ago, my phone was dinging with the messages from the animal 

league people. They had gotten a call about a puppy who had had his leg cut off by an angry neighbor. Two 

brave souls went into the neighborhood at 9pm and pulled this little guy out from where he was 

hiding under a car, and Dr Fall, one of the vets here, did emergency surgery to fix the wound.

And then Antonio needed a place to stay and heal. 

And there we were, waving our arms!

As it turned out, Antonio is one lucky guy. And he's also got quite a personality! 

He is quite naughty and funny and snuggly. And he knows to give you those eyes when he wants chicken 8D

Sunning himself with his buddy Blu.

Snoozing with Zoey

This is how we found him one morning. 

"Oh, and, by the way, I will not sleep in that crate. And if you don't bolt it shut then I'm just going to 

push off the lid and get myself out and go sleep where I want. So there. I told you I hate that crate."

And Nene's bed was where he decided he should be. 

Nene had slept on it once and decided she didn't much like it anyway, and said he could have it.

Antonio was only with us for about a week before a forever family stepped up (there were a number of them, and we considered it too!). 

A few weeks later, he was hanging on the beach all healed with no more bandage.. just chillin' and being handsome. And his name is now Bandit :)

(Note: His parents are talking about a blade prosthesis for him when he is big enough. Perhaps we'll see him in the doggie Olympics!)

Shanah Tova! Let's eat challah :)

Autumn is the season for the important Jewish holidays, and so we got to know the Jewish community here pretty quickly! 

We were invited to the Israeli Ambassador's house for Rosh Hashannah dinner.. and a few days before, Jeannie, his wife, called to ask if I could make the challah. For 60 people. 

Eight loaves please :)

I am always up for a challah challenge, and so I took the day of the dinner to knead and braid with the help of my new friend Jen.. 

and all of the loaves cooperated and turned out looking good!

I even tried a new braid, which looks like a flower in the center of the loaf. 

Inspired!!

Aerial yoga

I have never done aerial yoga before, and it was very cool to give it a try.

I do have to say that with all of the flipping, my stomach was quite unhappy by the time the hour was over. And my shoulders were screaming the next day.

Still, it was neat.

First, you cocoon.

Then, all the flippy business.

Maybe I'll do it again someday... the instructor is fantastic!

Long weekend in Popenguine

Just about all of the Americans got out of town for Labor Day weekend, which just happened to

 coincide with Tabaski (or Idul Adha) when Muslims slaughter many, many sheep and cows. 

Best to get out of town, if you ask me. Or hide under the bed.

Thanks to Zeric's planning, we headed to Popenguine (which just happens to be a Christian town, 

though there were still sitings of sheep entrails on the beach). We stayed in a super cute little 

bungalow on the beach, with a pool and a garden and a grill. 

It was a great place to spend a couple of days playing on the beach and chilling out.

It was really hot during the day and at night, and so we kicked up the AC in the bedrooms to sleep. 

Blue got cold and decided to nest in the suitcase.

Something we had never seen before: pelican migration! The picture doesn't do it justice, but it's

 amazing to see such huge birds moving in formation across the sky. We saw this every evening..

 guess it was time to go somewhere else!

There are things to do and see (and eat) all along the coast. 

We went to Somone for lunch one day, where we sat next to the marshes and at freshly picked mussels and oysters. 

These are the ladies picking the shellfish from the water. Sooooooo fresh!!

the grilled mussels were so good!

And we had a view of the place where many cranes came to mate. Ah, we knew it was a romantic spot!

On the way back, we found Green Bean Street!

A girl and her dog

Yogurtlandia

So it's not exactly Froyo or Sweet Frog, but it's pretty great.

Yogurtlandia has one flavor of frozen yogurt ("natural") but you can put as many toppings as you like

as many times as you like!

A nice after school treat every now and then :)

Surfing

Definitely one of the reasons that Eben came to Dakar was to surf!

Fortunately, there are lessons year-round and lots of his friends also surf.

You'll find them Friday afternoons after school, and Sunday mornings on any one of the three beaches close by that have the waves!