Ten things that make me smile

1.    Children’s imagination.  This is not the land of Tomy or Fisher Price.  Instead we have the pull-along (an old gerry can, complete with cut section for storage, and rope from left over fabric from the tailors), the rocking horse (a springy tree branch), the music centre (any form of anything), hoola hoop (old bike tyre), climbing frame (metal structure to the water tower), slide (sloping drainage ditch with added water), swimming pool and diving board (jetty into river) added to space and relaxed parents.

2.    Transport.  This ranges from the luxury air conditioned 4 x 4 through the car and gelli to donkey and cart but my favourite has been an old woman towed in a wheel barrow attached to the back of a motor bike.

3.    Starlings.  Beautiful metallic purple blue wings glisten in the sun.

4.    Greetings.  There’s nothing quite like the welcome we receive in the schools that know us.  Shouts and squeals of delight from the children and warm handshakes from the adults.  Smiles all round.

5.    Food.  The delight of discovering something new in the market.  Yesterday Pete found carrots.  We held them, smelt them and mused over recipies before eventually making carrot and lentil Bolognese.  They were fantastic.

6.    Contact from home.  In all its’ forms is just amazing.  Emails are copied and pasted to read and digest later, letters re read and re read, comments on the blog or flickr noted and phone calls to our mobiles change the mood of the day.

7.    Lizards.  Amazing colours and patterns we know them so well they are getting personalities of their own.  The ‘jumpers’ in the pit latrine, so called because they startle as they bang their tails against the roof.  Then there’s the little fellow who lives under our fridge, occasionally popping out to grab an insect, the two behind the cupboard that copulate freely and noisily and of course there is ‘stubby’ who frequents the local bar, yellow headed, purple body and a stump where his yellow tail should be.

8.    Motorbike.  No I’m not a convert but it is great getting off.

9.    Animals.  Chickens, chicks, ducks, ducklings, sheep, lambs, goats, kids, donkeys, horses, foals, are all a daily part of life.  Free to wander wherever they get up to amazing tricks, look sweet or just generally make me laugh.  What’s a baby baboon called?

10.  Pete.  At the risk of being sloppy he is just amazing.