This is our shoe rack right beside the front door. It is customary here to take off your shoes before entering a home. After walking around outside for a very very short time, we discovered why it is a very good custom to have here b/c it ain't clean out there, to put it mildly!
This is 'splenda'! It is a very small bottle that doesn't last long enough for the tea drinkers that we are, but we are so very happy to find this here!
This is how we buy our milk...it is a one liter box that does not require refrigeration until it is opened. Its not exactly skim, but its as close as it gets here.
The little purple crystals in this jar are potassium permanganate crystals that we mix in water to make a disinfectant solution in which to soak our fresh fruit and veggies to kill off any tiny bad guys that we'd prefer not to eat with our fruit and veggies! It also strips away harmfully strong pesticides.
This is our non-electricity using water filter. I don't know if you can tell but the top container has a little orange color to it from the not so clean tap water that we pour in.
The switch on the right is the switch we turn on to heat the water before a bath or shower. We must remember to do this approximately 30 minutes before needing to shower or its a little on the chilly side. Sometimes its still a little on the chilly side b/c it runs out faster than I need it to!
This would be the broom of choice for the people who live here. Its about half the height of regular broom and its what our house helper uses instead of the regular broom we bought.
This would be the very pretty and colorful but oh so NOT absorbent and NOT so colorfast towel. We did finally found some towels that work a little better.
This is our very thin and very HARD mattress that is apparently as good as it gets here. Did I mention very HARD mattress?!!! Ahhhh, we miss our bed!!!!
These are 2 sets of sterling silver toe rings that Steve bought me this week for around $1.50 for them all. It is customary here for married women to wear a toe ring on each foot. I felt as though he was proposing to me all over again when he surprised me with these! :o)
This is the sprayer hose that is next to every single toilet we have seen....this one is in our flat, along with the floor drain for the excess water. This is what nationals use in lieu of toilet paper.
Hallelujah, they do have toilet paper though, which is what we use instead of the sprayer! ha!
This is not a Glade plug in air freshener! Nope, instead this is a plug-in mosquito repellent that works much like the Glade plug in warmer, but emits chemicals to help get rid of those pesky little creatures that carry some nasty diseases and illnesses. These are designed to use at night in a well ventilated room.
These are some things that Mary, our house helper, bought today. She plans to prepare some authentic food for us for lunches next week and we are very excited about that.
More pics of the same things....but note the hot water pot on the left. This is what we use to heat one liter of water to boiling in about 2 to 3 minutes to use for dishwashing in the kitchen because there is no hot tap water. I have bowls to use and fill up one with some cool filtered water along with a couple of pitchers from the hot pot and the other with cool filtered water to rinse.
I don't know what most of this stuff is, but I'm sure I'll be learning soon and am very thankful to have someone to show me!
This is our shoe rack right beside the front door. It is customary here to take off your shoes before entering a home. After walking around outside for a very very short time, we discovered why it is a very good custom to have here b/c it ain't clean out there, to put it mildly!
This is 'splenda'! It is a very small bottle that doesn't last long enough for the tea drinkers that we are, but we are so very happy to find this here!
This is how we buy our milk...it is a one liter box that does not require refrigeration until it is opened. Its not exactly skim, but its as close as it gets here.
The little purple crystals in this jar are potassium permanganate crystals that we mix in water to make a disinfectant solution in which to soak our fresh fruit and veggies to kill off any tiny bad guys that we'd prefer not to eat with our fruit and veggies! It also strips away harmfully strong pesticides.
This is our non-electricity using water filter. I don't know if you can tell but the top container has a little orange color to it from the not so clean tap water that we pour in.
The switch on the right is the switch we turn on to heat the water before a bath or shower. We must remember to do this approximately 30 minutes before needing to shower or its a little on the chilly side. Sometimes its still a little on the chilly side b/c it runs out faster than I need it to!
This would be the broom of choice for the people who live here. Its about half the height of regular broom and its what our house helper uses instead of the regular broom we bought.
This would be the very pretty and colorful but oh so NOT absorbent and NOT so colorfast towel. We did finally found some towels that work a little better.
This is our very thin and very HARD mattress that is apparently as good as it gets here. Did I mention very HARD mattress?!!! Ahhhh, we miss our bed!!!!
These are 2 sets of sterling silver toe rings that Steve bought me this week for around $1.50 for them all. It is customary here for married women to wear a toe ring on each foot. I felt as though he was proposing to me all over again when he surprised me with these! :o)
This is the sprayer hose that is next to every single toilet we have seen....this one is in our flat, along with the floor drain for the excess water. This is what nationals use in lieu of toilet paper.
Hallelujah, they do have toilet paper though, which is what we use instead of the sprayer! ha!
This is not a Glade plug in air freshener! Nope, instead this is a plug-in mosquito repellent that works much like the Glade plug in warmer, but emits chemicals to help get rid of those pesky little creatures that carry some nasty diseases and illnesses. These are designed to use at night in a well ventilated room.
These are some things that Mary, our house helper, bought today. She plans to prepare some authentic food for us for lunches next week and we are very excited about that.
More pics of the same things....but note the hot water pot on the left. This is what we use to heat one liter of water to boiling in about 2 to 3 minutes to use for dishwashing in the kitchen because there is no hot tap water. I have bowls to use and fill up one with some cool filtered water along with a couple of pitchers from the hot pot and the other with cool filtered water to rinse.
I don't know what most of this stuff is, but I'm sure I'll be learning soon and am very thankful to have someone to show me!
3 comments:
I absolutely LOVE the "Soft 'N Soft" brand tee-pee and its slogan, "Nothing Can Better This". That is GREAT!!! (BTW, I too am sooo glad you're not having to use the sprayer in lieu of the tee-pee!!!)
I have gotten such great pleasure out of your blog...and getting a glimpse of what you all are seeing and doing! Thanks for being so faithful with your updates.
We love you guys and think of you and pray for you every day!!!
The other day Andrew snatched your prayer card and started trying to bend it (as little boys will do). Bailey screamed at him, "Nooo, Andrew...those are very special people!" And I couldn't agree more! Love you guys so much!!!
-Janie
Wonder what's for dinner?!!!
Loved your pics of random things. I use to love all the jewelry. I remember wearing anklets and bracelets up the arm and all that beautiful stuff.
As for the bathroom situation...what memories.
Mom is here visiting this weekend, and we both have been just fascinated reading your blog. Thank you for sharing so many details. We think about you often!
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