...a house fire?

So I was just sitting down shucking peas...actually I was trying to decide if you shuck peas, hull peas or maybe depod peas. It is a tedious task. I now understand why women would gather together at harvest time to can things like peas. It is a genuinely mindless task!!!

Anyways, getting back to the title of the post. A week ago on Sunday at 4 am Brian jumped out of bed...I was a little slow to comprehend that our room was full of smoke. Since we heat with a woodstove, of sorts, that was our first thought...then B checked outside and I went into the kitchen. Well, off the kitchen is a little room that is just screened in; it's where we hang our clothes to dry and store wood, pinecones and coal for the fire. I could not believe the flames...nearly touching the ceiling, which is wooden. And in the midst of the flames was our gas canister, like the kind used in North American for barbeques. So, I turn on the taps in the kitchen and start filling pots; B grabs the canister and pulls it out of the fire...no explosion...but what a big mess!!! Water, soot, and debris in the side room and the kitchen. Then we stepped back and took a deep breath. Imagine a few more minutes and not six feet from where we were sleeping a gas canister explodes!!!

Of course, the girls slept through the whole thing. I went into their rooms and opened the windows just to make sure they would be alright. Then B noticed his hand...blisters on the back of each finger...guitar playing had to be put off for the week.

But now one week and a bit more, it is amazing to me how that potentially explosive incident gets swept away by the buzz of life. B's brother, nephew and parents are here to add to the fullness of life.

My in-laws brought 11 people with them to tour around the country for 5 weeks. They have been here since last Tuesday and head out tomorrow night for the remainder of their excursion. I showed them the Bazaar and my favourite shops. Then we had a tour of a village...it is one of my favourite places to be. This particular village is clean, has irrigation running through it as well as electricity. They have worked to preserve the old style wooden homes with carvings and decorative painting. And I think that most of the work can be attributed to one man with a vision. He left his home village and received a Bachelor's Degree from university and then returned to his home village. Ever since he has been working to improve the standard of living there. He facilitated the building of a government school; when the teachers' had sporadic attendance he facilitated a small private school with a nominal charge staffed by teachers who live in the village. Now, he is planning to build a small computer centre to teach computer skills to the youth. One man with vision is an astounding force.

This weekend we took the group to visit a pilgimmage site and then to a state park. It's nice to share what has become our home with people from home. The other thing I learned was watching initial responses. So much of life here is ordinary to us that we forget how unlike North America it can be. I can look at children and tell if they are beggars or not...some kids are just grubby. In my mind I have decided not to give money to children who should be in school or who are capable of working to try to discourage the lifestyle of begging. But when you come here and see how little so many have, and become so acutely aware of what you have; it is hard to resist a little grubby hand and pleading eyes.

Well, I am going back to my peas. We are making and mixed East-West meal tonight to help with the homesick, and I need to make some plain veggies.