Last night Heather fell asleep on an armchair as we watched a DVD. She wasn't there all that long before I moved her to her bed under the mosquito net but, oh dear, as she snoozed there uncovered the poor little thing got covered in mosquito bites.
Her face looked like a war zone, or maybe a boxer's after a few rounds. Honestly, it looked like she'd been in a fight. She was red and swollen under her right eye and and her lip was puffed up like it had been punched hard. Besides that, she had bites on the back of her neck, her hands, arms, feet and legs. Needless to say, as I tried to move her she woke up and was very uncomfortable.
I decided she needed a quick bath to rinse the sweat and dust from a long day of play and to soothe the bites. But someone had accidentally turned off the water heater so there was only cold water. I quickly boiled a kettle to pour into the tub and she had a brief but helpful rinsing before we applied cream to all the most itchy and inflamed bites.
She woke up this morning feeling better.
When I went to make popcorn the other evening I noticed a few weevils mixed in among the kernels. I picked out the two I saw but figured that the boiling oil would kill them and they'd drop to the bottom of the pan. Sure enough, a couple did just that. If we did inadvertently eat any, they didn't seem to do us any harm. But I did store the remainder of the popcorn kernels in the freezer so as to kill off any other wildlife :-)
Yesterday a large locust/grasshopper thing (close to 3 inches long) landed near our terrier, Charlotte. She ate it!
Often when I open the cupboards a little herd of cockroaches scatters away from the light. That's when I think of Brian Heasley
17 comments:
what about rats? have you found a rat yet? Oh yeah, they all live with Hannah and Rebecca! thanks for coming for dinner over the weekend! it was great to break bread (or tortillas) with you!
Thanks Lisa- at this point I'm glad that God has called us back to Portugal. Not sure I am ready to take on all the bugs! :) Jason has always said that this will be my biggest hurdle if we move to Africa! Love you guys! Linda
Oh, Lisa. I don't think I could handle a three-inch locust. Ew. : )
Poor Heather! I'm pretty sure John the Baptist would've covered that locust with honey and loved it.
No rats yet, but the cat did catch a mouse :-) Heather was sitting with us when we saw Charlotte eat the locust and we told her John the Baptist ate them too. She thought that was pretty gross. And honestly, Linda and Rachel, it's not as bad as it sounds! I promise.
by the way Lisa, even stronger connections are to be found between our small worlds: Melissa went on a trip to Cambodia last summer with Scott White (who apparently knows you well and visited you in Kenya) and she'll be going again this summer. Crazy, huh?
I'm back in Pasadena after a trip to Oregon, and I'm still basking in the scent of fresh jasmine. ; )
Ah, Scott, our wonderful friend :-) Cool that Melissa went on that Cambodia trip!
Lisa. It's true I killed 3 yesterday and thought of you guys whilst I did it. I've got cockroach traps now!!!!
My dog won't eat them but he really loves to eat the very large grasshoppers we get, oh and lizards, birds, rats, mice and I am sure he would love to eat a cat if he could catch one. When we last went to England we left him here with some friends and he killed there tortoise, last time he was with them he killed their 3 guinea pigs, and left there heads and spines on the doorstep as a gift. Anyway, sorry to hear about the mossie bites.
Brian, your dog is sick. Get him into doggy counseling. Of course you'd have to go to LA for that.
Hi Lisa,
You have nerves of steel!
Actually, we have our share of rats here in Altadena. There is one really smart character who lives behind my dishwasher. I have a nicely baited "catch and release" trap so I can just escort him outside, but thus far he has avoided capture.
Sending much love, Dore'
I can't get the sound of mosquitos buzzing out of my head now.
I guess growing up so close to Minnesota, it's a way of life.
Miss you guys!
Hello Lisa,
My name is Lilie Radchuk and I work with Good Samaritan Ministries. I wanted to talk to you about reprinting an article you wrote in the DJ magazine. Do you have an e-mail I could send all my questions to, or should I post them here? My e-mail is: info@siags.com
God bless you,
Lilie
Hi Lisa,
I was really curious about your article in DJ. I googled you and found "Praying for Our Children" online. What a wonderful, prayer-provoking, blessing-inspiring article! It was a joy to read.
xoxo
love it :) esp the dog eating the grasshopper thingie :)
Thanks, Dore'. That's a very old article... maybe 15 years old. I have a newer one on mentoring in the current issue of Discipleship Journal but I'm glad you enjoyed the other one :-) New one isn't on line anyway.
I've been in the States for two days and am just getting used to the fact that I can leave a box of crackers open on the counter or in the cupboard without it being carried away or full of critters the next time I open it! -Yes, the bugs are part of coming home!
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