By the Light of the Moon

There are a few things that we don't take for granted anymore - electricity and water.  In the past, either go off suddenly, several times a week.  Lately, as the reservoir that provides both, goes down because of the hot and dry season, both can go off several times a day, and sometimes for days at a time!  

In true "Grandma Spencer" style...I've tried to learn from the inconvenience of not having either.  I've learned that when you DO have it, thank God - and I mean that literally!  Offer a prayer of thanks as you sit in front of the fan and crunch into a cold, crisp apple; or when you take warm, fresh and clean laundry out of the dryer; or when you step into the shower and can get wet enough to make lather.  I've also learned to never procrasinate; if you have it now, do it now - especially when it comes to water (it's easier to live without power)!  It's OK to put in only 1/2 load of laundry.  I've also learned to prepare for not having it, by storing as much as I can. 

After a few "dry days", we ran out of clean clothes and dishes.  So we pumped water into the bathtub and by the light of the moon I scrubbed and rinsed 4 loads of laundry.  It took several hours to complete and I was drenched in my own sweat by the time I was done; and my hands still haven't recovered!  Meanwhile, Lynn drained several bottles of water into the sink and washed the dishes.  Of course when we were finished, the water came back on for a while - so we both gave thanks and jumped in the shower!

To get electricity here, you put a magnetic card into your meter and then take the card down to the power company and pre-pay for your power, when you put the card back into your meter it credits you the amount that you paid.  When you run out of power it screeches a warning and then goes off.  We have both become more conscious of how we use the power and are professional energy misers - even more than we were before if that is possible!     

It's not uncommon to walk down the dirt road and see a broken water line gushing out.  They are buried only inches below the surface (you'd think they'd get a clue).  Then someone from the water company comes by and shoves a sugar cane in the pipe and puts a large rock near it so it won't get run over again until it is "repaired".  We laugh and say that we have a Laura Engals shower - because she has more volume in her spitting than we do in our shower; it's because it's only a 1 1/2" water main that feeds the neighborhood!

We're blessed because we actually have both power and water that go right into our house.  There are MANY people living here that have neither - welcome to West Africa!