7 quick takes...

Watching the rain.

Sophie and Doris have discovered to joy of 'Where is Wally'; and they were lucky because we had a guest for a week who loved it just as much as them.

Doris eats a fly-burgerb made from.pounded amd deep fried lake flies.

Happy birthday Marci!

Sophie and her backpack are getting ready for the sleepover in the dorm.

1. Mondaymorning. The ferry will come soon. One more ferry will pass us on its way down to the south after today's ferry and then we will get to go on it to start our journey to see many people we have missed. The girls are faithfully marking the days on the countdown calender and we are working hard to get everything ready before we leave. The definition of that 'everything' is a bit unsure though. Up untill the weekend we thought we would have somebody replacing us while we were away and possibly longer but that fell through. Now we will probably have to work a bit remotely while we are away to ensure that everything continues to go as good as possible and are very grateful that there is internet now so at least we can have easy interaction with the staff. It will work itself out. It always does.
 2. Another thing that we don't know for sure yet is when we will leave here for good. We might come back for a month after our holiday but we may not. Hartmut's job doesn't have a starting date yet so we may move for the beginning of May but it's more likely that it only starts the beginning of June. We obviously hope to know soon as it affect how we leave the place now. Do we throw a good bye party or can that wait? Do we just pack what we need for the trip or do we pack up everything? Do we need to savour every little experience because it might be the last one or do we still have a month to enjoy the life on the lake.
3.  Somebody who has been packing actively is Sophie. Last Friday she had her first sleepover ever and packing her pink little backpack for the event took most of the day. Which books would she take? Which toys? And what if it did not fit? Or what if she missed a book that she desperately needed to read but she forgot to pack it? She packed and unpacked and made up her mind about what's essential many times. The fact that her bed for the night was only a minute away from our house (she slept in the dorm with the volunteers) did not matter. The funny thing is that she did not use anything from the items she so carefully selected. When night came she was so tired that she fell asleep on a bench in the lodge's restaurant amd we carried her to her temporary bed. A loud thunderstorm woke her op at 5:30 in the morning and after that she did not want to stay any longer in the dorm but went back home. She told me that it was good that she woke up so early because she was already running out of time because her to do list for the day was long.
 4. Sophie was busy for an event she had anticipated for weeks; Marci's birthday. Marci is a friend from Cape Town who is staying with us for a couplw of weeks and Sophie and Doris, who are badly deprived birthday-addicts because people here don't celebrate them planned the theme, the games, the decoration and the gifts for months. We baked a cake, blew candles and gave the gifts Sophie and Doris has picked (Underpants and a dead ant). Marci had invited the staff and their kids and the result was a very festive afternoon with lots of dancing and big plates with nsima and beans. Happy birthday Marci!
 5. I asked Hartmut what happened this week that I should write about and he said 'rain, rain and then some more rain'. I think he exaggerated a little but fact is that we have had a lot of rain this week. The level of the lake seems to be rising every day and rocks and beaches where we played some weeks ago are now all covered in water. We have had a few days where we could not be outside because it was pouring non stop but we survived and now it's even greener and lusher outside. People said that rain season separates those who can stay in Malawi from those who can't because it drives some people crazy. So far I actually like it which is good because I would like to stay a little longer.
 6. We (Hartmut) have been busy. I think he wants to leave no building or tree untouched before we go. So far we have renovated 3 of the 4 chalets, the bar area and the toilet block. The coming week he wants to chop loads of branches of trees to create more light and better views. It's so nice to work together as a couple to make this place as beautiful as we can with the recources that are available and it's even better to see how much the guests enjoy it.
 7. The sun is up, Doris has been playing quietly for a while (she is an early bird) and Sophie is still sleeping. I'm going to the kitchen to make our favourite breakfast; banana oats-pancakes. Have a great week!