Wed Oct 7

 Lonnie, the littles, and I made a run into Khulna

ATM, Hatil.. where our rocking chair was ready to be picked up … full bearing change. Day 7 for formula, Safe N Save for favorite brand of diapers, fruit and veggie market… couldn’t get very many veggies as they were not actually open but our friend/veggie mkt Big Boss happened to be there and scrounged for a few of the veggies I needed. Shwapnos for milk. 💭 in America there is a one stop shop…💭 

Back at the house, the girls and Miss Christina had just finished lunch. Dipti had made Bangla noodles

7:30 monthly School Board mtg

That night, I Very Much enjoyed rocking my little boy to sleep in my rocking chair again after going a week without🫶🏼

Tues. Oct 6 back to Khulna 🚙💨

 Got sheets, towels, and rugs thru the washing machine, and the place tidied and the van loaded. On the road by 11:30.

Before we got out of Dhaka, Gentry threw up his whole bottle, so a clothes change and wipe down with wipes and we were back on the road

Halfway, we stopped for a late lunch at Raj Darbar, and were happy with the place/will probably stop there again

Back home, it was put all the Dhaka purchases away and clean out the suitcases

Pulled pork sandwiches with slaw for supper. 

 Lonnie took a walk for eggs, Carrom, and exercise😉

Mon Oct 5

 9:00 immunizations at the hosp for Gentry, except we were told, “Today is government immunizations, come back at 2:00-4:00.” So, on to Gulshan 2 UniMart

Back home for a lunch of leftovers from the fridge, naps,

Left Annslie napping and the big girls cleaning up lunch while we took Gentry back to Evercare for his immunizations that he is WAY behind on due to him invariably being sick or miserably teething for so many months on our return trips to Dhaka.. the hosp. was So Busy this afternoon🫥 But also means waiting times are never dull🙃 and opportunities for interesting conversations abound😉

Lonnie worked some more on bleaching the driveway 

Met Brian’s and Miss Christina at the Fish Lagoon for supper. An amazing experience! One this family probably won’t ever forget😉 little cups of fish food are on the tables and you can feed the fish that are swimming around the peninsulas of tables while you wait on your food to arrive! https://maps.app.goo.gl/vrU5bzYALBsQXnL26?g_st=icBrian’s and Miss Christina joined us at the guest house for the rest of the evening

Sun Oct 4

Today was Jamuna Mall shopping, smashburgers at Takeout on the 5th floor, Kid’s Paradise for birthday gift for Gentry and new shoes for Annslie, Mr D.I.Y., and Wholesale Club. 

Stop at North End for coffee bean restock and yummy drinks

Home, for naps. I got a load of laundry on the line. Lonnie started bleaching the driveway that always quickly gets green and slick with algae..

To Brian’s for a “Sunday dinner” of  ham roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, crunchy cabbage salad, fresh bread, and ginger cake with whipped cream for dessert.🍁 

.

Sat. Oct 3 Dhaka 🚙💨

 We were packed and out of the house just before 8:30

7 min down the road, we stopped for scrambled eggs, fry bread, lentils, and diced potatoes. Absolutely delish🤤 for about $2 USD for the whole crew of us. 💭 This is the kind of  “fast food” I’m gonna really miss in about 1 1/2 yrs…

Back on the road to Dhaka just before 9:00. Good Bangladesh driving😉 approximately 4 hrs later we pulled into the parking garage of the “airport” UniMart. 1st we went to the Chefs Table floor for lunch with some getting street tacos and a cup of Mexican corn, some egg fried rice, Iced ginger teas for everybody, and most wanted a try of Lonnie’s sushi also. And by the way.. things are ever changing!! There is now No nice play area in the food court😩 they filled that area in with tables and chairs/additional seating

Then we shopped UniMart where cheers issued forth when we stepped inside and saw Tostito chips on the shelf🤩

It’s amazing how things change in just the 2 months since we’ve been here!?! Now, as you are nearing Pink City gated community, an amusement park is being built with a H.U.G.E. white Ferris Wheel 🎡 and a purple and lime green roller coaster! 

At the guesthouse, where the driveway was still wet from the yard cleaning job that Syed Ali had just finished😊 We unloaded and settled in…making beds, a bit of extra cleaning, etc. The whole crew of us walked to the Pink City gate to the oshud(pharmacy)dhokan where more Taka was bought for one of the phones and ice cream(on a stick😉) was enjoyed. Then a walk along the canal on a very nice stamped and stained walking trail. People have been putting the median to good use by planting garden plots between the walking trail and the canal and were out there this evening watering, hoeing, … their okra, red spinach, etc this was also the 1st time the walking bridges over the freeways have been finished so the girls and I enjoyed climbing the wide shallow concrete steps and walking out over the canal and freeway😊 Annslie looks down at the canal and shouts,” Look! The ocean!” 🙃 after a bit, on our way back across, we stopped to observe the sun setting over Dhaka😌

Back at the house, we enjoyed the rare luxury of nachos and homemade salsa for a light supper. 

Then we spent the rest of the evening with the Dhaka family, another perk to coming in to Dhaka💛

Fri Oct 2

 Choygoria Sun school was a nice turn out and we were very happy to see the boy that had been being such a disturbance, sitting quietly thru the morning💙

On to Chakrakhali Sun school. Very laid back situation. with mostly upper teenage boys. And after class, sitting around with the men visiting, Chaity bringing out fresh papaya and then later jambura(pomelos) which is very much like a Texas sized grapefruit and but doesn’t pack quite the punch as actual grapefruit.

Back home to ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, and Chinese cabbage salad, bars for dessert.

3:00 Lewis’s came for doctrine class. Had a lovely surprise… the girls brought their beads out and started stringing them down where their 8 or 9 yr old Leeza was sitting and she actually joined them in stringing beads✨ This felt like Real progress as this is the VERY 1st time she has joined them in anything!! She is painfully shy and has so far absolutely refused anything we have offered whether it’s food, drink, books to look at, pictures to color, etc,etc, and would sit in one spot on the couch playing with her dad’s cap the entire time they are ever over. 🤦🏼‍♀️

4:00 Church service

After church, Kobid, Liton, and Shanto’s family including Rhidoy and Pinky came over. It’s always extra special to have Rhidoy and Pinky around as we only see them a few times a year now that they work in Dhaka. We served leftover ham roast from lunch, Bars from Sherry(iykyk), and crackers comparable to Ritz, and iced tea. Ham is not something that these folks are familiar with but pork meat is very special because it’s more expensive than chicken or fish(unless you still can’t allow yourself to have it/Muslim upbringing hanging on) Rhidoy asked for ketchup to dip his ham in😜 and then I was like if you need dipping sauces I’ve got more for you to try! So I pulled out the fun sauces I’ve found locally… Tamarind/Date, Mint, BBQ. That got everybody enthused. I’d forgotten how much Bangalis love sauces and they wanted to try them all🙃 The Tamarind and Date sauce was their favorite🤤 and there went the rest of the 5 kg(11 lbs) of pork😅 The fatty pcs being their favorite😉 Shotti did ask to put a little in a small bag to take home for her mom who also loves pork.

When Shanto’s family was ready to leave it came a downpour. These downpours are becoming more rare as monsoon season comes to an end. Lonnie offered to take them home in the gari. So Shanto parked his motorcycle in our shed and they all piled in for a dry ride home

Thurs Oct 1

 The weeks are f l y i n g by! How can it be Thurs already again!? And now it’s October 😌

I thought I’d write a little about Annslie today.. she’s 3 1/2 and ever the chatty one, never lacking! We never know what she’s gonna come up with next!?! For the last few months her fear is “The kings are coming!”😳 We were completely stumped.. who are the kings and why is she afraid of them? So we quizzed her and come to find out… they are from the Bible stories of Daniel and the lion’s den, baby Moses and his basket boat, and when Jesus was a baby boy.!. 🫣 I started reading Two Little Girls From Yesteryear for awhile giving her little mind some new, less dramatic, stories to think about. She quickly learned to love Karen and Debra and  the life lessons they learned. She begs everyday to sit with her dad and learn Bangla on the Ling app. She is always sure she can do whatever the big sisters are doing…play their games, paint, etc. She Loves to help in the kitchen, or “help” Dipti and Tulshi, she loves to “take care of” Gentry.. always up for entertaining him, Loves her dolls..Not strange to see her taking care of 3 of them at a time.. trying to bring them to the table with her.. informing us of the need to be quiet.. her baby is sleeping!  She’s figured out how to run the copier and copies off her own pictures that she doesn’t have the attention span to finish coloring🙃. One day we found out she’d figured out how to get on the computer and open up the screen to draw and paint on. Otherwise we are working on obedience, not talking back, living peaceably with her siblings,….

This morning Lonnie took the glider rocking chair back in for the 2nd time in its 1st year for repairs. The bearings are its weak point. Lonnie asked them to just go ahead and replace them all while they were at it, but they wouldn’t do it saying they were good . So Lonnie told them he wanted to buy several (so he could replace them when they went bad and wouldn’t have to haul the whole chair back into town) he picked up fruit and veggies for me on his way home.

Jaira went with to pick up the chair after school, but lo and behold, the repair job was not the speedy job it had been last time😳 they sat for 15-20 min before somebody went to check on its status, only to be told they have to send to their manufacturer🤔 🚩

7:00 at Shanto’s for Espondant’s 16th birthday 🥳 Rhidoy and Pinky are back from Dhaka for the occasion. So good to have them around again🫶🏼 Pinky’s parents, sister and baby were there for supper also. Shanto’s currently have a Full house with housing his employees from Rajshahi.. 6 men that take up residence in what used to be the church house. They’ve been with him for over a month now. Shotti fed them supper also. Shotti’s parents have moved in also as her mom’s health is poorly😳 so if you can even imagine a metal building with a concrete floor. A small kitchen, a bedroom that doubles as their dining/living room and on the other side of the wall they have brought Shanto and Shotti’s bed in for the parents to use, Shanto and Shotti are sleeping on the floor at the foot of the bed while Rhidoy and Pinky are visiting, and thru a curtain doorway is the 2  teenage boys’ beds😶

 and then we go back to our very comfy, spacious home, with all the conveniences,.. life just isn’t fair..