Turrialba Volcano 18 January 2012 (photo from OVSICORI-UNA)
For all of you who were wasting away with worry upon hearing that the Turrialba Volcano erupted twice in the last week (Jan. 12th and 18th), please be assured that we are all safe. None of us knew anything exciting happened until someone told us. Even the news couldn't make the eruption sound very thrilling:
Costa Rica: "Yellow" Alert For Turrialba Volcano Eruption
The emanation of a gray cloud, possibly containing ash, at the Turrialba Volcano was confirmed Thursday afternoon by the Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de CostaRica (OVSICORI), that resulting in the closure of the park.
The eruption of smoke was confirmed at 3pm Thursday, preceded by rumblings that were detected by locals and confirmed by the OSVICORI.
Almost immediately the Comisión Nacional de Emergencias (CNE) - national Emergency Commission - issued a "yellow" alert for the area as a preventive measure.
(Story and picture from: http://www.insidecostarica.com/dailynews/2012/january/13/costarica12011307.htm)
Even more life-changing than our backyard volcano erupting is Maria Henia, who started helping me out around the house this week. She comes three days a week and is a miracle-worker. She loves the kids, cleans the house, and cooks our lunch (Angela had to quit 2 months ago. She said it was to care for her mother-in-law, but perhaps one day a week in our chaotic house was too much for her.). With Henia around to hold Logan, I was able to tutor the kids in reading and math, pick their hair for lice (none this week!), pick up the broken bike from town, pick up the mending from the seamstress, do laundry, organize Landon's closet, and pick out the clothes Logan has out-grown to give to a sister in the ward. I'd forgotten that I had the capability of being so productive.
The number of volunteers Landon has coerced to help him with his Toucan project is beyond my comprehension. Job description: get up at 5:00 AM and walk through snake-infested grasses and mosquito-laden air to trap and track toucans. Do this most of the day. Then at night, set up nets in front of trees with toucan cavities and wait and wait and wait for them to fly home and get stuck in the net. Get home past 7 PM and get to bed early so you'll be ready to do it all over again at dawn.
Landon has more than 20 people (Americans, Canadians, Europeans) who have answered his ad and are scheduled to fly out and live here on their own dime in order to have the privilege of working with him. Pictured here are the local missionaries, spending their precious P-day tracking toucans with Landon.
All right, I admit the whole toucan thing is pretty cool.
This is a headache mask that's kept cold in the freezer, and we simply call it "The Mask." It is the best piece of voodoo medicine I know. Whenever one of the kids is hurt and there's nothing more I can do to soothe the child, I offer them The Mask and watch as the tears magically stop. It works for scrapes, poked eyes, headaches, Joss' growing pains in her legs, and bites (from Tristan).
Exhibit A: Chloe's booboo that's too old to benefit from water, soap and Band-Aid treatment. And yet, she's upset about it. Solution: offer the mask.
No more tears.
Joss with a real smile instead of the usual phony-baloney grin she gives the camera. Notice the scrape on her chin. The mask took care of that too.
One of the families who moved back to Peru left this Buzz Light Year outfit for Tristan. It's made of a plastic material and gets a million degrees inside, but Tristan won't be dissuaded from donning Buzz in the tropical heat.
Chloe before a family walk to the bank.
Logan's sombrero. He's starting to rock on hands and knees. Poor kid's gotta learn to crawl in a house with no carpet.
Tania and Joss have come up with some pretty creative ways to pass the time. Here, they're playing "Christmas Tree" with our bag of hair bows. Today at breakfast Joss told me, "Mom, I don't want to grow-up into a human like you. I want to stay a kid and play with Tania." Guess I don't make being human look fun enough.
My Fancy Nancy
5 comments:
LOL. Your writing always makes me laugh, Amanda. You work on jazzing up that human thing, all right? Crazy gringos, wanting to trap toucans. My daughters will worry for your safety after I show them the volcano. That was an incredibly dry report. No carnage or burning or anything!
Your kids are so darn cute and that Toucan IS pretty cool! Tell Landon to keep up the good work! I didn't know anything about the volcano until I read your blog- Be safe :)
Dear Domestic Engineer,
Thank you for your updates -- they are so juicy.
--We too have a "mask," but we call it the boo boo bag. We keep it in the freezer for bumps, but it usually just gets held in a tiny hand.
--Volcanoes must create an interesting spin on emergency preparedness.
--The more hands helping with the toucans, the faster the work will go (right?).
--Yay, for another pair of adult hands.
--You inspire me.
Sincerely,
your friend
Best blog post title ever.
Poor Nora had to crawl in our house that is all tile floors too. She rubbed her toenails off. Pretty sad looking, but she didn't seem to mind. I love that your updates are so matter of fact. I miss you guys a lot.
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