My Dear Watson

My dear Watson...

The Brick Maker

 

This gentleman called out to me as a I walked by to take his picture.  I didn't even have my camera out and yet he sensed I like to take pictures, from about 50m away.  Funny that.  These bricks will dry out in the sun for a while and then be stacked to create a cozy new home. Thanks, sir, for showing me how to make bricks.   And all the best as you embark on your building project.

                                   "Go into the clay; treat the mortar; take hold of the brick mold!" (Nahum 3:14)

So fresh and so clean

It's mushroom season on the island.   Yum yum yum.

(Broadway Street Market, London)

Resting in the grass

 Those brown eyes...
                                                                                                                    (Gicumbi, Rwanda)

Going to band practice

As you do.
                                                                                                                   (Madison, Wisconsin)

Ingenious

Ladies and gentlemen, this is simply ingenious design.  Let there be light.

Passion fruit and guava

At the Ballet

 Last Saturday Ballet Rwanda gave their Spring Performance -- a wonderful interpretation of Motown classics.  The choreography was stunning, the costumes perfect, and the dancers were in fine form.  I think I could get into attending ballet shows... can't wait for the next one.  

 

 

(La Digue, Seychelles)

White Heart Door

(Kirehe District, Rwanda)

Happy Friday

Happy Friday everyone!  It's been a long week here on the island since I've been on the road traveling.  Definitely looking forward to resting at home this weekend.  If I had a dog I'd put him in a basket and go for a bike ride.  Or have him run alongside chasing other bikes.

Houseboat Book Shop

Books?  On a boat?  Pretty much my two favorite things?!  Ayuh.  This houseboat book shop, called Word on the Water, meanders the island's numerous canals looking to woo landlubbers and old salt readers alike.  Sometimes you may hop on and start browsing in one village only to end up several villages downstream after getting lost in the Ancient Irish Biographies section (Andrew).  When it's chilly you just fire up the stove and cozy around it with your favorite pile of browsed books.  Ther's even poetry nights up on deck.  Man overboard?  Throw him a good book, as the sign says.    

Blue eyes

 This lady welcomed me warmly the other day, clutching my hand saying I was the first foreigner she had ever greeted.  "Finally," she murmured.  I was struck by both her eyes and her joy (and thankfully not her walking stick).   Thank you for brightening my day, nyogokuru (grandmother).

Elephant and tree

Scaffolding columns

Horizons (part 2)

About a year ago I first posted some horizons.   Here's part 2.  Many more to come... the land, water, and sky is always changing color here on the island.
                                                                                                                    (Kigali, Rwanda)

 (windy day) 

Smoke flower and tweed

Kids (some of you know the tv show), smoking is bad for you.  But wearing a flower on your tweed lapel with a vest and orange ruffly shirt is good for you... so do the math.

Easy Does It

(Outside Halcyon Gallery, London)

Stik Door

 

If I had to live in a city, I would like to live at an address like 517A.  Or at least I'd like my door to look like this.  Can you imagine what's behind the door?  And how fun it is to duck into or emerge from that stick leg.  Hmmmm...  Anyhow, Stik is a street artist on the island.  His works brighten, provoke, humor, insinuate, and lively up the city.  He was homeless in 2011 and is now doing his best to raise awareness and promote integration and homeless empowerment.   You can find more of his work here and here.