Not only that but the rains have come in abundance and the land is lush and green and the corn strong, healthy and growing taller by the day. Having said that the price of food is still much higher than it was a year ago but one needs to count blessings where they fall.
It was a bit bumpy coming in to land on the company jet because of rain clouds but not too bad. We could see lightning in the distance but all of that is part and parcel for Africa at this time of year. The other good thing about the jet is that it makes hauling our supplies up from Joburg so much easier. We wheel the trolley into Lanseria and hand it over and sit and wait in a very nice lounge until it is time to board. We are met on landing by people with trolleys who deliver it all to the waiting car. After years of lugging heavy suitcases off carousels and onto trolleys and into cars it makes it a joy. And unpacking is even better.
I brought in paints, canvases, embroidery needles and supplies, books of course, soaps, toiletries as well as nuts, dried fruit, coffee, tea - our favourite, Madura from Australia - Carrs water biscuits, organic honey, peanut butter and of course, Vegemite.
We brought back a couple of dozen bottles of wine - better than we can buy here and much cheaper. As well as a cooler bag of meat from Woolworths in Sandton - lamb mostly and pork which we cannot get here, or rather, would not eat if it appears and chicken which is far superior to what we find locally. Apparently they feed HIV drugs to chickens in Malawi to bulk them up - something I prefer not to ingest given that the drugs are probably out of date anyway.
Both Limited and Andrew have been sick with malaria and are looking a little thin. Not enough extra food handed out during the three months that I was away perhaps. I am conscious of the fact that they support an extended family and while they are paid well, it has to feed many mouths. I found soup and cake in the freezer on the first day and began the 'feed-up' immediately.
Malaria is a scourge here but it is also a 'term' used for illnesses related to HIV/Aids. Not that I think either of them have it but Limited has lost three siblings to the disease and it is a constant killer. Malawians are also prone to promiscuity in ways most of us might not imagine and that makes the spread of the disease so much worse.
'Playing around' is a way of life here and that goes for women as well as men. Well, I guess you need one of each to do it but what I meant was the women initiate as much as the men do. It's not just presidents, or rather, ex- presidents who take multiple lovers. What is interesting is that Malawians, like many Africans are also very religious - unfortunately in that American evangelical way - and no doubt they are chastised from the pulpit every Sunday for their 'sins of the flesh.' Not that it stops anyone. Then again, it probably never did.
Beyond that all looks as it should and the rains mean the heat, never great, but always a bit humid, has diminished and the days and nights are pleasant if damp. The avocado tree is fruitful although not so much as it was last year - but then trees and plants sensibly alternate abundance in the seasons, something which modern agriculture tries to avoid, I am sure at some cost.
Everything is so green, the dust washed from leaf and frond and all shining with wet freshness. In the distance I can hear thunder and the birds seem delighted with the rain, crilling and carolling and cheeping as they flit from branch to bush and back. There is something about the rains. A releasing and a reminder of how much we need water and of how it is the source of life.
And never more so than in Malawi which, while composed mainly of water in one of Africa's largest lakes, has suffered some terrible droughts in its history and remembers too well the deadly price of famine.
Everyone is grateful for the rains and in ways which we of the First World can only imagine. Although no doubt it remains in our cellular memory given that all of us, at one time, have lived as Africans still live.
Water soothes and calms and comforts, of that I have no doubt. Even being back and not having to deal with days of 'no water' reminds me of how much better life is when water flows at the turn of a tap.
My basil has burst forth in more abundance than I have managed in Australia - it loves the warmth and the wet. I shall have to find some recipes to make use of it which allow storage. Pesto I think has time limits even in the freezer and for the moment I am tossing it into soups and salads and shredding it on top of roasting chickens. I use the plural because we brought two back with us and since we are out in three weeks for Indaba in Cape Town, will be able to bring more back with us.
All in all a lot has been achieved while I was away. The new batteries were installed and moved to another small shed so Limited and Andrew have the laundry back. Limited has been busy putting up hooks to hang brooms and the like and also found a spare hook to hang the geranium in a basket which a friend gave me months ago and which has been sitting on the ground waiting to be elevated.
The new geyser has gone in although not outside as requested but in the roof. It's not the safest place and I have not spoken to the plumber yet but I am sure he will have an excellent reason why he did not do what he said he would do.
There are some small jobs to chase up. The property managers need to replace the septic tank lids out the front - stolen for the third time. Open septics being something of a danger as well as a hygiene no-no. We also need the electrician to fix the security lights on the walls around the compound; the carpenter to replace a lock on the back door because Limited lost his key; the telephone company to fix the phone so it stops telling me I can't make calls because the bill has not been paid, when it has....
But all looks neat, tidy, scrubbed and Limited as always has filled the house with flowers, displayed in his own incredibly talented way. In any other world he would be a florist!
I finally have my Magimix back in action having bought a new bowl to replace the one which broke when Greg dropped it. We forgot to pack it last time but now it is restored and it works and I can't wait to use it. Even more so because we don't seem to be having the power cuts that we did and one can 'cook' with confidence... well, hopefully.
It's a good thing to never assume anything in Africa and never more so than with how things work. Make the best of the bit you are in is my motto. And for the moment, this bit seems to be working better than it has for a long time. Tomorrow however may be a different story. But for now, we have water, we have power, we have new batteries, we have diesel, we have good Australian and South African wine and good South African meat and salad and it doesn't get much better than that.
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