A Social Activity

Right before I left the States, Grandma gave me a crash course in knitting. She keeps a few starter kits in her bag to ensnare the unsuspecting visitor at knitting group meetings.

I've started in on a scarf, which I have accidentally made twice as wide as intended. This has proven frustrating since it takes eons to finish a row. It may yet end it's life as a potholder.

Knitting, as a productive activity, runs somewhat counter to my normal mindset. When I'm working on the scarf by myself, I spend most of the time plotting ways to mechanize and automate the process. When I mentioned this to Dr. Joyce, one of our volunteers and herself a veteran knitter, she explained that, like quilting, it's supposed to be a primarily social activity rather than just manufacturing.

So I've started joining the Maasai ladies who do beadwork next door to my cottage. We all speak a little Swahili and shoot the breeze about what sort of livestock is kept in our respective homelands, and they never tire of asking what time of day it is in the USA right now.




Also, thanks to Heba for sharing some photos she took at our recent visit to Coleman's boma.

Here is a closer shot of the house:

 The decorations inside:

And our hostess with the corn-water gourd: