I did a bit better this morning as I woke up at 4am. As usual, I've decided not to toss and turn but to get up and start the day. It works well but the only problem is that I finish most of my work before everyone else's day has started.
I was on lunch duty but I was crafty and started it last night. Cooking is so much more complicated when I return to Canada. For one thing, I'm cooking for four people and one needs a gluten free diet. The other thing is that I've got a stove with an oven and four rings whereas in Cambodia I have a single hotplate that's for just one pan. I did invest in a microwave but I only using it for warming up left-over food. I decided to cook chicken in a sort of sweet and sour mix using sugar, soya sauce, vinegar, paprika and bay leaf. The recipe called for two onions which seemed an onion overload to me but it worked out all right. I found a bag of frozen turnip and carrots from 2017 so I thought I'd use them, along with mashed potatoes. I'd never frozen carrots and turnip before and it works quite well although Bill said the turnip didn't have much taste - I should have mashed them with carrots like Mother used to do. On the bright side Bill did say that the chicken was tasty done this way. I was quite chuffed and accepted the compliment as they don't come that often with my cooking - not that anyone gets up and walks away from the food, full of complaints.
In the afternoon I decided to do what everyone else does, which is to go to bed. I daren't sleep as I can't wake up. Instead I read a book I bought last year. It's by Alan Bennett, who comes from Leeds and is a famous writer and playwright. It's made up of diary entries over the last few years; sometimes the comments are interesting and other times they aren't. He does use come very colourful language at times which I think originate with the Viking invaders as they are definitely north country.
I went for a walk after my book reading. It was said to be 14C so it would be classed as balmy by Albertans who'd suffered the winter. As usual, I saw no one and all the ducks took off when I came anywhere near. There were deer droppings on the path so they are around. It's lovely, once I get away from the highway traffic. The paths look solid but they are really quite muddy and our mud is a pain because it's sticky. I therefore wander off onto the grass verge or into the field stubble. I saw a single butterfly; it had obviously survived the winter sleeping somewhere, which is amazing. I was also happy to see the bees buzzing around the entrance to their hives - so spring is starting to spring forth.
I prepared Bill's supper and then I settled down, in the basement, to do some letter writing. Bill came along; "There's a beast on the highway, can you help me?" I wasn't dressed for outside so I asked if I should get dressed or were we going in a vehicle. He decided to leave me where I was and said he'd get me if I was needed. A few minutes later John came along to tell me there was a cow on the road. I said I knew, and I told him about Bill. "We'd better go and check," he said. I put on some clothes and left with him to join Jenny who'd got the vehicle out. She was nervous about driving on the bumpy path because John had just had his cataract surgery and he's only got one good eye. We never did see the cow but we did see a man in a cowboy hat fixing the fence. We had no idea who he was; we were on the opposite side of the road so Jenny yelled from the vehicle and he said he was happy doing what he was doing. I said that in Asia the cows leave the home in the morning, wander off down the road and return at night so why can't ours do the same? Jenny suggested it might not be a good idea because vehicles here drive at 100kph which maybe they don't in Asia. With the roads being improved they certainly do and often we have to stop to allow a herd to meander across the road. Maybe they've been genetically modified to know when it's time to go home. In Nigeria I'd see a herdsman wandering along with a hundred cattle and all he had was a stick in his hand. Here, to herd one cow we need a few trucks and a number of humans.
So that's five days over out of the six months I'm here; time is flying by. Cambodian friends are posting pictures of everyone playing traditional games and enjoying New Year - it's a happy time as people tend to go home to their villages. I wouldn't mind being there at this time.
Now I have to make a statement. A couple of times a reader has complained about something I've written. I have told people this is my diary so I should be able to say what I want to say. This time something I'd written was passed around and others wrote to me. I refused to read them as I couldn't be bothered; I decided it was their problem not mine. Anyway, I'm getting a bit fed up of criticisms so I'm thinking of a new plan.
If you want me to continue sending my diary to you please let me know. You can send me a short email to that effect. I'll attach this note to my daily writings for the rest of the week. Then, I'll create a group of those who have said they'd like to receive it and I'll send it by email. I'll then close down the public blog and not bother with it anymore. We'll just keep it to a select group of people. I hope this makes sense.
