During the week and especially when I am riding in the van to go somewhere, I often think of or see something that I want to share in my blog. But then the business of the week pushes out those thoughts. I really need a recorder don't I?
So what is new in my world... a new addition to security: We are still testing names but latest is Gracie. She came via John's neighborhood and Lorne brought her home. She is about 10 weeks old and she is Haitian mutt and very sweet. She whines a little when she has to go outside like she did about midnight last night. Apparently she is smart enough and self taught not to pee in the house! What a good little puppy! She hasn't learned to bark yet and has greeted strangers with a doggie smile. She has been following me back and forth as I move back to the apartment today. I have electricity connection now but still no water. I'm heating water in an 'outdoor' camping shower bag to see how that works. Otherwise it will be bucket showers for awhile.

We got the pool cleaned and painted this week~ now we just need water. Poor John had to go all over town to find the paint. I was hoping that the truck would come today and bring us enough water to fill it. Obviously, it is more urgent for our well being than for his - we are on the list of lesser importance. We will still plan for poolside party even without water for the 4th of July.

Brazil lost which made for a lot of disappointed Haitians; Argentina lost this morning. It sounded like I was in the center of the soccer stadium for all of the cheering surrounding us in the neighborhood. One would have thought they had won the championship! I guess they were Brazil fans and happy that Argentina lost. I'm not sure now who I am supposed to cheer for....doesn't help the matter that I don't even know who is playing. Of course I won't admit that to any Haitians.

We had the remnants of a tropical storm earlier in the week. Wind and rain but while it didn't affect us much, the people in the camps and living in tents are miserable enough without added storm worries. The radio continues to tell people to find a more permanent shelter but there is little available that is affordable for the tens of thousand that need it. There are organizations in Haiti that are trying to build permanent structure shelters that will withstand cyclones but there are not enough. Many peoples homes are still in a pile of rubble. People are tired of waiting for government to clear the way so they are chipping away at the cement and cutting rebar. Piles of it sit in the street waiting to be hauled away. Teams of men and women in blue or yellow t-shirts indicating cash for work programs earn $5 day breaking up rubble and hauling it to the street in buckets and wheelbarrows. Its hard work, heavy work and temperatures in high 90's. People need work to house, feed and send their children to school. Generally, most people renting rooms, apartments or houses demand 6 - 12 months rent in advance. A 1 room apartment with a toilet may cost $150 US for a year but its very difficult to save that much in advance if you are trying to support your family on $5/ day. How do the thousands of unemployed people estimated at 70-80% do that without income? People beg for help, a hand out or a hand up. There is lots of food available if one can afford to buy it. School is open if one can afford to send the children. Healthcare available. We need to employ the Haitians to give them the opportunity to provide adequately for their families. I read that Taiwan is sending 200 tons of rice to Haiti. I read that over a million meals are being packaged in the US by a church to bring down to feed the starving people. I wish they would send their $ resources to Haiti to have Haitians provide the meals for the starving people with Haitian food. There are some places where food is abundant on the streets and places its not so available. If someone had the resources to package food from one area to deliver to another area there might be less starvations and a few more jobs. Haitians help other Haitians all the time. They just need a little more help right now to do it.