Sylvia's Journal

Just to make the next few months a little more interesting, the septic system failed yesterday. Instead of working on his CV Axel had to deal with this emergency. There was the immediate task of getting a ‘honey’ truck to come and pump us, all 4000 gallons of unmentionables. And then there is the rather overwhelming and bigger task to build a new septic system. When you live on ledge like we do, this is not only a complicated engineering challenge but also one with a hefty price tag which requires the kind of loan that our parents could buy an entire house with. So the CV will have to wait a bit and the danger pay will come in handy.

I had my eyes and teeth recertified for duty in Afghanistan – a clean bill of health on that end. It’s the shoulders and the resulting pinched nerves that remain problematic. After my right hand carpal tunnel surgery the hand-doctor predicted that the left hand would want to follow soon. I have arrived at that moment where I wake up each morning with numb fingers but I cannot find a window for surgery between now and my departure for Afghanistan – every day is now spoken for. Doing the hand surgery in Kabul does not seem like a good idea and feels too much like a luxury in a place where surgeons are busy repairing war and landmine victims.

Tessa and Steve returned from the Bannaroo music festival in Manchester, Tennessee, in high spirits but tired from the long drive. Dog Chicha was jumping up and down from excitement to have her parents back and the daily dose of rough-housing that we, aging grandparents, failed to give her.

Sita showed up as well and planted herself at the counter continuing her work of hooking interesting people up with one another to make the world a better place. She continues breathlessly with this mission and is having some successes here and there.