The tale of the One Arm Wall Paper Hanger

The One Arm Challenge:

In my last post I talked about how the human density of my house has increased in the past few months. Not to mention the critter density. I am a little eccentric when it comes to my living conditions. My place has been in a constant state of repairs (and disrepair); I am quite comfortable with the situation and Tango, the dog, doesn't seem to be complaining.

With the increase in density comes the need for space for things like beds, dressers and places to sit. Unfortunately I have been acquiring kitchen appliances for a distant kitchen renovation; a monstrous gas stove I bought at an auction, a very good dishwasher that the previous owner abandoned for a different model and a really cool range hood fan. I am still working on a kick ass fridge. I did really well in buying those appliances but they just take a lot of floor space and even the rented garage is getting crowded in a hurry.

The gas installation is lined up, the permit has been obtained from the city and the condo board approval has been finalized. All this should happen this Friday (tomorrow).

Last weekend I decided to install the range hood fan which involves moving some of the kitchen cabinet. There’s the added difficulty of venting to the outside as oppose to shooting the hot air back to the cook’s face, as the previous fan was doing. While at it, I decided to install the new dishwasher as opposed to just storing it. Of course my son was nowhere to be found.

Did I mention that I broke my collar bone? After 9 days my mobility was almost all back but there were very few movements that I could do comfortably. Lifting heavy objet over my head wasn’t one of them. Nevertheless the range hood fan is installed and so is the new dishwasher. For a few nights I had to revert back to pain killer (the good stuff) because my shoulder was very sore and swollen. I have been icing the shoulder everyday and my healing is back on track. Someone has suggested that I should heavily duct tape my right arm to my chest to make sure that I won’t use it. Karie has suggested duct taping my arm and my whole body to one of the kitchen chair until I take the plane for Toronto…

A Different Perspective:

Marielle and I have been mentored by Ashley Good who works with EWB in Toronto. She has been wonderful. It has been a very fulfilling process of discovery for the past 2 months. We both have learned so much about Foreign Aid in Africa. I think that I can speak for both of us in saying that our perspective of Foreign Aid has totally changed. Very much like other local "not for profit" organisations, not all are equal and donnations dollars are not always well used.

As we are getting closer to our formal training in Toronto we also started interfacing through emails with volunteers in Africa working on the MOFA project. The same project Marielle and I will be working with. We are reading their weekly accounts; the conditions they live in, what they are working on, their challenges and how they are feeling.

This morning I was looking at some pictures; Andrea Korney from TransCanada sent me a link of a blog her sister created while in Ghana. Follow this link if you want to have a peak: http://www.iliaphotographyblog.com/ghana-part-one-accra-and-kumasi/

Between the pictures and the email it hit me like a ton of bricks. What am I being so frantic about? Better kitchen stove and better dishwashers? I am worry for the teens to have enough dresser space? I will be in Ghana soon and yet I am so immersed in my daily life’s trivialities.

I guess I have to start letting go of the noise, leave it behind. I have to pack and bring with me only what I need; the right "actual" baggage and the right "emotional" one…

Of course I also have to avoid playing with 3 years old in the park and stop using my right arm for a while.

Cheers