Introducing..........

Mr Dan Zanes and Friends !!!
Just take me right back to the track - Jack!

So, we have been dancing and singing and eating hog roast today!! What a great event. We went upstate to Sleepy Hollow - yup same place from the story! to a Harvest Fest at which our pal Dan was a'playin'.
I think the boys enjoyed it, it was a gorgeous day, but bitterly cold, so they weren't saying much. I. on the other hand, had a great vantage point from my shoulders which were used as a rhythmic trampoline!! He even signed our CD - yay! Not that the kids will care a squat about that. However, T was very concerned about the fate of the poor pigs......until he tasted them. "It is really sad that the pigs have to die mummy, but they do taste nice don't they?" - I don't think this one will be a vegetarian if he can get over the concept of animals being slain for food quite so easily at 6!!
We have just gotten back from climbing too. T. was there with the scouts. It was his first attempt at anything like it and I have to say, although he didn't make it to the top, he has seriously lost his sense of fear fortunately and was definately game! He did however, find it really hard to take that he didn't make it to the top when most of the group did. I tried to explain that he has other strengths. He will never be that athletic I don't suppose, but he is keen and that is what makes good team spirit. Hopefully he will one day appreciate this, or maybe one day he will prove me totally wrong? who knows, but for now, explaining to a 6 year old that all people are different and have skills in different areas is not an easy lesson to teach.

We seen two sets of visitors go off to other parts of the US this week, one set to Boston and Cape Cod where they are hoping to go whale watching and the others to Chicago where I overheard there has been some two inches of snow.....yes, that's right, snow!! This was after i had said that it would probably be cold and windy maybe - and it was about 60 here whilst they were staying - talk about a shock to the system!

A huge thanks to those of you that have given money to the Bwindi fund btw. We have currently raised over and above the target and if R's company double it then that will be fantastic. P and V have said they would use the rest of the money to train another midwife as well as the three trainees for the HIV prevention programme and they will then have money to buy the much needed Nevirapine. Once these people are trained, then Bwindi can become an HIV testing centre, so hopefully reducing mother to child transmission from 30 - 10%. This is such a great thing as Uganda is ravished with HIV. If these innocent children can be given a chance, hopefully education put in place and maybe a reduction in the number of infected people, not to mention infant mortality. Apparently 30 - 40% of children die before their 5th birthday in Uganda - isn't that a frightening thought? The great thing about these funds that you have kindly donated is that you know exactly where they are going and by training these people, after P & V leave Bwindi, the effects of this training will still be ongoing.
Thank you