I went to the dentist on Friday. It was pretty much a repeat of what went on last year at about this time. I went hoping for a quick fix. But, as usual, the fix turned out to be the slow and painful kind. My " small lost filling" was actually a huge hole with an exposed nerve at the bottom....same old, same old. It was pretty much a replay of what I went through about a year ago, when I begain this blog. Have a look at the entry for March 30, 2006.

So, I’m back and only lightly medicated. Not that I have lots to blog about. I wasn’t feeling up to much over the weekend. We went out to lunch on Sunday. NOT to Happy Donald Hamburger House, but rather to the girls’ favourite: Le Restaurant du Chine. It’s air-conditioned and boasts a completely over-the-top Chinese restaurant décor complete with lanterns, plastic bonsai trees that light up, bead curtains and red everywhere.
How was the food? Surprisingly good! And it was nice not having to listen to my nine-year old threaten to throw herself under the wheels of a passing Land Cruiser.

Near our house is a small outdoor restaurant called “L’Aval”. Like many of its kind, it’s just a small stand about as big as the average bathroom in the USA. The actual cooking is done outdoors. The tables and chairs are plastic lawn furniture from Ghana. In less fancy establishments, the furnishings are made out of sticks tied together with goat hide. . They sit right at the edge of the street, so you don’t miss out on any of those exhaust fumes. What really sets L’Aval apart, though, is the décor.
Right next to the tables, there is an old white toilet bowl. I about caused an accident the first time I noticed it. I should have kept my eyes on the road, but I was mesmerized. “Is it being used as an ashtray? Spitoon? Rubbish bin? Planter?? Yes! I think I definitely see stems of something poking out of the top…..Ooops! About hit that chicken. Better quit gawking.”
Further investigation under less hazardous circumstances (I walked by) showed that while plants are indeed growing in the toilet bowl, they are just weeds. But let's be honest, would sticking begonias in it really improve it that much?

The next time I have to coerce Alexa into good behaviour, I’ll threaten her with a dinner of bat stew at L’Aval, at a table right next to the weed-filled toilet.