Strawberries in Kigali

Had so much fun last Friday. My friend Patrizia came over with her friend Lorette for a horror movie fest. I've finally - after four months of living in this house - taken the projector out of its box. We set it up across the back wall, our own private cinema.

It's so sad - Patrizia and I have only just realised our mutual love of horror movies, and now she's leaving! Totally pants. Perhaps Lorette will keep me company, another horror aficionado. Though, I must admit, if you'd ever asked me for a list of most improbable scenarios, watching a horror movie with a Rwandan friend is fairly high up there - especially during memorial period!

As she's leaving, Patrizia gave me her hand blender. My life is transformed! 

We made avocado chocolate mousse for the viewing (to compliment the pizza, Pringles and M&Ms).

And this morning I discovered a guy selling strawberries and Chinese lanterns outside Inzora. The strawberries aren't great - very small and not very sweet, but add bananas, honey and yogurt and they make the best smoothies! Never had strawberries in Rwanda before - quite a novelty, especially with tennis season around the corner.

Nomnomnom. 

I think it was fated that I was to inherit a hand blender. I even have a plug right next to my bathroom sink, so once I've finished I just buzz it under the tap. Clean in two ticks.

Other than avocados (heartily sick of) and bananas, my diet is sadly lacking in fruit. Hopefully this will help. Little annoyed with Damascene at the moment. He got overzealous in the garden - chopped down my banana tree and stole my papaya! Words will be had. Spent three months watching that ripen, now it's gone! Do appear to have a few more growing, though.

In work news - it's ridiculously busy at the moment, and about to get more so. I apologise now to family and friends who send me e-mails, but you may not get a response for a while. I average 21 e-mails of a morning, two-thirds work-related, and that's before coffee. I must admit, working with a US-based organisation is problematic on many levels, not least of which the time zone (you wake up to a box full or replies) and exchange rate (dollar to pound sucks). Still, it'll be over in a couple of months, and then I'm homeward bound to the UK where I intend to luxuriate like a lazy locust. 

[Note to self - never assume. Turned out my landlord cut down the banana tree and took the papaya! I feel betrayed. But glad it wasn't Damascene, that did seem a bit weird.]