This is the pattern Sister Child is using to make a quilt from her beautiful batik fabrics from Ghana. Isn't it beautiful? You can click on the photo to enlarge it and see the pattern more closely.

Interesting reminder on the back of this Ghanaian ambulance....makes you slow down in traffic...gulp! 

Our friends Flat Stanley (sent by Hanna) and Frank Geo Gnome (sent by Josh Lyman) have come for a visit to Accra, Ghana and we are at Cedi's Bead Factory just outside of the Agomanya Bead Market which is about 1 1/2 hours north and inland from Accra. We are going to find out how they make the beautiful beads that we brought home for our bead party for the girls to make their necklaces. Most of the strands of beads cost less than $5. But sometimes they have antique beads (hundreds of years old) that may cost $5 for just one bead. During their visit we will also visit a local market and meet Fostina the vegetable vendor. Last of all we will attend the wedding of our friend Olivia Amponsah, and her groom Frank Baffour Yempew.

Frank Geo Gnome is standing by some of the bottles that will be crushed to make the beads. This is a very environmentally friendly business. They take old bottles (juice bottles, wine bottles, etc.) that would just be thrown away and turn them into something very beautiful 

Flat Stanley likes this place there are a lot of beads being made into necklaces and they make great swings 

Frank Geo Gnome is helping Mercy string the beads that have come out of the ovens. Hey where are the ovens? Can I go there? 

This is a rock where the men crush the bottles into glass crystals. Look out Flat Stanley or you may be squashed even flatter, or get glass shards in your pants. 

Flat Stanley is on the roof (can you see him?). 

Flat Stanley & Frank couldn't be in this picture because if they get too close to this oven they would burn up. The ovens are used to fire molds which hold the crushed glass and turn the glass into beads. This is a very hot place to work!

This man is drilling the holes into the beads with an ice pick when they are still slightly warm. The holes will allow the beads to be strung. 

Here you can see the crushed glass in the molds waiting to go in the oven, and you can see the ones that are being fired. 

Flat Stanley is sitting on Jame's shoulder. He is taking the beads out of the molds after they have cooled from the oven. This is very hot work, but James is glad to have a job. 

Here is Frank showing off some of the bracelets and necklaces that were made at the bead factory. 

Both Flat Stanley and Frank Geo Gnome had their picture taken with this vegetable vendor in the local market place. Her name is Fostina. The other villagers laughed and cheered when we took their pictures. How do you like her big sun hat? On the table are different kinds of chilis. I gave her 1000 cedis ($.11) for letting me take her picture. 

We went to our first wedding at a chapel in Ghana. They were married by the Stake President 

Here is part of the bride and groom's families. Notice the mixing of Western and African traditions. 

Geo Gnome wanted a piece of cake, but the bride said no. 

Flat Stanley wanted to stay and toast the bride & groom but we had to get home 

This is the sight that greeted us this last week at 6:30 one morning. At first blush we thought we were in a remake of the movie "The Birds", but it appeared that these birds had a very strange point in the middle of their wings. Could they be .....? 

Yes, these are bats finishing their night time feeding. It is 7:00 a.m. and we weren't sure that we wanted to step outside to take this picture. 

You can see the early morning sun beginning to light the rooftops down the street from our house. The bats will only be flying for a short while now and then they will find a place to hang out! 

They may look like some kind of strange fruit, but they really are bats hanging from the trees. You can see one in the middle of the photo is stretching his wing. 

It is time for the bats afternoon siesta. They are hanging upside down. 

These are the bats hanging from the trees. Notice the one limb close to the bottom is full of hanging bats. 

We always forget that these pictures should be posted in reverse order so they make sense when you go to look at them. So scroll down to the first pictures of the kitchen and work backwards to get a better idea of the flow of the house. This should be the last picture you see because it is the guest bedroom that is available for anyone who wants to come for a visit. It is on the main floor (no need to use our slippery stairs) and has it's own bathroom. Anyone up for an adventure?