Long days, short water

Today was the first Saturday of Ramadan and a very quiet day indeed. I am continuing to "close" myself for Ramadan, although polishing off my chai thermos at five in the morning when the mosque prayers wake me up and I put the puppy out may be slightly bending the rules a bit. Also I ate some sunflower seeds today - a girl who visited me gave them to me, and I ate two before I realized what I was doing, then justified it, figuring it was more of a pastime than actual food. So I kept eating them. Whoops. 

Our springs are drying up - when I went to get water this morning, like the last few days, the water is very low and dirtier than usual. Once the springs dry up, my village will open a pipe from another nearby village that pumps water here. That water must be paid for, so people pay by the bucket - 50 shillings for a 20-liter bucket of water. 

I made bread for the third time today on my charcoal stove, and I might be getting the hang of it. I'm not using a recipe because I don't have measuring cups and because it's more fun to experiment, figuring out the ratio of flour to water and exactly what amount fits to bake nicely in one of my pots. 

Puppy Kitmeer is in fine fettle. I am now cooking for the both of us, which works out well because it seems I always cook a little more than I can practically eat. So I cook a one pot meal, like a stew or pilaf, take out his portion when it's all cooked, then add salt, curry powder, or whatever seasonings to mine. Then I add a little powdered milk and dagaa (tiny dried anchovy-like fish) to his portion. So far he's not been picky, let's hope he stays that way!

In other news, I finally have a bed! Kitmeer is not a fan because he liked the mattress on the floor, where he could climb onto it. It will be quite some time before he's big enough to jump up on the bed now. Also, he let out a less-than-five-pound-puppy growl at my carpenter's apprentice when they came into my house to assemble the bed. Though he be but little, he is fierce. :)