Saturday, June 30
Jun. 30th, 2024 12:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gottawonderToday I am grateful for:
Beautiful weather.
Not feeling too rushed to get to the city by a certain time.
We did go, as today was meant to be a "fun day" for us, since we haven't had one for a couple of weeks.
We went to a store that was kind of a vintage-y decor kind of place and I did buy, of all things, a pottery vase. I probably didn't need to buy it because I MAKE them, but it was so nice, and different from what I make.
We went to the art supply store, not for any particular item, but got a few things on a very good sale, and a few normal priced items.
Then I wanted to shop for my husband. Since he is working in the office, he needs to have office clothes. Several months ago we bought a bunch of office clothes for him that were more "cooler weather" clothes, and now he needs "warmer weather" clothes. Before this, he really didn't work in the office a lot and could wear just a button up shirt and jean, but if he's working in the office, and might be going to another location where it might be good for him to look more professional, then I want him to feel confident in how he looks.
I know that he's already gotten a lot of wear out his "winter" wardrobe, and that it made him feel good to look nice, and he felt confident that he looked appropriate, so I know that buying him a good summer wardrobe will be a good thing for him too.
We went to Simon's which seems to always have clothes he likes, and they're good quality. We bought a few short sleeved "business casual" button up shirts in cotton or linen, a nice pair of linen shorts, and a pair of darker blue linen pants. Everything we bought goes together, or I know will work with clothes he already owns.
Then we got him two pairs of "nicer casual" shoes that will work with the linen pants (his fully dress shoes feel too formal), and so he has something nice to wear to the city and out for supper. The shoes he was wearing for that are completely worn out.
I was surprised at how many of the shoes we looked at, the shoes were otherwise nice looking but had really ugly soles. Weird.
Then, I wanted to find one more pair of pants that were darker tan, since I didn't find anything at Simon's that worked. We found one pair at Old Navy that were okay.
I found a nice hoodie and a pair of flats.
So, kind of a day of consumer gluttony, but this isn't a common occurrence. This thing of my husband needing a whole week's worth of functioning office wear is a new thing, and now that we have cooler weather and warmer weather covered, we won't have to buy much for a while again.
If he does end up working at a new place away from home, I want him to be able to pack almost a "capsule wardrobe" where everything mixes and matches so he doesn't have to worry about what to wear, and it will all fit into a single suitcase. He will have enough things to think about besides "do I look appropriate" or "does this look right together".
Malawi is kind of a long, skinny country that has most of it's Eastern border defined by Lake Malawi.
Lake Malawi is pretty cool, in that it is another one of the lakes in Africa where a lot of really cool aquarium fish come from. Cichlids are a very interesting and beautiful group of fish! Also, this lake is a source of sardines and catfish for consumption. There are currently territorial disputes about how much of the lake belongs to which country between Malawi and Tanzania.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Malawi#:~:text=to%20male%20chambo.-,Cichlids,as%20high%20as%201%2C000%20species.
"The part of Africa now known as Malawi was settled around the 10th century by migrating Bantu groups.[citation needed] Centuries later, in 1891, the area was colonised by the British as the British Central African Protectorate, and it was renamed as Nyasaland in 1907. In 1953, it became a protectorate within the semi-independent Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The Federation was dissolved in 1963. In 1964, the protectorate was ended: Nyasaland became an independent country as a Commonwealth realm under Prime Minister Hastings Banda, and was renamed Malawi."
"Today, Malawi has a democratic, multi-party republic headed by an elected president and has continued to experience peaceful transitions of power. According to the 2024 V-Dem Democracy indices Malawi is ranked 74th electoral democracy worldwide and 11th electoral democracy in Africa.[14]"
The human rights situation isn't great. There still use of excessive force by police, things are not good for LGBTQ folks (but possibly improving). Woman's rights are improving but not there yet. It's still considered a "least developed nation" and has a short life expectancy, high rates of HIV/AIDS, and high infant mortality rates.
The economy is still largely agricultural based, while facing the challenges of a rapidly growing population.
Malawi is land-locked, has the African Rift running right through it, has Lake Malawi all along one coast, has some mountains, and lots of rolling hills. It is hot and dry in some places, but being at a fairly high elevation overall moderates what would normally be an equatorial climate.
It has a lot of the expected creatures, like hippos and elephants, but the lake is the real prize as it is an absolute marvel for fish diversity, as well as supporting many, many mammals and birds and reptiles.
Most of the people engage in subsistence farming, but cash crops are the usual things like coffee, tea, sugar and tobacco. It also grows what is known as "Malawi Gold" marijuana, though it is an illegal crop.
Since they do not have any fossil fuel reserves and must import everything, they are trying to reduce that dependency by trying to develop cars that will run entirely on ethanol.
They are seeking foreign investors to diversify it's economy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malawi#Culture
Bonus: The Leper Tree (warning: creepy) https://youtube.com/shorts/o9sJAMkfzvA?si=BovnnxWL9XkJmDgN
Also bonus, innovative man from Malawi learns how to generate electricity for villages: https://youtu.be/G8yKFVPOD6o?si=1F6Re4Ly8FFTAOXr
https://youtu.be/868K4Iq8Z-g?si=nRtJawuOGNjg6hRS
Beautiful weather.
Not feeling too rushed to get to the city by a certain time.
We did go, as today was meant to be a "fun day" for us, since we haven't had one for a couple of weeks.
We went to a store that was kind of a vintage-y decor kind of place and I did buy, of all things, a pottery vase. I probably didn't need to buy it because I MAKE them, but it was so nice, and different from what I make.
We went to the art supply store, not for any particular item, but got a few things on a very good sale, and a few normal priced items.
Then I wanted to shop for my husband. Since he is working in the office, he needs to have office clothes. Several months ago we bought a bunch of office clothes for him that were more "cooler weather" clothes, and now he needs "warmer weather" clothes. Before this, he really didn't work in the office a lot and could wear just a button up shirt and jean, but if he's working in the office, and might be going to another location where it might be good for him to look more professional, then I want him to feel confident in how he looks.
I know that he's already gotten a lot of wear out his "winter" wardrobe, and that it made him feel good to look nice, and he felt confident that he looked appropriate, so I know that buying him a good summer wardrobe will be a good thing for him too.
We went to Simon's which seems to always have clothes he likes, and they're good quality. We bought a few short sleeved "business casual" button up shirts in cotton or linen, a nice pair of linen shorts, and a pair of darker blue linen pants. Everything we bought goes together, or I know will work with clothes he already owns.
Then we got him two pairs of "nicer casual" shoes that will work with the linen pants (his fully dress shoes feel too formal), and so he has something nice to wear to the city and out for supper. The shoes he was wearing for that are completely worn out.
I was surprised at how many of the shoes we looked at, the shoes were otherwise nice looking but had really ugly soles. Weird.
Then, I wanted to find one more pair of pants that were darker tan, since I didn't find anything at Simon's that worked. We found one pair at Old Navy that were okay.
I found a nice hoodie and a pair of flats.
So, kind of a day of consumer gluttony, but this isn't a common occurrence. This thing of my husband needing a whole week's worth of functioning office wear is a new thing, and now that we have cooler weather and warmer weather covered, we won't have to buy much for a while again.
If he does end up working at a new place away from home, I want him to be able to pack almost a "capsule wardrobe" where everything mixes and matches so he doesn't have to worry about what to wear, and it will all fit into a single suitcase. He will have enough things to think about besides "do I look appropriate" or "does this look right together".
Malawi is kind of a long, skinny country that has most of it's Eastern border defined by Lake Malawi.
Lake Malawi is pretty cool, in that it is another one of the lakes in Africa where a lot of really cool aquarium fish come from. Cichlids are a very interesting and beautiful group of fish! Also, this lake is a source of sardines and catfish for consumption. There are currently territorial disputes about how much of the lake belongs to which country between Malawi and Tanzania.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Malawi#:~:text=to%20male%20chambo.-,Cichlids,as%20high%20as%201%2C000%20species.
"The part of Africa now known as Malawi was settled around the 10th century by migrating Bantu groups.[citation needed] Centuries later, in 1891, the area was colonised by the British as the British Central African Protectorate, and it was renamed as Nyasaland in 1907. In 1953, it became a protectorate within the semi-independent Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The Federation was dissolved in 1963. In 1964, the protectorate was ended: Nyasaland became an independent country as a Commonwealth realm under Prime Minister Hastings Banda, and was renamed Malawi."
"Today, Malawi has a democratic, multi-party republic headed by an elected president and has continued to experience peaceful transitions of power. According to the 2024 V-Dem Democracy indices Malawi is ranked 74th electoral democracy worldwide and 11th electoral democracy in Africa.[14]"
The human rights situation isn't great. There still use of excessive force by police, things are not good for LGBTQ folks (but possibly improving). Woman's rights are improving but not there yet. It's still considered a "least developed nation" and has a short life expectancy, high rates of HIV/AIDS, and high infant mortality rates.
The economy is still largely agricultural based, while facing the challenges of a rapidly growing population.
Malawi is land-locked, has the African Rift running right through it, has Lake Malawi all along one coast, has some mountains, and lots of rolling hills. It is hot and dry in some places, but being at a fairly high elevation overall moderates what would normally be an equatorial climate.
It has a lot of the expected creatures, like hippos and elephants, but the lake is the real prize as it is an absolute marvel for fish diversity, as well as supporting many, many mammals and birds and reptiles.
Most of the people engage in subsistence farming, but cash crops are the usual things like coffee, tea, sugar and tobacco. It also grows what is known as "Malawi Gold" marijuana, though it is an illegal crop.
Since they do not have any fossil fuel reserves and must import everything, they are trying to reduce that dependency by trying to develop cars that will run entirely on ethanol.
They are seeking foreign investors to diversify it's economy.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malawi#Culture
Bonus: The Leper Tree (warning: creepy) https://youtube.com/shorts/o9sJAMkfzvA?si=BovnnxWL9XkJmDgN
Also bonus, innovative man from Malawi learns how to generate electricity for villages: https://youtu.be/G8yKFVPOD6o?si=1F6Re4Ly8FFTAOXr
https://youtu.be/868K4Iq8Z-g?si=nRtJawuOGNjg6hRS
