• Home
  • About Tsoniki Crazy Bull
  • Blog Posts
  • Podcasts
  • Crafty Quickies
  • Craft Gift Ideas

Native Woman Sews, Crafts, Writes, and More

Home ยป Ramblings

An Update On Us in Accra, Ghana, during a Pandemic

August 18, 2020 by Tsoniki 1 Comment

Hi. How are you? We are still in Accra.

We are fine. We started staying home in mid-March, only leaving to get groceries, and even then that was rare as the grocery stores moved to delivering.

Now it’s mid August. We are still staying home for a majority of the time. Our youngest has left the housing area twice in five months. The other kids have left a handful of times. I’ve gone grocery shopping as stay at home rules have relaxed.

The stores and building have hand washing stations in front of them and you have to use them before entering the building. You also have to wear a mask when you go inside, you won’t be let into the store if you don’t have a mask on. And depending on where you go, there will also be hand sanitizer stations set up.

I have been to two places outside of grocery shopping, both fabric stores. I had to go look for the Ghana Lockdown fabrics!

And I found them! It took a bit of searching, and we’ve been told that the fabrics are limited.

Otherwise, we are home. We’ve started homeschooling (more on that later) and are safe.

Filed Under: Ramblings

Shelter in Place in Ghana

April 21, 2020 by Tsoniki Leave a Comment

Let’s get this out of the way – the way we live while living in Ghana is SO vastly different compared to Ghanaians.

And so we sheltered in place. We have ordered from grocery stores and had fruits and veggies delivered. It’s been three weeks, and the shelter in place has lifted. The restrictions on social gatherings are still in place, the borders are still closed, as are the schools.

While we may be annoyed at staying inside, and getting tired of it, and gently teasing each other about how often we are (or are not) going outside, I keep thinking of everyone else.

Ghanaians can’t socially distance from a wide variety of people, they live together in small places, and multiple people live in the same house. They don’t have running water in their homes to wash hands all the time.

It’s similar to the Navajo Nation in the US, and other reservations and places where people live in poverty.

And so we will continue to stay home. Please do the same, we need to do what we can to protect the vulnerable population – the elderly, those in high risk categories, the people who have to work. Stay home so that they may stay safe.

News story on Navajo Nation: Coronavirus batters the Navajo Nation, and it’s about to get worse

Filed Under: Ramblings

In a Time of Crisis

April 8, 2020 by Tsoniki Leave a Comment

We are into week four of shelter at home/stay at home/quarantine/whatever it’s called. We started staying home a day or so after Ghana’s first confirmed case, school was quickly closed, and a couple of weeks later Ghana put a shelter in place/stay home order out for the larger areas of Ghana.



Week one was full of anxiety and tension. We were unsure what would happen – would we have to evacuate and return to the US? Would we be okay to stay here?

We have supplies here, a small stock of food, cleaning supplies, the all important toilet paper. And this is our home. As much as we feel at home with any family member we stay with at any time, this is our home. Our stuff is here, and we were also unsure as to if our cat Diana could come with us if we had to leave.

And if we had to go to the US, where would we go? We had a moment of thinking we would go to my husband’s family in California, but after about a week, we realized that wouldn’t work. It was quickly decided that we would go stay with my Dad, after a time of quarantine.

That first week was a lot of deep breathing, a lot of staring at the phone, a lot of thinking and wondering and waking up each day not knowing if that would be the day things would have to change for us.

Week two was much more productive. We packed a few suitcases just in case we would have to leave, we organized bookcases, and we went through files. The stack of paperwork to shred was huge. We’ll move this summer (or maybe this fall?) so it was kind of like prep to moving.

I made tostones! Fried plantains.

Week three was a mix of productivity and staring at my phone. I started packing my fabric (I always pack my fabric and sewing stuff when we move), I stared at my phone, I sewed a quilt block, stared at my phone.

Weeks one and two were also online school for the kids, which we did each day and there were moments of normalcy.

And this is week four. It’s a spring break week so no online school. It’s the middle of the week and so far I’d count it as productive-ish. I’ve started cutting and sewing more face masks. I made a few last week in case we would have to travel, I figure it would be good to have them on hand. Now the CDC in the US has recommended everyone wear a mask in public so I’m glad I started making these. I’ve offered a few masks to a few people here as well. We don’t have access to the mail anymore so I can’t mail any home to anyone.

I’m waiting to hear from the school to know the plan for the older kids, and I’m sure that online schooling will continue next week for the youngest. We also signed up for an online home school supplemental website, and of course there are SO MANY free resources out there for homeschooling in this time.

We are safe here. We have food and supplies, and the grocery stores are delivering, as well as others like veggie, pasta, and bagel vendors. We are sheltering in place and hoping that others are also able to be safe during this time. I know how hard it is to try to shelter in place or quarantine in parts of Accra and other communities.

We are all getting fresh air and sun, and taking it easy with each other, and we hope you are too.

Filed Under: Ramblings

Bloglovin reader

October 3, 2014 by Tsoniki 2 Comments

Which blog reader do you use? I have used a firefox plugin called Sage, an RSS reader, for years and years. I love it. The only downside is that I can only read my blogs if I’m on my desktop computer. I started subscribing to blogs via email subscription and reading when I got the email and that works great! I also use FlipBoard when I’m on my phone. But I admit I really do like reading blogs at my computer. Sometimes commenting systems and my phone don’t agree, so if I want to comment I either just can’t do so or it ends up being a big hassle and I give up.

If you are using Bloglovin I would love if you would Follow my blog with Bloglovin!

Filed Under: Ramblings

Hello – Small Blog Meet

September 1, 2014 by Tsoniki 5 Comments

Hello to those visiting from Lily’s Small Blog Meet linky! I am Tsoniki and it’s nice to meet you. I’m just getting back into blogging regularly and I’m always looking for new inspiration and people to meet. This looks like a great way to meet new people so let me tell you a little about myself.

tcbaug14

Myself and my youngest, in the airport on the way to Ireland. We had a great summer – a week of hanging out by the pool, relaxing, reading books, sewing, and a few weeks of travel to Ireland, North Ireland, and the UK. It was our first family vacation ever. It was a little stressful planning everything, and we had moments that were stressful, but overall it was a really great experience.

I have two other children and since we are currently living in France, all three are in school. I say currently living because my husband is in the military and we move a lot. A lot. We’ve moved fourteen times in over fourteen years. As I say in my about page, if I’ve packed boxes to move across town, it’s moving. School here doesn’t start until September, and as I write this, the backpacks are packed and kids are in bed reading.

These days I quilt more than any other art or craft, though I also create beadwork. I know how to crochet but it’s been months since I picked up a hook. I recently learned how to do screen printing and can’t wait to try again. I’ve never sewn clothes but I just bought a few patterns so I can learn. I’ve been interested for several years but it just feels intimidating to me.

I am very active on instagram and am working on getting my podcast started back up. We are able to enjoy the adventure overseas for a bit longer and I’m debating taking language classes. Maybe I should have taken them when we showed up, but I’ve managed so far. Unfortunately for me, the people we consider our closest friends here are moving soon and while they speak both English and French, other people we know speak less English. I can get by, but I know I need more.

I am always looking for quilting inspiration and I look forward to sharing more and also checking out what you have to share!

Small Blog Meet

Filed Under: Ramblings Tagged With: lily's quilts, small blog meet

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 28
  • Next Page »

Instagram

Read More Here

  • Craft Books
  • Craft Challenges
  • Craft Gift Ideas
  • Crafty Business
  • Crafty Quickie
  • Crafty Websites
  • Crochet Projects
  • Etsy Finds
  • Family
  • Finished Projects
  • Found This Week
  • France
  • Fun Links
  • Ghana
  • Holiday Crafting
  • Homeschool
  • Inspiration
  • Italy
  • Kids Crafts
  • Military
  • PinCushion Challenge
  • Podcast
  • Ramblings
  • Sewing/Quilting
  • Tutorial
  • Works In Progress

Recent Posts

  • An Update On Us in Accra, Ghana, during a Pandemic
  • What Are You Reading? Seven Books for your List
  • Shelter in Place in Ghana

Me Being Crafty 2006 - 2021 A Craft Blog Curated By Tsoniki Crazy Bull