Kanton - lost in time

I don't really know where the days are going here. In fact, yesterday, I was
sure it was Thursday. But according to ABC news (Australia Broadcasting Corp
on the High Freq radio), it was definitely Friday. Great...another day lost.
I have no idea where.

How do you lose a day when you keep a daily journal? Sheesh.
Kiribati is on the same side of the date line as Australia and New Zealand.
The date line take a huge right turn to encompass the country, so although
north and south of us is Friday today, we're one day away from another day
of church and another feast.

This week has been pretty mellow. We had a few quiet days in the anchorage,
but lately the winds have been picking up again, and we're once again
dealing with intermittent squalls with winds in the 30+ knot range. Not
often, but a couple times a day. It has been great for collecting
water....we were getting low on washing water!

But...because school here takes place in an old warehouse with a leaky roof,
school was cancelled because of rain. Too bad. I was planning a school visit
with the kids. Oh well. Next week is exam week, so not sure if I'll be able
to visit without being too disruptive.

It's been a good week, though. We've done some exploring, lots of boat
projects, sewing, shelling, reading, snorkelling, playing dice, etc. The
boys have been out each afternoon to be sure we have fish on the table for
dinner. In fact, the last grouper they got was humongous!

Eggs Aboard

John and I left Samoa with 6 dozen eggs. But we eat a lot. Most mornings for
breakfast. Baking. Pancakes. Etc. We also had a HUGE stalk of bananas on
board...so lots of eggs were used for banana bread. The good news is that
they last a long time. But, you must remember to flip the cartons
regularly...so the yolks don't stick to the shell.

Shortly after arriving at Canton, Eric's eggs were on the verge of
sulphurizing. Yuck. So we quickly devised a plan to make quiche for the
Sunday village feast. No problem. He made the pastry. I mixed up his eggs
with some canned cream. I threw in some canned spinach and canned crab.
Presto. Yum.

The locals loved it and asked for more. Oh no. Renova's supply of eggs was
getting low, and we couldn't really fathom losing a dozen or so eggs in one
dish. So...we did what Tom Neale* would have done. We collected Tern eggs.
Here is the trick, learned from Neale. If you put the egg into a cup of
water (salt water is fine), the good eggs will sink to the bottom and lie on
their side. Yeah. The fertilized eggs will sit on the bottom, in an upright
position. Put it back. And the rotten ones will float. Run away.

Tern Eggs

Eric made Tern egg quiche again the following Sunday. John refused to eat
it.

*Tom Neale wrote the cruising classic, "An Island to Oneself", about his
time living along on Suwarrow in the Cook Islands.