Lighting the Frig

This is one of those scenes of domestic life for us. We have a small (bigger than a dorm frig, but shorter and thinner than a basic Sear's brand model) kerosene frig. Everytime we leave our house overnight or (riskier) for a few days we have to turn off the frig. Which means using all of the food in the frig and freezer. Usually this happens once every 7-10 weeks when we head to Kampala for shopping and re-stocking our supplies. Every few days we check the kerosene tank at the bottom of the frig and add kerosene as needed. Probably once a week some maintainace has to be done on the "candle," which requires pulling the tank out and cleaning the wick. Then re-lighting the whole thing, sliding it back under the frig and lining up the candle with the chimney so that somehow (through a series of tubes and chemical reactions) hot = cold. The kids love to watch the whole process. Obviously, I don't understand it all, I do know that when the rats hid successfully from us in the kitchen it is usually in the coils of tubes behind the frig. We don't dare take a swing when they are there, too similiar to being "on base" in a bizarre game of tag. Anyway, this is a photo from yesterday of lighting the frig. A daily snap of life in the midst of an otherwise hectic week.