When obachan needs something done, she knows who to call- be it 5:00 am or 5:00 pm, 24-7 - her full service daughter-in-law is there,ready for action. She calls me on the phone and I have no clue what she's talking about. I need context - are we in the garden? in the field? on the roof? I dash over and she's standing in front of this makeshift "greenhouse" - that's a generous description of the mish mash of posts and poles screwed together to make a wobbly frame, covered with, of all things, bubble wrap. Bubble wrap is not meant for outdoor use but her friend insisted it would make a great greenhouse. Well, she ran out of bubble wrap. So, for the one side of this contraption, she scavenged a broken piece of plastic corrugated roofing - probably something blown over here during a typhoon. It is cracked and has holes in it. She wants me to fix it and nail it on the frame - which is both wood and metal,uneven and unstable. Even Jesus would have found this a challenge and he was a carpenter, he could also work miracles. Me? I don't even know what I'm making for dinner tonight and I have to make a greenhouse of out garbage. So I came home and got my trusty roll of duck tape and some tacks, and I trimmed, taped, tacked and completed her little outdoor cupboard, complete with a "door" made from a large plastic bag. It's like something from the Jonan hillbillies.
I have to hand it to her - she's innovative and pro-recycling! She never throws out anything because she knows there might just be a use for it someday. She has balls of string dating back to pre-war days; sacks of old nails pulled from buildings that haven't stood in 40 years; scraps of cloth; old underwear in boxes; and nylon stockings in net bags. Broken window panes, rusted wire, rotted wood, cracked pots - we've got it all, because you never know when it might come in handy.
