And gardens...

Our Kwetu:

                         

Kitisuru Rd house

When we moved to Nairobi, we mostly brought the clothes we needed, along with one bag of toiletries, medicines, lotions, sunscreen, tea, etc....mainly stuff I thought we wouldn't be able to get once we landed.  Prior to moving in August, Will had brought an extra bag of mostly linens, towels, etc. on each of his monthly visits that started in April, so that was a big help, and at it did get us started.   So, at the airport we checked 10 items, which included 8 luggage bags, the wrapped up glycee we had just bought of Long Nook Beach in Truro,  and the kids lax sticks.   The lax sticks did not make it through security so those became checked item #10.  That was it.   The rest of what we needed, we were going to get in Africa.   Many people asked me when we arrived when our container was coming.

No container.   Just one piece of art.

Hearth in living room with the Long Nook glycee

So, I became the procurement agent for our family.   The photos above show the house we moved to on September 19.   There is a very long and crazy story on our first house but I can't write about it yet for legal reasons.....but it will be a doozy!   I might even have to change some names to tell it right.

Of couse the first few weeks of school were a bit nutty, trying to acclimate to all things Africa, but Ken, our driver, and I went on some interesting trips to furniture stores, etc. to find items for the house.   The beds were ordered before we arrived so they showed up on time and we started a really nice relationship with a local "fundi" (carpenter) named Bernard.  He is an avid soccer fan and as I write today he is at the national championship soccer match where I am pretty sure his team will win.   Apparently if his team wins, they kill chickens in celebration and have a big feast.   I just saw on the online local news station that the fans for his team have already stormed the gates before the game has started....but I digress...

They make a ton of stuff by hand here and some of the furniture shown in the photos was hand made by Bernard.  I will write more on Bernard later, but, his prices are pretty good and it is interesting to see his work as compared to what is in the stores.   There are many places called "Furniture Palace" and "Imperial Furniture",  but they kind of remind me of Bob's furniture but more expensive.   

Lots of shiny stuff!

But there are some interesting places to see off the beaten path.  I walked into a nice place called "Odds and Ends", and this dining room table was calling my name.  I actually was looking for something very light and modern, but I could not escape this table.   It was very cool, but not light.   It is actually a framed door from Mombasa, a coastal Kenyan town, that has legs and a glass top.   It was more expensive than what budget,  but Ken, the driver, started bargaining with the salesman and we finally came to a mutually agreed upon price.   We actually had to walk out and come back 3 days later in order to get the right price.   But I realized that everything was going to be a negotiation here.   And I was figuring out the plan....I would see something that I liked, and then Ken would make the deal.

The table at home:)

         Close up of the table                


If the table could talk, it would have quite a story, but how it finally made it home is part of the mystery that remains a secret until ........

Anyway, the living room is huge and I am really happy not having too much stuff here.   It is very liberating!   Since it took me almost 4 months to pack up the house in Providence after 12 years of living, I am not going to do that again, but we did need a place to sit.

Before...empty...

But really nice and open

I think I figured out that Kenyans love curtains.   I do not.  And I know my landlord is wondering why I haven't covered the windows yet.   But the views are so nice from every window and we really can't see the neighbors (or they can't see us) so I have been reluctant to cover the windows in the main living areas.   I have put curtains up in the bedrooms, but that's it.   

I did finally find a few things for seating because we were literally going from the dining room to our bedrooms at night because there was nowhere else to sit!   That was happening for almost 4 weeks but now we have plenty of seating and we can actually have people come to visit!

Comfy by the hearth

Great for cocktail hour:)

Still looking for furniture for the family room.

We added the TV and a few pillows but that's it! 

The weather is fantastic right now.   They say this is the time for the "short rains" now, so it rains a bit at night and sometimes there is a shower in the evening.   Beautiful double rainbow yesterday afternoon that was stunning.   I'm waiting for Lily to send me the photos from her phone.  Very nice.  So we are spending quite a bit of time on the veranda.   I actually can access the internet so I am writing from here now.  There is a beautiful breeze and I probably will spend most of my winter writing from this place:)

My daytime workspace - lovely!

And the view from the veranda is nice too....

So, the initial procurement phase is over and I'm glad for that.   After having to purchase the stuff for the kitchen, which is of course a story for another time, I am tired of buying and really want to enjoy living here.   So, that is what we shall do!   Off to the "bizarre bazaar" at the Karura Forest...