couches and tables and chairs, oh my!

This has been a very good week.

Any week that starts out with us in our own home is a good one!  Plus,

On Tuesday, I turned 32!  

Whew!

And our couches came!  We had been shopping around for couches and went to a nice furniture store and found what we thought was what we wanted. . . until we saw the price tag.  Typical Kenyan furniture is not very comfortable, unfortunately, and we were trying to avoid that. (My first set of furniture was wicker with a very thin cushion on top.  It fit nicely into my small apartment, but it didn't exactly say, "come, sit, stay a while.")  Fortunately, Dexter has a cousin who makes furniture, so we printed out a couple of pictures of what we wanted, and for 60% off what the store was going to charge, we got a fabulous 7-seater couch (sofa?) set.

 

A few shots of the progression of the day - the couches arriving and being unloaded, and then a couple of different perspectives of the living room.  This set is two single seats, a two seater and a three seater. We've put the other one seater in our bedroom.

Everything looks a bit bare here right now. But don't worry! We have PLENTY of photos to hang on the walls. And other things will come in time, too.  We got curtains with the same pattern in three different colors, just to keep things interesting.  Our wedding colors were brown & blue, and I wanted to have a least one room with that theme.  Somehow, it seems the whole house is going to have a brown/blue theme. We'll throw in some other colors to keep things interesting.

Today our dining room table came! We bought it from a family who has six boys, so it is big and fills our space nicely.  (But this does not in anyway predict OUR future family!!!)

I'm sorry this photo is a little dark.  The beautiful day changed suddenly at lunch and a big storm blew in, so I lost my good sunlight.  I wanted to get this photo up, anyway.  Imagine it bright and cheery. Or better, imagine yourself sitting at that table with us for a meal! :)

To celebrate the arrival of most of our furniture, we had ourselves a cup of tea and relaxed on the couches.

Things are really starting to take shape! We still don't have a fridge -- we pick it up on the 20th -- which makes cooking interesting, and the oven that we bought needs to be repaired, so it will take some time still.  Even so, we're thrilled to be here.

finally!

After six months of hoping and waiting and planning we have finally moved into our own home!  Last night we slept in our own bed for the first time since May.  It is a happy day.

Earlier in the week, the stove we think we're buying from the hospital was transported from the guest house to our house:

Oh yes. These men carried the stove from one house to the other -- uphill the whole way.  I was totally dismayed when I realized they would be carrying it. But Dexter assured me that there was no other way.  See the two guys there who are walking on the side? They must be alternates on the team.  I must say, this is one of the funnier sights I've seen in Kenya.  Don't worry - I helped, too! I carried the burners. 

On Saturday we began by moving in a few things, but on Sunday we made a big push to  get out of the guest house and into our place.

 

The easiest room to set up turned out to be the bathroom, so we quickly went to work there.

 

I couldn't get the whole room in one photo, so this will have to do.  There was a slight change during the fixing-up of the house.  To save time and money, it was decided not to change the white tiles around the tub, nor to add blue tiles around the wall of the toilet. I am okay with that, since it meant us actually getting into the house before 2010 ended.  They fixed and scrubbed the toilet instead of changing it as promised.  I hope we don't regret that.  The shower curtain and rugs are all from Bed Bath and Beyond and I think they make the bathroom cheery!  There's nice storage in the bathroom, and I hope to eventually get baskets and things to catch all our stuff. Plus we can store extra towels and sheets here as well.

When we first saw the house the kitchen seemed small, dull and dingy.  A fresh coat of paint on the walls, bright white on the cabinets, and white tiles has really brightened the place up!  That's good since I spend a lot of time here. 

Organizing everything will be interesting.  Here's a couple of shots of the work-in-progress.

As you can see, there's a lot to do!  I really like the built in spice rack (or at least, that's what I'm using it for). The only challenge is that I can't actually see the names of the spices.  But at least they're not all bunched up together on a shelf like I usually end up doing.

Our couches haven't come yet - maybe today or tomorrow - and we need to go pick up the dining room table from the missionaries we're buying it from, so the living room looks a little bare still.  In the meantime, it serves as a nice dumping ground as we get organized.

Before leaving the UAE we got a LOT of wedding photos framed (for cheap) and have proudly displayed a few of them here.  You'll notice which photo gets center stage...the cars!  They painted the fireplace again for us, but we anticipate painting over that reddish color to something a little more neutral.  Actually, we plan on doing a lot of painting as time goes by.  Stay tuned for further updates on that!

One of the best things about being in our own home?  Being able to walk out the back door to hang laundry!

 

No more schlepping laundry uphill to a friend's machine!!! 

It has been a long time coming, but we're here, and we're happy.  As things get more organized and put together I'll get more photos up.

Now, who wants to come help?

sunrise, sunset

You know that song from A Fiddler on the Roof,  "Sunrise, sunset, swiftly go the days" ?(or something close to that :) ) I've been thinking about that lately, as time seems to be going swiftly by.

After all, today is November 1!

It has been six months since we've moved from the UAE, and so much has happened, and so much is yet to come! We were in the US for five weeks this summer, seeing new parts of the country and visiting friends and family.  We've been in two different "temporary" houses, and we've been working hard to actually get into our permanent house. Oh, and somewhere along the way, I got pregnant!

I am already in my 18th week, which is almost halfway through the pregnancy, which is ridiculously hard to believe.  Time is going fast! Because we haven't moved into our house yet, I don't feel as settled about things as I would like, and I am not able to be nesting!  Fortunately, the light is really, truly at the end of the tunnel and we should be moving in by this weekend.  We'll be without a fridge for a couple of weeks, which should make things fun, but we'll be HOME.  We're ready.

Anyway, I thought I'd post some photos of a sunrise and some sunsets here in Kijabe. Once we move, we won't have these spectacular views any more.

The sunrise photos are taken by Dexter, of course, as I'm snug in bed at the crazy times (5?) he wakes up.  But he gets some pretty breathtaking views in the morning.

I know, there's probably too many photos. But I couldn't possibly choose just one.  They are all so different and so beautiful.

The other night, as I was doing dishes, it felt like every time I looked up the sky had changed into something more stunning, so I would run out to gawk for a minute, and then head back in to wash more dishes -- only to realize I should just stand outside until it was over. I tried to capture a few photos, but I'm not sure how well I did.

And then last night, to take advantage of our view before we no longer have it, we took some chairs outside with a cup of chai to enjoy the cool evening and the setting sun.

It doesn't get much better than that, I think.  Seeing the sunset always causes me to stop what I'm doing and enjoy the moment, and to be grateful for what's in front of me, now.

Baby Mulandi

Yesterday, we went for our first ultrasound of Baby Mulandi.  It was pretty fun to see this little person growing inside me! 

 There's the head! And, if you look close, you can see a hand or arm.

 A nice, strong leg!  

Even though the legs are strong, I haven't felt the baby moving around all that much. A few little blips every now and then. During the ultrasound yesterday, the baby was moving a LOT but I felt nothing!  I hope to feel something in the coming weeks. 

The best part of the experience was seeing the heart beating strong and sure, and learning that everything looks good, normal, healthy!  I thank God that things are going well. So far I have had an easy and smooth pregnancy - no morning sickness, no strange cravings (or, none I can't do anything about anyway!).  I hope that this continues...and maybe it means a nice, smooth (pain free?) delivery?

In case you haven't picked up on it, we're not finding out the sex of Baby.  We're up for the surprise! 

I think.

(Those of you paying close attention might have noticed that the picture has the name "Samuel Kaguongo" at the top. No, this is not the name of the baby. Just a little glitch in the system, and my info didn't get entered prior to the ultrasound).

The plan is to deliver here at Kijabe Hospital when the time comes (late March, early April).  At the moment, Kijabe doesn't offer Epidurals -- or any real kind of pain medicine -- for delivery. Should be an adventure!  Anyone have tips on how to survive it?

Because traveling while pregnant is not advised after a certain time (30ish weeks) we'll be heading to the US for Thanksgiving! I'm excited to see family and for Dexter to experience a real American holiday in America.  Plus, we'll be on the hunt for some snow. Probably in Maine.  It will be a quick trip - just two weeks - but we're really looking forward to it.

And for those of you wondering: we're still not in our house!

oreos

Yes, I know. Another food post.  I'll try to make this painless.

I like searching a lot of the different food blogs that are out there, and trying new things.  The other day I was going through one and found a recipe for Homemade Oreos!  I thought that sounded interesting enough to give a try, and was especially pleased when I realized I had all the ingredients on hand already. That's a win-win situation!

 leaning tower of Oreos!

I got the recipe from My First Kitchen, who adapted it from Smitten Kitchen.  I think Smitten Kitchen's version is probably more accurate.  I wish I could take photos like she does on SK.  I hope to some day get a good lens for food photography (ideas, anyone) since it seems I take mostly photos of food. Plus, I think that'd be a nice lens to have when baby comes!  Then, I'd like to actually learn how to use our camera and not totally guess at what I'm doing.  Tips welcome.  {Alisa, check out Smitten Kitchen's post - there's a link on her page for a celiac-friendly version. Who loves ya?}

They were pretty easy to make, so I'd recommend you make them, too. Just make the cookies smaller than you think is necessary. After all, Oreos are not that big, and when the cookie is big (like the first batch I made that went into the oven) it is just too much to deal with.  The size above was just about perfect.  As you can see I dug right in!

Enjoy.

bumps

I've kind of been avoiding doing this for some reason, but after much pleading from a friend, here are a couple of recent photos of the growing baby bump.  It is funny - when I look at these pictures I think, "Wow, I look HUGE!" but when I look in the mirror it doesn't seem that big.  I can still fit into my jeans and a lot of clothes (a very good thing!) so it doesn't always fully seem real.

 15 weeks

16 weeks (taken Oct 18)

I haven't felt the baby's kicks yet -- still too early, I think -- and will be going in for an ultrasound next week.  I've heard the heart beat, but am eager for Dexter to experience that, too.

October 15th

Today is October 15th. This was the day we'd been assured we'd be moving.  There are visitors coming on the 21st or 25th who are supposed to stay in the house we're currently living in, which is why we need to move ASAP.  I was foolish enough to have hope that this would actually happen.

It's not.

Things were progressing well, the carpentry and painting going smoothly and swiftly.  We really thought it would happen. And it could have, except for one thing:

The President of Kenya came to Kijabe.

Which meant that instead of repairing our bathroom and finishing our floors, it was a rush to get Kijabe Hospital in a presentable state for Mr. President.  Things that have been neglected, ignored, or forgotten were suddenly given new life.  Walls were sanded and painted. Roads repaired.  Patients were cleared out of the Casualty Department (closest thing we have to an ER) because, of course, the president wouldn't want to see patients.

He was coming for a grand opening ceremony for the hospital's four new operating theaters.  The cool thing about the day is that my friends Francis & Tobias got to perform a "dummy" surgery for the president, explaining the ins-and-outs of a typical orthopedic surgery.

So, here are some shots of what was being done around Kijabe instead of in our house:

 painting the curb; general gardening.

This is usually an empty field, where teams play soccer.  This was where the big ceremony was happening, and so needed to be spruced up a bit.  See those patches of green? That was a quick fix to a brown field.  However, it seems filling the whole field with grass was not necessary.

The white building there is the President's "throne room." Apparently, he needs a private toilet wherever he goes.  I think this ended up being moved closer to the dental clinic.

The roads in Kijabe are notoriously awful.  I think that's what people complain about more than anything.  They are dirt roads that get easily beat up with all the traffic that passes by. Plus, with all the construction going on, the big trucks have really done a number on them.  The general "fix it" for the roads is to fill the holes with more dirt...which washes away at the next rain.

So, it takes the President's visit to pull out the big guns!

They were really burning the midnight oil to get this done before his visit in the morning.  We're glad for the updates, but hope that our house finishes soon!