Live Simply

Dear Friends,

Well it has been quite a week and a half…….. testing me on so many levels; I hope that I will be a better person if I survive this assignment.  Last week it was the usual on/off, on/off regarding the house; it was ‘nearly ready’ everyday with moving day scheduled for last Friday, the ‘nearly’ became ‘very nearly’, but never actually happened.  By Friday I was totally exhausted with the uncertainty every day, so just gave up by Friday lunchtime and agreed we would aim for Monday.

I had a good weekend, going for a long walk on Saturday and then walking to the Accra Mall to do some shopping for the house as I needed to buy the basic cleaning supplies and other essentials such as toilet roll J   I arrived at the Game store dripping in sweat from the walk; just can’t avoid that here, and started shopping.  I am sad to say that I thoroughly enjoyed my two hours in the store trying to decide what floor mop, bucket and broom I would buy – it wasn’t even as if there was much (or any choice), but I felt like I had come across a real bargain when I found one remaining ‘special’ that included the mop, bucket and broom J  I also did spend time, when people weren’t around trying to weigh myself on the scales (in boxes) to see if all the walking was paying off – I think it is but hard to tell when I had readings that differed by a range of 50 lbs!!!

Having entertained myself in the simplest sense I called my faithful taxi driver (courtesy Liz Awuni) Ofori to pick me up with my ‘special’ purchase and head back to the hotel.  The remainder of the day I was just lazy.

Sunday I headed back to Church, which was so perfect as it always seems to be.  The message this week was all about the Great Commission and the fact that as Christians we ALL have a job to do at all times, we need to remember that and shouldn’t ever be in a position that we are wondering what to do with our lives.  In the afternoon I packed up (again) all my stuff in anticipation of the move on Monday.

Monday morning at about 10.00 am we met at the house as scheduled to find that it was still ‘very nearly’ ready; the carpenter hadn’t come yet, nor had the electrician, the gas tank wasn’t filled and there was no fuel in the generator – maybe later in the day it would be ready…………  hmmmm.  Needless to say later in the day came and went and it remained ‘very very nearly ready’.  I gave up – back to Esther’s for another night; thankfully they were used to that happening so it wasn’t a problem.   Oh, and I nearly forgot on Monday we were told by the security company that they wouldn’t have any guards available until the 1^st May J  Just a minor hitch in the plans.

Not bad for 'camping' - good decision to leave the placemats for
 the sea shipment and bring the bedside rug!

Tuesday morning I was determined, and you all know how I am J, to move into the house whatever the situation.  So we met again at 10.00 am to find that people were there moving around trying to get finished – still needed the gas, the electrician, but the gas cooker was connected at least and the carpenter was ‘nearly’ finished.  Since all the rooms are locked I decided we would start moving my stuff from the hotel and the office (the air shipment had been delivered there) and we could lock it all in the bedroom while they were finishing up.    With some wonderful help from the staff at the office we tracked down another security firm who had guards available.   Things were looking up, although I wouldn’t have a guard on Tuesday night.  But, I have a high stone wall, topped with about 6 strands of electric wire that will basically ‘fry’ anyone that attempts to get through or over them so felt pretty good.  That and any direction that someone tried to enter the house they would have had to get through a minimum of three locked doors to reach me – I was good J.

Finally, at 5.00 pm on Tuesday I had the full set of keys to the house and my stuff was in.  Then it was a busy evening ahead trying to get somewhat organized.  I was just so happy to be out of the hotel and in the house with most of what I needed, nothing could have spoiled my mood last night.



Today, I finally managed to get stuck into the agreements we need to work with the sub-grantee in Niger and Burkina Faso so actually felt good about my efforts.  The only slightly disappointing end to the day is that I was really looking forward to doing lots and lots of laundry (it has been piling up for the past week or so) only to find having started the first big load that the washer gave out on me after about 15 minutes so I had a large soapy, wet mound of clothes to finish washing and rinsing by hand – hopefully now the dryer is working its magic – I almost dread to go and check.  Oh and never mind it is German (a Bosch) with only German instructions (I promise they are not in any other language, upside or back to front) and the buttons on the front are all labeled in German – I am learning French not German!!!  And just to add to the ‘challenge list’ (I really should start one of those!) the lighter for the gas oven that we purchased yesterday but with the wrong batteries – doesn’t actually work with the right batteries – so the choice for dinner is Weetabix cereal or a can of Mexican Tomatoes with Chili in the microwave – the choice may just too difficult, perhaps I will have both!

On a serious note and for those of you who know I am not good at keeping up with the news, Solomon (my wonderful driver) and I listen to the World Service on the way to work and I am very aware of what is happening in Cote d’Ivoire and although Ghana is receiving many refugees it is highly unlikely that any fighting will break out in Ghana – but I am staying current J

P.S  Having burnt out one iPod player with the voltage difference last night (in spite of a converter), I do have my other one working tonight so have music.

Missing all my friends/family J



The more simply we live, the less of these 'challenges' we would have!