I’m settling in quite well into our home.

I sit on the veranda a lot, where I have a good view of the mountains, the beach, and my dog Sheba.

I miss my family terribly though! I’ve been away from them for 2 1/2 months now and it has been very difficult for them and for me. They arrive later this week and we are all so excited and can hardly wait!

Despite missing them, I have settled into a comfortable routine here.
Work is hectic but good – I sometimes travel upcountry during the week, and I’m always rushing to meet one deadline or the other, but the work is very gratifying and I am thankful to have this opportunity to do something I love.
The house is ok – I have hired all our staff, we are mostly finished with construction and we are working on planting carpet grass and flowers in the garden.

The only ongoing construction work is work on the grounds – I am trying to get the concrete repaired before the rains set in and we can no longer get it done. It has been interesting trying to keep Sheba away from the construction crew and trying to keep her away from the wet concrete when they leave. Let’s just say that they are constantly repairing large paw prints in the concrete! After that, the only thing left to do is to fix the thatch roof on the barre – the round gazebo on the grounds of the house. I will leave that for my husband to do as I have had enough construction work to last me a lifetime. Once he gets here, I will conveniently forget everything I have learned about construction and resume my comfortable damsel in distress identity. This princess has ZERO tolerance for that kind of work!!!

We have had very good electricity supply here – we have electricity on most nights, and we use the generator on nights when the power is off. During the day, Sheba has identified all the cool spots in the house and yard, so you can usually find her searching for a cool breeze on some veranda or some shady spot in the house. When I get home, she races to my room and nearly runs me over in her quest to get to air conditioning!

The water supply has also been good – Freetown is known for her water woes, but we get water from the main Guma water supply at least every other day. Our home has three water tank reservoirs, so we have never run out of water yet – knock on wood!!!

I have figured out how to pay bills. I load money on a cellphone money wallet system called Airtel Money, which I use to buy electricity credits for my meter at home and to buy phone and data credits for my cell phone. It has an option to pay my water bill, but I haven’t tried it yet and I’m not sure it works. So far, I have just sent my driver to pay the water bill at the Guma water supply office. I set up my home internet with Atlas internet and it has been uber fast – I’ve been able to watch Netflix movies. There have been some issues when the power at their central site was out after a storm, but overall it has worked pretty well.

It is a hassle going to the bank since I am so busy during work hours, but I thankfully just discovered that it is quite easy to use the ATMs. I have sent my puppies to the vet, I’ve been grocery shopping, I’m hanging out with my Dad and with my childhood friends, so overall, I’m starting to feel well grounded!

In a few days, I can’t wait to have my family join me and bring some chaos and love into our home!