11 Boundary Road

Above: S. and Anno-collaboration artwork makes clear that we have moving on our minds! (Note baby room.)

Above: The table and chairs that I designed (ok, more like picked out of an online catalogue and made a few tweaks to) - the true kudos goes to Willish, the can-do carpenter!


Above: S. being a good sport about the somewhat makeshift sleeping arrangements while we wait for our container - bobbing in the high seas off of Mombassa!

Above: Anno puts up the very first decoration in S.'s new room...

The last week has been all about the move. Our first night in the house was on December 10, the day after we moved the bulk of our belongings into it. Since our landlords had graciously given us access since December 1, and since I had been pretty much running the reno for them, the move had a bit of a soft landing to it. All in all, it has been great to be in the house because of the sense of progress which every small light fixture installation brings.

As mentioned in this blog, the house came with one dog (Frodger, pronounced Kenyan style: Froh-jee), two cats (Scully and Diesel), and one rabbit (Ziggy). The previous tenants required that the new tenants accept this menagerie, and even went so far as to pitch in for their care and feeding for a year. Neither Anno nor I have owned a dog before and are somewhat new to the nuances of dog ownership/handling. When walking the dog (no blue NYTimes deliver bags required here for poop pick-up), for instance, it has become clear (from facial expressions) that having our dog growl at a passer-by's dog is considered poor form. By and large, and with apologies to pet owners worldwide, the animals have confirmed my emotional shorthand categories for them: Frodge (simple-minded, unhygienic yet loyal and brave), les chats (snooty, inscrutable, and unlikely to be there for you in a jam), and Ziggs (pretty much a petrified inanimate object - except to S. who loves to poke, prod and hold the poor bastard...)

The house also comes with a 1/2 acre full blown African garden - replete with bougainvillea, flame cactii (at least 10 meters high!), bamboos, a 10ft trampoline (which I bought at great expense), a family of Syke monkeys pillaging the avocado tree, and, critically, the attendant security considerations of a large perimeter. I had the landlord install motion sensing lights, and reinforce the fence, but we have also had to engage a guard service. One day guard (6am to 6pm), and two night guards (6pm to 6am). Although our neighbourhood has manned entrances, and has statistically been quite safe, almost everyone you speak to hear has a reasonably terrifying break-in story. Anno and I accordingly vacillate between feeling like we're being too paranoid, and not paranoid enough.

Third night, Frodger started uncharacteristically barking up a storm at around 11pm. Anno had bought us 2 foot long Maglite flashlights, the beams of which are bright enough to clear up any Catholic church scandal. I manfully adhered to the formula of going outside to investigate. I walked around the perimeter slowly, casting the headlamp-style beam onto the fence. Nothing. I made my way to where the night guard's shack is, to find him sound asleep - oblivious to the howling dog or my torch focused on his face. I pounded the corrugated iron door of his shack and he awoke, only a little abashed.

The story has nuanced itself in the telling, with friends telling us how the guards have to bike 30kms to work, how little they are paid, and how we are probably supposed to be feeding them. I now do a quasi-nightly coffee and snack delivery to them - our interests are aligned here!

December 9 was also the day our car arrived from Japan. We had bought the car online back in October, so were a little surprised and impressed by the size of the forest green LandRover which arrived at our doorstep. It gives a grotesque 7km/liter (hence the nickname - 'The Beast from the East'), but the 4X4 action is definitely appreciated on some of the moonscapes that pass for roads here. Also, it is Indian-owned technology!

The Beast from the East (is thirsty!). Our friend and driver Steve on the left!

Frank-incensed!

- Each invitation hand-crafted!!

Last week was S.'s school Christmas concert - and I do mean Christmas. All PC notions of 'holiday trees' and 'non-denominational turkey roast' are out the window here, and it is, frankly, a little refreshing. This said, I was a little taken aback the other day when I heard S. singing softly to herself about how baby Jesus was going to perform some sort of magical intervention or the other. Their classroom also has a dradle in it. No Kwaanza here, somewhat paradoxically.

- 'Peace' is apparently an optional tenet of the message - S. (in cow costume) leads with a good looking straight left!

The concert was of off-Broadway scope and ambition. The children helped make the invitations (see photo), the costumes and even (taking turns) emceed the event. It was a rousing spectacle. S. was, along with some classmates, a cow. The rest of her class were sheep and pigs (I think). The older children were permitted to play human roles. It was our first time seeing S. participate in a concert like this, and I, predictably (for anyone who was at our wedding) had a tear or two to my eye.

The concert began with an 'all school' rendition of Mary's Boy Child. The song, due to the disparate age and skill levels of the enthusiastic participants, had a lilting dubstep/football chant-like quality, punctuated as it was by the 808 synthesizer played admirably by a teacher. The older children's interventions were delivered with oddly comical timing. At one point, when Mary was departing Bethlehem, a five year old girl sadly intonated: "And she was lucky because she had a donkey to ride on." Anno and I were the only ones to find that funny!

S. spent much of the time alternately winking at Anno or myself, wrestling with her fellow cow An., or even at times mouthing some of the words to some of the songs. Some photos below.

- Cows and sheep celebrating after tearing the roof off during the performance.

- Well played S.!

In more pedestrian developments, we are to move into our permanent house on Friday, and the team has decidedly mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it will be nice to shed the sense of transience and start some semblance of the nesting process. On the other, our shipment has been delayed in Mombassa for reasons unclear (would that baby J. could intervene here) so there will be an unavoidable indoor camping element to the exercise. Thanks to G and E Collins for lending us duvets etc. to make this a bit more bearable.

The phalanx of contractors in my employ has generally proved to be an able and honest bunch. I've had my share of 'dog ate my homework' excuses and certainly no lack of blown deadlines, but on balance we should have security, hot water, a non-leaky roof, freshly sanded floors, a sturdy fence, and sweet sweet internet (for a modest USD100/month at 256 kbps!). This last is filed under necessity and not splurge!

I will post more photos once we get into the Boundary Road house this weekend!