Fun, Furniture and Frustration...

So another day, another meeting, another postponed decision. Back again on Monday and meanwhile a huge pile of paperwork to be printed off (at the house of our long-suffering and angelic neighbour L - she of the groceries, Christmas tree delivering, childminding, police-chiding...) Mr B has to somehow prove that he really genuinely is interested in birds and is who he says he is by producing all his contracts, scientific papers etc going back as far as possible. (It should also prove to our Lawyer that he really isn't just the 20 years old he apparently looks!)

The more pleasant happenings included a trip for me and the kids out to our friends who live in the middle of a forest on the lower slopes of Mount Meru (directions from the last time we went). We arrived to find H in the midst of about a dozen children, mostly from nearby houses hidden in the trees, all rolling out biscuit dough for Christmas biscuits. She used to be a teacher and ran her own preschool for a few years which might explain why she looked completely invigorated and loving it, whereas I would be tearing my hair out. We had an action-packed, extremely messy, noisy and creative morning baking and decorating biscuits and creating Christmas cards and decorations, with various breaks for trampolining, snacks and Tweenies. The kids and I snuck off for a while to use the pool, the Mancub tempted in by a plastic tractor we decided would probably survive a dunking, and we chased it round the pool, sunk it and watched it slowly rise towards us and pop out, and sang Chitty chitty tractor.

This afternoon was yet another frustrating local experience. Our dining table and chairs, coffee table and bedside tables were due to be delivered yesterday. So yesterday I went to the fundi (about 30 mins from here) to find the dining table considerably narrower than agreed and the chairs not ready. The next plan was for them to be delivered today (finished and widened), with someone guiding the way to our house. Our friendly taxi driver was commissioned with the task but somehow our communication was faulty yet again and he didn't go. When I realised this the kids and I gave up on our trip to the shops, piled back in the car and drove off to arrange delivery, hanging around for the arrival of a pick-up and then some complicated stacking and packing. When all was finally ready, the pick up guy drove off ahead of us, quite fast. This surprised me somewhat since he didn't know the way to our house and the whole point of us being there was to show him the way. So we dutifully followed, assuming he would pull over somewhere for us to overtake. But we got all the way home without seeing him again.

When we eventually managed to phone around and get a number for him, it turned out that he had gone for petrol. It would perhaps have been helpful to warn me that this was the plan. Fortunately Mr B was still in town and could take over the guiding role, helpfully getting a lift back in the process as the Landrover is being mended.....again.

And so, another day. But we do now have a lovely golden dining table with matching chairs, a matching coffee table and even bedside tables with drawers. It's beginning to look quite civilized here don't you know. Unfortunately in the process of (not) guiding the furniture back, we missed our opportunity to pick up the remaining curtains, so it's not quite as civilized as it could have been. I'm hoping they are still open tomorrow. And the supermarket too... fishfingers for Christmas lunch anyone?