Invasion of the Wildlife

It has been Home Improvement around here. I've been preparing to paint, which is this fun job of sanding down all the shiny oil-based paint so that I can put (less shiny) latex paint on top. I've also been to Nairobi and made the difficult, victorious decision of whether to buy a couch or not - I decided YES! And then the agonizing of which one, which fabric, which color . . . oh, my. My principal's wife Melissa was extremely encouraging and helpful. She was literally chanting "You can do this, Erica! You want this!" I just have a hard time with decisions . . . I also ordered a desk to be made and picked up my curtains from the tailor and had curtain rods hung. Phew!

Of course there are some adventures . . . I couldn't handle the sanding process on my own so I've hired Joseph to give me a hand. He started the day on Thursday with lugging this ginormous pile of wood from in front of the hedge -where it was dropped a week ago - into my shed (Ginormous - gigantic + enormous, it's in the dictionary) . I was inside avoiding the drizzle when he ran to the door laughing. "I've made a mistake!" I wasn't sure what kind of mistake could be made while moving logs . . . "I left the door open and there are Sykes in your shed!" Being the wise Kijabe resident that I am, I knew that Sykes are a type of smaller monkey common here at RVA. Apparently the monkeys had discovered tea biscuits left by the previous resident and were stealing them and taking them up into the tree by the shed. Indignant, I stuck the telephoto on my camera and ran outside to capture the moment. Joseph and I hid behind the house and watched the monkeys dart down the tree and grab the cookies . . . me snapping away rather unsuccessfully. As I looked down at my camera in frustration, I realized the lens was shattered! Such dismay! I carried that thing all the way from Oklahoma to Pearl River to Nairboi to Machakos to Kijabe . . . I didn't pack it . . . and somehow in there it was broken. *sigh. But I talked to my dad and he reminded me of the Best Buy warranty we purchased - PTL - and I'll send it home soon so that he can approach the lovely employees with our paperwork. I am disappointed but optimistic. Here's one picture my poor confused camera tried to get:

Animal story number two: There are a LOT of animals at RVA - many dogs and cats (as well as mongoose, monkeys, baboons, and creatures I haven't discovered yet). I am a dog person but there are some friendly cats around that I've tried to like . . . they aren't much work and I was kind of beginning to think I might enjoy one in the house. (My dad: "I don't think I can visit you if you own a cat." This from the man who accelerates when he sees one . . .) So this cat Theo is in love with my neighbor Laurie and has tried to make me love him as well. He has a habit of sneaking in whenever someone opens the door and the way he WALKS on my kitchen counter is most unattractive and I don't enjoy sanitizing after him . . . so I have decided to dismiss him from my life.

WELL, he missed the memo. I just got back from dinner and open the door to see a flash of white dart out into the dark. I was very confused, because I know Theo snuck in but I also know I chased him out right before I left. As I walked into the kitchen, it dawned on me - I had left my bedroom window open! Intruder Alert! That CAT broke into my house and ATE two of my just-purchased EGGS! And got egg on my counter and my kitchen rug! Arrrg . . . when I moved here they said "don't open your window more than this or the monkeys will get in." Well "this" doesn't prevent unwanted domestic felines from getting in. We're on lockdown now, Theo!