Cat update

We have our cats now nearly two weeks and all is fine.

From the diary of the cats:
We have learned where the toilet is within two days.
We have memorized the feeding routine and beg for food which is then not to our high standards but we eat it anyway.
We are climbing the mosquito gauze to the displeasure of Lon.
We learned that the lap is an excellent place to do a nap.
We want to explore the rest of the house, but are not allowed yet.
We have a good routine, eat, sleep, play; repeat four times a day.

 

We are not sure what this 'Bob' and 'Ziggy' means these humans seem to be saying all the time.

Small things

Two rather cute small things will be joining us next week - their provisional names are Ziggy (the female tortoiseshell) and Crumble (the ginger tom)

they are well socialised if not that well nourished, but that can be remedied!

Small plants were bought with William our gardener at a very local and quite hidden nursery and at the Department of Plants and Gardens

I'm a member of the North American Womens' Association of Accra (NAWA) - the biggest and most social of the local ladies groups - and publisher of No Worries - http://www.noworriesghana.com/ - an excellent online and printed resource, and this weekend was their big bazaar, held just up the road at the New Horizon Special School

 

 Lots of stalls with lots of the usual souvenir stuff

the New Horizon School pupils played drums and danced very professionally

 A quick trip to a photography exhibition - some excellent images of Ghana

 this image was on the walls for sale, and the wall itself was also around the corner so I took a snap

 

Jamestown is a poor area but is very photogenic, we will be back!

 

For some reason this picture on a school wall rather tickled my fancy...and then a few days later we came back home to find this injured vulture in the compound.  Sometimes there is something we see which gives a jolt - despite our day to day life being very day to day, we are in an unusual situation!

Settling in

After the enforced inactivity of March in the hotel April and May in Accra have flown by in a blur.

We got the keys to the house on the 17th April, and moved in on the Saturday 18th.  A week later I started training for an interim job in the consular section RSO!  May has been a month with extra Bank Holidays so we have had a chance to unpack and settle in to our new home, but not much chance to explore beyond searching for fuses and plumbing supplies.  I took the opportunity to spend a few days off in expat type pursuits, trips to the markets and lunches, but not enough - so have now arranged to only work 3 days a week.

Our house is light and airy, and big for two, but suits us and our vast amount of belongings - how it all fit into our flat in Dhaka is a puzzle -  I am enjoying the kitchen very much indeed!

exterior

entryway

covered screened terrace

living room

guest room

master bedroom

master bath

kitchen

we are very lucky to be about 10-15 minutes away from the office.  We are looking forward now to starting to explore a bit more, Lon has cycled round the neighbourhood a few times discovering that the hills are very steep.

Accra Akwaaba

 We’ve had a busy first few weeks settling into life in Accra

 

We are staying in Roots hotel in Osu – the same place we stayed when we made our trip from Burkina Faso in 2011.  Nicely decorated room with a small kitchen, and separate sofa – (important to have something to sit on that is not the bed since we are spending a lot of time here!)

Oxford Street in Osu is where we are based – it’s a busy bustling kind of place, but not immediately obvious that this was the commercial hotspot (new developments have sprung up). 

We are close to Koala supermarket, and a bit further up the road is Shoprite (a South African Supermarket) – which seems very civilised after Unimart in Dhaka, I was pleased to find cubed butternut squash, and Lon delighted to find Leffe beers on the shelf.

 

Lon is getting to grips with his new role – but not with his new knife which was so much sharper than his usual one that it required 4 stitches.  

He also decided to strut his stuff and join the NL team in a football match against the Brits and the Germans – new trainers gave him blisters and the sun despite factor 30 and clouds burnt.

 

I have been reunited with a pal who moved here from Bangladesh in the summer, which means I've had a head start socially and have been to aqua-aerobics and yoga classes already.

I’ve looked at many many houses, and we were very relived to find a good one in Cantonments

Signed on the dotted line!

 

Our container is due in on April 3^rd, so we are hoping that it won’t take to long to clear customs and we can move in.