Making a House a Home

One step at a time, Three Little House is becoming our home. We really like our new house. It isn’t fancy but it is just what we need.

It is the little things that matter the most. Last week, Dave paid a farmer 1,000 CFA (about $2 CDN) for a small palm tree. It stands about 4 feed high and Dave planted it in the small earth border that we have. I carefully counted the bricks to its height (9) so that we could measure its progress up the wall.

Then we had the little rattan table made – just a small thing, but important to us. Our routine is to sit on our little porch to enjoy hot chocolate in the morning. It is a wonderful little spot where we can listen to the morning birds and talk about the day ahead. The little table is just perfect for holding the cups, and for my work as I sit doing needlepoint, waiting for Dave to return from work in the afternoon.

We also had a rattan shelf made. Dave took off the door to the kitchen, which makes access easier and gives it a lot more room, and creating a special place for our new shelf. Dave has commandeered the top shelf for tea, coffee, cocoa, etc. The middle shelf is perfect for rice, pasta and spices while the bottom shelf holds the pots we use most often. I expect this is boring detail for you, but for us, it is one little thing which makes us feel more organized at home.

We also bought a new mattress (my back thanks me every day!) We had to bring it home in a taxi, yes those small Toyota - what a saga!

Of course there is the need from much scrubbing. The levels of cleanliness here are lower than what we are used to and we are discovering why. It is very difficult to keep things clean. There are three reasons for this as I see it.

1. The surfaces are rough,  easy for dirt to dig in for the long run.

2. There is always lots of dust (or mud when it rains). It is impossible to keep the house free of it.

3. Water. If we go into the bathroom to wash, the floor is the drain. If we wash or clean outside, our feet get wet – so as soon as that happens, we track water that mixes with the dust to outline some fine footprints all over the floor.

So, you learn to live with it. Last weekend, I scrubbed the kitchen floor behind the cabinet that holds our 3 burner stove, and the cabinet itself – funny we have not seen the mice since then. Dave had a go at our bedroom floor. Then we have each acquired an extra pair of flip flops to wear when the bathroom floor is wet. It takes some planning.

We have more plans – bringing some beefsteak tomato seed back, maybe some peaches and cream corn seeds etc. We bought a mirror which we need to find a place for, and of course, more scrubbing.

All that to say, that we are making Three Little House our home and loving it. Now if I can only convince the landlord to give it a good coat of pain