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| Tom engaged is power lounging in our outdoor screen-less living room while searching for future cruises.Tom’s not naked. He’s actually wearing shorts. |
We were unable to post yesterday. Neither of our MiFi devices were working (weird coincidence). Now with one back up, and continuing to work on the other, we have a connection.
Refusing to further bore our readers with ongoing Internet connectivity issues, we’ll share our other experiences since our last post on Monday.
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| Although very hot and humid, these flowers against the blue sky was refreshing. |
On Monday, Tom was able to watch the Minnesota Vikings game airing on Sunday, using the separate WiFi device we borrowed from Hans, our kindly landlord, who recently also loaned us a cellphone in order to be able to call for cabs. Thanks to Hans for his ongoing assistance in many ways.
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| If I recall correctly, these flowers also grow in Hawaii, where we’ll be in 15 months. |
As it turned out, watching the game on his laptop with a relatively clear connection resulted in the use of approximately one gigabyte out of eight gigs installed into the alternate WiFi device.
At the cost of US $45 for eight gigs of data, each game will cost US $5.63 in addition to the US $169 he paid NFL.com for the football season at an average cost of US $16.25 per game.
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| The small white flowers grow within these larger bougainvillea. |
As much as he enjoys watching the Vikings, we surely don’t flinch at the cost. But lately, we’ve seen a number of “must have” expenses increase, making us a little wary of how much it may cost us after all is said and done after living in Africa. We may have to cut back on a few things.
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| Shards of glass are embedded into the top edge of this stone wall protecting our property from intruders climbing over the wall. Surprisingly, this enchantingly noisy bird lighted atop the glass seemingly comfortable. |
Finally, on Monday the final bill arrived in my inbox (along with charges on a credit card) for the rental car in Italy. We’d read reviews warning us of possible “up” charges and surprises when renting a car in Italy, making us skeptical to rent cars in the future, preferring the much less expensive option of using cabs.
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| Aren’t these breathtaking? |
Brace yourself for the total for two and a half months of the smallest and one of the cheapest cars Budget Rental had available at US $3294.47! With the addition of the unanticipated 21.5% VAT tax and service fees, it proved to be almost US $1000 more than we’d anticipated! Ouch!
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| The wide array of colors of the flowers in our yard in Kenya is a feast for the eyes. |
If we called a cab as many as 3 times a week at US $12 including tip per trip for our remaining 11 weeks in Kenya, the grand total would be US $396, almost 1/10th of that which we paid in Italy It’s a no brainer. There again, live and learn. We’re learning not to feel trapped without transportation.
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| To think that the blooming season has just begun is exciting. With rain off and on these past few days we expect more blossoms to appear shortly. |
Also, taking a cab reduces the risk of carjacking, which apparently, is of a serious concern in Kenya, less so in Diani Beach but not unheard of. In the US, only 30 minutes from our old home, driving was also dangerous at night in certain areas with possible carjacking and the risk of stray bullets. Is there anywhere in the world free from risk?
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| Could Mother Nature be more perfect in creating this well shaped Hibiscus, a common flower in many warmer parts of the world. |
Yesterday, as we visited the local Internet store to purchase more data for the SIM cards, armed guards manned the doors, letting us in after thoroughly checking us out. Passports are required to enter. Also, armed guards wander inside and out of the local grocery store where we shopped once more. Plus, armed guards are situated at the entrance to the little strip mall where the grocery store is located. Passports are also required in order to purchase grocery items.
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| The brightness of the yellow in these flowers is not a shade I’ve seen before. |
Last night, happy to stay in, we made a fabulous dinner of boneless chicken breast sautéed in olive oil and butter, breaded using egg, cream and coconut flour. With side dishes of fresh green beans, slices of a huge, perfectly ripened avocado (US $.30) with a giant salad, it couldn’t have tasted better.
We fired up an episode of one of Tom favorite shows that we’d download, “Who Do You Thank You Are?” to watch during dinner, dining at the huge glass and burl table in our outdoor living room. Later, we moved to the sofa to watch another show while munching on nuts. A perfect evening to say the least.
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| All these flower photos were taken in our yard.t |
At night, here in Kenya, we both wear our Africa clothes from sunset on. With food on the table at dusk, the mossies love joining us for dinner, us being the best thing on the menu. By wearing our BugsAway pants and recently added BugsAway short sleeve shirts, adding a pair of closed shoes, its only necessary to use bugs spray on my hands, arms and ankles. Tom, seldom gets bitten.What’s the deal with that?
Tomorrow, more about the trip to the stores with a variety of exciting critter photos we were lucky to shoot!