Here’s the shocker, folks!!!…Physically, emotionally, financially….

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The four cardboard boxes we’d packed, were ready to get shipped at the local post office.

OK. The power is out and will continue to be out for the entire day today as it was last night beginning at 9:30 pm. The generator is a hit and miss, going off and on intermittently. It’s not on now. My computer indicated that I have 45 minutes of battery left so I must write quickly to get this posted.

I hope that our “shocker” didn’t appear as if it was a life-threatening situation. But, for us, it truly is a life-changing situation; physically, emotionally, and financially.

Here it is:  

I had looked far and wide for this pair of 3″ heels a few years ago, loving the neutral color.
This is my last pair of high heels.  Bye, bye, shoes.

This decision didn’t come easily. We’d already packed the four cardboard boxes with clothing, shoes, accessories with the intent of shipping them to our house in South Africa after I’d verified that we could receive packages and confirmed the address. 

Our intent was to have Alfred take us to the Ukunda post office, not to DHL, where we recently had spent KES $38,953, US $458 to have one box shipped from our mailing service in Nevada to the DHL store in Diani Beach, Kenya that weighed only 13 pounds (5.9 kg)! 

Instead, our plan this time was to box everything up that we wanted to ship and use the Ukunda post office, a 45 minute round trip drive from here. It was already set up with Alfred to take us on Friday morning at 10:00 am. 

Unaware of the potential mailing costs at the post office, we knew that we’d have to get a ton of shillings from the ATM with the post office only accepting cash. That in itself presented a dilemma.  f we got too much cash, how would we get it converted to Rand (ZAR), the money used in South Africa, without incurring exchange fees? 

Surprisingly, these long casual cotton dresses are heavy, especially when I purchased them to accommodate my height, 4″ taller than the average woman.  Look at those vitamins! Many of them are also already gone, tossed in the past week. These few bottles were unopened. We only kept those that are an absolute necessity, such as Probiotics for intestinal health, B6 vitamins to prevent kidney stones (has been working for Tom after three surgeries back in the US), and a few for me.

If we discovered that we were short of cash at the post office and didn’t have enough shillings on-hand, we’d have to find another bank or drive back to the original ATM. Talk about stress-inducing! Hot weather, no AC in the taxi, sweat pouring down our necks!  (There are five minutes left on my battery!)

Of course, we weighed the boxes and looked online fruitlessly attempting to find out the postal rates from Kenya to anywhere (to get an idea), let alone to South Africa. No such luck. Nor was there a phone number to call for information. Nor was there a website for the Ukunda post office. Nada. (The generator just came on)! Yippee!

This was going nowhere. Angst was setting in. Then, by chance, I stumbled upon restrictions for sending packages to South Africa. It was the “no shoes” restriction that put me over the edge. To verify this I called the local DHL store (which incidentally is inside a pharmacy, owned by the pharmacist) to discover if this was true. 

The store manager confirmed that only one (1) shoe may be sent in any package to South Africa. One shoe? When would one shoe ever be appropriate? I couldn’t imagine a scenario unless, God forbid, one had only one foot. The list of restrictions continued from there.

Tom has always been prepared to unload as much as possible of his belongings to avoid paying any more outrageous excess baggage fees. We’d already paid over KES $173,500, US $2000 in fees between the Dubai and Venice airports, our only flights thus far.  

The nights of me wearing these dresses are over.  They are all in this pile.

I, on the other hand, wondered what I’d do if I eliminated all my “go out to dinner clothing, shoes, and accessories” some of which I’ve worn in every country we’ve lived in and on every night on the cruises. 

This decision came on Monday night. I tossed and turned all night. This was the final straw in me letting go, narrowing everything in the world, I personally owned down to the maximum that airlines allow to avoid excess baggage fees, a hard reality. Who are they to dictate what I can and can’t take around the world with me?  Anger welled up inside of me. 

Many of you may think, so what? It’s just clothing and shoes. But, as a woman that always delighted in dressing nicely, it had become part of who I am. 

We all, in our own way, are a package. And at some point in our young lives, we develop into the person we choose to become; our demeanor, our persona, our style (or lack of style, if one so chooses), our integrity, our honor, our values, our intellectual pursuits, our business acumen or skill set, and our relationships. For me, it was a package, all pieces included.

Tom understood my angst.  He knows me well accepting all the pieces. He hasn’t pressed the issue. Never. Not after spending the US $2000 for excess baggage. Not recently as we tried to figure out this dilemma. He knew I had to come to this decision on my own.  He was right.

Yesterday morning I gave him the news. I was ready to let go. He hauled out the four packed cardboard boxes from the second bedroom to the glass table in the outdoor living room and I began going through them, keeping only a few items, adding many more. The more I went through the process, the more detached I became, knowing full well this was the right thing to do.

This doesn’t look like much, but it weighs over 40 pounds (18 kg).  In addition, we’ve tossed another 10 pounds in old and worn items (4.5 kg).  On our last flight, our overage was 44 pounds (20 kg).

Tom jumped in with both feet, pulling out newer “casual dressy” clothing, placing them in the boxes along with my items. We’ve literally eliminated 40% of our combined clothing, more mine than Tom’s since he’d already cut back as we’ve traveled, to allow room for my things.

Of course, not all of our belongings consist of clothing and shoes. Perhaps 25% is supplies, electronics, required paper records, cosmetics, and toiletries (of which we have the minimum). We don’t even have a bottle of body lotion using only coconut oil in its place. No perfume. No bubble bath. No soaps. 

Friday, we’ll seal the “space bags,” weigh everything, including the suitcases. Based on the allowed weight for the upcoming airlines, we expect to be within the limits subsequently avoiding excess baggage fees.

Hesborn and Jeremiah will be given the boxes of discarded men’s items to share among themselves with the women’s clothing and shoes to be shared among their wives and sisters.

Nothing we have left in our possession will be appropriate to wear to dinner on our next upcoming cruise in nine months.  We have no doubt that we’ll figure it out as the time approaches.

Physically, it will be easier to haul the bags. Emotionally, we’ll spend no time worrying about the luggage.  Financially, we’ll save US $1000’s each year on excess baggage fees. 

The angst is gone. Acceptance has been found in its place and finally, after 13 months, we’re truly free. 

Part 2, Departure plan in place..Step by step process…Handling of leftover supplies…

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It would be ideal if we could use all of the foodstuffs, cleaning supplies, and paper products that we acquired when spending up to three months at each location. Each time we move into a new location, we’ve found that we spend a fair sum to stock the new home with the basic necessities. 

Our goals are simple; don’t be wasteful and, don’t be wasteful with our money. However, we must admit that we’ll be leaving many items behind that are both impractical and costly to pack.

Although we try to gauge how much of any item we’ll use, it is frustrating to have purchased grocery items we never used, ingredients for a specific recipe that we never made but purchased with the best intentions. It is those very items that often filled our kitchen cabinets anyway, stuff we may never use, eventually to be donated or thrown away? Besides, no matter where we live, I’m not exempt from the occasional “impulse purchase.” 

When we arrived here, I jumped at the chance to purchase a large bottle of organic “real” vanilla extract for KES $520.50, US $5.76.  ‘d hoped to find unsweetened “real” chocolate so I could make our favorite sugar free, low carb fudge. Never found the chocolate. Never opened the bottle of vanilla. So it goes. I won’t bore you with several other such items we’ll be leaving behind. 

Then, there’s the bigger expense that we’ve incurred while in Kenya, the purchase of “scratch-off” cards for data to “top off” our Kenya SIM cards for our two MiFi devices for Internet connectivity. These are useless to us once we leave Kenya. They don’t work outside the country, typical for SIM cards in most countries, tricky for us world travelers. 

Another area of concern is the disposal of clothing that has either worn out or we’ve found to have no occasion to wear.

The question for today:  How will we dispose of leftover, unused, unwanted, and no longer relevant items which we have no desire or intention of packing?

The food items will be left behind informing Hesborn or Jeremiah to take any of the items they’ll use and either leave the balance for future renters or if they choose, for Hans and Jeri.

When we left Italy, we’d posted photos of a pile of clothing and shoes we’d left behind for Lisa and Luca, the kindly landlords, to either keep, give to family or friends, or to donate which they gladly offered when we mentioned this dilemma. 

The clothing, yet to be sorted, is much smaller now that we’ve narrowed our clothing down to one large suitcase each. Some worn items will be tossed. In a concerted effort to reduce the weight of our bags, we’ve decided to ship ahead a few boxes utilizing the Ukunda post office that will allow us to insure the contents of the boxes.  Alfred will drive us to Ukunda on Friday to ship them off.

At this point, we have no idea as to the cost to ship these boxes within the continent. The fact that we’re willing to ship them by the slowest possible method to save on the cost should result in our receiving them within a month or so, which is fine for us. 

Why not toss these items? The biggest issue is the difficulty in finding clothing to fit me. I’m tall and wear an odd size. My inseam is 35″ (88 cm). Do I want to take the time to find a pair of pants or dress long enough not to embarrass myself? No. In all of the countries we’ve visited thus far, the women are shorter than I (here’s a chart of the average heights of men and women worldwide).

In only nine months I’ll need the to-be-shipped clothing items and shoes for two upcoming cruises. One of the highlights of cruising for us is dining in the main dining areas which typically don’t allow jeans or shorts. 

We don’t want to be forced to eat at the buffet for dinner due to our lack of proper clothing, which we’ve only done twice on our eight prior cruises, each time, much to our dismay; once when returning late from an excursion with the main dining room closed and another, on the night of a Minnesota Vikings Playoff game when we loaded trays filled with food to take to our cabin to watch the game. (The TV signal was lost almost entirely throughout the game and, surprisingly, ha, Minnesota lost).

Yes, I know in a prior post, I’d mentioned my willingness to forgo style and selection in my attire. But when on cruises, one surely desires to get their money’s worth of the meals already included in the fare in the main dining areas. Were it not for this fact, I’d gladly dispose of my few remaining dresses, and matching sandals. In any case, we’re shipping all of those. 

We’d already ditched all of our “formal attire” for the dress-up nights, falling back on our basic inventory for those evenings since formal wear is not mandatory on most cruises. 

In essence, it’s clothing and shoes that we’re shipping. I have six pairs of shoes in my possession and my beloved safari boots. That’s all I own: one pair of Keds leather slip ons, one pair of tan 3″ heels, one pair of water shoes, plus three pairs of Clark’s sandals: black, beige and white. (I left my bulky workout shoes in Italy.  These can easily be replaced once we’re near a health club again).

Tom, on the other hand, has four pairs of shoes: one pair of tennis shoes, one pair of water shoes and two pairs of Cole Haan, one dressy, one casual, and of course, his safari boots. 

Start adding up shoes alone and they consume an entire carry on bag. Ah, the challenges of stuff, continues to play a role in our lives, although considerably less than it used to.

The end result of our clothing issues;  we’re shipping ahead enough weight in shoes and clothing, weighing everything on our portable scale, in order to avoid paying excess baggage fees when we fly to South Africa a week from today. Once these boxes are shipped, we’ll share how much we paid for the shipping.

The final items that we’ve contemplated over these past few weeks, was the remaining data left on our SIM cards on my MiFis. As of today, Tom has 8.7 gigabytes, remaining and I have 9.1 gigabytes remaining, more than enough for Tom to watch the Minnesota Vikings game and for me to download several TV shows and movies. 

We carefully tracked our data usage since arriving in Kenya, in an effort to ensure we didn’t leave the country with too much paid-for but unused data. 

We’ve determined, via our recordkeeping that our combined average daily usage is approximately .5 gigabytes resulting in our ability to save enough data for the layover at the Nairobi airport.  Once we arrive in Johannesburg our devices will no longer work containing the Kenya SIM cards.

We’re pleased that in the past month, it wasn’t necessary to purchase additional data by carefully monitoring our usage:  no videos other than downloaded TV shows for our evening entertainment and Tom’s Minnesota Vikings games. Avoiding the download of Facebook videos was most instrumental in us having ample data to get us through this next week. 

Yes, we still may have unused data remaining at the end, which we hope to use to download movies and TV shows.

So, there it is folks.  The process of winding down appears more complicated than it is. It requires careful thought and planning, neither of which is foreign to us.  As we maneuver our way to yet another country in our ongoing quest for exploration and wonder, we can smile, knowing that we’re doing everything we can to make the transition as stress-free as possible.

Counting our remaining supplies…Prepping to leave…No wastefulness here…Our food costs in Kenya for three months…

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We’re not as tidy as we used to be but there is no cupboard space for food. None of these items will be packed to travel with us. “Use ’em or “lose em.”

In a perfect world, we could pack up our equipment, clothing, and toiletries and hit the road in 15 days.  It is not that easy.  If money didn’t matter, it would be less of a concern. We’d “pack and go” leaving food and household supplies behind without a thought.

Money does matter and using up our supplies makes economical sense. Gosh, if money didn’t matter, we’d have a strong, competent helper traveling with us to pack, carry our bags with nary a thought of excess baggage fees.  In a perfect world.

Here we are, 15 days and counting until we board a plane for the necessary two days of travel to get us to Mpumalanga, South Africa. (It took us a minute to figure out how to pronounce that, “Puma, Langa”). 

As time flies at this late date, we begin to access our supplies, determining what to keep, what to toss, and what to give away. One biggest consideration is our remaining food.

In an effort to live as “normal” a life as possible everywhere we go we purchase basic foodstuffs and household supplies.  You know, all the food in the cupboards and on the door in the refrigerator plus paper supplies (baggies, paper towels, toilet paper, parchment), insect repellents (for body and air), bar soaps, etc.

We’ve discovered that approximately halfway through any of our extended stays, we begin to take note of what we need to use up before departing. Our lifestyle allows for no wastefulness, nor do the countries in which we live. Cautious use of power, water, and the accumulation of trash are a big concern for all of us in today’s world.  We’ve especially conserved power and water with the many outages over these past months.

Our budget is fixed and we make every effort to maintain the integrity of its intent. We have no allowances for wastefulness.  If I use a zip lock bag for a chunk of cheese, if it smells good when empty, I store it on the door of the refrigerator for one more use. 

When we order ebooks, we choose a few from the thousands of “free” ebooks to offset the cost of purchasing one for US $8.95, in order to bring the average cost down to US $3.00 each. Thank goodness we have no books to pack!

 
This is our tiny freezer.  We’ll easily use what we have on hand before we leave, unlikely purchasing any more frozen meat. We eat nuts for dessert every night. Tom likes peanuts and I prefer raw macadamia, almonds, and cashews, all locally grown. Keeping as much as we can fit in the freezer prevents the possibility of monkeys raiding the kitchen.

In our old lives, if a tee shirt had a stain, I would either try to get the stain out entirely or toss it. Not the case now. We save those for our “staying in” days, wearing nicer clothing when we leave the house. No longer can I jump in the car to drive to Old Navy to buy another batch of tee shirts for each of us.

Paper towels are flimsy in Kenya and still, I use one sheet at a time compared to my prior flippant use of sturdy paper towels. Tissues and toilet paper are equally flimsy but, we’re grateful to have any, using it sparingly. 

This morning we began counting the remaining nights we’ll dine in while checking our remaining supply of meat in the freezer and the food in the tiny fridge. 

With one more necessary trip to the grocery store to purchase water, cheese, nuts, and insect repellent, we’re contemplating the value of dining out for all of our dinners during the final week of November.  This morning, I calculated the cost of purchasing more “dinner” food as opposed to dining out (calculated through our final day here) in order to make a determination:

US $4500.00-Combined grocery and dining out budget for the entire three months in Kenya

US $184.46-Average weekly grocery expense x 12 weeks=US $2213.52

US $129.06-Average weekly dining out expense x 12 weeks=US $1548.67
(calculating an average of 3x per week, including the 6 days for the final week)

US $3762.19-Total food and dining out the expenses for the full 12 weeks

US $737.81- Unused balance remaining in the food budget, which in our minds,  covers the cost of our three day anniversary stay at the Diani Beach resort from October 29 to November 1, 2013. (We actually knew before we booked the resort that we’d have extra funds in our food allowance that would cover the resort expense).

The top of the tiny refrigerator has been used as a cupboard.  Spices are only available in these large containers. The enchilada sauce has no wheat or sugar. The local grocery store Nakumatt has some surprising ingredients, but is lacking in many familiar items for which we’ve learned to improvise, no longer giving it a thought. 

As a result of these calculations, we’ve decided to dine out each of the final six nights in Kenya while using the remaining food we have on hand, adding veggies from the produce stand on the road as needed. Any remaining food and household supplies will be given to Hesborn and Jeremiah (along with the last of the three months of divided tips we’ve given to each of them at the end of every month).

Now, back to the frustrating search for 11 nights in a hotel in Honolulu. Hopefully, we’ll have this resolved in the next few days to free us to begin the process of packing our boxes to be shipped to South Africa and the no-longer-overweight luggage we’ll be bringing aboard the plane.

Of course, at the end of our stay, we’ll share our total living costs in Kenya for the three full months, including the cost of our safari which by far was the best money we’ve spent so far!

Three weeks from today…Off we go again!…We’ve only just begun…A typical Saturday morning in Kenya with animals in the yard…

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Look at those “bedroom eyes!” This was shot without zoom when I visited the goats in the backyard this morning. I was afraid to move in order to get a better shot. Sudden movements cause them to skitter off.

This morning this song was running through my head. When I mentioned it to Tom, he immediately found the YouTube video while I researched the lyrics. Tom, with his cup of hot coffee (yes, we have power) and me with my hot tea, sitting at the big glass table in our outdoor living room, are loving the sunny day after another night of pouring rain.

Each day as I write the post for the day, Tom is only a few feet from me. We share the process, me, writing,him, researching, us…talking, during the entire process. Never am I alone in a corner, typing away. It’s a tremendously enjoyable shared experience.

The babies were more curious about me. Most of the others, not so much.

Once completed and posted, Tom proofreads from the perspective of a reader looking for possible errors. He usually finds several which I promptly correct. We easily miss other errors as well, mostly those that spellcheck interprets as acceptable, some a result of our simply missing it. We don’t worry about it. We have a story to tell, photos to share, and writing every day means we’re going to miss some.

So, today, our story reminds us of this song, released in the summer of 1970, 43 years ago, a busy year for Tom, the year he graduated high school, the year he started working on the railroad, the year daughter Tammy was born.

Dad or utter? I say Dad. Tom says utter. Any input?

We didn’t meet until 21 years later, in 1991, each divorced with grown kids, ready to embark on a new life together.This song rang true for us in 1991 and is befitting again in our lives today. We’re sure many of our readers will remember and relate to this song as well.



We’ve Only Just Begun (video link)

by the Carpenters

We’ve Only Just Begun Lyrics

Songwriters: NICHOLS, ROGER S. / WILLIAMS, PAUL H.
We’ve only just begun to liveWhite lace and promises

A kiss for luck and we’re on our way

We’ve only begun

Before the rising sun we fly

So many roads to choose

We start out walking

And learn to run

And yes! We’ve just begun

Sharin’ horizons that are new to us

Watchin’ the signs along the way

Talkin’ it over just the two of us

Workin’ together day to day, together

And when the evening comes we smile

So much of life ahead

We’ll find a place where there’s room to grow

And yes! We’ve just begun

Sharin’ horizons that are new to us

Watchin’ the signs along the way

Talkin’ it over just the two of us

Workin’ together day to day, together, together

And when the evening comes we smile

So much of life ahead

We’ll find a place where there’s room to grow

And yes! We’ve just begun

In a perfect world, a few days before departing we’d start packing. Although the world is quite amazing, it’s not perfect. This is about the time we start thinking “packing.” 

One might think it’s no big deal. Fold the clothes, throw in the shoes, and miscellaneous items, and be done. Not so fast! Virtually, every physical item we own is in our possession!

Determined not to pay excess baggage fees this time, we’ve made a plan. When grocery shopping at the local Nakumatt the customer’s items are packed into cardboard boxes which we’ve been saving these past several trips.

When we grocery shopped yesterday, Alfred pointed out the local post office, which we’ll use to ship the packed cardboard boxes to our new home in South Africa, which will be a huge portion of our stuff, to ensure we don’t get slapped with excess baggage fees this time. 

This goat was definitely not camera-shy, practically stepping on my foot as she approached.

The risk of our belongings being confiscated or stolen is high. We’ll insure it, and let the chips fall where they may. By primarily packing clothing and shoes, if it is “lost” it won’t be anything we can’t live without. The cost of shipping within Africa will be considerably less than excess baggage fees between continents. Of course, we’ll send it the slowest possible way which we speculate we’ll receive the boxes within a month of our arrival.

All of our safari clothing, hats, and boots, everyday clothing, shoes, electronics, prescriptions, everyday toiletries will be in our possession. Our goal is to ship everything else to South Africa a week before we leave Kenya, in the event, it arrives quicker than anticipated. We’re able to receive packages at our new home much to our delight.

Mother and kid.

In the past, I’ve started sorting and packing at about this point. But, I’ve changed my mind, preferring to continue to enjoy our time here, to begin the process a few days prior to the trip to the post office. 

This is one more example in my own mind of “letting go,” of always working hard to be done with tasks way before it is necessary. Chill. The new me. It’s this same “freedom” mentality that allows us to not necessarily have everything booked more than a year in advance.

Many laughed at our pre-planning two-plus years in advance, imagining we were limiting ourselves by committing out that far. But, leaving our home, our family, our friends, and everything we knew and loved behind was a monumental undertaking. 

After days of rain, the flowers are blooming.

Many embarking on years of world travel have a storage facility or condo somewhere for peace of mind. Not us. 

Planning the first few years gave us a sense of comfort and peace of mind. Now, with a number of holes in our itinerary over the next 18 months (as far out as we’re booked so far) we no longer need the reassurance that we have a “home” in place for every single day of our travels. 

At this point, our motivation to book travel arrangements well in advance is predicated by how fast properties, flights, and cruises are booking up. At that point, we don’t hesitate in locking in locations and times.

Beyond, May 2015 when we leave Kauai, Hawaii, after having spent time visiting many of the Hawaiian Islands with hopefully lots of whale watching, our upcoming time is free. 

We’re considering many options that appeal to us in order to take us on our chosen path for our love of nature and wildlife. With continued good health, we have no desire or plans to stop. After all, we have only just begun. 

Last nights dinner photos and recipe…One more day to mini anniversary vacation…

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Surely, I could have more neatly arranged my plate (Tom had the same minus avocado and tomato) but the enticing smell of the cooking chicken made me anxious to have dinner, I just threw it on the plate. Isn’t that what we all do?
Coconut Crusted Parmesan Chicken with sliced tomato, avocado, and green beans. Our usual cole slaw. is on the side plate. All the vegetables were purchased fresh yesterday from the vegetable stand down the road from us; the cabbage, carrots, tomato, avocado, and green beans were delivered as we arrived, by a guy on a motorcycle with colorful bins stacked high on the back seat.
Making delicious dinners every night is and always has been an important part of life’s enjoyable experience. I’ll admit that in this heat and humidity, I often wish there was something in the freezer that I could pop in the microwave (No room in the freezer for leftover meals. No microwave).
We prepare most of our meals with the intention of having the same meal two nights in a row in order to cut down on the prep time. Thus, we prep one-day leaving ample ingredients in order to cook separately each of two nights. 
Last night, I made a fresh batch of Coconut Crusted Parmesan Chicken, and tonight, I’ll prepare the second freshly cooked batch. The green beans, cabbage, and carrots are already cleaned and cut, ready for tonight. I know this may seem to require the same amount of work, but it actually saves time and effort. 
The prep time for this meal was 20 minutes, mostly spent cutting the cabbage and carrots for the cole slaw. In many countries, you can purchase bagged shredded cabbage and carrots. Not the case in Kenya.  The cooking time is 21 to 25 minutes.
Plus the time it takes to snip the ends off of the green beans, uses 10 of the 20 minutes.The boneless chicken prep was minimal: remove visible fat, rinse in purified water (or your safe local drinking water), place, covered, on paper towels in the refrigerator. The remainder will be explained in the recipe below.
I’d concocted this recipe some time ago is now one of our favorites, totally within the realm of my restrictive diet:  gluten-free, grain-free, sugar-free, starch-free and low carb. 
Here’s the recipe:
Jessica’s GF Low Carb, Coconut Crusted Parmesan Chicken (for two, easily doubles)
3 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut or coconut flour
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. salt (we always use Himalayan Salt)
1/2 tsp. ground pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 beaten eggs
Olive oil, cold pressed, organic
Coconut oil, cold pressed, unrefined (no processing), organic
  • Place two eggs in a flat bottomed bowl, beating with a fork for 30 seconds. 
  • Place coconut flour, grated Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder in a separate bowl.
  • Dip one chicken breast at a time into the coconut flour mixture first, then the beaten eggs, then back into the coconut flour mix, coating thoroughly.  Place prepared coated breasts on waxed paper or parchment.
  • Prepare a skillet with equal portions of olive and coconut oil, to approximately 3/4 inch deep in the pan.  Heat skillet with oils on medium high heat until hot, watching carefully.
  • Once oils are hot, place all the coated breasts evenly arranged to cook.  Turn down the heat to medium.  In about 7 minutes, the bottom side will be brown.  Carefully flip ensuring not to knock off coating in process.  Cook another 7 minutes, checking the bottom from time to time. 
  • Once both sides are brown, place a tight fitting lid over pan, lower the heat one more notch and cook, turning once more another 7 minutes.
  • During this 21 minute cooking time, toss salad, cook green beans, etc.
  • After the final 7 minutes, take a sharp knife, cut into the thickest breast of the 3 checking if done…no pink.  If not done, cook with lid on, in two minute increments.  It will cook quickly at this point.  Don’t overcook.
  • Once done drain on paper towels as plates are prepared with vegetables and serve.  Enjoy.
 Although this may look like a long complicated recipes, for the experience cook, I’d say:
Triple dip the chicken in coconut mixture and egg, fry in skillet, turning to avoid burning. Drain on paper towels.
____________________________________________________________________
Today, we’re packing for our vacation starting tomorrow: all of our digital equipment, casual dressy for dinner with shoes and accessories, shorts and tee shirts for breakfast, bathing suits and cover-up for pool, water shoes for walking the beach, undies, lounge wear, toiletries and pills. That should do it.
I must admit that I’m chompin’ at the bit to get into some air conditioned comfort and to feel pampered for a few days.  That hasn’t been the case since we were aboard ship, disembarking  in Venice, Italy on June 16th.  Overall, we’ve gotten used to being sweaty and sticky, especially with me covered in repellent 18 hours a day. 
We’ll be back tomorrow by late afternoon, our time, with photos of our accommodations, surroundings and hopefully wildlife as we spend 3 nights celebrating a full year since we left our old lives to begin anew on October 31, 2012.

On to an improved and more cost effective WiFi option…We received a package in Kenya…At a whopping US $458 in shipping fees…

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The moon over the Indian Ocean last night as we dined Nomad Restaurant at The Sand’s Resort. Photos will follow tomorrow of our two extraordinary dining experiences, the people we met, and the tour we were graciously provided of the“over the top” accommodations,  pricing included.

Once we’d discovered a newly opened DHL store in a local pharmacy in Diani Beach, we had two thoughts in mind, one; order supplies and two; return the XCom Global MiFi to begin using the two Mobile Hotspots we’d ordered to arrive with the supplies.

We figured that once the two Mobile Hotspots arrived, we’d quickly install them, ensuring they were both working and suited our needs, we made another trip back to the DHL/Pharmacy to return XCom Global’s US $395 a month device.

Let me explain what a Mobile Hotspot is for those of you that may not be aware of these devices or, if you prefer, you can click on the above link.  Simply stated, it’s not unlike the router you use in your home for wireless connectivity, either connected to your cable or satellite service. 

The difference it that when traveling, or living in a country such as Kenya, there is no cable TV or satellite service offering Internet services to homes, only to businesses.  Thus, local residents (and tourists), desiring a connection for their computers, devices, and cell phones must purchase SIM cards to install either into their cell phones, Hotspots or routers in order to receive a phone and data signal.

The end result for us is that we each needed one Mobile Hotspot and our own SIM card. Yes, we could have used one of each among us. The signal strength is diminished by each user simultaneously online. With the heavy data load, we use each day, it is practical for each of us to have our own device and SIM card.

The moon, 10 minutes before the above photo.  This shot was taken as we sat at our table overlooking the Indian Ocean.  More will follow tomorrow.

Who provides the data/phone signal to tap into?  In Kenya, it is Safaricom. By purchasing their specific SIM cards, registering it via cell phone, they provide us with a measured amount of data that we’ve purchased in advance. 

For example, we pay Kenya Shillings (KES) $1000, US $11.76, for 1.5 gigabytes of data, (purchasing larger amounts reduced the cost), enough to last us both for 3 days, provided we don’t download movies or TV shows. Our average total cost per month for 15 gigabytes of data is KES $10,000, US $117.58 (excluding big downloads) as opposed to the meager 4.39 gigabytes per month that we were allowed with XCom Global.

Don’t get me wrong, XCom Global is a great company and for the usual traveler its an excellent option. Most travelers read their email which uses a minimal amount of data and may check a few websites for restaurants and local points of interest.

But, XCom Globals’s allowed 150 megabytes of data per day (.146 gigabytes) wasn’t sufficient most days for me to download our daily posts and photos, not leaving any usage for Tom. It just wasn’t working well for us. We were cut off a few times for exceeding the allowed data usage, not by XCom Global but by their contracted providers in various places all over the world.

With our own Hotspots, when we run low on gigs, we purchase “scratch-offs” cards to load more data by entering the code on each card. We can check how much data we have left placing the SIM card in a cell phone and dialing code, seconds later receiving a response as to the remaining balance. 

Once we install the main SIM card into my phone, we can make local calls. Hans loaned us a cell phone with one of his SIM cards installed to use for local calls so we haven’t purchased a card for making calls on our own phones. The cost to call the US is outrageous comparable to them calling us using their cell phone. Not having the SIM card installed in our smartphones prevented us from incurring US $100’S per month in calls to our families, encouraging us and family members to use Skype which is free with a great signal.

With Hans and Jeri both gone for the Kenyan holiday this weekend, we are babysitting their two little dogs. This is Jessie, whom they inherited when a nearby homeowner didn’t want her. She is a completely outdoor dog, never sleeping indoors, spending all of her days and nights outside. It was hard to close the doors on her last night when we went to bed, leaving her looking at us. I wanted to pick her up and put her in the bed with us, bt we knew not to upset her routine. She’s a sturdy little dog and an excellent watchdog. For those, who knew us in our old lives, does this remind you of anyone?

I realize that this information may be boring to our non-geeky readers and mundane to our knowledgeable geeks who already have this concept in the bag. But, just in case there are a few potential travelers out there thinking of how to save on data while traveling, a Mobile Hotspot (around US $100) with SIM cards is the way to go, if and I say, if there is no free wireless data available at your hotel, resort or vacation home. 

Please keep in mind there are areas we’ve traveled, such as the Masai Mara, where the Hotspot wouldn’t pick up any signal and we were reliant upon the weak signal that they had in the lodge. Also, the signal we do receive in Kenya is often weak, making it impossible for me to edit the blog posts, particularly the photos and their captions.  I apologize for the difficulty in reading these at times.  It goes “with the territory.”

The moon over the Indian Ocean last night at 6:15 pm.

Honestly, until we arrived in Kenya, we had free wireless connectivity at every house we’ve rented thus far. This situation here in Kenya was new for us and although I love technical stuff (kind of a geek myself), Tom took a huge interest in handling the SIM card installation while I handled the installs of both Hotspots (a one-time thing).

A good feature of the Safaricom SIM card “scratch-offs” is the ability to have some free data to be used between 10:00 pm and 10:00 am during the first two weeks after downloading the new cards.  It is during this time, in the middle of the night, that we download TV shows and movies from Graboid (US $20 a month), a service that offers downloads of current TV shows and movies.

This is Gucci, whom we’re also taking care of this weekend one of the best watchdogs in Kenya.  He alerts the security guards to any activities beyond the gate. Known to viciously bite on occasion, he is gentle and loving with us, hanging out with us most days. When we return from going out, he is very cautious in determining it is really us, barking wildly, sniffing, only relaxing when he is confident that we are who he thinks we are. Gucci and Jessie are best friends, playful and protective of one another.  They love to chase the goats and the monkeys in the backyard.

If you have questions, suggestions or general comments, please feel free to comment at the end of this post or send me an email to which I will reply within 12 hours. 

As for the package we received last week. It contained the following supplies, all ordered through the US:
1.  Two Huawei Hotspots in their original boxes plus two extra batteries
2.  A few toiletry items of inconsequential weight
3.  Crystal Light Ice Tea – 18 packages that each containing a supply to make 32 quarts. This was for Tom only. I’m now content drinking real iced tea made with two teabags and one quart of purified water, having kicked my Crystal Light habit months ago.
4.  Mezzaluna Knife – We used one of these in Italy and it made life so much easier than using dull knives
5.  Coconut Oil, organic, extra virgin – one 16 ounce plastic bottle. We use this daily swishing it around in our mouths for 20 minutes which aids in the reduction of bacteria in the mouth and digestive tract. After swishing, we spit it out followed by a thorough brushing with toothpaste which results in a cleaner and healthier feeling mouth while reducing the incidence of bacterial infections. If interested in this concept, read Dr. Bruce Fife’s book, “Oil Pulling” available at all online booksellers.

That’s all folks! That was all that was in the box, weighing 13 pounds. We had all the above shipped to our mailing service in Nevada. We watched online daily as the items arrived in our mailbox.  Once all of them had arrived, we instructed the mailing service to place everything in one box, removing all the individual shipping boxes to reduce the weight. 

The 5.9 kg, 13-pound box and its contents that we had shipped from Las Vegas, Nevada, USA to Diani Beach Kenya, using DHL Express at a cost of KES $38,953, US $458 which arrived in four business days to the local DHL/Pharmacy.

The package had to be shipped through DHL for which our mailing service arranged a pickup. They are the only parcel service within hours of us and we were able to instruct them to phone us on Han’s phone when it arrived in Diani Beach.  The regular postal service in Kenya is unreliable and often packages disappear or if they do arrive, it may take months. We didn’t want to take the risk of not receiving it before we leave on December 1, 2013.

The end result of DHL’s only method of sending and receiving packages in this area is its three-day express. That’s it. No other options. The cost for the 13-pound box (5.9 kg) was Kenya Shillings $38,953, US $458!

Yes, we could have justified this in many ways.  But we chose the simple reality. Setting up the two Hotspots and sending back the XCom Global Mifi would save us a substantial monthly sum.    

These projected amounts will vary as we discover the cost of SIM cards in other countries. Plus, this is a compilation of our estimated costs for data for Kenya, not necessarily the same in other countries, although the Hotspots will work worldwide with the installation of any country’s SIM cards:

Cost reloading SIM cards using  scratch-off at US $117.58 per month =        US $ 1410.96
Cost of Hotspot devices: (one-time expense)   US $   200.00
Cost of Shipping (entire box):                        US $   458.00 
TOTAL COST                                                 US $ 2068.96
AVERAGE COST PER MONTH:                         US $   172.41

AVERAGE COST PER MONTH FOR
RENTAL OF XCOM GLOBAL DEVICE                 US $   395.00

MONTHLY SAVINGS                                       US $   222.59
ANNUAL SAVINGS                                         US $  2671.04

I supposed this is what they call a “no brainer.”  No guilt over the US $458 shipping fee with DHL. 

Tom enjoyed tracking the package’s route on the DHL website daily.  When it arrived in Nairobi, Kenya it passed through customs seamlessly continuing on its way.  It took 4 business days from Las Vegas, Nevada to Diani Beach Kenya, arriving at the DHL/Pharmacy who promptly called us to come to pick it up which we did that day on our way to Nakumatt Grocery for no additional cab fare.

As for returning the MIFi to XCom Global, we did the reverse, shipping the package out on this past Tuesday, Tom tracking it online daily, with it arriving in San Diego, California on Friday.  The cost for that small package under one pound was only US $33.00, much to our surprise.

There it is folks.  Our technology needs are forcing us to learn new ways to acquire the best possible service at the best possible price.  In reality, that will never change, as technology continues to change faster than we can keep up with no access to news reports (no TV) keeping us informed as in the past.

Each time we’ve face a challenge, we remind ourselves of the brave souls that traveled across the US (and other countries) in search of a new life, in a covered wagon with no roads, no water, no electricity, dangerous elements, no medical care, limited food and of course, no technology. 

But, everything is relative and this is “our time.” We strive to continue to embrace it, no matter our age or our interests, offering up a wealth of new knowledge that only can add to the quality of our lives as we all move into the future.

Noisy night…Packing for a safari…Two days until safari…

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The noises at night are rather entertaining, sounds we’ve never heard in our lives, hard to pinpoint, persistent, and seemingly unwieldy. They’re not gentle sounds. 

One sound is eerie that I mentioned in a past post. It sounds like the music from Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Click here for the scene from the movie with the five-note sound.

We don’t hear it every night, only two or three times a week. No one knows what it is nor do they question it. When I first heard it the second night here, I couldn’t help but wonder what it was. It continued until dawn. 

It began last night it began at dusk, finally stopping when I awoke at 6:00 am. Oddly, at this point, I almost welcome the peculiar familiarity of this sound among the many other sounds of the night.  

Perhaps, these sounds are in preparation for the new (to us) sounds that we’ll be hearing outside our tent beginning on Saturday night.  How exciting!

The packing has begun for our safari. Most would think, throw some khaki pants, shirts and boots in a duffel bag and we’ve got it covered. Not so quick!

There’s more to it for us.  Here’s our list:

  • Epipens for possible bee sting
  • Tylenol PM (just in case)
  • Malaria pills
  • Business cards
  • BugsAway pants, shirt, hats
  • Underwear & tee shirts
  • Pills cases for everyday pills
  • Bug lotion
  • Boots
  • Socks
  • Shoes to wear when not on safari (boots too heavy)
  • Sunglasses
  • 2 cameras + cords
  • 2 laptops
  • Chargers: laptops, cameras, phone, MiFi, Hotspot
  • MiFi and Hotspot
  • Smartphones (for books to read)
  • Toiletries (bare minimum)
  • Clothes to change into at night if dining in the dining room during bad weather.  If dining in the bush, we’ll wear BugsAway clothing
  • Plugs and adapters for 220 (which we use everyday)
  • Binoculars
  • Waterproof parkas
  • Passports, Kenya visa, ID

There isn’t one item on the above list that we can exclude. Plus, it won’t be as if we’re at a hotel where we can buy supplies in the gift shop. We’ll be in a tent with a nearby lodge.

All the above does not fit in our one duffel bag. We’ve added two cloth bags for overflow We were instructed not to bring any suitcase-shaped bags, even if soft sided. In the small plane there’s no overhead compartments and everything needs to be neatly tucked away.

Tomorrow, we’ll take a photo of our packed bags to share here. Hesborn will return our dry laundry tomorrow with a few items to top off the bags. 

At this point, we haven’t decided if we’re going out today or even out to dinner tonight. We have produce to use before we go (waste not, want not) and plenty of steaks on hand if we decide to dine in. I have accounting work to update today and will be content to sit in our outdoor living room, ice tea in hand, my guy only steps away and something exciting to anticipate.

The power just went out again. I’d better hurry and post this or my laptop will run out of juice. That’s life in Kenya.

Arrived in Venice…Flying away tomorrow morning…

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Last night, our last night in Boveglio, there was a wedding in the centuries-old church across the road. The smoke is a result of a short fireworks display set off to celebrate the newlywed couple.

The four-hour drive to Venice was relatively uneventful although the traffic on the toll road was intense at times, moving fast with crazy driving typical for Italy weaving in and out of lanes with little regard for safety.

The dissipating smoke from the fireworks set off for a wedding.  Both set of bells in the bell tower rang simultaneously.  Tom timed the bell ringing at 20 minutes!  We giggled when saying that the bells were ringing as a goodbye to us!

Tom is a good driver, but his level of patience in traffic is lacking. From time to time, it was a nail biter. In charge of navigation, my task, in itself was daunting.

As we drove away from Boveglio.

With a serious lack of road signs, driving long distances in Italy is a challenge. During several stretches, we’d driven for miles unsure if we were on the correct road. How we managed to get here without ever taking a wrong turn baffles me. 

Our final view of Boveglio from the winding road in the mountains of Tuscany.

Although we have no phone service on our smartphones, we can access navigation.  However, in the mountainous and hilly roads, the signal would occasionally be lost, requiring a little monkeying around to keep the directions readily available.

Yesterday, we printed a map with line by line directions which were different from the navigation we pulled up on the phone. There are only so many ways to get from Boveglio to Venice. 

It was a busy morning on the road down the mountain, making each hairpin turn challenging.

Once we checked into our hotel, our luggage in our room, Tom took off to return the rental car, the sold rental car. Much to my delight, he returned in only 15 minutes, the task accomplished. Whew! Based on the two hours it took to pick up the car on June 16th when we arrived at the same Marco Polo Airport in Venice, we anticipated an equally long return. 

The hotel shuttle picked him up at the car rental drop off area, returning him to the hotel. Oddly, they didn’t ask Tom to pay when he dropped off the car. We owed a balance of approximately Euro $1300 which most likely will appear on our credit card in a few days. 

While I was busy navigating our road trip, Tom counted tunnels we entered for a grand total of 25.

Packing and moving out of the Boveglio house was not without challenges. Now down to only one large suitcase, one smaller wheelie each, plus one shared duffel bag and, one computer bag each, our load is considerably less heavy. The packing of these bags requires an enormous amount of planning with the contents consisting of everything we own.

Yesterday, we accomplished most of the packing, but saved the final “sucking” of the Space Bags until this morning. With numerous items drying on the clothes rack during the day along with the clothing we wore yesterday, we thought it would be no big deal to seal everything up this morning. 

Many tunnels were short, but a few may have been almost a mile long.

We won’t do that again. As it turned out, I made a dumb error placing several of my belts in one of the plastic bags. Once the bag was sucked, one of the belt’s sharp clasps tore a hole into the carefully packed bag, leaving us short one bag for my clothing.  

This required me to remove all of my clothes from 4 already sealed bags to rearrange everything, repacking it to fit into 3 bags.  Needless to say, I had to say goodbye to my tennis shoes, a swimsuit, a pair of white pants, and a few more shirts, all left for Lisa or whoever she may donate it to.  Tom also, had to repack his bags now that we had less luggage, leaving several items behind.

Goodbye to the lush hillside of Italy.  We’ve certainly enjoyed the views.

With the 220-wiring in Europe, the little Shark portable vacuum can only suck one bag in a 30=minute period before becoming overheated. In Dubai, we’d thought we’d burned out the vacuum’s motor to later discover that once it cools. it works again, provided an ample resting period exists between uses. Without that vacuum, we’d literally have to get rid of another 35% of our clothing.

The bright end to one of the 25 tunnels we navigated today on our road trip to Venice.

This morning our plan was to leave by 9:00 am. We didn’t walk out the door until 10:45 am.  We arrived in Venice with time to spare with another travel lesson learned: pack and close all bags the day prior to leaving, using the duffel bag for overflow. 

Another important task we decided to take on when we rented our first vacation home in Scottsdale. Arizona last November, is to leave the property in the same condition as when it was presented to us. With the spaciousness of the Boveglio house and the multiple rooms, we’d used to store “our stuff,” leaving it as it was when we arrived required more work than we’d anticipated.

The fast-moving highways without shoulders prevent good photo-taking opportunities. 

Although Santina cleaned the house on Friday morning, we had our share of work to be completed in the last 24 hours: wash all the kitchen and bath towels, tablecloth, and linen napkins. Return furnishings we’d moved to accommodate our needs.  Defrost the freezer and clean the refrigerator, throwing out any leftover food into the organic bins, washing out plastic and glass containers for recycling.  Clean the stove, sweep the floors, clean the bathrooms, and on and on. 

By the time we left this morning, we were confident that we’d left the house in excellent condition. With more time, we’d have washed and dried the sheets. The necessity of outdoor drying made it impossible, although we did remove the bedding, leaving it in a laundry basket with the few towels we’d used to shower this morning.

Certainly, we aren’t this tidy when staying in a hotel.  Living in a rented home, especially when we’ve been charged fair rates, leaves us feeling compelled to return it to its original state.

As we drove away from Boveglio, we saw Luca and his daughter on the road. With their several rental houses in Boveglio, they spend considerable time maintaining the homes and the grounds on the weekends. Once again, we expressed our heartfelt gratitude for the 2 1/2 month stay in their 300-year-old stone house, as we’d done yesterday when they stopped to say goodbye with multiple rounds of double cheek kissing.

Tonight, the hotel shuttle will take us out to a local restaurant for dinner, returning us when we’re done, which we’re both anticipating with enthusiasm. Once we were moving along the road at a good pace, neither of us wanted to stop to eat. With nary a morsel all day, I could eat my shoe if it was covered with a few slices of melted Italian cheese.

Tomorrow morning, off we go on our 15 plus hours,  three flights, two layover jaunt ending in the middle of the night. Most likely we’ll be exhausted, requiring a full night’s sleep to recover. Neither of us does well staying up all night as when we were younger.  

Stay tuned, folks.  We’ll be back by on Tuesday with photos and stories of our ongoing travels.  Thanks for sharing the journey with us!

Less than 2 days and counting…A little fear…A lot of excitement…

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Everything I own, except six pairs of shoes in a smaller bag, to be sucked into the Space bags.
A pile of clothes I’m offering to Lisa, owner of the house.  If they don’t fit or she doesn’t want them, perhaps she’ll give them to someone else.  It no longer bothers me to get rid of my stuff.  Bye, stuff!

A flutter of excitement began to waft over me this morning, as I ran from room to room, gathering, sorting, and planning. We’re on the move. In less than two days we’ll be out the door on three travel days to Africa, in itself a daunting task.

As a young girl I dreamed of Africa and now as a grown woman in my “golden years” I finally have the opportunity to fulfill that dream. Yes, it is wrought with some degree of fear. It’s all a part of the excitement.

Without a doubt, the flies will be chasing me longing for a morsel of my flesh, the mosquitos will be dining on our blood and, a wide array of dangerous and not-so-dangerous insects at times will run past our feet or across the bed at night. I read somewhere to pull down the sheets at night to inspect the bottom sheet for crawling things before climbing into bed. I’ve done that every night here in Tuscany.

The heat will be unbearable (we’ll be in Africa during their spring and summer), especially with no air conditioning, the dripping humidity, and rampant storms at times unpredictable.

We have no delusions. We go with our eyes wide open. In reality, living in the bug-infested, hot, humid mountains of Tuscany without air conditioning, without screens, and without overhead fans in the midst of summer was good practice. Adapting with modifications. Coins hanging in plastic bags over doorways. A floor fan. Keeping doors closed when a flying thing is buzzing inside. We figured it out.

For now, our thoughts center around safely arriving at our new home in Diani Beach, Kenya, where the hardships may or may not be considerably less than when three months later we head to Marloth Park, Kruger Park, South Africa, far from civilization, among the wildlife we so much anticipate.

We’re no worse for the wear. In our old lives, we turned on the AC in late May, never turning it off until September.  We rationalized it as hay fever prevention, mosquito reduction, and better for health, to be comfortable, to be cool.   

Little did we realize how willing, we both were for a change! Sure, we whined, mostly here to our readers, but less to one another, determined to maintain an air of acceptance and contentment between us. It’s worked.

In only a few days, we’ll have a four-hour layover between flights in Istanbul, Turkey, next door to Syria. Watching the news by the hour, we’re hopeful, if there is US involvement, it will wait until we safely reach our new home in Kenya. 

A few days ago, when Tom mentioned that our flight path from Istanbul will be in the flight path of military planes and missiles, making their way to intervene, I immediately brought up Google Maps to see the proximity to Istanbul, cringing at the result.

It was only three months ago that we were concerned about going out and about in Istanbul, ending up safely taking an excursion to Ephesus to see the ruins.  And now, once again we feel a bit of angst heading onto a four-hour layover and subsequent six-hour flight that passes through Turkey, so close to the war zone.

Trying to put such thoughts out of our minds is not possible. It helps to keep us on our toes, staying observant for possible risks, holding close our belongings, hanging close together, checking most of our bags. Once we’re settled, we’ll be at ease.

The packing continues, bit by bit.  My piles of clothing are neatly arranged, the vitamins packed out of sight, and nothing that would raise inquiry is in our carry on bags. Tom will pack today. Learning lessons from past experiences, we travel lighter, with no items drawing any attention to us in any way.  How we’ve learned! 

Thanks to Lisa and Luca, a very special couple, who’ve worked so hard to ensure our stay in their 300-year-old stone house a memorable experience who both focused on making our comfort and convenience their utmost concern.

Sunday morning, September 1st,  we’ll leave early for the half-day drive to Venice.  Once we arrive, we’ll post our arrival and any photos we’ve managed to take along the way. 

Monday morning, September 2nd, we’ll board the plane for the first of three flights to Kenya, arriving at 3:00 am on Tuesday. You won’t hear from us again, other than Sunday from Venice, until after we’re settled at our new home, late in the day on Tuesday. Most likely we’ll try to sleep for a few hours upon arrival. 

The time difference from Kenya to Minnesota, USA is eight hours, to Los Angeles, ten hours, to Boston, seven hours. 

Thus, we’ll be back on Sunday, in your inbox, or available by our link before midday.  See you then!

P.S.  Tom watched the Viking game this morning at 7:00 am. Now, the commercials are back in with the black screen during the time slot. The last box of the prescriptions did not arrive and we’ll notify the online pharmacy later today. We were able to keep the rental car for the duration. Santina is here as I write this, for the last time. It will be sad to say goodbye to this lovely woman. We agreed upon a generous, well-deserved tip.  Grazie, Santina!

Getting our ducks in a row…

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Each day its cooler than the prior day.  More of these puffy clouds surrounded us yesterday morning. With the cool weather, we kept the windows closed all day.  The laundry on the drying rack required the entire day to dry.  It appears Tuscany’s days of hot weather are over.

The packing has begun. I’ve decided to use one of the unused guest rooms to lay out all of my clothing in neat piles, setting aside clothing for the one-day road trip to Venice and another set for the 17-hour flight.

Comfort is key in both cases including the half-day car ride to Venice. Dark clothing is vital for the many hours in the air and waiting in three airports in the event we spill something on ourselves. We’ll wear comfortable shoes and the compression socks intended for long flights and cramped spaces.

More low lying clouds with blue skies peeking through.

Ah, the preparations, so many. Attempting to communicate with a person at Turkish airlines who didn’t speak English on Skype was challenging to say the least. I believe we were able to arrange our seat assignments for the three flights in order to be able to sit together. I couldn’t understand the seat numbers and the aisle numbers. I don’t know any Turkish. We weren’t charged.

I had wanted to discuss my food restrictions with the airline for the meals that will be provided. If what they serve proves to be a problem we can eat at one of our two layovers. I plan to bring nuts just in case.

The thoughtful owner of the house in Kenya has arranged a driver to pick us up at the airport in a newer air-conditioned vehicle who’s already aware of our flight number and time of arrival. The driver will be carrying a sign with our name upon our arrival in the middle of the night. He’ll know where to take us.

The security guard at the house, Jeremia, has been instructed to let us in the gate and the house. The houseboy, Hesborn, is aware that he shouldn’t arrive at the house until after 12:00 pm the day we arrive. We’ll attempt to sleep for a few hours upon arrival. 

Upon awakening, we’ll need to arrange transportation to a grocery store, our first task in our new home. They’ll be no food awaiting us at the house, although the owner kindly offered to leave fruit and crackers, neither of which we can eat. I declined his considerate offer which he usually, provides for his guests, graciously explaining that I have a peculiar diet. 

This photo was taken from the veranda yesterday morning.  We spend most mornings on the veranda it was too damp and cool to venture outside. Today, its warmer and we’re sitting outside now as we write this.

We’ll be fine if we don’t eat until we return from the grocer loaded with a week’s supply.  The grocery stores appear to be larger than we are used to and seemingly well stocked from what we read online.  It will be fun to shop, especially the first time.

The packing? I should have most of mine in order and ready for the “suck bags” (as we call them) by Wednesday. This week, we’ll wash and wear the same tee shirts and shorts over and over to avoid disturbing the packed items. My 25-pound pile of shoes and clothing is ready to be donated. It’s hard to believe I can exist with so little clothing.  

View over the church.

At this point, I’ve let go of my desire to have a “mix and match” wardrobe with many outfits from which to choose. Those days are over. Although I’m keeping two pairs of high heels, each shoe is neatly stuffed with vitamin bottles.

As a matter of fact, our Africa boots are also stuffed with vitamin pills, all of which will be in checked baggage. We’d originally planned to wear the boots on the plane, but I can’t imagine wearing knee-high boots for almost 24 hours. 

I tried on two pairs of jeans in order to decide which would be more comfortable for the flight. It turned out that the lighter colored denim feels more pliable, although they aren’t “stretchy” at all. I wish I’d kept a few pairs of stretchy well-worn jeans. 

Last night’s meatball yet uncooked dinner, which was topped with homemade marinara sauce and locally made combination of finely grated cheeses. Before cooking, we also topped Santina’s tomatoes with the grated cheeses. The black spots are the peppers and herbs from the patio.

One more of the two missing prescription boxes arrived yesterday. Hopefully, the one remaining box will miraculously appear this week, but we’re not optimistic. Plan B will go into effect, have the missing box replaced at no charge (to which the online pharmacy agreed) to be shipped to our mailing service in Nevada. As mentioned in a past post, at some time in the future we’ll figure out a way to have it mailed to us.

Still, we have time to relax on the veranda again this morning. The weather is warmer than yesterday, although very cool. With socks on my feet, I’m comfortable, looking forward to another great day of getting whipped at Gin, watching the last third of the original Iron Man with Parts 2 and 3 already downloaded for our future viewing.

We’ll have another great dinner of leftovers, a fresh pan of the above photo. With no microwave, I always divide the meal in two, cooking one batch fresh each of two nights. This avoids using the oven to reheat already cooked food.

Life is good. Not a complaint in the world.  Looking forward to soon being settled into our new home.