The only real excuse I have is that life threw me for a loop and I was just trying to keep up. Roy and I went back to the US around Christmas/New Years time for vacation, to see family, and to get in those pesky yearly doctor visits. It was a really hectic trip. We were constantly traveling to fit everything in. But it was a good trip. The day after we got back to Nigeria, my mom called and told me that her father had another heart attack and they weren't expecting him to recover from it. Two weeks later he passed away at home surrounded by loved ones. That was the longest/hardest two weeks I've been through. I have been very blessed and have had all four of my grandparents alive and healthy. (I am 31 years old.) He is the first to pass and I wasn't sure how to react. Luckily, for me, the company my husband works for covered the expense of a flight home so that I could go to the funeral. It was hard to say good bye to my grandpa, but it was so good to see and visit with all my mom's family. Everyone was so kind and loving on this trip. Going out of each others way to comfort and help each other. It was nice. And it helped provide some closure. But it still hurts... it probably will for a long time. I love my grandpa and miss him very much. But I know that when I need him, he will be close and watch over me.
Anyway, I was only in Nigeria for two weeks before I left for the funeral. And I was home sick with a BAD cold those entire two weeks. Then I was back in the US again for six more weeks. I stayed at my parents house for four of those six weeks. And in the last two weeks I was there, I ripped the paneling off the upstairs hallway, patched up the sheet rock, retouched the stairwell and downstairs hallway walls, primed it all and painted it and the ceiling. And kept it a secret from my dad for the first whole week. He would get up and go to work every morning and I would get up and start working. About four each afternoon I would stop. Clean up my mess, stash all the supplies in my room, take a shower and plop down on the couch just in time for him to get home. (He had specifically said, "I don't want to take down the paneling upstairs. It will be to much work to fix the sheetrock behind it." But mom specifically wanted it off!!) And since he NEVER goes upstairs, he didn't notice. But once he did find out, he STARTED to get mad and raised his voice and stomped up the stairs. But once he got up there and looked at the job that I did... he couldn't keep yelling. I am pretty handy. At least I think so.
The last two weeks I spent in Houston with Roy while he was on a business trip. We had a great time. We went shopping, to the aquarium and the zoo. We ate out at lots of great restaurants and specifically went to Taste of Texas for my birthday. It was REALLY good steak and they gave me dessert for free. (I need to scan the picture they took and then I will post it here.) I was REALLY glad to be with Roy again. I had missed him so much.
When we finally got back to Nigeria, we had a surprise waiting for us. We got home on a Saturday and I looked into the pantry to see what food was left (Roy doesn't shop much when I am gone.)
This picture is looking straight into the pantry. Around the corner to the left is my washer and dryer. This is what I found:
YES, not only was the door completely OFF the dryer, but the glass was TOTALLY broken. On Monday, I asked Grace (my steward) what happened. She said that she had put the blanket off the bed in the washer and started it and later heard a crash and the door to the dryer was on the floor.
I believe her. These machines have been pieces of @#$%@#$% since we first got them. One problem after another. So we sent an email to the facilities people to let them know that we were going to need a new one.
Then the next day I went in to measure the dryer to see how big it was, when I noticed that the washing machine looked funny. There were clothes in it and the door was shut, but it wasn't. The latch was still engaged, but the hinges had snapped and it was hanging open slightly from that side. UUUGGGHHHHH!!
GINORMUS PIECES OF JUNK. Seriously the hinges of both doors on both machines both snapped within seven days of each other. SERIOUSLY! Another email to facilities. BLAH....
They emailed us back and said, what brand do you prefer. And I said, "Good question." If we were in the US I could tell you exactly what I want. But those don't plug in here so good. (And if you just jam the plug in the outlet, it makes sparks and stuff... not good.) So they told us 3 different stores to go and look at and see what we liked. I found this:
It is a Samsung 7.5kg air wash 3-in-1 combo. It washes, dries and "air washes" all in one machine. It will mean that I can only do ONE load at a time. But it makes MUCH more sense space wise. That pantry closet is SOOOOO small and cramped. We wrote down the make and model and sent the information to our facilities department. They wrote up a requisition and it is waiting approval, I think. Anyway I am HOPING that sometime next week, I will have a new washer/dryer. I just have to keep borrowing the neighbors until then. BLAH.
I think that mostly covers it.
