Today I am waiting on our couch delivery that I was told would be this morning before noon. Ron got a call and was told afternoon. So it goes. The awning guys have returned and hopefully will finish today. The electrician came by late yesterday. Seems we need a new doorbell and a new something for the water pump. Pretty amazing since this a brand new house. But then again, we are getting the kinks worked out here. I think my landlady hates to see me assuming that something is wrong if I am coming over. I like to tell her when I am leaving the house as workman need to get in and one of us needs to be here to let them in.

Yesterday I saw my first monitor lizard here. I was walking down our lane and heard this thrashing in the grass. I looked over and there was this black lizard as big as my arm and about as long. Yikes! I’d hate to find one of those in my house.

I just got a call and now the couch is due at 11:30. I’m sure there is a reason for the multiple calls and times given as this has happened before with another store delivery. I just can’t tell you what the reason is.

11-30-05

Today is a special day, our 20th anniversary. What a thrill to be so happy and to have had so much abundance in 20 years. We are truly blessed; first and foremost to have each other and to have the love and respect we share after twenty years. Does it get any better? I can’t imagine. Usually we give each other about four cards but this year is different. The cards I bought are sitting in my desk in Vancouver and I didn’t even think about trying to find cards here. Fortunately Ron didn’t either so no one’s feeling got hurt.

We usually buy a piece of art each anniversary so hopefully we can find something here. Ron is traveling down the coast next week and there is a town along the way that is most famous for its masks. We treasure finding masks from around the world so are looking forward to finding something there. Apparently there is a series of 18 masks that are used for exorcism, depending on the need; one of the 18 is used. I can hardly wait to see them. The photos I have seen are gorgeous, very brightly painted, with wild expressions. They would definitely rid you of any demons that may be causing you trouble!

Yesterday the house was filled with workmen, finishing up projects: the outside awnings, the curtain rods installed, the electric water pump repaired, the doorbell repaired, the mailbox and slot installed, the garage door lubricated so it is easy to open (yes, it’s manual, you slide it to the side for deliveries or for your car that we don’t and won’t have). One of the workmen was the metals guy. He made the garage door, the mailbox, the address plate, the curtain rods, the awnings, the window grills, the stair railings and the bathroom shower door. Pretty amazing. Anyway, it feels great to have things almost finished here. The screen man returned and spent a lot of time with Veena working out solutions. I think they will be installed at the end of the week.

We did get some bad news yesterday. We are on a waiting list for ADSL. We have no idea how long it will be. That means Ron can’t work from home, it means we can’t use the computer for phone calls and it means I will be walking about 4 blocks to an internet café. Thank god there is one in the neighborhood. I am most grateful for that but disappointed about the inconvenience to Ron and that we can’t use the computer phone that costs two cents a minute!

Today I will go to the Internet café to catch up on email and do more house shopping. Veena gave us some lovely wrought iron pieces for decoration: a fruit bowl, an urn stand with urn and two floor candlesticks. They go perfectly with the decor. I promise photos as soon as we are completely hooked up. It is obvious that this project is a labor of love for Veena. The design, the attention to detail, the consistency of design, it all is so beautiful. Ron told her yesterday how delighted we were to be living here. It is really starting to come together with furniture and décor. We are having four guests to dinner on Saturday. We are eager to show the place off and to start our social life.

Ron brought home a shower rack that we’ve needed, but I couldn’t seem to find. He went to lunch at a place I’ve shopped at many times, but never saw the racks. Oh well. At least we have it now.

For our anniversary, we had a very romantic evening at an upscale restaurant. We st on the veranda of a 110 year old colonial mansion overlooking the front garden. It was a very pleasant evening. We had a lime juice drinks to start off (very refreshing), then had an hors d’ouvre of onion and carrot strips wrapped around a fresh mozzarella cheese. This had a balsamic vinaigrette over the top and was quite good. We both had pasta for the entrée. Ron had a spicy prawn linguini and I had a duck filled ravioli. We capped it off by sharing a fabulous dessert of apples, meringue and a flaky crust. Yum Yum.