Settling in

After a couple of weeks of gardening/pruning/clearing/labouring/navvying/rockcrushing - most of which I have done, but the bulk of the heavy work has been done by my beloved husband - we have finished.

For now.

The aim was to get the rock pile off the drive so we could park the motorhome. Achieved. Rock distributed, with only a small pile remaining for the last of the parking provision.

So I turned my attention to the house. Having slowly moved all our belongings here over the last couple of weeks, everything was piled up in an (un)satisfactory mess. But now the kitchen cupboards are filled and the surfaces are clear, suitcases have been unpacked and clothes distributed in wardrobes and, finally, we have distributed seating and put rugs down in the sitting room. Our large African pictures are up and, for the first time since leaving Africa, the room has a truly African feel.

Large woven baskets from Pokot serve as occasional tables, graced with lamps made from gourds we bought at the side of the road in Machakos, as we drove down to Mombasa one time.

Heidi Lange's beautiful prints hang together near Robin Andersen's silk screen print of a Masai boy herding his goats. A David Shepherd print of elephants, one which many of our friends whose roots also lie in Africa own as well, dominates one wall.

A trio of elephants, carved from coconut wood, sit on the windowsill. A metalwork scorpion, made by Jonny, and a zebra made in Zimbabwe wait to join them, along with various other artefacts. A large grey rhino, created in Tabaka from Kisii soapstone, marches near the fireplace.The acacia root lamp, which we made before we left, lights up our dining room.

There are many other things which we will unpack later. Books wait in boxes for the shelves we need to buy and put up in one of the spare rooms, soon to be called the 'office'. Files ditto. Stationery, too. These things can wait.

Meanwhile, my canary-yellow kitchen gladdens my heart, my blue and white china finally comfortably at home in these echoes of Sweden.

And, on Moving In Day, I was blessed to receive these beautiful flowers: not as a moving-in gift, just a 'thank you'...but what wonderful timing.

And, best of all: photos start to appear...