Hanging Out

I love the imagination and energy my boys have - though to be honest, it sometimes drives me crazy! It didn't take them long to discover that this "storage space" above Pruitt's bed makes a great place to "hang out". Somehow even Riley managed to climb up! Of course the bed makes a good landing spot.


What a crazy week it has been. We've had some workers in and out, fixing lights and the washer drain and the door bell. Now that things have settled down a bit, I decided to get the boys in to the doctor, to get their vaccinations up to date and have their rash looked at. It's been going on for over a month but for some reason it wasn't on the priority list till now. Anyway, it's not very bothersome, which is a good thing. It just looks disgusting, especially Riley's face and hands. The doctor ruled out allergies and fungus and was a bit stumped. He had us treat it as scabies, even though he didn't really think that is what it was. So we went through that whole scenario, which included loads and loads of laundry and sanitizing the house, just in case. It actually reminds me more of poison ivy that dries up fast and hardly itches at all, but then is just stays and stays. Maybe its just one of those mysterious things a person can get here and will eventually go away on its own.

The guys took some books back to the British Council Library this morning and are now at one of the markets buying clothes for school while I enjoy a quiet clean house. I was surprised when Austin suggested it, but too happy to talk him out of it. The last few weeks have been very tiring so I'm fully enjoying a break!

A Normal Day

We finally had what felt like a normal day yesterday! There were no workers coming to the door ( though there are still a few things that need fixing) and things are pretty much in order. I cleaned a layer of dust off the floor and then spent the rest of the morning baking cookies. The oven is working like a charm and I am so happy! Riley was shrieking with excitement over getting chocolate chip cookies so we danced around the dining room together! He was so "clingy" over the weekend and just out of sorts but as things are feeling more normal ( maybe it's more like his mother is acting more normal) he is much happier. A friend brought her children over in the afternoon for a play date so there was a lot of happy noise around here.

So it really feels like things are finally coming together. We still want to do some painting and get curtains for the windows, but that will come. At least it feels like all the hard work is starting to pay off.

Austin's Birthday

Today is Austin's birthday. Due to all the craziness of late, I barely thought about it. The poor guy had to go out and buy his own birthday cake tonight! We had lunch with his parents at Pizza Hut, which was a great way to celebrate. Tonight a good friend came over and joined us for cake and ice cream. As I write, they are all playing a game together and having a high old time. Not quite a big party but he seems to be enjoying it anyway.


Friday was a bit of a breather. We had great fellowship in the morning and took some friends to a little restaurant that serves great Bengali food. (We actually went there 4 times this past week - a combination of it serving such good cheap food and me not being able to get into my kitchen). I then went to 3 grocery stores, trying to find the ingredients for an easy dessert to make to take to our team meal -a farewell for 2 single guys - in the evening. I couldn't find what I was looking for but I realized on the way home that I had the ingredients for mint chocolate brownies so I whipped up a pan of those. I am quite pleased to tell you that my oven is working!! We had a good time as a team, talking about things that have happened this past year and telling all kinds of stories. I laughed till I was nearly crying and it felt so good!! It was so nice to be able to walk home instead of having a 4 hour ride home! In spite of all the difficulties, we are glad we're here.

Another One of Those Days

When the painters left last evening, after putting the final coat of paint on the cupboards, I breathed a sigh of relief. They didn't turn out the color I wanted, but after all that had happened, I didn't care too much anymore. I just wanted to get into my kitchen! The plumber had also come and put on the missing toilet seats and worked on the washer drain. It only leaks a small amount now and he said he'll be back to work on it more. It really felt as if we were over the hump. I woke up this morning and was so excited about getting my kitchen in order. The only thing that needed to be done was hooking up the gas stove. Someone soon came and worked on it, and worked on it, and worked on it. Finally he got a couple of the burners to light, but barely. Discouraged does not do justice to the way I was feeling at this point. This was the 2nd stove Austin had gotten. The first one had a big hole in the back and the broiler was missing. So someone from the office was kind enough to take it back and exchange it for us, after much hassling. Now something was wrong with the second one and they had already refused to give us a refund. Finally another guy came and he figured out that this stove was supposed to be used with bottled gas instead of the city-supplied gas (which Austin had specifically asked about and they had told him it would work). Thankfully the guy was able to change it over for us and got it working!!! Because of some other things we had going on, it was late afternoon till I was finally able to fill up my cupboards and settle into my kitchen. By then my enthusiasm was gone and I struggle with wondering what will happen next.

I'm tired, so very tired.

When It Rains It Pours

We woke up to rain again this morning. As I write it is slowly dripping in the window, forming into a puddle on the floor. Time to get out the caulking gun and stop waiting for someone else to fix it! But that puddle is small compared to the puddles I had yesterday. It all started with the power coming on - yea!! The funny thing was, we could hardly tell it was on because so many things still didn't work. The guys who were working on things were pretty confused. Finally they figured out that some of the switches needed to be replaced and the other ones were the ones connected to the generator and will be hooked up today. So, we nearly have all the power and are very happy about that! Of course I was anxious to try out my new washing machine. We decided to go that route instead of having household help. Austin got it hooked up for me and then left for the office while the electrician was finishing up and the kitchen was full of carpenters and painters. A while later I noticed a growing puddle on the floor around the washer. Not good. Here the drain they put in, specifically for a washer, was not big enough to handle the flow of water so it backed up onto the floor. By this time I was on the verge of insanity. I called Prince Charming and he came home and gave me a hand. We tried draining the water in buckets, but then the hose would come loose at the bottom of the washer with all the moving around and water would fly all over the floor anyway. Aaaarrrhhhh! The workers all left around 5:00 p.m. and I finally was able to wash the dishes that had accumulated durning the day and clean the floors. To top it all off, the mop handle bent in half and was useless.

While I'm sitting here feeling sorry for myself, I realize how much I have to be thankful for. Some people's floors are being covered in flood water. No matter how tough things are, someone always has it tougher. I don't know what today will hold - probably more story material. Smile. At least I'm not sitting around, feeling bored!

Moving (into cynicism)

Maybe "waiting" would have been a better title. But, truth be told, I didn't really expect the power to be turned on today. I'll believe it when I see it. Meanwhile, we were glad to see our dining table and chairs arrive this morning. A cupboard was delivered as well, which we've been waiting for so we could put the boys' toys in it. It met with a little accident on the way here and the top has been nicely dented in but it will work. The carpenters finished up the cabinets this morning and the painters were busy sanding and priming all day. Maybe the end is in sight, after all - for the kitchen, that is. The power is another story. When we hadn't heard anything by late afternoon we got on the phone. The guys who were supposed to "do it" were in Tongi, which is not exactly in the neighborhood. Before the weekend we were told our building would be given priority on Sunday. If this is "priority", I'd hate to see what is normal! Oh well, I'm sure it will get turned on someday. In the meantime I am very thankful for the partial power we have. We have people from the office who have been working very hard at helping us sort things out. I can't imagine doing all this alone. Things are slowly looking more and more like "home" here and I am truly thankful for everything that has been accomplished so far.

Moving, Part 2

What a drama! Yesterday was supposed to be the last day the carpenters were here to finish the cupboards; it was also supposed to be the day for the full power to come on. Our temporary line was suddenly turned off because they needed to work on the other line. At first they said it would be 4 hours, then, to appease us, they said 2. It was off for 6 hours! Which meant that Austin couldn't do his work here and neither could the carpenters. Sigh. We were also told that the line really would get done, that they would not turn on the temporary line again. Seeing is believing! After 6 hours the temporary line was finally turned on again. By then the carpenters were gone and I was in the middle of cleaning up sawdust and other dust. 3 hot, tired and hungry boys were ready for some real food - we love cold sandwiches, but after so many of them, well, you can imagine how happy we were for some real food. The last straw, however, was getting a replacement phone that I couldn't figure out how to answer and finding ants all over the bed. It's funny how after days of putting up with big frustrations, the "little" ones can send one over the edge.

We'll probably be without power for a while today again. Hopefully the cupboards will get finished - they only need to drill a little bit to get the last shelf in. Then we have the painters here to paint them and they said that would take 3 days.

Maybe someday we will be able to finish unpacking and feel a little more normal again.

Getting Settled

Life has been crazy; I struggle to find the words to tell you just how crazy it has been! We officially moved into our flat a few days ago and are living with a constant flow of people in and out, the noise of other flats being finished and many things falling apart ( while I'm trying really hard not to be one of those things falling apart!!). The power for the building still is not on. Every day we were told it would come that day. Finally we asked if it was sure. Yes, it was sure. Two days later, at 5:30 p.m. we got a call that the guys -who were needed to do the last whatever they needed to do to get it going - had been in a traffic jam and turned around at 3:00. Since it was just before the weekend, we get to wait until Sunday. Thankfully they were able to run a temporary line which gives us a few lights, fans and outlets. So we have taken to sleeping on the living room floor, as the fans there have power. It feels a little like camping out. At least we have slept well and are not completely without power.

Today has been a struggle. The carpenters, who are building the cabinets for the kitchen, have been here all day. At the moment I can hear them cutting the boards with a hand saw. Needless to say, it has been a long process. We asked them to do all the work in the garage and bring them up when they were completed but, due to work going on in the garage, my kitchen has become their work station - which means I can't cook, much less unpack my kitchen things till things are finished. I thought that was enough of a trial. Now we have the smell of the sewer wafting through the air. A pipe just outside one of our windows must have burst as there was the noise of a waterfall, followed by a smell which I shall not describe. The good thing is that the plumbers are working on it. The bad thing is that we can't use that bathroom and it's the only one with a seat. The "squat pot" is on the other side of the kitchen, hence inaccessible at the moment. The other bathrooms are all western style but I was just told we won't have the seats for 2 more days. Sigh. Then there is the window that leaks when it rains, so much that it runs from one room into the other.

We seem to be followed by gas leaks. Those of you who know us from Ohio will remember the time our basement filled up with gas and we had to have the line off for over a month. Then my kitchen stove had a leak and had to be replaced. Our little 2 burner stove in Mymensingh leaked as well and we had it replaced. So now we are in a new building. On Thursday the "gas guy" was here and hooked up the chulla (the 2 burner stove) and then left, after telling me there was no gas in the building yet. Minutes later I heard a rush of gas coming from the kitchen and was shocked! I tried to turn the connection off, but to no avail. I didn't know what to do. I tried to run downstairs to tell the caretaker but couldn't get through because another guy was scrubbing the steps. He seemed to think it was funny when I told him I couldn't turn it off. It made me feel a little better when he couldn't either. I was just ready to get on the phone to try to track the guy down when he showed up. Was I ever relieved! He ended up having to change some parts and now everything seems to be fine ( just lots of wood shavings between me and my being able to use it).




In the midst of it all, we have a lot to be thankful for. The boys seem to share my love of setting up house in a new place - it's just that some days not much "setting up" happens. We spent a lot of time doing fun things yesterday, as it was the weekend and they all woke up happy this morning.



I have to remind myself that these trials will not last forever. In the meantime, we are together as a family, making memories that will someday make us laugh around a campfire.

Moving, Part 1

These photos were taken when we stayed at our friends' flat a couple weeks ago, but since I don't have anything more recent, I am posting these. Life has been very crazy to say the least!


On Wednesday we finished up our packing, had lunch at the office and then came to Dhaka in the truck with our first load of stuff. We are staying at my in-laws for the time, as our new flat is still not ready to move into. Austin and I went over on Thursday to see how things are coming and saw a little progress, as well as a lot of wood shavings where the cabinets are supposed to be and rain water coming in to form a large puddle on the new floor. At least it's tiled and not carpeted! The workers were finishing putting in grilles on one of the verandas and need to do one more. So we wait, wishing we knew how to light some fires... We are grateful to have a place to stay in the meantime, with Austin's parents. The boys are quite happy to play with Grandma's toys and play soccer in her long "hall" that's not really a hall, as well as watching real soccer games from the verandas. This morning they all went down to watch Grandpa play soccer as well as look for treasure in the field. I felt compelled to make a couple of rules - no bones, no glass and no decomposing paper. Of course everything was met with a "why, Mom?" We are also busy shopping,trying to get all the furniture and things we will need for the flat, so that when things are ready enough for us to move in, we will be ready too.

We had a lovely 4th of July at the American Recreation Association here, complete with a speech from the ambassador, a letter from the president and a huge birthday cake for our country. The boys really enjoyed a magic show and are still in awe! They also had a high old time running around the play area and splashing in the pool and didn't seem to notice the lack of fireworks.