We're not blogging much these days but...

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See you there I hope!

The puppies "found" a snake. Look away now if you are very keen on snakes

Some flowers around Iwura today

Accident!

So I'm off to Sri Lanka in a few hours to get some work done, see the puppies and chill a little.

Sadly I won't be able to see Brayen and Julia as they had a motor-bike accident (no broken bones thank God but bruised, scraped and battered so off to get some aruyvedic treatment with the family).

Luckily Brayen's family are nearby and were able to step in. This means that I won't be left entirely bereft when there (and, of course, I always have the trusty Ramesh to get me places) and they were able to make sure the grass got planted. We have grass!

Not everywhere. But we have grass. And sprinklers so we don't have to water it.

To say I'm excited would be a crazy understatement!

No more sleeps and I'm there...

More on the flower tower

It feels hotter here than in the UAE but that's probably because it's been remarkably chilly in Dubai recently. I mean, the weather has actually been pretty fabulous with lunches outside and drinks outside in the evening equally lovely. 

Here it seems hot and I feel for the workmen doing the outside walls but am, nonetheless, delighted that the outside is finally finished!  Now all we have to do is plumbing, electricity, tiling, putting in mirror and shelves etc. fixing the steps and then finishing it all off by planting flowers in the "pots" built into the building and more around the flower tower itself. And most of the decisions about that can be made this trip. Those of you who know me will not be surprised to hear I've made a list! 

I feel  like these workmen have been maligned by me. It hadn't occurred to me how difficult it must be to get all the tiles to match up when they aren't uniform shapes and how much time it must take. They were actually here early this morning and caught me in the shower!

In other news

1) we're also hoping to cover the back wall with sugar cane. Unless anyone has better ideas?  

2) there seems to be a much pronounced noise of crickets and a reduction in the cawing of crows

3) we've had an influx of white seeds from one of the trees 

4) Brayen and Yuliya successfully got me an extended visa. Hurrah! 

No photos yet as although I am taking them I'm struggling with sharing. I'll probably do so when back in Dubai.  In any case, they aren't great - I wasn't blessed with a good eye but I'm hoping to get others, with more talent and knowledge, to take some better ones soon. You'll be especially amused/annoyed by my attempt to capture what the white seeds look like in case someone can tell me what they are?

Today, Matthew, I'll mostly be....

It's 0541 in Dubai so 0711 here and I'm now safe and sound on the terrace. The puppies have been petted (and then ignored as they tore my dress - do dogs need to get their nails clipped? I'm sitting on the terrace having unpacked and had a bit of a chat Bryan and wandered around looking at trees and the progress. I am now relaxed. 

It is slow but steady. I can't help feeling that it should be possible to do more than one thing at a time but it does like everything is very time-intensive. It's going to take Brayen and Yuliya a few hours to get to Colombo and update my visa. I couldn't bear queuing at the airport after  what was not a great flight as there was a drunk man shouting on the plane.

The outside washroom remains enormous but is being transformed into what will be a "tower of flowers". If the workmen actually turn up today we may even finish the external tiling. And then everybody goes off for a few days for Easter. 

I'm giving myself today off to relax (listen to the Archers, write this, have a shower outside, read my book, do yoga, eat fruit, get chilly and put on a jumper), watch this episode of Corrie (my dirty little secret!) and then tomorrow I'm going to do a day of work. I'm looking forward to it as I've got some interesting things to prepare. There will likely be quite a lot of noise as it's Easter and there are likely to be lots of celebrations. 

Matt arrives on Saturday so I will have delicious food and cocktails  and we can drink the bottle of champagne I bought and read books and talk nonsense and do yoga and get to know each other and plan out the garden and hang out. Hurrah! I might even really try to get the dogs to chase the crows this time. They are so cheeky! Oh, yes and we might do a video for a TV show. Hmmmm.......

It's been a while and things have happened.

So, it's been a long time since I've posted. Mostly because on the few occasions I've made it to Sri Lanka I've focused on relaxing and all the progress has been made in my absence. So you can see what's happening Brayen and Yuliya have sent some photos. We're not finished yet but it's really getting there now and we've even got guests staying at the moment.

Some of the colours seem to have come out weird but I've no idea how to fix that so, to see it for real, I guess you'll have to get on a plane and come visit!

It's been forever

A couple of friends were kind enough to notice that I haven't posted for ages and this is because I lost my camera. Inexcusably. And irritatingly enough it happened just as real progress has been made. Of course I still have my iPhone but I've been useless at remembering to carry it as well as my local phone and, in any case, I then had to work out how to share them.

I think I've figured this out now as there will be even more progress in my absence (from Friday) and I wanted to capture what it is like now. However, you'll have to click here for the latest pictures as I don't seem to have posted them to my account and so can't embed it. If you have any idea how to fix this please let me know!

A photo montage update

So, it turns out that Shiny's internet package was not all it could have been and that, on the 19th July or thereabouts, I ran out of "internet juice". It took us some time to realise this was the issue and then upgrading was difficult because the account was still in Shiny's name and changing it took some time too. Those of you who know me well can imagine how much I've hated not being able to use the internet freely. We're now back to normal service it seems although I'm not sure how long for at the moment as I don't really understand how much juice I use or even how to find out. Any ideas?

Anyway, rather than write a long post, I thought I'd share some photos of what's been going on and, of course, the rapidly growing and very cute puppies. 

Yoga

I had a comment on another post asking what had happened with yoga. Well, it turns out that there are no yoga teachers based in Negombo or, at least, if they are here they don't answer their phone or respond to email. However there are quite a few in Colombo who are prepared to travel. I've now got a fabulous woman called Jasmine who comes here and we are prepared to open the class to others so just let me know. We'll also have some people coming from a centre in Colombo so that we should be able to get daily or almost daily classes in the gorgeous "shack".

Let me know if you're interested!

Today is a good day.

Warning: only read this post if you are interested in the minutiae of my life. A friend pointed out that I will forget the pain involved in doing this and so I just want a record of the progress and this seems like a great place to put it.

Every day right now is full of things getting better. I worked all day yesterday on business things and so didn't really notice what was going on. (Except for the puppies of course who do take a lot of attention but are doing great and starting to pee where they should. We go for little walks around and say hello to people and the rubber chicken is now used as a "bad dog" sound. Very effectively. Sorry Monica!)

So it was a great surprise just now to wander around and see what has happened in a day and a bit.

We've got half of the ceiling in the living room done and it looks SO much better. The kitchen is all painted and we're nearly ready to unpack everything we've bought. We don't have all the shelf space we need yet but we're close now to having the living room area back and that's where all the glasses etc. will go. The necessary bathroom accoutrements have been bought and the man is to come in the next couple of days to finish all of that. Today or tomorrow the rain screens go on and then shortly after the fence and the window coverings arrive. All the time the painter is staining and polishing and varnishing and making clean. It's lovely. Soon we'll be able to focus on the even more fun stuff like finishing off the massage table and the massage room, putting in our slide and making a barbecue. We already have a few pots and more are on the way so soon we'll be planting herbs and flowers.

What I really like about this place is the way people turn up and say things like "ooh, you should put bamboo there" or "what about hammocks" and I think, "yes, that's a great idea" and we make it so.

I'll take a video and post it soon for those of who can bear it.

I'm mobile!

I have spent 4 years without a car, public transport or a bicycle. I live in Dubai and don't want the hassle of driving and, although the metro is a great service, I usually use taxis. This is especially true during the Summer months when even the 2 minute walk from the metro to where I'm going is horrid.

Here in Sri Lanka the equivalent is the 3-wheeler or tuk-tuk and they're great so I won't get a car here. I'd love to get a tuk-tuk but apparently it's quite a complicated procedure here (unlike India I'm told). So it's a motorbike or bicycle. Obviously it's not going to be a motorbike as I'm a complete physical coward  so it's a bicycle.

Last night I tried the painter's old sit-up-and-beg and was immediately transported back to Japan and China and using the bike to get around for the basic daily runaround. So I asked Brayen and his Dad to keep an eye out. This morning at 0730 they turned up with a bike. We need to attach a bell and a basket but I've already been out to the main road and it was gorgeous.

Cycling is the perfect way to get around. You glide past at a sensible pace - allowing you to see and hear what's going on around you and keep going with just a smile and a wave or, alternatively, stop and get involved. And so many other people are also on bikes that the dogs seem to accept it. I immediately felt closer to the community too.

There are no photos because I still don't have a mirror. I have now not seen myself for over a week. And, as a friend pointed out, it's probably just as well. I've got a party tomorrow and I don't know if I want to meet any more new people whilst looking like Shrek!

The crows and a bird that tweets

I have crows. Lots of them. It's not exactly the Birds but they are there and, although they're not intrusive they must be keeping away other birds and they are occasionally a bit loud in the morning. Also, the puppies are very little so I have to hover over them to make sure no crow takes a chunk of puppy meat.

The plan is to get a slingshot or a water gun (probably a water gun given the chances of hurting myself or breaking something with a sling shot) as well as some fake snakes. The internet doesn't lie, right?  

Then the idea is to put some places for little birds to nest on the inside of the exterior wall. I think I may have stolen this idea from Lanka Logger? What I'd like to do is have more interesting birds who make different noises. Like the one I heard this morning that actually says "tweet".

I am no expert in birds (read: I don't know anything apart from crows and pigeons really) but I'd like to learn more and so be less likely to confuse one of the putative ring tones on the new bell for the gate with an actual bird leading to great hilarity amongst a growing crowd in the shop.

The puppies are alive

Everyone says so I have to have a dog and I suppose I even quite like the idea which, given how scared I am of dogs, is rather strange. I decided to get a rescue dog as that seems like a good thing to do and Martin Fullerton, my real estate guy, runs a charity that does this as well as other excellent things with stray dogs and cats.Martin runs a few businesses as well and, although he is very kind and always takes a call, getting a gap in his schedule so he can show me some dogs was hard. 

But then last night I got a call saying that 5 female puppies had been abandoned earlier in the day in a shopping bag outside a foreign lady's house and would I like one. 

Of course I said yes as it seemed like fate that, just as the house becomes properly habitable, young (like 4 week old we think) puppies turn up needing a habitable house. Although, to be honest, I was not remotely prepared and so the poor puppies have spent the evening on a bit of cardboard and a (very nice rug like) door mat for comfort. I have done some research now and have got some idea of what I need to do but they are under the age anybody seems to write about because they should, by rights, still be with their mother.

I have never really got the idea of animals and sharing a house with them. So I won't be. They are going to be purely outside dogs and I'm going to do everything possible to make sure they are properly trained. This is particularly important as I am, of course, a big scaredy-cat and scared not just of dogs but also of kittens. Although this fear (hatred?) of cats may mean I live longer according to this article  which shows that cats will do anything to get us. 

Training has already started which will come as no surprise to anyone who knows me! I have no treats to offer them yet so I've been using affection and attention. Everything I've read makes it seem just like training a kid but with the complication that they use an entirely different language. I was going to write "and their brains work differently" but I think they're not that difficult to the average kid - they want to feel secure and looked after, to know what the rules are because they are applied consistently and be left alone a lot to get on with things. 

Anyway, I will go out today and buy all the accoutrements and get a vet to come and visit them. Then  I'll feel a lot more confident. 

UPDATE: The vet is coming at 1 and, as I was waiting for the photos to download, I went it to play and one of the Puppies (currently called Dopey/Hidey) is actually a boy. Hmmm.

UPDATE 2: Both puppies are female it seems. It also seems I'm not good at telling the difference. You may get photos of this too soon. We have lots of accoutrements for them and soon we'll have a home. Thanks to Lankalogger. 

Visitors

So far 3 different couples have visited me. The first had considered buying this place but then decided to go for coconut living instead. The second are Lankalogger and her husband who came round for negroni bringing home made bread and laughter. 

And the third were a random couple of teachers on holiday from Israel with lots of interesting back story who were wandering around the neighbourhood when some of the kids who live nearby spotted them and, we assume, decided they needed to get to the other foreigner's place. 

Anyway, obsessed as I am, I showed them around and they were here to see the outside lights all work (and dim!), the first table made and all the fans working. They also witnessed the return of the water and the hob entering working condition. They seemed to love the place and I was enjoying having people around so I asked them if they'd like to hang out or even cook. They agreed to go and get ingredients (my kitchen here bearing a very strong resemblance to my one in Dubai in the sense that there is no food in either) and come back and cook the inaugural dinner which turned out to be an Israeli dish with a name my brain resolutely refused to remember. If anyone out there is an expert and can help it was made with lots of tomatoes, garlic, onions and chill and eggs were cooked on the top of it. You eat it with bread and, in this case, beautifully seasoned courgette/cucumber things. There's a picture here that might help with identification. Or if Bea and Micky, having completed their holiday with no internet access at all, are reading this perhaps they'll let us know. 

It was great fun hanging out with them eating and looking out at the beautiful view constantly changing in front of us. They had great ideas for improvements to the place and further refined my thinking on lots of fun ideas like fire pots and hammocks. We had been drinking and I asked Bea to write them down so we didn't forget. I am horribly bossy at the moment it seems. Nonetheless, they are coming back through Negombo in a little over a week and have promised to pop in and say hello. By then they should see a big transformation and I can't wait!

Perhaps best of all they brought some spices and some salt so I have now been given bread and salt as well as boiled coconut milk so we are set up for prosperity and good fortune from all sides.

UPDATE: Lankalogger very cleverly found the name of the recipe.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shakshouka

Some more photos of progress...

https://picasaweb.google.com/100962707179505090108/SomeMoreProgress

Some photos

These show the progress made before my arrival. Things have moved on even more since then but, right now, we're back in the worse before its better phase except for the "shack". Anyway, if you want to see the photos you can do so here.

Some photos

These show the progress made before my arrival. Things have moved on even more since then but, right now, we're back in the worse before its better phase except for the "shack". Anyway, if you want to see the photos you can do so here.

The continuing progress..

Hurrah. Clearly I'm now connected which is another big step forward. The electricians turned up and there are lights most places (with shades) although there's quite a few still waiting as it turns out that I've gone a bit light crazy. They're coming again today I hear.

The girls tidied up the "shack" and drinks were drunk with LankaLogger and her lovely husband. I think I might have fallen very lucky here as they got stuck into the Negroni and none of us got finish a story without interruptions and digressions (on their part, sensible and erudite. Sitting on soft cushions with lights, overlooking the lagoon was pretty great too and I continued to do that for quite some time after they left, munching on the delicious, crusty home-made bread they kindly brought. If you want to learn about the difficulties/fun of cooking here then have a look at this. 

Although we can't unpack them yet as the kitchen still needs painting, all of the essentials for the kitchen are now bought, including an enormous mortar and pestle and a ridiculous number of spice jars. There are also some fun things like bowls/glasses made of coconut with little tops through which you can put a coconut spoon or a straw and some things that I can't imagine using but absolutely needed like a think for making string hoppers. The fact they're all still packed means no photos but also means that, when we finally get to do so, it will be like Christmas. I now own a lot of pots and bowls and tupperware type things in what, as I understand it, will be a constant battle against ants. 

I'm going to clean some cupboards today or, actually, get someone else to do it and then I'm going to have fun filling them with things.

And the ceiling man is coming today so, by the end of today or, at worst, Monday, there will be proper ceilings in the main house and nice, clean fans installed. 

We've also got, and I hope you'll forgive my indelicacy, a new lavatory and sink for the main bathroom as the sickly blue colour of the previous set made me feel ill. I also need to change the lavatory in the cabana as it is broken. A fact that came to light when the tiling was being done.That means that I have just got rid of a lavatory from the property (here since Shiny) and now I'm going to have to live with two more for another week until the bin men come next Friday. Bathroom should be done by Monday evening.

Tomorrow Brayen's mum and dad go off on a shopping trip. They will come back with tables made from one huge tree; pallets matching the "shack" to make a fence of, coconut leaf matting to repair the shack roof (bought from some poor old lady they like apparently); screens for when it rains and some big pots we'll use when we get gutters and rain things as well as as water containers in the bathrooms (plastic bins don't do it for me). These things should be in situ by Wednesday and the external light fixtures will be done by then too.

Sunday will be dead. And then it will all start again on Monday. If the painter turns up and the carpenter has done the screen then by Wednesday I should be able to have my first massage in the "shack" on the lagoon. As I've been dreaming of for so long! 

Then it'll be about finding a sofa and organising a yoga class and unpacking. This really has been quite a project and coordinating things is something we're all getting better at.  The book may have to wait a week or two!

My Resolution is……

I'm writing this at 2130 on Wednesday 4 July. I left Dubai last night at 2350 which was 2 hours later than it should have been because of the bad behaviour of a gentleman from Saudi who caused us to miss our takeoff slot by behaving badly enough to force the Captain flying the plane to call the police. He was eventually allowed to stay on when he apologised but must have done something bad because the crew told me that he was to be banned from returning with Fly Dubai and I saw police at the gate so I assume they were called for something to do with him. Interestingly I may find out because I filled in a witness report contemporaneously from about 2150. 

I didn't get much sleep and have been partying fairly hard in the "last week of term" so today has been tough.

Anyway, I arrived at 0600 and was picked up by the lovely Brayen who is newly returned from Russia although sadly without his new bride who will be joining the family in a few weeks. Despite being lovelorn he pulled himself together and we had a day of great accomplishments and progress. We  went straight to my place on which great progress had been made (photos to come) in my absence. Nonetheless the family had come to an end of the things they could do without my presence to provide cash and to make decisions. We bought breakfast and went to his place where we picked up his parents and I woke up his little brother. I texted my bank manager to say I was coming and she responded to say they were waiting at 0830 so off we went. The customer service at Sampath Bank is astonishing - the manager had already written out all the paperwork so all I had to do was sign and she had the money ready because I asked my rep in Dubai, Amila, to tell her I was coming. Fabulous.

Then we went to Singer Mega where they sell all manner of electric goods and have a peculiar approach to pricing in that they only price some items it seems. I was cranky from lack of sleep and we'd had a bad experience at Abans where an incompetent sales guy lied to me one too many times and I walked out without any white goods at all. So I'm afraid we took a rather robust line with Roshan who helped us there. He was up to the task and they delivered within hours and were super accommodating. I like these guys.

Next we went to Arpico. I'm trying not to shop there if I can instead go to a family owned store but sometimes you just seem to have no choice and it does have a liquor store and is air-conditioned. It also plays music that I know all the words too in most of the store - if you don't' like loud, annoying music then avoid the electrical aisle where I almost died or committed murder this morning when wandering aimlessly around the store trying to work out where the great jug I noticed there before and imagine filling with a long, cool drink when friends visit is. 

Finally we went to a shop whose name I don't know and could never find again where a host of lovely guys sold us light fittings and bulbs (although the electrician now says they're the wrong ones but that's our fault I'm assuming). They were Muslim and we talked about their Haj. The electricians then assessed what needs to be done and promise to be here at 9 in the morning and will do all the final bits and pieces and I'll go from not really having juice or light where I need it to having globe lamps along the lagoon that I can dim! I'll be amazed if they do as we kept them waiting around for aged. They turned up before the light fittings so the electricians (who disconcertingly look about 14) hung about patiently and helped the Singer Mega guys unpack so that now I have a kitchenful of appliances that will all be plumbed, fitted or whatever else they need doing to them by tomorrow evening. See, although people may turn up 2 hours late that means they are pretty accommodating when, as is inevitable it seems, something happens to change the best-laid plans. Like finding a dead bird on the ground and having to deal with that before the crows eat it (eurgh!) or a frog in the kitchen (all will be reclaimed from all animals tomorrow) as we clean out the final remainders of rubbish and building materials. Anyway, apparently these guys are really trustworthy so I'm confident.

I'm certainly pleased with what they've done so far and it is a new joy to be in Sri Lanka and  writing on a computer that is plugged in and with some light so that I am not in complete darkness. Although it will be better still when we have light shades and not just the bare bulb. Can't imagine how much better it's going to be when everything is bought and we have all you need to live a civilised life. I reckon we're about a week away if everyone does what they say they're going to do. Luckily there is no Pula (spell?)  for a few weeks and no big Catholic or Muslim holidays either so our pool of potential people who can do stuff   is wide and people are less likely to just bugger off to worship or party. Fingers crossed or, as I found myself saying  a lot today, Inshallah. I also get to get everything properly cleared and to buy stuff like a cupboard or shelves so that I can unpack. So that will be fun too. 

I will miss brushing my teeth outside at dusk or at night, looking out at the little boats with their lights on, men fishing and occasionally chatting or having a cigarette, and wondering if the noise of my electric toothbrush can be heard by them. In fact I might just keep on doing it; just because one has a functioning, clean indoor bathroom (by Friday I hope). This seems like an easier resolution to keep than to write a book.Which is something else I'm going to do this Summer along with yoga and a massage  every day and lots of fresh fruit. We've developed a training programme around managing in a matrix  based on our experiences and interviews with business leaders. I want to write the book to go along with it over the Summer - I am under no illusions that I am the best writer on the planet but I think I can write fairly clearly and concisely and that the stuff we have to say may seem obvious to some but it simply isn't to many. Anyway, I'm clearly not out of work mode yet but that should happen by Saturday and as soon as I have internet and can start my other resolution of only checking email once a day, clearing it and then doing something on the long list of things I love doing but never seem to make time for in Dubai if I want to work. And reading. Lots. I've been introduced to two new authors recently. Haruki  Murakami  is one and Dave Eggers is the other. Really wonderful in very different ways although they both have a style where there are no unnecessary words. I love that and singularly fail to do it myself sadly although 

1) I am trying and

2) I don't really expect anyone to read this I suppose.

Which begs the question why write it and I've been asking myself that recently.

Well, I suppose that I hope writing today's ridiculously long epistle  will help me cleanse my mind after the eventful time I've had over the couple of months since I last left here and so let me sleep. There is so much to do and I really want to get it done quickly so I can relax and veg. Or write a book of course.  Also I am missing the internet and it's ability to let me connect with the world. Is that sad? I'm frustrated I can't call some people as the pay as you go mobile eats credit and I haven't got it together to buy enough yet. Use my home phone I don't hear you cry? Well yes, I would as I can't Skype but it's not charged yet and so can't be used. So I've been reading a great book a friend of mine gave me called "The Wind-up bird chronicle" by Haruki Murakami . It's wonderful. I'm really enjoying it but I want to stop for a little while and let it sink in. So, if by some crazy chance anybody is reading my inane twitterings, forgive me the long post and I promise to play nicely and keep them short from now on as I know my brother, Alan, at least has already stopped reading a long time ago. And he would be annoyed by this display of lack of blogging etiquette (witness his nastiness to me on Twitter recently ). Anyway I know Lanka Logger will understand as I found myself calling her (lovely but a stranger albeit one whose posts I always read and enjoy, who has already done me a favour or two and who's coming to drinks with her husband tomorrow.) to share my excitement at the kitchen stuff arriving. And I don't think she thought I was completely insane. I suppose I'm also a little nervous here on my own the first night as I get used to the environment and so writing helps. I know from past experience I'll be much happier tomorrow when I've settled in properly.

Right now I'm tired and I'm going back to my book and try to sleep. Or I might listen to The Infinite Monkey Cage LINK which this week is about whether size matters. I have it on podcast so it doesn't depend on Sri Lanka Telecom LINK doing what they say they will when they say they will which is something I'm starting to learn to expect. Tomorrow is another long day of trying and sometimes failing to get stuff done but, I hope, seeing great progress very fast. But finishing at 5 to have drinks with Lanka Logger and her husband. I'm going to try to make a negroni which is another new thing I learned about recently and are yummy enough to be worth hulking 3 bottles through duty-free from Dubai because you forget you could get duty free in Sri Lanka on arrival and, indeed, just buy booze. Although mostly they sell electrical goods there which makes me wonder if I couldn't have saved myself a fortune buying the stuff I needed on the way in. Does anybody know the answer to that?