Category Archives: Home life

Could be worse

Posted on 10 Sep 2013 by lornaofarabia

Did I say something about trading up?  For the past three days our neighborhood has had no electricity. For reasons I will explain in another post, that means we also do not have running water.  This morning we used up … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Home life | 5 Comments

There’s no place like home

Posted on 8 Sep 2013 by lornaofarabia

Finally the blog has caught up with us in real time… we actually arrived home in Addis Ababa on August 5. For the next month I spent all my spare minutes sorting through the hundreds of photos I’d taken on … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Expat experience, Home life | Leave a comment

Moving along

Posted on 8 Jun 2013 by lornaofarabia

Just a month ago, the end of the school year seemed a point on the distant horizon. Now suddenly we have only a week left in which to accomplish what looks to be an impossibly long list of tasks. There … Continue reading →

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The Elizabethan ruff of misery

Posted on 28 May 2013 by lornaofarabia

Our kittens Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (as Alekka finally named them, never mind that they are brother and sister) celebrated their 4-month birthday a couple of weeks ago.  Maybe “celebrated” is the wrong word, because what it meant for our kitties … Continue reading →

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This is just to say

Posted on 23 May 2013 by lornaofarabia

This is just to say I have eaten the can of American tuna that was hidden at the back of the cupboard and which you were probably saving for lunch on a hard day. Forgive me it was delicious creamy … Continue reading →

Posted in Expat experience, Family, Food, Home life | Tagged | 4 Comments

Grow your own

Posted on 19 May 2013 by lornaofarabia

I love cooking with fresh herbs. Unfortunately, the selection in stores here is pretty limited.  I can almost always find parsley, cilantro, and rosemary, but that’s about it. The infamous Varnero pot plant delivery included mint, oregano, and thyme.  Our … Continue reading →

Posted in Food, Home life | 2 Comments

Kitty litter crisis

Posted on 12 May 2013 by lornaofarabia

We came home one evening before spring break to find this official notice from the Varnero management on our dining room table. (the purple stamp on the signature is what makes it official) All the cat owners in the building … Continue reading →

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Bath party

Posted on 21 Apr 2013 by lornaofarabia

Not the Damascus politics kind. Bath party, Addis style, to me means inviting your friends over to use your shower because they haven’t had water at their house for a week.  Add a little wine and cheese and you can … Continue reading →

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Box of wonders

Posted on 22 Mar 2013 by lornaofarabia

My daughter Alice in the US packed up a box and sent it here. It was mostly stuff I’d asked her to buy for us, but she tossed in a few much-appreciated surprises (mainly of the chocolate variety). In case … Continue reading →

Posted in Ethiopia, Food, Home life, Shopping | Tagged | Leave a comment

Take two, they’re small

Posted on 12 Feb 2013 by lornaofarabia

There’s a problem with unwanted animals in this city. I’m starting to think there’s a problem with unwanted animals everywhere.  In Damascus it was cats, in Sarajevo, dogs.  Here in Addis, it’s both.  This is a very poor country where … Continue reading →

Posted in Addis Ababa, Animals, Expat experience, Home life, Sarajevo | Tagged | 5 Comments