On Saturday (August 21st), we drove to Karen, a village on the outskirts of Nairobi where Karen Blixen (who wrote Out of Africa) lived on her coffee plantation not so long ago. The area is beautiful and we spent the entire day out there. Our morning was spent at the KSPCA (Kenya Society for the Protection of Animals) where we cuddled cats and kittens. Cora and Hannah picked out two 3-day old kittens who will join our family in about 8 weeks, and they're already looking forward to visiting the kittens in a few weeks to see how they are doing. We then enjoyed a leisurely two-hour lunch at the Karen Blixen Restaurant (on part of the old estate), sitting at a table on the lawn and enjoying fabulous panini sandwiches, salads and fresh juices (it was quite divine). We topped off our afternoon with a visit to the Kazuri Bead factory, a company that employs over 350 women (mostly single moms) in producing gorgeous clay bead jewelery and pottery. Needless to say, our visa card got a workout. It was so nice to spend a day exploring and getting to know a new area. Also, on Sunday we picked up some handmade furniture we had custom-ordered for our apartment from a carpenter who works nearby on the roadside, and we are the proud new owners of a lovely side table for the hall entrance and a very cool custom TV stand (designed by Brian) made of rustic wood. The carpenter told Brian that the shape of the piece would be determined by the wood he had on hand, because God made the trees in a certain way and the shape had to be honoured in making the table. He definitely honoured the tree and made a beautiful TV stand for us. We feel like we're getting to know some local vendors and we're building relationships... the settling in continues.
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