Our Compound

There are several different housing compounds available here in Lagos. We live on Ikoyi Island in the “Bell Units”; 8 Bell to be specific. Our housing compound has 8 condo-style homes. Each has a small front yard, larger back yard and small patio.

We have a large combination living and dining room, a smaller den for TV viewing, roomy kitchen, laundry room and half bath all on the first floor. Upstairs there are 3 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms. The master bedroom with walk-in closet and full bath look out over the backyard. We converted one bedroom into an office and scrap-booking area and the other is a spare for any friends or family who wish to visit.

The house is furnished so we did not need to bring any bulky furniture, but slip covers might help to make it homier and more “our own”. (The furniture patterns chosen by the government leave some room for creativity – all the homes within the Foreign Service have one of three upholstery patterns) One new friend told us that when their family moved to Lagos, their children were all excited that the furniture from the previous post was already in their new home.

The arrival of our personal effects will be great. I am sure that once we have our things (familiar things) sprucing up the house; it will feel more like a home. Dan will also be very excited once our things arrive because I will stop moving the furniture around. I just can't get the "right look". I have moved all I can at least twice and I had to ask for his help a couple times as well. He has made the executive decision to STOP MOVING FURNITURE until our things arrive and we know what we have to put away. Hum bug!

Dan has been able to track our car as well as our house hold effects and they all seem close. We are hoping that by the end of the month we will have something….either the car or our stuff would be great. It will be as if Christmas has come early.

We are looking forward to hosting dinner parties and get-togethers once our things arrive. We love cooking and hosting…it should be fun. And if we are fortunate enough to hire a steward we will have the fun of cooking but not have to do the dishes after. Yeah us!!