I have tea!

Our house guest from Kenya just left and before he left, HE GAVE ME TEA! Not just ANY tea, but the exact same kind of Kenyan tea I'd fallen in love with and was lamenting the fact that I'd almost run out of. Now I have a whole new box of it and I'm happy, happy, happy. He didn't even know I'd developed a love affair with that exact kind of tea - just thought it would make a nice hostess gift.

Truth is, I enjoyed his visit for other reasons than just the tea. It was a treat having him here. He's a like-minded soul, an easy house guest, and an all-around likeable guy. I spent about 3 hours with him and his wife and son over breakfast in Kenya last February and we made a connection fairly quickly. Sometimes friendships happen that way - almost serendipitously. When he asked about stopping in Winnipeg on a cross-Canada tour, it seemed only natural to have him over at our house.

And let me just say, it's been so wonderful having a relatively clutter-free home lately. It makes it SO much easier to have weekend guests, when you don't have to fly into a frenzy, hiding things in closets and back bedrooms to prepare for them. And on Sunday, we had seven extra people here for lunch, and the whole thing was pretty relaxed because I didn't have to worry that they'd peek into the wrong door and expose all our hidden messes. This house is not perfect yet, but it's a whole lot closer than it was a few months ago. Now let's hope we can KEEP it that way. (I gotta say, coming home Friday night after a long week at work, it sure was a treat to see that Marcel had washed the floor, cleaned the entranceway, and scrubbed our rather disgusting ensuite bathroom. He rocks!)