In Abuja: 4 things to do when it rains

I lived in Lagos from 1996 to 2006, a decade of working as Personal Assistant to the Ambassador, Embassy of the Republic of Korea, the chancery of which was located on Idejo Street, Victoria Island. Although I enjoyed much of my stay in the city, I used to hate the coming of the rains, especially in the mornings when going to work or in the evenings when everyone else would be scrambling to go home. At the time, home for me was in Ajah, and to get there from Victoria Island took me just about 15 to 20 minutes drive along the Lekki Expressway. Lekki, however, became more and more congested as the years passed by, such that I began spending longer hours on the road instead of the normal 15 minutes - which had me freaking out for all the wasted time. Fortunately for me, from early 2004 to 2006, I was given free accommodation inside the embassy premises, thanks to the kindness of both the Ambassador and Administrative Officer at that time, saving me from the ordeal of driving to and from work, which had become really bad by then especially during the rainy season because once it rains in Lagos (Victoria Island in particular), you could be sure that many roads get flooded and virtually impassable.

Moving to Abuja in 2006 and having lived here since then, I actually enjoy the rainy season. I talk about this now because it’s been raining and cloudy in Abuja almost every day since the middle of July. I personally like this type of weather (at least for a couple of months per year) because the rains in Abuja are not the obtrusive type – no heavy downpour (rarely if ever) or strong winds, only gentle drops of water that usually stop after 20 to 30 minutes, giving you that peaceful, happy, floating feeling as you listenbecause you know that what comes after the rains – freshness in the surroundings, green leaves, clean roads – is pure bliss.

Aside from watching the raindrops from your veranda, what can you really do on a rainy day? The normal

thing would be (if it happens during a weekend) to watch TV, read a book, blog (if you have one), stalk

people on Facebook, and then sleeeeeeep under a thick blanket because after all, bad weather is also known as bed weather. While a rainy day is a great excuse to just laze around the house, I would say this is now the time to get more creative while staying indoors. Here are some great things you can do: 

1. Try a new recipe
Learning how to cook or bake or make just about anything these days is so easy and fun. Want to make your own bread? Cookies? Brownies? Mix a certain type of drink? Toss some salads? No problem. All you have to do is go to Youtube and search for a particular recipe, watch how it is done, and voila you are ready to set your kitchen on fire.

2. Learn a craft
Sewing, knitting, cross-stitching, painting, beading.... Step-by-step guides are all over the internet

3. De-clutter the house
You don’t have to clean the whole house in one day. Start with the kitchen and throw away all the empty bottles, check the expired stuffs, arrange the plates and glasses, clean the drawers. After the kitchen, clean the cabinets and drawers in the sitting room, then move over to the wardrobes in the bedroom. Create space in your wardrobes by getting rid of things you have not used or worn in the past one year.

4. Have a warm bath
After all is said and done, put off all the lights, fill the bathtub with warm water, light some scented candles, ignore the mobile phone, put some soft music on the background... and feel all the tension go as you submerge your body inside the water and stay there for the next two hours.