Almost Done!

The apartment is almost done, and it is already spectacular. We the floor was put in a few days ago and all the painting is done. We have bought more furniture at the tiangis and bought the refrigerator and stove. It is a totally different space than we started with and we will be very comfortable there.

We have cockroaches, but Jose sprayed tonight and hopefully they won't come back. I think they were coming out of the drain in the bathroom, and we are going to keep that covered. I didn't know what they were and didn't think they were that bad, but everyone in Jose's family freaked out when they saw them. I guess because I haven't lived with them I don't know how bad they can be.

The floor is linoleum tile that looks kind of like fake oak. It was inexpensive and covered up the dirty floor. It was installed directly over the old cement floor, and there are a few cracks in the edges because the cement was even, but they aren't noticeable. Along with the paint, to apartment looks new and clean, and that is really all I ask for.

We were going to paint the bedroom purple, but changed plans immediately when we saw the paint on the wall. Jose described it as "Barbie purple," and I can't think of a better description. If we had been decorating a girlie girl's room it would have worked, but we would have hated seeing it. Instead, we bought a creamy yellow and painted the bottom half of the wall with that and the top half with the creamy white that is in the rest of the house. The room is bright and airy now. It will be a refreshing room to end the day and wake up in.

The tiangis has continued to provide us with great furniture. Today we bought two small wooden butcher blocks to put on both sides of the stove. It was less than 30 dollars for both handmade tables. They need some sanding, but they are exactly what we were looking for. One of our most exciting buys is a stainless steel counter with a shelf at the bottom. It is at least 6 feet long and looks like it was from a restaurant. From the tiangis we have bought a kitchen hutch, counter, two butcher block tables, a coffee table, and a bedframe for 90 dollars.

We had a hard time buying the stove because my bank wouldn't approve the charges. I called three times and everyone I talked to did the same thing and said it was fixed. I am about to give up on my credit card because almost every time I make a charge, I have to call the bank to confirm. I have a travel approval on the card, but it doesn't seem to work. It slowed us down a lot, but my godfather gave us an early Christmas present at just the right time, and we got to go back to the store today and easily buy the stove with cash. I am probably more excited about the stove than anything else, because I want to spend a lot of time cooking in my new kitchen.

Our refrigerator and stove will arrive in the next few days, and we are going to move furniture in tomorrow. We are also going to buy kitchen supplies and bedding tomorrow. If everything goes well, we may have our first night in the apartment tomorrow.

-Emma