The House

I’m going to commit my first entry to my new house.

It’s small (3 rooms), brightly colored (green, yellow, blue and white), and simple. The front door opens to the kitchen, which came with a small table, two chairs, and a stove! Having a stove—even a small mobile one—is pretty rare. The next room, the biggest and most yellow, is a living room. This is where all of my creative energies and (lack of) interior design skills will be put into practice. I hope to have some “after” pictures of the room by the end of the year, so that I can see how much I’ve improved it!

The bedroom is in the back, with a second exterior door which gives to the small, cement courtyard shared by my house and 3 others. Equipped with a large dresser (which I may or may not paint bright green and orange), the bedroom is otherwise white and has a bed. That’s pretty much it.

I’m only renting the house, so I’m certainly not a homeowner, but I sort of feel like one. I patrol the house once or twice a day, taking in the space and thinking of ways to improve it and make it my own. I also am searching for problems, something that needs fixing. One the first rain I searched high and low for a leak. I had made it almost through all three rooms when suddenly; there!; at the base of the back door leading into my room a small puddle was forming. I “HA!”-ed triumphantly to myself and went about mentally grappling with my first challenge. My first course of action was to move my stuff away from the door. #2 was to cross my arms and watch the puddle. “Not too bad…doesn’t seem to be growing too quickly.” Perhaps a well-placed floor mat? C.o.A. #3 was to write down “buy new floor mat” on my to-do list.

Next day I detected a gas leak coming from the back of my stove. This I tackled by notifying my landlord, who brought her wrenches and daughter over. Once again I played the role of surveyor as the two of them tightened the joints and wrapped them in Teflon, nodding my head approvingly with each turn of the wrench. I was on a roll.

The drip under the sink? Tin can below.
Ants? Crush ‘em when I see ‘em.
Boiler with a bad pilot light? Light it by hand in the morning.

Not bad for a first week in the house. Although I’ll probably be seeking a basic repairs class before I take on real home ownership.