Day 2 - The Work Continues

Well, the good news is that Natasha warned me yesterday that there was a note on the entrance door to our stairwell, telling us all that the power would be off today. That is the good news - I knew it was going off around 9am. It did. And did not come back on until after 6pm tonight. The bad news is that it was cold outside today and I couldn't run the heater (cold is relative, I know - but when it's kind of dark due to dark gray skies, it feels colder), I couldn't work on the computer, do laundry, iron, vacuum - do any of the things I would have done otherwise. The good news is that we still had water. The good news also is that Natasha was able to work, even in the gloom and shadows back in that dark place called our entrance hall.


This is the doorway into the kitchen. All of the second layer of wallpaper and glue has been soaked and peeled off the wall. Surprise, suprise to me - the original paint is still there, still bright, still as awful as it was when the builders slapped it on the walls. I fully understand why it was covered in wallpaper. :):) Also, the place needing more repair is more visible now, beside the bathroom door.


This wonderful view is of the fridge again, which Mel moved to this spot before he left. Natasha and I did not attempt to move it farther. She crawled behind it and beside it to soak the wallpaper and peel it off, using a scraper and her fingers. I helped peel both here and near the kitchen for a couple of hours. The wall into the livingroom is made of wood and is not painted like the cement walls are. The door that separates the livingroom from the hall slides into the wall here. It provides an interesting set of "what shall we do with this wall" questions - plaster it and paint it, just paint it, rip it out and put in sheetrock, or - I could leave it as it is as a reminder...
Natasha and I had a great chat about all sorts of things as we worked together. One thing I learned for sure, Natasha is a strong young woman. Not only physically strong, but emotionally and mentally. She has survived a very difficult family situation. Her love of the Lord is beautiful and she mentioned several times that it is her belief in Jesus Christ that keeps her going.


This is the way out of our flat. I am not sure what happened to the paint on this wall, but it is terribly discolored. Reminded me of a poorly dyed Easter egg, probably because Easter was this past Sunday. I will be very thankful when this is all covered up. I'm thinking now of a very pale pink or apricot color....

Natasha will not be here tomorrow as she and her mother will be going to the cemetaries to visit all the graves of their family members. This is a tradition here after Easter. She plans on coming back Friday and hopefully we can get the rest of the wall peeled and maybe start sanding the woodwork. We'll see how it goes!