A Day of Big Changes

Yes, today was a day of big changes, a day beginning even more big changes. Where to start, where to start?

Our landlord raised our rent from $200 per month up to $300 per month. Doesn't sound like much, I know, but when you consider that we started 8 years ago at $60 per month, well - it is a very big change. Also, our support account numbers were based on a maximum of $150 per month, so we are at twice the amount we raised in the States. Could be problems down the road with that. We tried to negotiate and I think we won, kind of. They reduced the rent to $250 per month until August and I will make sure that there is some repair done in the flat, at our expense. Is that a fair trade? Well, I think so because I had planned on doing the repair anyway. {grin}

I asked a gal in our church if she would help me because I cannot do it. Mel is going to be gone most of the next two weeks so this is a great time to get part of it done. Natasha said yes and arrived this morning to start.

But first - a little side trip:
the first truly TENDER hunk of beef I've bought here!!!!!! This is what we had for dinner last night and tonight, and I've got one more section of it in the freezer for later. Oh my! Tender, tasty - I didn't feel like a German Shepard gnawing on my chew toy with this meat. I really, really, really hope I can find some more like it.

Following are photos I took tonight. I didn't take any before photos - I forgot. I do have some older ones that kind of show what the entrance hallway and hall between the livingroom, bathroom and kitchen looked like before - a dark place, a chocolate black hole that sucked all the light out of the area. Just with Natasha ripping that down has made a world of difference. I told her I should have done this years ago. She smiled in her quiet way and said, "No, God knew the flood was going to happen. That's why you did not do it before." Good theology there, young lady!

the real Entrance hall revealed! Note our beautiful electric meter and the gray hole where a new electric line comes in from the outside hall, above the door to the left. That line was put in so we would have enough power to run the washer. A very thin aluminum wire was all there was before, powering the whole flat!
There is a hole in wall between hall and bathroom beside the door on the left. The first layer of wallpaper has been torn off down to the green paint. The hole was poorly repaired years ago (there was always a large bump in the wallpaper there), and the 'repair' will fall out on the floor when the rest of the paper is removed. You can also see in this photo how the linoleum was put down in the kitchen 6 years ago and how it now buckles.
View from kitchen of water damage both above and under the former wallpaper. In this photo you can see the fridge is in the entrance hall because there is no room for it in the kitchen. We have a teeny kitchen.
Water damage from flood and the true color of our previous hall wallpaper - chocolate brown!

Mel rented a car today and will drive, along with 3 other guys, to presbytery tomorrow. This is a big change for us - a car! I was surprised at my reactions. First - nervous because the traffic is so awful on the highways. Second - because the sight of him getting in to the car sent a jolt through me, kind of like he in his cowboy hat and boots does. This is the man I married! A man who drives. How many hours have we spent together in a car? Thousands. Yes, I was surprised. {very big grin}
Mel