My House...

We have lived here in Jaco for a month now. When we first moved in, well, I explained earlier about my temper tantrum I had. It's a little embarrassing so I won't link to it to make it easier for you to find. :)

Let's just say I wasn't pleased with the idea of calling this here place home. Maybe if there was Internet here I could have overlooked the mold and dirt.

Nah!!!

So today I was thinking about all the improvements that I am so thankful for. Would you like to see some? I thought you might.

This is my kitchen cupboard. The ones that came with the house have so much mold and yuck inside I can't even open them or my eyes start to water. So those stay shut and I have this beauty. Do you see my bread maker I hauled in from the states? That's the reason I didn't lose any weight here the first few months. You'll notice my other LOVE, my Mac showing off on top. I do love her.

This is the reason I can survive here. It's our air conditioning unit. I have yet to find a way to make these babies pretty! This is where it's everything that's on the inside that counts! He sits here on my wall above my apartment sized refrigerator and waits. Waits until I can't take it anymore and have to have him cool me down. He is a beast.

When I photograph the condo's that Wes sister Rusti designs, I spend most of my Photoshop time erasing these bad boys. They cause me a lot of work.

The day my curtain rods were hung was a happy day! I had spent 3 weeks pinning them to the wood molding on the ceiling, because the walls are made of cement. I found the curtains laying on the floor upwards of 5 times a day. I never once caught the culprits as they were to quick for me, but I have my suspicions.

I love the sound of the metal rings sliding on the metal rod. It is music to my ears. I have privacy.

This is our bathroom ceiling. You can't tell from the picture but it's open to the outside. At first I didn't understand this logic, now I get it!

The house is basically a structure that keeps out "some" elements. It is not meant to keep heat out since that seems like bailing water out of a sinking ship to tico's. (Ticos= locals here in Costa Rica) Our home has a tin roof which makes it possible to hear every rain drop hit and know exactly where it landed. Quite a feat in this crazy weather here. Underneath the tin roof is nothing, meaning there isn't insulation. The next thing under the roof is the ceiling tiles. In fact when Troy is on his top bunk he tries not to touch the ceiling because it's always pretty warm. I won't even go into how when the sun is rising, light is just streaming through the front door. I think of all the commercials in the states about saving money by caulking around doors and windows. Do I even attempt it? Will it do any good?

So the open window in the bathroom lets the steam and heat out when we shower. It's "necesario".

A friend of mine here, Tina, wrote about how bars equal safety. It's true. The bars keep you safe. Jaco is known for theft. In fact that is why we have a dog. (Yep, I know I haven't mentioned it yet.) The front of most houses resemble an United States Army fort. Our housing tract has a guarded gate which helps, but we had Troy's skateboard stolen last week. So these bars help me to feel more safe. I wonder when we come back how great it will be to live without these.

I have to laugh about this shot. When I was walking around the {shack} house, I saw this rare lizard and made the kids come quick to look. They of course all started laughing because my sweet Dallin had placed this rubber lizard here to fake me out.

Good one Dallin!