So, we finally got everything out of the old apartment, and now our only home is our condo. Exciting! Now it's time to unpack lots and lots of stuff. I'm a little scared. Our dining room is completely filled with boxes and bags.
But we've got a mini-housewarming get-together tomorrow with our neighbors in the building. So we've got to get moving! I'm going to start making sangria shortly. Mmmm.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Finally making headway!
So, we are moved into our new home! Not completely, but we are almost there. We have slept at the new condo since Tuesday night. Tomorrow we gather up the last of the stuff from the old apartment and hand over the keys.
Tonight was amazingly and unexpectedly fun. We were back at the old place, doing the seemingly impossible of collecting up some of the last odds and ends that had somehow multiplied. There were a bunch of things we needed to get rid of, since there is just not enough room in the condo, and also since we had gotten some upgrades. We were going to try to have a mini-garage sale, but we ran out of time for that. So, instead, we brought the things down to the curb.
Now, our old apartment is in an extremely densely populated and lower income area. When we started bringing down the old surround sound system, iron, blender, and more, people walking by were unsure what was going on. We put them at the curb and went up to get more stuff. When we came down, laden with bags of magazines, a filing cabinet, an old alarm clock, and some pillows, we saw some people were looking at what we had already put out. They kind of jumped away when we came out, but I tried to communicate that they should go ahead. Please take whatever you like. For the life of me, I couldn't remember how I could say something like that in Spanish, since they did not seem to understand my English. Michael then said it was "gratis." So they got the picture.
We kept running up and down the stairs with more things. Each time I came down and saw more people looking through the stuff, I was further energized. There was one family who stayed outside and waited to see what else we would bring down. One little girl was posted at the door to let everyone know that we were coming down with "Mas" or "more." She and her sister quickly rumaged through every bag we brought down.
The family couldn't believe we were giving all this stuff away. The mother asked through her daughter why it was. I told her it was because we were moving to a smaller apartment and didn't have room. She thanked me very much for giving it away.
Upstairs, Michael and I talked about how happy this made us. If we would have sold the stuff, we probably would have made a few dollars that wouldn't have made a big difference in our lives. However, these things could really help out some of the people in our neighborhood for whom buying certain things is a challenge. And besides, it was fun! The people who walked by weren't expecting to find this. It was like Christmas in May! And we certainly felt the giddiness of being like Santa Claus. It was a great way to bring an end to our time in the neighborhood.
Tonight was amazingly and unexpectedly fun. We were back at the old place, doing the seemingly impossible of collecting up some of the last odds and ends that had somehow multiplied. There were a bunch of things we needed to get rid of, since there is just not enough room in the condo, and also since we had gotten some upgrades. We were going to try to have a mini-garage sale, but we ran out of time for that. So, instead, we brought the things down to the curb.
Now, our old apartment is in an extremely densely populated and lower income area. When we started bringing down the old surround sound system, iron, blender, and more, people walking by were unsure what was going on. We put them at the curb and went up to get more stuff. When we came down, laden with bags of magazines, a filing cabinet, an old alarm clock, and some pillows, we saw some people were looking at what we had already put out. They kind of jumped away when we came out, but I tried to communicate that they should go ahead. Please take whatever you like. For the life of me, I couldn't remember how I could say something like that in Spanish, since they did not seem to understand my English. Michael then said it was "gratis." So they got the picture.
We kept running up and down the stairs with more things. Each time I came down and saw more people looking through the stuff, I was further energized. There was one family who stayed outside and waited to see what else we would bring down. One little girl was posted at the door to let everyone know that we were coming down with "Mas" or "more." She and her sister quickly rumaged through every bag we brought down.
The family couldn't believe we were giving all this stuff away. The mother asked through her daughter why it was. I told her it was because we were moving to a smaller apartment and didn't have room. She thanked me very much for giving it away.
Upstairs, Michael and I talked about how happy this made us. If we would have sold the stuff, we probably would have made a few dollars that wouldn't have made a big difference in our lives. However, these things could really help out some of the people in our neighborhood for whom buying certain things is a challenge. And besides, it was fun! The people who walked by weren't expecting to find this. It was like Christmas in May! And we certainly felt the giddiness of being like Santa Claus. It was a great way to bring an end to our time in the neighborhood.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Crazy May
This month has been absolutely insane. It started out with some very unfortunate events at my job which continue to have an impact on my day-to-day work. Then Michael and I went to Minnesota for a family reunion. I came back and went right down to Washington, DC for work. I got back from that, and two days later, I went to Chicago to visit my brother - a visit that was planned before we had any idea we would be buying a condo. This past week, we have been working like crazy on the new place. This weekend holds a baptism for the child of friends of ours. And we've still got to pack up the old place and finish painting the new in a week's time!
Ack! I have been dying to update this blog, but I honestly have had no time. Once June comes, it will be a different story. You WILL be hearing from me! Please bear with me.
Ack! I have been dying to update this blog, but I honestly have had no time. Once June comes, it will be a different story. You WILL be hearing from me! Please bear with me.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Where I've been
Ack! Things have been crazy. Michael and I just got back at 2am from a family reunion weekend in Minnesota, and in another hour or so, I'm off to a business trip in Washington, DC. Our condo walls are going to have to wait some more to get finished. I can't wait till things quiet down, so I can do lots of updating on Guatemala!
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