It’s March!
Yay!
On Saturday, I ran lots of errands and then had a nice
nap. My friends Jason and Issa are
remodeling a very big, very old, very neglected house next door to me, which
will become the new Harvest House Guesthouse. He previously ran 3 smaller houses, one of which I rented a
room and another one which I am renting for myself and the ministry. Anyway, Jason’s parents are here
to help him out. His mom Maritza
is here for a couple of months.
His dad Eddie is here for a couple of weeks. I enjoy both of them very much. They are such hard workers! Anyway, Sofia and I were invited to dinner with them and we
had a great time. It was the first
outing for baby Ilia and her mamma Issa was very happy to get out of the house. We had dinner at Al Carbón, one of my
favorite restaurants. It was
delicious. We doubled up to share desserts
and the chocolate cake with strawberries was heavenly!
Early Sunday morning (about 3:30am) I was awake reading in
bed when I felt the bed start shaking.
It was an earthquake about 50 miles away. It lasted for a while and I didn’t want to move so that I
could feel it as long as it lasted.
My friend Estefanie called to make sure that Sofia and I were okay. People told me later that they heard
rumbling, but I have a pleasantly loud fan that I sleep with, so I didn’t hear
anything. I was awakened about an
hour later and was told that there was an aftershock at about that time. It’s the fourth or fifth quake that
I’ve felt here in Nica over the years.
I wasn’t scared. It’s kind
of neat. No one was hurt in the
area near the epicenter, so it was all good.
Sofia and I went to Maxi Palí after church so that we could
buy some groceries. Then my Skype
Bible study was cancelled because the ladies in TX were iced in and couldn’t
get together for the video conference.
A friend visited and I got a nap and then more visitors in the
evening. It was a pretty good day!
A week ago, Sofia and I walked to a nearby store that sells
furniture. They didn’t have what I
was looking for, but the guy has a bigger store near the Terminal Market, so we
walked there and I looked at rockers for the living room. Living room sets here are usually 4
rockers and a small table. I
ordered 2 sets. On Monday, we took
a taxi there and paid for the rockers.
There was a misunderstanding and they only brought one set from
Masaya. So we arranged for
delivery (horse cart) for the rockers and they said the other set would arrive
on Thursday.
I had more visitors and did more errands through the
week. English Bible Study Group
met on Monday night. A friend,
James, who had been living here in the house and working for Jason, moved out
to Jason’s house on Monday. I was
sad to see him go, but he is right next door and I told him to keep his keys
and to come over whenever he wants.
We still call that corner bedroom “James’ room”.
On Tuesday, I went to the market for various things and also
bought 45 yards of fabric to make curtains for the rooms here at the
house. Jason’s mom, Maritza, moved
in for the rest of the month, because Jason needed to rent her room. We laughed about her getting kicked out
of her own son’s house, but she is very happy to get away to some quiet after
long days of working on his house.
And we’re next door neighbors, so it’s like being there.
Francisco is starting work on my house! Yay! It’s a big job and will take many weeks. Since I will be living here for at
least 2 years, I’m looking forward to having everything being fresh and
new. There is a lot of repair and
prep to do and then we will be painting almost every inch, inside and out, of
the place. That will be the
biggest cost. But I can’t wait to
see it all done! Woohoo!! Next will be electrical stuff; adding ceiling fans, changing/adding
light fixtures, retiling the kitchen…
Oh, it’s going to be beautiful!
On Francisco’s first day, he walked in and I let him know about a bad
leak in the guest bathroom shower.
He spent part of 2 days chipping away the tile and concrete (no drywall
here) and then changing the pipes and handle, removing the new faulty handle
and replacing it again, tiling the wall and cleaning up. That repair didn’t cost as much as I
feared, so I was happy. Here, the
renter is responsible for all repairs and improvements… They couldn’t find the same size and
color tile, but the larger tile in a similar color looked just fine to me. The workers apologized that it wasn’t a
perfect match. It was in the
middle of the wall and I choose to think of it as a decorative touch. I think it looks great!
After walking through the house and checking out all rooms,
walls, gardens (which are inside the house with open roof space), ceilings,
etc. We came up with a game
plan. A lot of repair and prep
work needs to be done, but Francisco is giving me a great discount on all of
the work. It’s still costly
because the house is big, but God has been providing funds through wonderful
supporters to get the job done. Francisco
took me to the paint store and we picked out a couple of very calm light
colors. Kind of crema for outside
and just a touch darker tan for the inside walls. There are parts of the house that the inside and outside
walls connect, so it will go together great! I will go back later and add some color blocks along the
tops and bottoms of the walls.
Most of the ceiling will be painted white. Part of the ceilings are wood panels that are stained
different shades. Some panels need
some TLC, but I’ll address that later.
I’m so glad to get the job started. The painting will not happen for a week or so, but it’s
okay, because Francisco and Memo are fixing soffits, ceiling panels, chunks in
the walls, etc. It will look very
nice!
Sofia is excited to start on the gardens. She is waiting for the guys to finish
their work since they put ladders everywhere. I know she will do a good job with the gardens. I told her they are her babies to take
care of. She is thrilled! I will be too when I get to look at
them!
Besides the house being very dusty and dirty from each day’s
work, life is going on as usual.
Classes, visits from friends, running errands, etc. A new comedor (tiny restaurant – really
the front of someone’s house) opened just 2 doors down. Such good food! I’m so happy! I love that there are little places within blocks of my
house to frequent and to help support.
I love my neighbors and my neighborhood. Now, if we could just get a speed bump for our street, it
would be perfect!
I picked up another mattress for the extra beds here at the
house. I brought it home in a
taxi. I ordered 3 more to be
picked up next week. Soon we’ll
have all 8 beds ready for people to sleep in!
On Saturday, Estefanie and I visited the business of a
friend of mine. Anielka’s husband
is a carpenter and I thought I would give him a chance to make the benches that
I want to cover the brick planters in my livingroom/diningroom. I thought if I liked his work, I would
hire him to make a little table for my bedroom. His name is Eyner and he is very sweet. He had pictures of his work, which is
wonderful! I went ahead and hired
him to make the ‘Jesus table’ to sit under the window and beside the rocker in
my bedroom. I can’t wait to get
it! Also, I asked him to come to
the house next week to measure for the benches. I know I will have more work for him in the future as funds
allow. I would love to have him make
a bedframe and headboard for me!
That is a luxury and will have to wait, but it’s in my dreams!
After visiting Eyner’s shop, Estefanie and I walked back to
my house. On the way, we stopped
at Palí grocery store for a few items.
After Estefanie left, I took a nap and then Tamara invited me over for
ice cream sundaes for my birthday.
It was a grand day!
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