background

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Our House and New Puppy

Here is the set of keys they gave us to our house when we moved in. No kidding. There are 18 different keys for different doors. No master keys here. It can prove to be a challenge. As you begin the tour of our house notice how many doors we have. Just on the main floor there are 6 doors leading outside! Then each balcony (3) has a different key, as does the kitchen, the pantry, the bedrooms, the hall closet that holds the hot water heater (really), the outiside depositos (storage rooms), etc., etc. Plus we have 2 keys for the locks of the gates. Of course when we first moved in and had been in the house less than 30 minutes, Patience decided to use the potty by herself (which she has never done before). She locked herself in the bathroom. Of course that room DOESN'T have a key!!! The door knobs here are quite high especially for a two year old. I had to go around to the side of the house and look through a window and talk her through how to turn the lock which she was able to accomplish after only about 15 very long minutes!! The window was barred and not even Josh could fit through. I don't know what we would've done if she didn't open it. It made for an interesting first few moments in our new house. Also on your 'tour' look at all the differing angles of our house. There is not one single rectangular room. They all have odd shapes....triangles, circles, sloping roofs, etc. I know that the builders must have been cursing the architect as they built this house.


For those of you who wanted to see, here's a picture of the tile in my bathroom. Isn't it lovely?


Here's a shot of our dining room looking down from upstairs.


The kiddos watching one of those $1.24 movies. I don't know if you can tell from the pic, but the coffee table is missing it's glass top. It didn't even last 12 hours before it broke. Of course it was one of our teens, not one of the littles that broke it. We've also broken plenty of glasses. Tile floors are very unforgiving.


Joe working on our newsletter at our table. Notice the Old Navy shorts? I picked them up at La Cancha for 10 bolivianos (about $1.24....the same as movies).



Benjamin on the balcony of his room that he shares with Caleb, David and Josh.



We have very little grass...this is the dirt of our front yard. Boy can the kids get dirty here. I no longer judge anyone with dirty kids as mine are dirty a good percentage of the time. A man is coming next month to plant some. He said it's too fria (cold) now.


Here is our front door. Around to the left is the 'maid's quarters'
which is Seth and Jake's bedroom. It's just barely big enough to
fit their bunk bed and Jake's keyboard in.


Jake and Caleb unlocking the gate to go out.


The upstairs 'hang out' area. Down below to the right is our dining room. Notice all the angles. The room at the back left of the pic is circular!


A shot of the living room from above and a bit of the dining room too. It's all one big open space. Notice more angles.


Joe working at the computer in my hallway office. This is directly opposite of the dining room. To his left is another of the doors leading outside.


Me with Starbucks our fierce guard dog. Since we have such good security guards on our street, and not a big yard, we decided to get a small dog. She won't scare off too many burglars, but we're all having fun with her.


Caleb, Ben, David and Josh's room


Our kitchen. I know the yellow is a bit 'much' but we actually painted it this color. You should have seen the bright royal blue it was before. It clashed with the green tile. Someone told me it looks like 'school bus' yellow, but I prefer to think of it as 'sunflower' yellow. Also notice the silver water filter to the left of the sink and the clear plastic container on the counter holding water. We can't drink the water without filtering it. We can't even brush our teeth with it. We keep a plastic container of 'good' water ('the water without bugs' as the kids call it) in each bathroom. Also notice we have no dishwasher. It's quite a chore to wash by hand in that tiny sink all the dishes we use each day. Notice back where the windows are, that's another round room.

Another shot of Joe at the table. Behind the table is another of the doors leading outside.


Faith, Hope, David and Josh in the living room. Notice the door behind them.

Hope with Starbucks

Jake, Caleb, and Ben doing schoolwork


Well I hope this gives you a glimpse of our house here in Cochabamba. We are thankful to have our house and to feel settled here in our new home. We are hoping to begin language school on August 9. We are waiting until after our orientation week which will be August 3-7.
Seth got his results back from the lab yesterday. He has a stomach infection and some amoeba in his system. He started on antibiotics and is beginning to feel better. I was really feeling ill last night. I had a fever, was very queasy and achy-sore like I had the flu. I feel some better today. Still queasy, but the fever and soreness are gone. I hope I don't need to go to the doc. Here everytime us new gringos need to see a doc, they want us to bring in a stool sample. YUCK! So you can pray that I don't have to go to the doc so he can determine which 'amoeba of the week' I have! I'm off now to drink some coca leaf tea. It's the same leaf that some distort to make cocaine. It eases upset stomachs. It's also good for altitude sickness.
Soon I hope to post some pics of around town. The archtecture in Coch is a cross between Spanish colonial and rubble. :>)

7 comments:

D&P said...

Great to see the house and puppy.
Keep up the good work with the
blog. It is really interesting.
All of the furniture looks nice
also. Hope to see it all in person
someday.

Mom and Dad

Anonymous said...

THANK YOU so much for keeping us updated on your new life, surroundings and adventures. We miss you guys at home group, Dirk is doing a great job too. bet the kids has seen more pigs heads. Just can't imagine no chocolate chips. Your new place looks great. Take care.
Sue and Larry

Beth said...

Hey Denise,

I love your new home! Thanks for sending the pictures. I like the "sunflower yellow" kitchen--has that bright, cheery, southwestern look to it.

Starbucks is precious; I bet he's sooo fun and good for you and the kids.

Take care--hope you feel better soon. Is Josh okay now?

Praying for you all,
Beth

Anonymous said...

Hi Denise an Holman's... I just found your blog. I know you all from Sandy Cove Homeschool Conferences and Bethel Temple in Philadelphia. I am looking forward to keeping in touch through your
blog.

Mar Jane

Anonymous said...

Cute doggy! And love the name! That blouse you have on is lovely as well.

Thanks for the pics, its great to have something visual to put with your stories and to picture ya'll so far away.

Will be praying for all ya'lls health...kinda scary!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the pics of your time at the lake, the kiddos, your home, and new Puppy ! Makes the Holmans feel a little closer, when we can "see" you. Thanks for the updates as well. Hope everyone is healty !
Take care, God bless. love & prayers,
Mark & Char Wesling

Valhalla said...

Your house looks wonderful! We're so happy for you. But the most important question, for you Denise, is -- Does the freezer make CRUSHED ICE?

;-)