The house

Well, still no baby in arms, so we continue to wait! While we do that, I thought you might like to know a little bit about the house.

I finally "get" it all, so may actually be able to relate this correctly! The house used to be two apartments, and was converted into a single family house. From the outside front, it looks like a one story house, except that you can see stairs leading down to a door, in the front, just over from the garage. The downstairs section has its front section underground and in the back it is like the walk out basement we had in Virginia. There is a brick (?) or stone patio in the back.

Anyway! You come in the front door to the entry. Immediately to the right there is a half bath. To the left is the kitchen, and straight ahead is the living/dining room. It is a good sized room. The kitchen is actually a decent size too, but those who are familiar with overseas housing will understand that there is little cupboard space and little counter space too. The sink is a small stainless steel, one bowl. There is a built in draining area, with holes down at the one end to actually help drain! A nice change! There is also a dishwasher that Brian put in and that the landlady mostly paid for. Also a small stove/oven which is electric. An American size fridge/freezer. They got a freestanding cupboard thing, which gives them more storage space, etc. Mom and Dad, it is a smaller version of what we got in Italy.

The living/dining room is a good size, as I think I said before? They have a small table and chairs in there, and a living room set. A nice big TV, a sort of storage/china cabinet/whatever unit that Brian got very cheap (free?). His coffee table he made is in the living room too, and still looks great! They have windows and a glass door out to the balcony, and a lovely view out those windows. You can see part of the town, and the nearby hills, etc. Very scenic!

Come out of the living room and start down the hall. First on the right there is a storage closet, which is very handy. There are some shelves, and plenty of room for vacuum cleaner, broom, etc.

Continue down the hall. On the right you will come to a full bathroom. There is a nice sized bathroom sink, the toilet, a large tub with hand held shower as is usual in European homes. There is also a small shower stall, which is really small. About the same size as the ones in San Antonio at the motel when we went for Brian's graduation from Basic! However, it is big enough to do the job! The door to the shower is neat, as it is in three parts, and it slides along a track. Really is a space saver and very handy. There is no exhaust fan, but a huge window with pebbled glass, so fine for privacy. Many of the windows in the house are hinged at the bottom and the top will open part way. I am not sure I described that adequately. The top edge of the window can be pulled into the house, leaving an open space at the top, for air, etc. It is a real space saver, and in the case of the bathrooms, maintains privacy while having the window open. It only opens about 3-4 inches, I think. There is a big window just like that in the kitchen too, except the glass is clear. Brian and Christine have our old stereo cabinet, that we once used as a microwave cart, in this bathroom, for extra storage. It is in the space where the washing machine would have gone, as the general trend is to put the washing machine in the bathroom.

Kitty corner across the hall from the bathroom is a bedroom, that they use as the computer room and it is my room! Both Brian and Christine have computer desks in here, and there is a twin bed for me. There is another large window, and a glassed door to the balcony. The room is really a nice size, not cramped at all. There are storage units that the previous tenants left, that are handy but not in good shape. They do the trick for now though! This room has flat carpet on the floor. The other rooms have no carpeting. Some are tiled and some have vinyl flooring.

As you continue down the hall, you come to a final room, which used to be the second bedroom in the apartment. Hummm, I think they are using it mostly for storage. I think it is at least partially carpeted too, but I am not sure about that! It does not have as much usable space as it once did, as this is where the stairs were put in when the apartments were converted to a house. There is a circular staircase in this room. It is big enough not to be scary, but definitely not something to run up and down!

There is a two car garage outside and a nice fenced yard. There is a little walkway from the gate to the door, and flower beds on both sides of the walk. There is a nice big tree in the front yard, and some of those fir type bushes along the walkway too. Space for flowers between the bushes. I guess I didn't describe that too well! There is a pond to the left that the previous people put in, but the pump does not work right and it has been a bane to Brian's existence, rather than something nice! I am sure there is more in the front yard I am missing, but somehow I have been distracted when coming in and going and haven't noticed as much as I should have.

There ends the tour of the top floor of the house. It has been long enough, I will save the lower floor for next time!

I hope to have good news of a baby arrival next time I write, but in the meantime, good thoughts and mental urgings for progress will be appreciated!!!