welcome home!

I’m so close to having a consistent internet connection. So very close. We’re at a week without a consistent connection, which wouldn’t seem that terrible except it’s the longest I’ve gone without one and it’s one of the few points in my life where it really is advantageous to communicate using the web.

But while Jack is on campus for orientation, I have a reason to also be on campus. I struggled with the wi-fi on Tuesday and after 40 minutes I was finally able to connect. Sadly, my iphone took all of 40 seconds. Too bad I can’t do all of my research and writing from a phone.

I’ve been promising our families pictures of our flat since we got here last week. Hopefully this will get passed around so that everyone can see.

Outside

Aberdeen is the gray city. It earns this reputation because everything is carved out of the same gray granite stone. Unfortunately the sky is gray and cloudy 75% of the time. I, however, like overcast weather and the cool temperature is suiting me nicely. This is the outside of our flat. I don’t know how old the building is, but the faucets in the bathroom have 1928 on them, and based on how old this part of the city is (Old Aberdeen) I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s pre-WWII. We are in a great location- 7 minutes from campus, 4 from Sarah and Chris, 7 from a grocery store, 2 minutes from Staples, and right across from a bus stop. The large street just across from us is the street that takes us into the City Centre (about a 25 minute walk if I don’t get lost).

Entry

We can’t hang things on the wall, but there were already some nails in the walls. Some people would see this as glass-half-empty. I see it as a built in coat rack.  The long mirror and mail shelf have become extensions of the bathroom.

Bathroom

The bathroom has been a bit of a challenge. As pretty as they are, I will die saying that pedestal sinks are completely useless in any bathroom that’s meant to be more than a powder room. Thankfully I brought a travel organizer. We’ve worked out a way to put all of our things in it and hang it over our slightly odd shower. So far this is working out. We still need to get an over-the-door towel rack. Right now our towels are drying on our bedroom door.  So the shower is a special butterfly. If you look at the picture of the hallway, you might notice a large red light switch next to the bathroom door. This light switch controls the hot water for the shower. Nothing happens here unless you flip a switch. The shower is a large bathtub and a device that reminds me of the vacuum/bag part of vacuum cleaner has a bunch of dials and knobs that control how hot the water is and how much water flow there is. Independent of this contraption is the actual hot water heater and radiator (it took 4 days to figure out why we couldn’t get hot water). The special part of the shower is that it’s half encased. There’s some glass near the shower part. It’s quite tricky to get out of the shower without hitting your head on the sink. So far I’m winning the battle.

Lounge

The lounge is a work in process. Jack has taken up studying here. The far windowsill is our bookshelf. We have two chairs and a couch. The couch has a large, duct-taped tear in the seat so I Martha-Stewarted a duvet cover on it. The TV is new as of Monday. The plan is to get a desk for the far corner and a bookshelf.

Bedroom

I’ve taken up the bedroom as my study spot (as I have for every other year of school). The bed is a double, but we got a king size duvet. I think the light blue livens up the place. We have a wardrobe and a closet with shelves. On the left there is another “storage” closet. We bought a hanging rack and Jack hung the rest of his shirts and suits in it. It’s also where we’re storing our luggage. The drying rack is in here because it can be next to a radiator and the sun from the window. All of our windows have these wonderful deep shelves. I’m looking forward to putting a very small Christmas tree in our bedroom window (it’s kinda like a bay window) come December.

Kitchen

Bigger than I thought it was going to be. We have a washer, but no dryer. This is standard in the flats. I can do a small load, put it on a drying rack and our clothing is dry in about 3 days if it’s nice weather. The fridge is small, but we’re making do. There’s not a lot of good storage in the kitchen so it’s probably a good thing that we can’t buy a lot at a time. The windowsill has become a makeshift pantry, as has the microwave. I have a French press for coffee in the morning and we bought a pasta strainer so Jack can cook pasta. As of last night we’ve used both the oven and the stove. This is slightly impressive when you realize that you can’t see all of the settings on the oven- but no fire resulted.

That’s basically it. The current temperature is hovering in the 50s so we have the heater running periodically to keep the flat in the 60s. Lots of layering so far.

And internet Monday.