13 August 2010

Today is our 16th anniversary. I reflect back to where we were 16 years ago to where we are now and am so amazed. Our friendship and love for each other has carried us through many adventures. We look forward to many more years in Peru in our new home.

I spent much of today sorting through boxes and situating them in the appropriate places. The studio is pretty well set up, although I'll need to find some kind of bookshelf and file box. The piano is cleaned and playable; I spent quite a bit of time playing this afternoon. I still need to put the lid on; which will help to keep the dust out. I won't actually tune it until is has been in place for several weeks.

I think we will also need to find a book shelf for the living room/piano room for the few books we chose to bring. I have several very old volumes of literature my grandfather had. He used to read literature on the radio; kind of a story hour show. I have a couple of books which show his notes as he edited the story to fit the time frame of the show. Several years ago I
tried to have some of the reel to reel tapes transfered to CDs, but the tapes were so degraded, it wasn't really worth it. I do have one CD of the best quality stories; but even these are very poor.

I finally found the bolts and screws for the bed in our master bedroom. They were wrapped up inside the pillowtop. I will try to make some sense of these and put together the bed. Maybe when Doug gets back, we can move into the master bedroom.

I did finally have a hot shower today. Thanks to the plumber that worked on the system. I can't say the water was scalding hot, and I didn't need any "cold" water to temper it, but it was on the plus side of warm!

Koki and I spent the better part of a couple of hours at the dining room table making a list of things that still needed to be done. I do think we are down to the end, but it still seems like a lot needs to happen. Mostly though, they are
small details.

Workers have begun on the BBQ pit. Koki showed me a plan for the pit today, and it is indeed a BBQ area. It will be sunken; will have a sink, BBQ and prep area as well as seating around. Others have been finishing the walls in the servants quarters and others were laying tile in the entry. The camp the workers have been living in is supposed to disappear in the next week. This means that any of the workers left here, will be living in the servants quarters, pantry and storage room.

I've had a couple of people comment on my being alone here while Doug is in the states. I tell them, I am not alone. There are at least 10 workers here, any one of whom would jump to my defense in an instant if need be. I feel very safe here.

Chairman Meow continues to thrive. Whatever magic Sanchez worked on her did the trick. She continues to be affectionate, very vocal, and has yet to win over Stormy. Stormy truly thinks this kitten is food. She is obsessed with it. I've kept them separate for the most part; when the kitten is in the studio, Stormy is outside running from window to window totally focused on the kitten and barks, jumps at the window when the kitten moves. I know it hasn't been a week yet, but to look at Stormy, I don't know if whe will ever chill out and befriend this cat!