Saturday, September 18, 2010

Project 365, Week 38

Missed taking photos three out of seven days this week :(  To make up for a lack of photos for Project 365, at the end I'll share some unusual things that have happened this weekend.

The rains are late coming again this year so the lake is getting lower and lower as you can see in this photo...
Wednesday we had a visitor!
Bethany is a friend of a friend; she is studying in Chile this semester, but came to Cordoba for a few days. We had fun showing her around our city and introducing her to our favorite ice cream place. We really enjoy getting to know these college kids who are either majoring or minoring in Spanish and doing a semester overseas. Love their adventurous spirit!

As we slowly move forward with buying the lot, we're thinking ahead to what needs to be done. Especially after the hole-in-the-wall fiasco, putting up a fence will be the number one priority. Happened to think that maybe we could buy used fencing that just needs to be cleaned up and painted, so we stopped at a compraventa (a place that buys and sells used furniture, building materials and so on). While Ivan talked to the owner I was wandering around and came across this uber cute old TURQUOISE agitator...
...it only washes clothes and then you have to either wring them out by hand or use a centrifuga (another machine that spins the water out of the clothes). We have an old agitator but it's not nearly as cute because it's plain old white; it doesn't work any more and Ivan has plans to convert it into a vegetable planter.

My original idea didn't work out for the nightstand-turned-side-table -- instead of using the two Walmart baskets in the space left by the missing drawer, I found one big basket that fits in perfectly. The two baskets had leather handles that stuck up too far and got in the way of the drawer on top. I'm much happier with the one big basket :)
I just stuck the round basket on top while taking the photo; it didn't stay there. This is a pretty small table and it is normally covered with Ivan's STUFF. Papers and books are usually spread out all around his chair.

I found the large basket at a store in town called Wishful. It's a interesting/odd combination of housewares and toys. On one side you're likely to find all kinds of decorative items for the house as well as dishes, kitchen utensils and silk flowers. On the other side it's like a mini Toys R Us.

I'm still getting used to shopping here and how you can only find certain things at certain kinds of stores. In the U.S. you can find pretty much anything you need at big stores like Walmart, Target or Meijers. But here if I want band-aids, I HAVE to go to a pharmacy. If I need a garden hose I HAVE to go to a ferreteria (hardware store). Yes, we do have a Walmart in a town about half an hour away and I can get pretty much anything I need there. BUT we don't go to Cordoba that often so usually it's necessary to visit a variety of local stores to get everything on my shopping list.

Okay, on to the odd happenings...

We woke in the middle of the night to hear water dripping...the tank on top the roof was overflowing. Not much we could do in the dark so we eventually just went back to sleep. But first thing this morning Ivan hauled a ladder up to the roof to check things out. He was more than a little startled when he pulled the top off the tank and saw a head in the water! Someone with a warped sense of humor had used the head from a child-size mannequin as the float on the water tank fill valve. It was a boy buoy! LOL  Unfortunately he didn't have the camera with him. Wouldn't that have made a great photo for Project 365?!

This evening we got a text message from a friend asking for help. She had gone away for the weekend and left the dog in her bedroom, which she locked. No problem except she forgot to leave the key with her teenage kids! So she asked if Ivan could pick the lock and let the dog out. This is not something we covered in missionary orientation :)

As they say, the greatest ability for a missionary is FLEXability!

10 comments:

Mari said...

Your stories are as good as the pictures! Great post!

The Bug said...

Well, did he get the dog out? Don't leave us in suspense LOL!

The little table is really cute. Those chairs look really comfortable. I don't have a chair because I'm always at my computer in the living room & in the office chair. Mike has a nice big comfy "man chair" - & we have a futon for napping.

riTa Koch said...

Fun and funny!
Lucky Bethany. Would love to see you and visit your favorite ice cream shop, but will have to settle for the nice smiles in the photo.

Lhoyt said...

I hope the manequin was not too realistic. That could cause quite a stir!
I like what you did with the end table/nightstand.
As they say, "invention is the mother of necessity" or is it the other way around. Either way, it pays to be a handyman.

McCrakensx4 said...

YOur little table is a nice addition with your chairs in the room. I really like it and that basket is a great fit. and how nice that you are able to touch so many students...I am sure you are an inspiration to them. And seriously if I found a 'fake' head floating in a tank of water I am not sure I would have a voice left from screaming at the top of my lungs...lol! Hope you have a great week.

Skoots1moM said...

always LOVE your stories...
hope the water holds off in drying up more...
love the little table and basket
I bet it really startled him when he saw eyes looking back at him...hope there wasn't a big problem with the tank.
Hey, I have a new computer camera...we need to skype sometime ;)

Robin Lambright said...

Loved the little table! It turned out great!!!!!!

blessings
r

Oldfangled said...

I like the turquoise agitator. My mom did laundry in a ringer washer for years after most people had switched to automatic washers. I still remember helping her to put clothes through the ringer. (Careful not to get your fingers caught!) Seeing that photo brought back memories.

Kathy said...

As always, I enjoyed your pictures and post. It's probably a good thing your hubby didn't venture out to look in that tank in the dark--a floating head would look much worse in the dark! LOL

Tori said...

Love the table! Turned out great with that basket.
You know, I don't always like going to the big stores but given your situation it does make me thankful for one stop shopping sometimes. :)
The floating head has to be one of the best stories ever! I would've screamed I think. Can't imagine if you would've tried to check it out at night....YIKES!
Have a great week!