This week a hodgepodge of things have occurred. I'll start with the house and the progress I am
making. All the major furniture has been delivered! The last piece, a long, low piece for the TV set, had its issues when the installers said they couldn't attach it to the brick wall, which was needed to make it stable. After they left I went to the local hardware store, talked with the manager/owner there and decided that it could be done. I bought an electric drill and attached the metal piece to the wall that would be attached to the furniture. Success!! The TV and other items are now in their proper places.
My bedroom closet is now done! I contracted with a handyman directly to put in shelves and clothes hanger poles because the company that had done the painting and repair work for the house was asking too much for the closet. I had worked with this handyman before. We had some delays with getting the right materials but he came on Monday morning with an assistant. Of course things do not go as planned and he needed to replace some items that did not fit. They stayed until 10 pm that evening, but I now have a closet to put the clothes that were sitting in the wardrobe boxes that I had shipped to myself. Little did I know until that day that the handyman was going back to Peru for 2 months for vacation! So I'm glad it was all completed before he left.
With that work completed, I was able to unpack the rest of my boxes that I had shipped from the US. I feel that was a huge step forward. In some of those boxes were some art objects, like Native American pottery and the like, that I see now that my place does not have the surface space yet to put those out. They are now in the hallway closet. I will be looking for some smaller furniture pieces to complement what I already have, which will give me some additional storage and I'll have a place for these art objects.
My Building - Broken Elevator
Did I tell you that I am on the 4th floor, which is really the 5th floor? On Friday I discovered that the elevator wasn't working. Although a number of neighbors are on vacation (it's August, of course!), I knew there was at least one neighbor on my floor and a neighbor above me that were here. I assumed they or others would call to get the elevator repaired, since I was the newest property owner in the building. Well, I assumed wrong. On Saturday the elevator was still not working. That day I talked with another neighbor who just got from vacation and asked about it. He said that I should call the administrator of the community association, a company that manages the maintenance of the building. On weekends they're closed. He also said that I shouldn't assume that a neighbor will call and when I realize there is a problem with the elevator, that I should call. Five flights are not fun to walk up, especially during the heat of the Barcelona summer!
I went to the beach with some friends on Sunday. On Monday morning, around 11:30 am, I did call the building administrator, but I assumed by now someone else had called. I found that she was on vacation (no surprise there). When I explained that I was one of the owners in my building and that the elevator was broken, the person who answered the phone said that no one had yet called about this issue. Really?? I was surprised but was glad I called. Within an hour someone came to check on the elevator. I also asked if there is a number to call when this happens again and their office is closed. He said he would talk to the administrator when she gets back from vacation and post some numbers to call in case of these types of emergencies.
UPDATE: The elevator is working again. Yeah!!
Successfully Flushing My Toilet
When Chris was here, he commented on the differences between American and European toilets. The main difference is that the American toilet has a large reservoir of water sitting in the basin whereas the European
toilet has a very small reservoir. To my knowledge, the rationale to not have much water in the basin is so
that when dropping turds, the water does not splash on you. The downside of having little water in the toilet basin is that the crap will many times hit the side, stick and won't clean itself on its own when you flush. I would prefer risking getting splashed on to the alternative, but I don't have a choice here. So, I have now developed the skill of flushing. At the time of the flush I always have the toilet scrubber in my hand as my other hand is flushing the toilet. As the water descends, I quickly scrub off any crap that is sticking and then wash off the scrubber under the falling water. I know - TMI! But it is a skill I have now acquired. Later, I may look into changing this toilet for one that has more flushing action on the sides of the basin, which I have seen in some homes.
