Bare-All, Tell-All Home Tour

I'd like to personally welcome you on a walk-through of the colorful 6th-story apartment that we've called home for four years.

940 square feet (inc. 2-season porch)

(funny I just realized it's slightly larger than half of a volleyball court)

3 bed, 3/4 bath

all furniture belongs to landlord

monthly rent USD $193

built in 1997

....

DISCLAIMER: HOUSE UNUSUALLY TIDY,

ACTUALLY NEVER LOOKS LIKE THIS.

Imagine a bunch of books, legos, clothes, papers, couch cushions, dirty dishes and what not strewn about.

Pictured above, that glass sliding door leads to the 2-season porch which is used for hanging laundry.

By the way, all walls -- interior and exterior -- are concrete, and there is not an ounce of insulation anywhere in this apartment.

South-facing view out the back porch windows. 

Back in the living room. The wall quilt made of recycled shirts is always a conversation piece. It was purchased from India via eBay right before we were married eight years ago.

Looking back at the front door, shoe cabinet and dining area.

Floors are real, warped wood with fault lines wide enough to swallow loose legos!

Left archway leads to kitchen, bath and music room, ahead you can see our bedroom, and out of sight further to the right is the kids' bedroom door.

If you were to open the dish hutch for a coffee mug...

ZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzz....

Funny thing about those "antique" wood window panes is that they are identical to, if not in better condition than, the current exterior windows.

P.S. I almost never make the bed so, this photo only represents a potential reality.

 

Peering out our south-facing window. (These ubiquitous aluminum bars supposedly prevent burglars from entering and people/laundry from falling out.)

Right next door is the kids' room, which as the largest bedroom was designed to be the master, but my mom had the clever suggestion to designate it for the kids so they would have more play space.

Possible evidence that these photos were captured on June 4th.

Their window opens out to the porch.

 Looking straight out the door, through the dining area, to the bathroom door.

Bathroom door ahead, music room to right, kitchen hidden to left.

Our lovely squatty facilities! The toilet must be flushed by using a ladle to manually dump water down the squatty. Typically reeks something nauseating up the sewage pipe so the door must remain closed. The floor is always wet, so you must slip on shoes or deal with wet socks/feet. Mold finds it's true home here. Rats chew their way in through the window screen. The kids use a big round basin to bathe. And you see the covered washing machine there.

The music room is next door. Best of all: GORGEOUS-SOUNDING RENTAL PIANO!

Plus the kids' art wall and a painting I made six years ago when we first arrived and had no decorations. (I didn't know where to buy canvases -- it's acrylic on paper taped to cardboard from baby Titus' crib box.)

Quilt was a wedding shower gift fashioned by Drew's mom, and the electric guitar is on long-term lend or something from a friend.

The view.

Stepping into the kitchen now. The yellow pantry doors are the only upper cabinets, and you can see there are two lower cabinets as well.

Tight but sufficient. I've grown to love a tiny kitchen.

Not climate-controlled: Literally freezing in winter. Dante's inferno in summer. So I often cook in my parka and mittens December - February; bra and underwear July - August. Whoohooo! Is the latter even safe? Probably not.

Kitchen window facing north.

(Hopefully no neighbors notice me kind of naked, fixing lunch.)

Finally, if you were wondering, we don't have a car, garage or yard.
But we do have bicycles, and a shared space to stash them under the staircase.

Thank you for embarking on the virtual tour! What do you think of our place?

counting the graces

thank you Father for
when grateful goes wrong

3 volunteers to help with summer VBS

music, lyrics, prayers of commitment and adoration offered at the Young Adult fellowship

YF's loyal friendship

RZ's help preparing the plan in Chinese this afternoon

repentance -- and owning up to my part in making things even worse

amount on the bakery card just enough for a birthday cake
finding a squirt gun at the store, and the epic preschool water fight which thrilled my children
being able to stay in touch with family via email, wechat, skype, fb

Mike & Titus thrilled to play at the indoor gym

surprised by a quiet little pizza shop high above and overlooking the old city street at rush hour
I might be freaking out a little but I still believe it's all going to be alright