the inner sanctum
just so you don't think i am always super heavy and melodramatic, i have decided to show you some pictures of my home and tell you the reasons why i like it so much.
here is the view from my window. its south facing and when the sun is out (which was not today), i get a lot of warm afternoon sunlight which my plants absolutely adore. my neighbours in the big white house tend to sit in their solarium all day (they are old italian men) and play cards and watch me as i go about my business. the other day they started getting their greenhouse ready for spring planting. they put the plastic cover over it and laid down some fresh dirt. you can't see it from this photo, but right outside my window i have a little wooden landing big enough for a little table and chair and then stairs going down from there to the back yard. they are pretty rickety, but still somewhat functional.
this is a picture of my kitchen. as you can see, my stove is tucked in a nook behind the sink. the layout looks somewhat awkward, but it actually works pretty well. the stove area has a little window that i can open to let the smoke and cooking smells out. you can also see all my knick-knacks everywhere (including: a photo of the tar ponds in sydney, a photo of my neice and nephew, an ashtray from expo 67, an old polaroid camera, a sailboat wind chime, a decroative russian wooden spoon, an invitation to kate's wedding, my grandfather's fedora, plastic pouches with seeds and grains from peru, homemade magnets (one of a doll's head), postcards sent to me from my friends in exotic places (but not jamaica :), booth pictures of me and daniel, of my cousin, niece and nephew, and of me and my brother, ashley's graduation photo, the invitation to sheena and danny's wedding, my court summons (i challenged a traffic violation), 2 peruvian laughing men figurines, two paintings of mountains (that i did), many milk bottles filled with many different types of things (like split peas, mung beans, rice, bay leaves, lentils, coconut, curry powder, couscous, popcorn, cinamon, chocolate chips, lima beans and other stuff too), a vegetarian cookbook, a picture of my dad as a kid, a box of cereal, an empty heart shaped chocolate box, a cannister full of pennies, incense and incense pariphanlia, a tea pot, an east van trivia game, a chinese laquered box, a plastic fijian policeman doll, and an old, flowered suitcase. among other things, of course.
this is the other side of the room, where my table is located. i use this table for eating and painting. though i also paint in the "office" as well. its the less busy side of the room. i sit here in the morning to eat my cereal and tie my shoes. this table also ends up being the repository of all the random stuff i bring through the door. i all ends up on the table. and there it stays. the basket in the corner houses all my scarfs, toques, hats, mits and umbrellas. the mirror on the wall was given to me by edward, one of the seniors who volunteers at the thrift store at the 411 seniors centre (my former place of employment). he brought this mirror in from home for me because he thought i would like it. the small framed photo on the wall is of my family taken at a cousin's bar mitzvah in saskatchewan in the 60s. the larger frames holds old photographs (from the 30's) that were given to me by a man at a flee market in paris. the lamp i bought at ikea.
this is the sleeping part of my home. there is, obviously, a bed. the bed has a peruvian blanket (lots of peruvian stuff - it was all given to me by my parents who were there a couple years ago). in the corner there is mobile which i purchased from and ancient 4 foot tall asian lady at her mobile store on main and cordova. the store is no longer open. i also have a bookshelf with a bunch of books on it. and a plant. as well as a bouquet of dried lavender which i picked fresh and brought back from amaury's parent's house on salt spring last summer. you can also see my rug (on loan from my parents), and my space heater. totally crucial in the cold, wet weather. past the doorway is my "office". its baiscally a small closet/room where i have set up a low desk for painting or computing. its also a storage area for all my art supplies as well as my records and my linens.
this is the other side of the room. here you see a small corner of my "entertainment centre", which baiscally amounts to a tape player/cd player (the tape deck doesn't work anymore) that i got for my 16th birthday, a dvd player, a borrowed tv, and some computer speakers. this sits atop my dresser, along with a plant. i also have another bookshelf with a bunch of cds and more books. past the little doorway i have my walk-in closet that nicely accomodates my mountains senior's centre thrift store finds. i also have mirror and a chair.
here is my windown, and some more plants. here as well as some small old suitcases, and my laundry hamper. i have heart shaped bars on my window.
i know its not much to look at, but i really like my apartment. its big enough for just me. i think it feels cozy, and there is lots of light. its quiet, and i have friendly, awesome neighbours. its not far from downtown, only 4 blocks to commerical, and 1 block from the adanac bike path. its cheap too, on account of the leaky roof (which you get used to). i really like my home because i made it look and feel the way i wanted to. my bed is super comfy, and i have a nice reading lamp by my bed as well as a duvet and a space heater that make things really warm and cozy. i can lay in bed and read or watch a dvd (which i am about to do in a minute - my coworker lent me i heart huckabees) or i can sit at the table and paint or do crafts or write a letter or whatever. its also easy to clean, cause its so little. which is nice too. the only bad thing is that i can't easily accomodate house guests. i love when people come to visit, but i don't have a lot of place to put them. if its just one person its ok, cause they can sleep with me, but anything more could be problematic. but so far this hasn't come up as an issue.
maybe this has been the most pointless and mundane post i have ever made. i guess i am just bored and tierd. today i took a first aid course and am now an OFA level 1 first aid person. i even have a card and a certificate and everything! then i met someone and had a fun and awkward conversation. then i had coffee with aili, then we went to temple. then i came home.
that was my day.