The Nitty Gritty

My first night I slept like a baby.  That's why I always travel with my sleeping bag.  It's my home away from home.  No matter where I am, when I'm in my Northface wubbie I'm happy as a clam.

A home :: A hug

The next morning I woke early and got down to business.  I needed to figure out if my apartment had potential.  With only a few hours until work, there was no time waste lamenting about the color of the perfectly matched furniture.  Especially when, as I unpacked, I realized that 90% of what I own is green so apparently I'm not all that opposed :)

The first order of business was winter proofing the windows in an attractive, effective way.  I can't do pea yellow plastic ineffectively taped to random things.  It doesn't work and it's depressing.

Looking around the apartment I realized I had everything I needed to do what I needed to do:

• A clothes cupboard
• Two flat sheets
• Two curtains
• A giant cardboard box
• Tape

Who knows why this was in the apartment, but it will be handy.

The cardboard box I cut and flattened to fit in the smaller window.

I totally lucked out because one side of the box is actually really nice.

After adding the cardboard, I moved this curtain to the other window.

 Next I used the bathmat to easily and safely slide the

cupboard over in front of the smaller window 

effectively creating the perfect barrier from cold.

My clothes will be chilly in the AM but I wont be.

The floors here are soft so be VERY careful moving things.

 Once the small window was taken care of I took the two flat sheets, doubled them over and used them to line the two curtains on cover the big main window.  I also removed the ugly yellow plastic bags.  Once I was done the room warmed up immediately without even turning on any heat.  The alteration also made the windows usable again so I have a great view on warmer days.

You can't even tell the curtains didn't come with lining.  It rocks.

After this was finished started adding the important details.

Add caption

This was a gift from Soviet Russia over 20 years ago.  It goes everywhere with me.

Harry got Kitty for me before I left so I would have company.

 When I travel I take along a ton of scarves because they can be used for anything.  I've used a number of them to make the apartment more beautiful and cozy.  Notice the beautiful cold one that my Aunt Trista made for me.  I wore the other one like it to my first day of school.  Whenever I look at it I'm reminded how much my family loves and misses me.

This is a heater that is no longer in service, so I'm treating it like an buffet top.

 Finally, after work I went to the E-Mart to get picked up groceries, an electric bed mat and coat hangers.  Luckily I paid close attention to what I was buying and realized - before it was too late - that I didn't want liquor eggs, spoiled eggs or fertilized eggs.

I have to figure out what these are. Maybe I'll buy some next time.

Finally, thanks to the teacher who left me a bunch of homemade pasta sauce, I finished my second day in my apartment with a big pot of comfort food.

Exhausted, I fell asleep in my sleeping bag for one last night.  I needed to be sure my handy work was effective over night before I dared just sleep with blankets.

When I awoke in the morning the apartment was completely livable even though no heat was turned on.  

Success!