The Hiatus Has Ended

Here I am back again.  I was gone for a long while trying to sort things out and get priorities in order.  Let's see what has happened.  Most recently I moved to Montrose--a downgrade in my apartment but nearer work and a nice community.  The apartment is older and I no longer have a laundry room in the apartment and kitchen is smaller and lacking in the marble counters, stainless steel appliances and flagstone floors but  what the hey.  I have gained in time and a fatter pocketbook--no more gas fillups twice a week for commuting.  I also have a farmer's market on Sundays within walking distance.

I think I have kitted the apartment out nicely, all of my furniture fits so that is a bonus.

This is my dining area.  I have stackable chairs available but the daily dining experience is very posh with my arm chairs and the daybed serving as seating.  I've tucked a shoe box under the table to put shoes in when I come home.  The entry way is very small.

This is the living room.  I also have my bar area to the side of the sofa.  On the wall across from the sofa is the TV, cat tree and Japanese art arrangement. 

Here you can see Misha jumping down from the cat tree and my view from the balcony, you can just make out my parking space and I have a free entrance about 50 feet from my the apartment entrance.  One exit to work.  I would take cross streets but to the right is the free way entrance and the left means crossing traffic coming off the freeway and trying to get on it.

The kitchen is basic and sort of small but completely serviceable.  I have given up brewed coffee for instant because the tea kettle takes up less space and is multipurpose. 

 Here is my Japanese art arrangement.  I have three framed pages from antique books featuring woodblock illustrations.  There is also my Kagura mask of a jealous woman, a fan, a photo I took of Maiko in Kyoto and a scroll of the famous Buddhist chant.  I think this arrangement turned out nicely.

 Here is the bedroom featuring the shell-back chairs that I brought back with me from Oklahoma.  The one nearest the window used to be blue damask and I remember curling up in the chair to read as a child.  I would like to eventually re-upholster them in a peacock blue damask again. 

 Sasha is about to go into the closet.  I have to keep the doors open, note open door to the bathroom sink as well for the boys to make a hasty retreat.  Sasha likes to sleep on my Japanese mink blanket in the closet.  Misha seems to prefer under the bathroom sink.

 The bathroom is much smaller than my old one and the litter box is in the bathroom.  I had to get a smaller one than they are used to.  The cats are not happy with this turn of events for them.  One morning, I found litter pushed out onto the rug and a nice pile of poop on it.  I guess the message is if I refuse to get them a bigger box, then they will creatively make a bigger one.

 One of the nice features of this apartment is the pantry--which I use as dish/appliance storage.  I put in a bookshelf on the other side to store all my craft supplies, books, etc.  This area still needs a little bit of organization but everything is coming along nicely. 

At first the boys were very unhappy about the move.  They hid out for the first two days in the closet only coming out at night.  Then on the 3rd night, Misha and Sasha took to tag teaming in their unhappiness from 11:00 to 3:00 in the morning.  I told everyone that if I said I was going to the Angeles National Forest, know that I was carrying the body of a dead cat that I needed to dispose of.  But since then they have calmed down and even let me sleep until 5:30 this morning.  Progress.