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~ my life in sevilla

casa azahar

Tag Archives: home

kitteh protection

13 Sunday Feb 2011

Posted by azahar in animals & pets, cats, home

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

balconies, cats, home

Ever since I’ve had balconies I’ve always put plastic mesh across them to keep the cats from jumping or accidently falling to their deaths. Of course this didn’t used to stop Sunny from jumping up and perching on the balcony railing (which always gave me a mild heart attack) so when I got Loki I put up even more protection to make sure he wouldn’t go over the top chasing a bird or a fly.

I left all that stuff when I moved because I have different sized balconies in the new casa az. Instead of six narrow ones I have two wider double balconies (it’s like having four, but they’re joined – as you can see here). You can also see that it would be quite a fall. But my question is… do you think I need so much protection here? I’ve put some mesh up on the sides of the balconies because there are small ledges leading off them that might be tempting to a certain orange stripey cat. But the bars are a bit closer together than at the old place and they have all that squiggly doodad stuff going on, which would make it very difficult for them to accidently fall off. I know I don’t need to put that angled stuff up again, but do you think I should extend the plastic mesh to cover the entire balcony?

My friend Flor thinks I’m not giving my cats enough credit for being intelligent enough not to leap into the unknown, but since both Lua and Sunny fell off my terrace when I first came to Sevilla – and also my vet told me that cats fall off rooftops and balconies all the time – I tend to err on the side of caution. I’m not that concerned about Azar because I think his leaping days are long over, but Loki is far too curious and also far from clever. I can imagine him going “what the…?” before plummeting to his death. Anyhow, just thinking about balcony safety at the moment. The terraza will pose a whole other set of safety issues, but that is something to think about at a later date.

feline design

07 Monday Feb 2011

Posted by azahar in animals & pets, cats, home

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

bathrooms, cats, home


It’s tempting…

Came across this today when I should have been working. The reason it would be ideal is because my new bathroom is eensy, almost an afterthought fit in under the stairs, and this would make it possible to have the cat box somewhere else. Though I’ve never tried enclosed cat boxes – I kind of think it would be unpleasant for the cat if the sand is anything less than pristine – and anyhow, it’s a bit silly. But the bathroom really needs some help.

Which room are you least happy with in your home?

central heating!

03 Thursday Feb 2011

Posted by azahar in home, sevilla, weather

≈ 10 Comments

Tags

central heating, home, seville

OMG… this little tiny box on my wall is about to change my life. I haven’t had central heating since I lived in Bristol (1990-1992) and today I finally bit the bullet and turned the thing on. I’ve been wanting to save money but we’re going through a cold snap here, and I decided I have enough to deal with having a painful sprained ankle without also sitting here shivering away as I try to get some work done. So hang the expense! At least for today.

I’d much rather have this kind of aircon/heating system, with just one unit in the livingroom and another upstairs, but oh well. I am hoping that the double-glazed windows in the livingroom and my bedroom will help conserve heat (and cold air in summer). And anyhow, if the heat was shut off upstairs it would probably just go up the stairwell, so there is nothing for it but to heat the entire apartment. I was talking about this to Agustín last night (who has the wall unit system) and he said that if I set my thermostat to a low but comfortable temperature it should be cheaper to run it all day than to keep turning it off and on again. Given that it’s taken an hour for the temp here to go from 14º to 18º  he could have a point.  Once the place reaches 20º it’ll take less energy to maintain the heat than to turn it off and start from scratch again. I’m actually already feeling more comfortable at 18º but I guess it’ll be a question of trying out various combinations of space heaters and the central heating to see which is more economical, but right now I’m very glad to have this option.

Though I recall my friend Paco telling me how he hates his central heating because in summer cockroaches come out of the vents (!!!!!). But I already have a plan for that. One apartment I looked at during the search also had central heating and I noticed they had attached plastic mesh screens over all the vent openings, which was all I had to see to walk away and not take the place. So here’s hoping this won’t be necessary. According to an engineer friend who works for the water company, each and every house in the old centre of Sevilla is stuffed full of roaches. He had a few horror stories of breaking open walls to get at the pipes… but apparently they usually stay where it’s dark and damp. We’ll see what happens here.

But it’s such a fabulous place. Every day it feels a little more like home. Wish I could walk though…

what does your home say about you?

01 Tuesday Feb 2011

Posted by azahar in home, quizzes

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

home, quiz

Your Home Says That You Feel Settled and Calm


You come across as very intellectual. People take your wisdom seriously.
 

Your hygiene is passable, but you may be hiding some dirty secrets.

You are a very domestic person. You enjoy decorating, cooking, and making things homey.

You are a very nurturing person. You find meaning in taking care of others.

You feel settled in your life. You have enough time to focus on little details.

You are a very self sufficient person. You can get along well without much help.

Your friends see you as honest, humble, and responsible.

What Does Your Home Say About You?

the keys to the palace

24 Monday Jan 2011

Posted by azahar in change, home, sevilla

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

home, moving, sevilla

Ever since Steve’s typo, I’ve been referring to my new home as “the palace”. This afternoon I signed the contract, handed over the deposit and am now – officially – the keeper of the keys, though I won’t actually pick them up until Friday morning. Apparently there is still some painting and minor repairs to do, and then the cleaning woman is going to come over the weekend and get everything spic and span…

Meanwhile,  I’ll be moving some stuff over on Friday with Caroline, though I have yet to sort out the actual moving day or how I’m actually going to move. Today I spoke to Maria Paz’s son and he said he’d check out cheap van rentals and get back to me. So that bit is still up in the air. But wow! I have a signed contract and a new home. Go me!

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