Fighting boredom

This is rather pathetic, and a real commentary on the modern life in which we (in particular - I don't wish to cast aspersions on others) have ensconced ourselves, but one thing we struggle with is boredom, particularly in the evenings after the kids have been put to bed. We are, of course, used to having a TV about. This has stunted our ability to self-entertain. We are used to living in bedroom community suburbia, so we are not used to inviting people over to our house for things like card games or conversation. Initially, we read books - we had brought some with us, and there is a stash at WMSC that various people have left behind (a common practice at field stations) - but eventually we ran low, and then out, of new reading material. Having not moved our household goods yet, we don't have our full library here, which doesn't help. We have also been watching DVDs on my laptop, but again, we've played out the library we brought with us pretty well by now. And Netflix turnaround from the island is about 6 days. The other day I broke down and ordered a flat panel TV.

Which brings up our space limitations. I thought people might like to see the digs, so here are some pictures that make the place seem bigger (and less dusty) than it is. I should also note that these were taken immediately after our first cleaning of the house, so please don't think the floors are always that clean, or that the beds are made on a regular basis.

Here is the front of the house. It is at the end of row of 5 or 6 units. They things really like to climb in the little tree that's in front.


The house overlooks this nice little courtyard in which the deer poop and the children play. Some graduate students are living in the house opposite. It's a quiet place, but on weekends the sounds of the DJ down at the restaurant/bar are clearly audible (even with the windows closed).


The main room is sunny and cheery, due to our exposure (just about due east) and the skylights. The striped hardwood floors take a little getting used to, but I'm sure it's better than carpet in this dusty environment.




The kitchen is, well, tiny. Yes, that's it there in the corner. Not sure where all our stuff is going to go once it gets here.


The things are enjoying their bunk beds. One other feature of the room is not visible in this photo. The doors to the closet are mirrors, making the room look bigger, and providing hours of entertainment for silly boys.


The master bedroom seems sizeable. It is also nice and sunny due to the current lack of window treatment in the eastern window. From that window we can clearly see the door to the little red schoolhouse. We have dreams of shouting downstairs "Get up! Get dressed! Get breakfast! Make your lunch! Go to school!" and then looking out the window to see Thing1 disappear through that door.


Finally, we have the backyard. Bit of dust bowl right now. Not a living thing in it except the eucalyptus tree. Expect some improvements here.


Tomorrow: Poopcorn