Monday, June 07, 2021

Here's the Apartment Tour I Promised


The ad said it was a furnished one-bedroom, and it was, although sparsely, but I guess it still counts. It came with the barest of necessities: one very used pan that had a damaged non-stick surface, no pans, no coffee-maker, a smattering of mixed silverware, a medium-sized refrigerator, and the plainest couch you ever saw sitting on 2x4's. It also had an older digital TV, a table and four chairs, two smaller tables - one of which would serve as a temporary desk for my laptop and one that could go on the balcony - three small end tables, and a small double bed. 

The above photos are pretty much as I found the apartment except for my
towels, rugs, and the bathroom and bedroom shelves

My living adventure in Bocas Del Toro, Panama, was underway and I knew it was going to be fine once what was left of my down-sized personal belongings arrived and I could start making it my own. Little did I know it was going to take a little over 6 months before I would be able to get what was left of it here!

When it "all" finally did arrive, I almost wondered wondered how I was going to do this, but I'd moved 4 times in the last 4 years, once all the way across county from Asheville to Napa, and 3/4 of the way back from Napa to Houston before finally leaving for Panama. I'm pretty much an expert on moving by this time, so I knew exactly what  I was going to do.

Even with the smallest load of all my moves, I was still intimidated as I'd never tried it at 75 years old before. Here's what it looked like when I finally got those remaining shipped belongings, paintings, and drawings into my apartment.

Unloaded, with more boxes in the bed and bath rooms... ugh!

At this point, there's still a lot to do as I need some more side seating, a coffee table, throw rugs, live plants, and Jamaican decor and accents. Maybe a decorative surfboard... Right now, I'm going to take a breath, relax a bit, and see if I can find accents that aren't too cheesy. You wouldn't believe how bad the local Chinese version of WalMart is...


Looking to the French Doors from the main room

The TV that came with the apartment and mine right below
sitting on moving boxes covered with a moving blanket!

There's the "couch" that came with the "furnished" apartment.
All of the paintings and drawings are my personal work.

My "art" desk. This where some of the magic happens!

Welcome to "La Petite Gallerie" II. You can almost see the inside of the entry!

The Mini-Kitchen. Not much counter space.

Combination Bedroom and my Computer setup

My computer work space... It's nice to have the "beast" back...

The bathroom, of course...

A lovely north-facing balcony overlooks the only street out of town and it
can get a little noisy sometimes


Looking the other way on the balcony


Front of the apartment building. My apartment is on the second floor right


All in all, I'm getting more and more comfortable, and feeling more "at home" as I get it more together.

Damn good thing!


4 comments:

Royceann said...

Sure did enjoy the apartment tour! You’re right—-it’s pretty basic. The exterior is lovely! Liked your artwork.

Anyaa said...

Congratulations again Gary, looks great, a definite upgrade and it will gradually get even better!

Winston Wallace said...

It looks pretty homey to me but I guess that is the minimalist in me. Winston

Gary Stamper said...

Winston, moving to live in a foreign country almost requires some serious minimalism! Thanks for checking in!
Gary