Decorating and Door troubles-Tiny House Tanzania episode #7

This week we are back working on the house or more accurately sharing some items from previous weeks because rain and the need to get end of year information together before I travel home has taken over my schedule.

That is right it is that time of year again-both end of year reports and traveling home for Christmas/renewing paperwork.  While I don't have to renew my visa this time I do have to renew my International driver's license which is only good for a year.  This time around I also have to make sure I am set for a new two year commitment (the limit through United Methodist IVM program).  I will be stateside December 16th until January 19th not including flight days.  I hope to see everyone then and if you would like for me to speak to your group please contact via my email to the right.

Back to this weeks episode-decorating the house or at leas the kitchen area.  While on vacation with the family we went to Zanzibar where I picked up a couple of carved wood frames.  I decided to start with one of those and make a message board.

I started by cutting out a piece of flat metal plate to fit the board then the original idea was to prime and paint it with blackboard paint.  Fortunately before I started any of that I remembered I had bought some sheets of chalkboard wall appliques.  So I applied one of them to the metal instead and since it was supposed to be red and the frame blue I thought it should look pretty good especially with white chalk.  Doubt the colors are exactly right for a USA red, white and blue theme but you get the idea.  

I used tack nails to hold the metal plate in securely.  Why metal plate you may be asking?  Well I have been collecting various metal bottle caps and using the small round magnets you can get from most office supply stores to make closures on some of my craft items.  I wanted to use those to make decorative magnets to hold things like my weekly receipts to the board until I had time to enter and file them.

Those were simple to make with a little bit of Super Glue but I did use two of the magnets to make sure they were deeper than the bottle cap.  

My other big and I mean big piece of artwork was in the form of a banner/poster print I had made in the states last Christmas thanks to a gift card from a friend.  I made a simple wood frame that for the time I am leaving uncoated until I see if that is a problem.  Then I glued the picture around the frame which had to be done over a week to make sure it was all sealed properly.

Most of the pictures are from Peru, though the bottom right is from Switzerland during a trip to visit the Campbell's in Germany.  Why no pictures from Tanzania-well I currently live here so I see most everything but the safari on a daily basis.  I wanted the print to focus on things I am not getting to see right now.  The cross is on top of a mountain in La Merced the nearest town to the Kimo camp.  The water fall and man made pond are from that site.  The sunset is Belen near Iquitos and the bottom left is Machu Pichu.  The young boy is Miguel one of the young boys I continue to pray for who got a bear I sponsored through our church's prayer shawl ministry.

That is the main art work planned for the Kitchen area at this time though I think my kitchen table will be artistic in nature as well but I will have to wait until next year to make that.

I also mentioned Door Trouble in the title:  This happened about 4:30 in the afternoon one day when the door frame on the right side (one with hinges) broke loose.  After removing the door I realized it had to be replaced now not later as I had been hoping to push it off until next year as well.

So first thing I had to do was cut out the rotten part of the frame, then cut a new piece of wood to go in it's place as well as sand that wood down to size since it is slightly larger than the hole that exists.  After I removed the rotten wood I noticed what caused this, the red mud bricks that make up most of the structure of my floor has been eaten out by various insects and critters that burrow because the bricks are the same as the ground.  One of those insects happens to be termites which then devoured the wood as well.

area eaten out by critters and insects below the door frame

In the process the tear out damaged some of the plastered wall I had just painted so that had to be repaired as well.  Somehow I managed to get all this done before it got dark at 6:30 PM.  Very thankful for the power tools I had and the ability to run them to cut wood and do some sanding that way.