Thursday, March 15 morning … background details

A bit of catch up to augment the prior posts … the unit, while definitely not “in town,” is heavily secured and obviously the fire code here is Very Different from that at home.  To enter our pad, first there’s an iron gate with a keyed-on-both-sides lock and a stern sign reminding EVERYONE to ensure that the gate is closed again EVERY time someone goes through it.  Then down a windy, short set of stairs to our entrance … another iron gate, extending across the front porch/supplies closet, and secured by a massive padlock (again, keyed).  Enter the unit by keying in the doorknob lock.  Mysteriously, there is a (keyed-on-both-sides) deadbolt as well, but none of the keys we were issued fits it.  The window of the bathroom which is on the entrance-side wall is also fitted with bars … and the only other way out would be to jump off one of the balconies to the pool several stories below.  NOT!!  So we are careful to visualize everyone around us behaving with very high safety-first consciousness.
BTW, at the bottom of the 190 stairs (which we have negotiated every day), there’s another keyed-on-both-sides gate, augmented with concertina razor wire.  I guess we feel secure, or at least protected!  And speaking of the stairs, they are precipitous, uneven, some flights seem to be canted forward, and no railings to speak of … just thorny bushes.  Needless to say, it’s a slow and careful descent.
So, what did I want to do on vacation?  Read & needlework!  Some progress on both fronts so far; completed the current Virginia Quarterly Review (a sobering collection of photo & prose essays from Afghanistan), the 40th anniversary(!) edition of Ms. Magazine (I remember the thrill of being an initial subscriber, though perhaps I should not confess this…), the current AARP, one Stephanie Plum novel, and a lovely romp entitled How Carrots Won the Trojan War.  The current needlework project, which shall remain undescribed for security reasons (Santa is coming, after all!) is beginning to hit its stride as most of the fussy detail work is completed and I’m moving into parts that have larger areas of the same color, thus allowing faster progress.
We also are gradually accommodating to the housekeeping services here.  We had agreed to follow Linda’s habit of putting dirty laundry in a plastic grocery bag hung on the bedroom doorknob, which (we felt) would allow us to see when we had a full load.  WELL.  No such intrusion on our relaxation can be allowed … every day, our loyal housekeeper confiscates our paltry offerings and returns them, clean and neatly folded, before we’re back in the unit.  As Linda remarked, had we only known we’d have packed much less!  On the other end of the spectrum, pillows which have been repurposed from bed décor to more useful pursuits (stacked as an ottoman, added to the chaise lounge) are respectfully left untouched … making for a much improved experience both during the day and at bedtime.
Then there was the mystery of the stove.  We were gradually able to decode the controls for the stovetop (gas) which boasts four burners and a griddle-in-the-middle.  The remaining knob presumably controlled the oven, but we saw no way to set an actual temperature, and when we turned the knob, it seemed that nothing happened.  So I pantomimed my question to the housekeeper, to be instructed in the fine art … be patient and the oven will light, and counter-clockwise is “poquito.”  Apparently there’s little need for temperature precision, but we’re thinking we will hope for better inter-species communication with the kitchen appliances in next week’s accommodations.
Finally for the morning, we have the clean-water situation.  Though the water (and vegetables & fruits) seem to be reasonably clean, we are provided with the classic blue-plastic 10-gallon water jug in a pretty cute rotating wire cage.  After a bit of practice (we do, after all, hail from moonshine-jug Virginia territory) we are able to decant JUST A GLASS and not splash all over the floor.  There’s brown goop to dilute and soak your produce clean, and everyone’s stayed healthy so far.
We are about to be off to visit the Botanic Gardens up the road, where there’s rumored to be a guided tour in early afternoon and, currently, a focus on birding featuring raptors.  More on that later!