Fortune Smiles: Settling in Houston

As described in the previous post, sometime in mid-January I (Aggie) got the flu that was going around. Nighttime temps were projected to be in the high 20's, and our source of free firewood had just about been exhausted. Cougina decided that it was time to leave Quartzsite. Though I didn't feel like a road trip, Cougina was set on it, so we loaded up our bicycles and the rocking chair he had bought me for sitting in the booth, and headed for Houston. Cousta (our name for our pickup), performed like a champ with her 340,000 miles. She was the first of a series of smiles from  Fortune. After four days of easy driving (a two day trip when I am healthy), we were in Houston on a Sunday.

We rented a room for a week at Studio 6. We acquired the herbs needed, and began preparation of the bath tincture to combat my MRSA. We also spent a few days driving around town, window shopping places that we couldn't afford. On Friday, we toured two apartments that had been advertised on Craigslist. One was a no-no, with tattooed gang members on the property.The other one became our home that afternoon.

Our Timbergrove apartment is $695 per month, all bills paid, for a 650 sq ft one bedroom apartment, in one of the most attractive (to me) neighborhoods in Houston. Inner Houston real estate has become hot, and my old neighborhoods are getting too congested and expensive. Timbergrove is at the edge of that development, with a view of the downtown skyline, yet out of the congestion and traffic problems. Our apartment is surrounded by far more expensive places, and also situated on White Oak bayou, with a bike/running trail and a park right outside our back door.Yes, the place is old, but it has brand new tile on the floors and in the bath, and fresh paint. It's perfect for us.

I signed the lease and picked up the keys at 4:30 pm on Friday, came back to the motel, and started perusing Craigslist for furniture. All we had for home furnishings was a rocking chair and a few plastic spoons. I inquired about a nice solid wood dining set for $50. The woman invited me to come look at the other stuff the next morning. It turned out that  a Tanglewood (Bush Senior's neighborhood) estate was being emptied, and we managed to get almost all of the home furnishings that we needed for $450!

This included the oak table with two leaves and six chairs, leather couch, upholstered armchair, end table, bookcase, lamp, large mirror, two paintings, radio, two nightstands, barbeque, and outdoor table. For the kitchen, we now had Mikasa china for 8, everyday hodgepodge of dishes and flatware, 3 sets of glassware, coffee pot, pots and pans, serving bowls, three vases, broom, etc. All of this was of the quality you would expect to find in the home of an older person in an upper class neighborhood. We called my strong young son, who came to help us move the heavy stuff, made a few shuttles to the apartment in Cousta, and voila, we had a furnished apartment in less than 24 hours! The next morning, we checked out of the motel and took the bicycles to the new place. Dear friends also contributed an area rug, a desk, a juicer, sheets, pillows, clothing, plants, etc.

I haven't expounded on the details of living with a gas grill and a cooler for a kitchen, a share in a rented portapotty for a bathroom, and a wood fire for heat. While I miss sleeping under the stars every night in a bugless, virtually rainless place, it was physically demanding, especially with my health problem. I hope that I have shown you what a gift it was to fall into a comfortably furnished place so cheaply and easily. And just in time for the first bath!

THINK GREEN
BLESSED BE
COUGINA and AGGIE

Quartzsite to Houston via Pickup

After losing all our belongings in the fire in October 2012, we spent a few months in Quartzsite, AZ, sharing a vendor booth with our dear friend Eric.

We haven't mentioned that, just before the fire, Aggie had contracted MRSA, the antibiotic resistant, recurring staph infection. It got into my system through a thorn that got deep into my knee. When the doctors finally figured out what it was, I got the right antibiotic and it was gone in ten days. Just a few weeks later, I scraped my shin on my bicycle pedal. After a couple of weeks, I realized that it wasn't healing. On top of that, I had an ear infection. Off to the Quartzsite clinic for another round of antibiotics and topical antibiotic for the shin.

It was obvious that it wouldn't take too many more of these infections to destroy my health. Cougina started researching and found a Chinese herbalist who thought the MRSA could be permanently removed from my system, because he had had many previous successes. The only catch was that I needed to take regular baths. We were living outdoors in Quartzsite, and the only bathing we had access to was the shower at the laundromat down the street.

We began to make plans to settle down, in order to have access to a bathtub. We found a charming 1985 Toyota pickup, with 340,000 miles, for $1000, that could take us where we decided to go. We gave her a new battery, two new tires, a cleanup, and a coat of grey primer. Aggie loves her 5-speed transmission and her narrow body. The owner promised 30 mpg, and, sure enough, she did that on the highway.

As we discussed where we would settle down, Quartzsite was having its winter cold spell, and Aggie ended up with the flu that was going around. Fortunately, our trusty pickup was ready to go. We hopped in and drove to Houston. After a week in our usual Studio 6, we found an apartment and settled in.

Up next, a look at our apartment in Houston...

THINK GREEN
BLESSED BE
COUGINA and AGGIE