Dear Friend,

Would you like to see a bit more of our house here in Arfara?

I'll show you the bedrooms today. When the house was originally built, the kitchen was one room and whole rest of the house was another. I've even been told that my Papou was born in the kitchen. I'm not sure at what point the current configuration came to be, but I believe there may have been a few over the years. A cement floor covers the kitchen as well as half of the living room and front hall. Then, some fairly rustic floor boards continue into the bedrooms. Let's just say we can check on our belongings in the basement if need be. There are two bedrooms and a little hallway that have divided the left third of the house. The shared wall in the bedrooms attaches at the exterior wall in the middle of a window. I'm thinking more thought was put into square footage of the rooms rather than wall placement. Kolya of course thinks this "pass through" is brilliant.

Our decorating is fairly simple after a quick stop at IKEA Athens and a few handmade items from home. My end table is an impromptu stack of my Aunts' vintage luggage. But then, who are we kidding... its exactly what I would have chosen.

When we came in January to clean out the house, Jason and I plopped ourselves down on one of the beds after a particularly exhausting day. Our tired bodies were met with a bed that felt more like a concrete bench. Further inspection revealed a roughly carved bed with a chicken wire type base, covered with an ancient wooden door and topped with a one inch "mattress" filled with hay. Gad zukes! So, that mattress was added to the bonfire and the door is now happily propped up against the wall. Jason added a few nails to it and now my jewelry adorns it. Perfect.

Before we arrived in June, our neighbor Maria and my relative Konstantino arranged to have a painter come and paint the house for us. It was in dire need. We have yet to hang a lot o the walls and for some reason, the simplicity of the decor is adding to our relaxation. We will save some decorating hopefully for another visit...

XOXO,

Karen June