We spent yesterday bumming around the city in the pouring rain, waiting for the company-arranged apartment to become available. The cheerful bank tellers informed us that it never rains like this in Christchurch. The apartment is in Merivale, a hoity toity suburb of the city, but there’s nothing high falutin about our digs. It’s “furnished” with sterile grays and blacks, walls are neutral tan, and the outdoor temperature = the indoor temperature….until I figured out how to turn on the heat pump. No internet yet, we’re hoping it’ll be hooked up in a week.
I lugged an assorted collection of colorful wall hangings from home and they came in handy last night. Climbed the fence to cut branches from the neighbor’s tree, hung scarves on the branches using safety pins and fishing line (hurray for Alaska salmon gear). We dressed Milo in cheerful orange and headed out to the thrift shops hoping to find floor lamps to augment the 60 watt ceiling lights. The good news: We had left-over ham soup and hot tea for dinner, since the microwave and water boiler work.
Give It A Burl 
You’ve done a grand job-and Milo could cheer up a room, no matter color he’s in! This picture makes me want to reach into the screen and pinch his cheery little cheeks.
Remembering how cheerful your first apartment in Owego was when you decorated it, I am confident you will succeed in your new place when you finally “land” there.