We live in a cave. It is a comfortable enough cave (air conditioning and heat when they work, a bathroom) but it has no windows. This is fine for a few days but, when we are accustomed to seeing our ocean and garden everywhere we look, not fine for months. The dimmer switches on the track lights hardly simulate sunrise and sunset though we pretend they do. The cave is, in other circumstances, our guest room and office.

The living/dining room >

We have a bed of sorts. It is the box springs from our bedroom (not thrown into the ponds like the rest of the bedroom furnishings), but tattered and torn by the wind, sand and rain. No mattress (an egg crate instead), mismatched sheets, pillowcases only for half the pillows, those scavanged from downstairs storage. A cheap bedspread doubles as blanket. Cheech likes it fine!

< The bedroom (opposite the living room)(in the same room)

We have two closets. Half of our clothes were discarded (and not claimed as losses) so we could move to the cave. All those designer outfits sent by Mom as gifts went to the dump. Most of our cold weather gear went also. Anything not worn in the last few months is gone -- short-sighted now that the weather has changed but necessary at the time. The closets are crammed with boxes too. As are the cabinets and shelves. We can't find anything, sometimes even in plain sight.

< The Storage Pod

Other boxes grace the office, covered by a lovely Frank Lloyd Wright design throw of waterlilies. Paintings hide behind the door to the living room/bedroom and fall over at odd times, making us and Cheech think we are experiencing a home invasion.

The Wright Wall >

So, we otherwise live out of the second, third and fourth refrigerators (especially fun when the weather is bad). The deck also doubles as a pantry.

Side-by-side refrigerator >

We do have a Christmas tree. It's hard to walk by but it's pretty. Gifts are out this year except for Cheech, who lost most of his toys from storm damage.

Ben and Cheech share
the comfy chair and
rarely fight over it.