Camel from Kyzylkum

Sparky lived in a house in Fairfax County, Virginia. It was a three-level house with a back patio and a big back yard. His youngest son, Dan, lived with Sparky at that time. When Sparky brought me for the first time to his house, I saw a not cozy and not well-kept house of a lonely man. Sparky said, “I know some things need to be done in the house, but I was not sure what to do.” I always liked to make my home a cozy place, even when I lived in a tent in the geological expedition. Cozy means a lot of things—something that is comfy, lived in, warm, relaxing, happy, has good vibes, and is a place where one wants to hang out and relax. I wanted this house to be such a place.

So, a few days later, I asked Sparky, “Do you really want to do some improvements in your house?” When he said yes, the next week I arranged to meet with a Russian guy, Eugine, who had a business of remodeling houses. Eugine had been an architect in St. Petersburg in Russia before he immigrated to the United States. He came to the house to see it and make estimates for the project. Before long, Eugine and his team began remodeling Sparky’s entire house; the project took seven months. While remodeling was going on, Sparky and I lived in my apartment in Maryland. It was fun coming to Virginia every weekend to see the progress and transformation of the house. In the end, we had a master suite with a large bathroom with a jacuzzi, guest bedroom, office, living room with a fireplace, family room, kitchen with brand new cabinets and granite countertops, and two more bathrooms. The freshly painted walls sparkled with cleanliness, and the light wooden floor was shiny. The fire burned brightly beneath the mantel in the living room. Our master bathroom with a huge jacuzzi and shower, with tiles covering the floor and reaching the ceiling, with mirrors that took up most of the walls above the vanity and jacuzzi, was the best piece of Eugine’s creation. I decorated the house with beautiful wall pictures and other artifacts. Sparky and I bought new furniture. The house was transformed into a very warm and cozy place—the way I wanted it to be. We soon moved from my apartment in Maryland to the Virginia house.