“Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.” -Epicurus
When Michael opened his e-mails this morning, he found an unexpected gift waiting for us. The last communication we’ve had from the Electrician was mid-November. We heard nothing from him since. Michael’s last e-mail was sent eleven days ago, asking on the progress and if he could please recommend someone who could do the flooring for us. We bought it during our last trip, and if Michael did not have to do it himself, we reasoned that he could build the kitchen during the trip he plans to make towards the end of January.
To say that we are thrilled, exhilarated, ecstatic, overjoyed, delighted, and elated is putting it mildly when we received these photographs.
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The Electrian, like Michael, seems to be extremely good at getting the job done, but is not that concerned with the paperwork. We are deeply grateful for having him in our life, as he has gone above and beyond his normal duties to help us. Being local, he knew exactly who to contract for the various jobs neither him nor us could do, and as we needed registered artisans for some of the jobs in order to fulfil the criteria for the habitation licence, we wouldn’t have been able to complete this project without his assistance. He also learned early in the process that Michael is a perfectionist, and didn’t want any skimping on the quality of the work. It is a relationship that developed slowly over time, as we got to know one another, and one we hope will continue indefinitely, as there is so much more that we plan for the quinta*. And hopefully over time we will have to rely less on gestures and pictures, as our command of Portuguese improves.
For now, we are celebrating the fact that our little house is nearly complete. Michael and I now have to sit down in earnest to plan out the kitchen on the IKEA website.
Written by: Jolandi
* farm
Hello again, my friend.
Oh what a wonderful gift indeed! So happy there is mutual respect and goodwill with you and the Electrician. I believe this is just the beginning of many good things to come 🙂
Thank you for rejoicing with us, Takami. Our relationship with the Electrician is a reminder of the goodness and kindness of people. It is wonderful to know that one can still trust people. What a blessing.
What a wonderful surprise! The rooms in your house look so good in those photos! It must be so comforting to know that the most unpleasant part of the renovation is over and that the rest will be much more fun!
Happy Christmas to you both!
Clare xx
It is indeed, Clare. And like you say, the rest will be a lot of fun. Especially for me. I hope you had a lovely Christmas. Wishing you a wonderful 2020 filled with blessings. – Jolandi
I had just read the post with the drywall and exterior photos, and was perfectly astounded even at those. Now this! Wow – it is a real, actual, veritable HOUSE! Soon to be home. I’m (again) feeling such excitement for you and your future here.
Isn’t it wonderful? I had butterflies in my stomach and felt giddy the whole day. The best part, for me at least, is to turn it into a home. I can’t wait. – Jolandi
I share in your excitement, Jolandi and Michael. The floor, like all the rest, looks great.
Oh my. I remember the early days when we were talking about ways to cope with outside toilets and no sewerage. And now look! You could move in already, and have a workaround for the absence of an internal kitchen. Now the biggest challenge is what type of kitchen you actually want.
It all looks fabulous. I’m so thrilled for you. (PS the anonymous on the previous post was me.)
Thank you, Gwen. Isn’t it wonderful? An indoor bathroom with all the normal mod-cons! No more walking almost a hundred steps (one way) to get to that outside loo where one could get sunstroke in summer, and wet and frozen in winter. 🙂
We’ve done the basic design for the kitchen, so now I just need to dash off to our local IKEA branch to go have a look at the finishes and decide on what I prefer, then Michael and I will head back there so that he can ask all the technical questions, before we hit that “order” button on the Spanish webpage. That way the kitchen components will be waiting for Michael to pick up later in the month when he lands in Madrid. So convenient! Wishing you and Bill a fantastic 2020. – Jolandi
I just saw from another comment that Michael is off tomorrow. Good luck with the kitchen!
Thanks, Gwen. He’s actually only going in 2 weeks time, but he definitely needs all the luck he can get. At least this time around his living conditions will be much more civilised than the previous trips. 🙂 How affected are you by the fires at the moment? – Jolandi
What a beautiful interior! And you have a real bathroom with indoor plumbing! (I’m not being the least bit sarcastic: I’ve stayed in enough rustic cabins with just an outhouse and a cold-water faucet to appreciate modern bathroom fixtures.) It’s amazing, looking back on when you first moved into the property, how much progress you and Michael have made. You both deserve an award of some sorts, or at least a year of leisure and day drinking on the terrace. Happy New Year!
Thank you, Hangaku. We are thrilled with the interior. And yes, indoor plumbing!! What a fantastic luxury after we had to make do with an outside toilet and shower up to now. Michael can’t wait to try it out during his upcoming visit later this month. I cannot wait for spending some leisurely hours on the terrace with a glass of wine in my hand. Most probably while plotting our next projects. 😉 Wishing a a wonderful 2020. – Jolandi
There are some people that turn into Angels in our life. This guy’s is definitely one of those!
As he is already a character in your stories, you should mention his name… If you don’t have to pay him royalties for that!
Wish you a blessed 2020!
Thank you, Ewans. We hope 2020 will be a good year for you too. Yip, he is definitely an Angel, and until our Portuguese is good enough to ask him if we could use his real name in our stories, we will simply have to stick with his nickname. We are often debating how much of our life we want to share, and the moment it includes other people, we are even more aware of privacy issues. Having a presence on the Internet can be tricky at times.
It is beautiful! How nice that you have found an electrician that is so willing to help and do the work to Michael’s standards. The house looks stunning and the kitchen will be so much fun to plan. You are making great progress and finally realizing what was once just a dream. Congratulations!
Thank you so much, Terri. We count our blessings every day. Michael has booked his ticket last night, so we need to finalise our kitchen design, and then see if they have what we want in stock in the Madrid IKEA. At least one can pre-order and then simply pick everything up on a designated day. This time Michael will have to manage on his own, as my UAE residence visa is up for renewal in a month’s time, and I cannot get a Schengen (European) visa until this one is renewed. My support will come with various instructions for photographs, etc. 🙂 – Jolandi