“Faca.”
I frowned.
“Faca.” She repeated, this time adding a hand gesture.
It took me another split second before it dawned on me that she was asking for a knife. A big one. I nodded and walked inside.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. This story, although it ended last week Saturday, started at the beginning of the week, when my new stove was delivered. At 90 cm wide, it is perhaps a tad oversized for a tiny house of only around 32 square metres, but it is one of the things I insisted on right from the beginning. I love cooking, and on smaller stoves it is impossible to fit 4 pots simultaneously, so for once in my life I wanted something really big. The delivery went without hicups on the Monday afternoon, and so my sister gave the Electrician a call to ask him to come and install it.
He fitted the gas and water pipes at the same time as he wired the house, so it was a simple formality to do the last checks, and make the connection. As Murphy would have it, he arrived on Tuesday afternoon just as my sister had to start teaching her online English classes, so she grabbed her books and made a dash for the car – the only sheltered, quiet place, for pretty soon a flurry of activity ensued both inside and outside the house.
During a short break in between two of her classes we had a quick cup of tea, before she returned to her makeshift office, and I started taking the washing off the line. The next moment an explosion ripped through the afternoon silence.
I first froze to the spot, then, when I walked towards the door, I found myself walking past it, too scared to face the aftermath. The immediate silence lingered for what felt like an eternity. I felt physically ill, fearing the worst, but when I half-recovered from the initial shock, I quickly opened the side doors to help clear the air. It took a while for the fine white dust to settle, and to ascertain that no one was injured.
Because the sliding door was open, the only damage was that the plasterboard at the back of the kitchen cupboards that was blown apart.
And so, the simple connection of my new gas stove, turned into a four day repair challenge. The culprit for the explosion turned out to be a leaky valve, and not a punctured pipe as we feared. It started energetic enough with the removal of the kitchen cabinets, cutting out the damaged plasterboard, and replacement of it and the valve, but it slowed down to a crawl and then a complete standstill.
Amanhá – tomorrow – can mean anything really. And so when Saturday morning came and went, I gave up hope that my kitchen would be finished anytime soon.
To my surprise the Electrician arrived at around 15h30, accompanied by his wife, and another woman, who I still don’t know who she is, but who I will call the Feisty One. Turns out he was here to add a second coat of paint. “No,” I said, and explained in my broken Portuguese that a second coat of paint isn’t necessary. Soon I will add a backsplash that will anyway cover the wall. What I really, really want is to have my kitchen back, though.
He nodded. Another promise of tomorrow ensued, but it was at this point that the Feisty One intervened. “Tomorrow?” She said. “Sunday? Are you nuts? You cannot come work on a Sunday. And what about her kitchen? How is she supposed to live like this? You will do it right now.” Well, that’s what I imagined she said to him, because he immediately started to gather tools from the barn.
Throughout the process she was quick and ready to lift and move cupboards into place, offer advice, ask questions, and make small talk with me. Well, the small talk consisted of a lot of smiling, gesturing, and the odd mangled Portuguese word thrown in by me.
Before dark I had my kitchen back. This time, with a working gas stove.
They left with waves and smiles, and I celebrated the progress with a generous helping of the homemade Jerepigo (sweet dessert wine) they decanted into a water bottle for me.
Portuguese words:
amanhá – tomorrow
Jerepigo – sweet dessert wine
garrafa – bottle
faca – knife
fogão – stove
gás – gas
explosão – explosion
Written by: Jolandi
Dodgy gasman/electrician?
I think the blue is very fetching.
Espero que o seu Português esta melhorando. (I made that up and my phone is in Spanish so you’d better check it)
Actually he is quite good, Trevor. It really was just an accident.
I’m starting to get used to the blue, and suspect it will feel and look strange to me once I peel it off. 🙂
I won’t go as far as to say that my Portuguese is improving, but I’m at least attempting to memorise some vocabulary every day. One has to start somewhere! – Jolandi
Holy smokes. That’s a close call. Glad all is repaired. Also I’m glad your cupboards aren’t that very vivid blue.
It was! You will be happy to know that under that vivid blue plastic is pure white, Sarah. I’m just biding my time, as there is still quite a bit that needs to be done, and I don’t want it to get damaged. Because it really is a tiny house, I’m trying my best to make it look more spacious by sticking mostly to white for the walls, ceilings, and cupboards, with a bit of brown and grey, as well as wood to prevent it from becoming sterile . . . – Jolandi
That kitchen looks amazing..
Thanks, Lisa. It is getting there slowly, slowly. I sometimes joke that I’m living in a kitchen, as our house is so small, and the kitchen takes up so much space. – Jolandi
What a scare you must have had! I am so pleased that no-one was hurt and there wasn’t as much damage as you had feared at first. Three steps forward and two steps back! You will get there eventually! xx
That is exactly what it feels like, Clare – three steps forward and two steps back. At least there is movement in the right direction, and eventually the house will be finished and comfortable. In the process I’m also learning interesting new skills . . . 🙂 – Jolandi
I was so glad to know that if you were writing about this accident, it must have turned out OK! Yikes! I would have been so freaked about about the second attempt, too, after that bang. My eye was drawn to that nice glass of wine on the counter (which would have been the only thing chilling me out enough to stay in the house). The kitchen looks fantastic! (Oh, and I loved the way you described the Feisty One!)
Thanks, Lexie. I can’t wait to have everything in its proper place, but that will take a little while longer. Patience is something I’ve learned I need plenty of to survive here.
I must admit that I was rather nervous to start using my stove, but all is good, and I don’t even think about it anymore. It really was just one of those freak accidents.
Trust me, I had more than just that one glass of wine on that particular evening. 🙂 – Jolandi
OMG Jolandi. What an ordeal but so glad that no one was hurt. The pleasures of remodeling, but the end results will be amazing (already looks good). I like the blue color of your cabinets (didn’t know it was a plastic cover). Keep up the good work. When we come back to France we hope to meet up. Bisous and hugs to my walking partner. Patou
It certainly isn’t for the faint at heart. 😉
It will be wonderful to see you and catch up with you again. I can’t wait for the world to return to some sort of normal again. I gather that you are in the US at the moment then. Please take good care of yourself, my friend! Sending you a big hug.
There is a lot of good walking to be done in Portugal . . . – Jolandi
I’m glad the damage was limited and could be repaired, Jolandi. I like your kitchen, enjoy your great stove (and your glass of wine!).
Tanja
Thanks, Tanja. Every day the house is getting a tiny bit more comfortable. There is still a lot to do, but slowly-slowly things are coming together. – Jolandi
Jolandi re the size of your kitchen; they say they are the heart of a home anyway and you have a big heart! And I’m sure a table and chairs will make it even more of a drawing together – when you are ready.
I’m guessing the sink isn’t plumbed in yet? Good job you are a Yoga teacher; I’d love to be able to squat like your picture!
Your challenges and how you overcome them with positivity and determination continue to humble me. X
It is definitely useful to be flexible, Christina – both in mind and body, so yoga has been my saving grace on many occasions.
Thank goodness the sink got plumbed back in, when the Feisty One spoke. The four days I had to squat and do the dishes outside reminded me of how wonderful modern plumbing is. We so often take these things for granted.
I completely agree that the kitchen is the heart of a home, and although I’ve not cooked anything elaborate yet, I absolutely love my stove, and am so glad I insisted on a huge one. Every day the house is getting a tiny bit more comfortable, as another piece of the puzzle slots into its proper place. – Jolandi
Well, it was certainly worth all the headaches as it looks fantastic!!! Thank goodness for the “feisty one” Haha. Other than the fact that those fronts on the cabinets are plastic, the blue is kind of cheery.
This brings back memories of our restoration/renovation of a very old house in Granada, Nicaragua. Basically it always seemed like one thing after another. So I guess prepare for problems, issues and then at least if you expect them, they won’t take you by surprise ahaha. Progress!!
Peta
Yip restoration/renovation and rebuilding stone ruins is definitely not for the faint at heart, Peta. Only fools and dreamers tackle these projects. 😉 But the world needs us too. So we wil persevere. And like you say, it is better to expect problems and delays. But we’re getting there, even if it is a tad too slow to my liking.
I must admit that I’m getting so used to the blue kitchen cupboards that it is going to feel rather strange when I eventually remove the plastic. I do want to try and find some pretty azulejos – those gorgeous traditional Portuguese tiles – for my backsplash to add colour and cheer to a house that really consist of muted tones (white, grey, brown). – Jolandi
That story was so nerve-wracking I had to get myself a glass of wine to recover. I can imagine Michael may have let out a few choice words after all his effort to fit the kitchen, but it looks good now it’s repaired. It is a decent sized kitchen for the space, but you will be spending much more time in it than in bed (I’m guessing), so it will get much use.
A glass of wine has never failed to calm my nerves, Gwen. 🙂
And you’re right, I will definitely spend more time in the kitchen than in bed. I spent last night building IKEA bookshelves to create a division between the kitchen/living space, and our sleeping nook. It makes such a big difference. I love how creative I have to get to make good use of the space in this tiny house, and although I admire minimalists and would love to scale back, I also like all the things that make life easy. – Jolandi
Oh my, oh my, so much happening already! Again I thought that the blue was the chosen colour. And faca means face in my Ljubljana dialect! I predict the end of earth-shattering accidents for this house. 😉 Happy language learning! And hurrah for the feisty one!!
I know! Perhaps a bit more excitement I bargained on so early in my life here. I love your prediction, Manja, and will wholeheartedly cling to it. 🙂 I love how the ‘same’words can have have so many different meanings in different languages. Or conjure up associations that are completely wrong. Language learning is both fun and frustrating, but I will persevere. – Jolandi
Hello Jolandi,
I am finally, finally getting caught up on my favorite blog posts. My goodness, what an “adventure” this has been. First and foremost I am so glad that no one was injured and that the damage was not as bad as it could have been. Your “feisty friend” seems like guardian angel of sorts, and I am glad everything is back in place. As always, our thoughts are with both of you – stay safe my friend!!
Thank you, Takami. Like you say, the ‘feisty one’ really is an angel of sorts. I’m so grateful for her and that I have a functioning kitchen again, as the last work has come to a grinding halt once more, because of new restrictions coming into place tonight. It is exhausting to try and get things done at the moment. Take good care of yourself too, and stay safe. – Jolandi