OK. So the kitchen... in Juggling with Hedgehogs
- Jan. 12, 2020, 4:55 a.m.
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- Public
I said I would post some indoor pictures of the house. Our builder came to see us yesterday to say his hand will be suitably healed by the 27th of Jan, and he can start work then. He’s going to be removing 2 walls, a fireplace and a chimney, making good, painting the walls and tiling the floor. Then, we will have a large, empty room in which to install our chosen kitchen (most likely from IKEA). So, for your delectation, here is the vile thing we’re currently using as a ‘kitchen’…and I didn’t even bother to clean or tidy it up before taking these pictures, so it’s a ‘warts and all’ thing.
This is the view from the sliding door entrance. We had to take all the doors off the cupboards, as I’ve mentioned previously. We keep potatoes and other vegetables on the windowsill, because it’s essentially a fridge. The tiles are BURIED in the wall. I’ve never seen anything like it. So on the right hand wall, which is staying in place, we’re going to get the builder to just gyproc over it. The wall facing the door currently will be covered over with appliances and cupboards anyway (two ovens, cupboards above and below etc) so the tiles will hopefully mostly disappear, or be gyproced and tiled over. It’s stunningly ugly as it is.
The big silver thing on the shelf is a Berkey filter. That was literally a life-saver when we moved in, as we didn’t have mains water - only water from the bore hole. So we ran the taps into the Berkey, the Berkey filtered the water super clean, and then we boiled it so we could make coffee and cook. Otherwise it would have been bottled water the whole time until we got the mains on, which took about a month.
This is the bloody awful cooker - and the Remoska sitting on top, because that’s what I mostly use to cook anyway. And we use an Optigrill for meat. Up on the wall is the gas water heater - no longer in use, as we now have the pellet boiler - but when we first moved in, this was all we had for showers etc. And the sodding pilot light wouldn’t stay lit. And look at the pipes! I mean, what were they THINKING? Oh, wait until I show you the staircase. That’s an entry for another day, but you will laugh so much when you see that thing. If I don’t do the staircase, please remind me, because damn.
General store cupboard above the dishwasher
The grey and black things above the fridge are what we use to eat our meals off, currently. We do have a dining table, but it’s too flaming cold in the dining room to sit in there, so we sit in the lounge, by the fire, with these lap trays instead. Once the kitchen is done, there will be a larger radiator in there, and a breakfast bar, so we will probably eat in there a lot more.
Isn’t it hideous? I haven’t built up to photographing the downstairs yet - or the bathrooms (oh. my. god) - but at least the kitchen will be obliterated soon, and we’ll have a nice clean space to fill up with all the stuff sitting in boxes on the floor downstairs at the moment.
Work on the pool begins early March. You can bet there will be lots of progress pics of that when it happens.
Last updated January 12, 2020
Marg ⋅ January 12, 2020
I see what you mean! I bet you can’t wait to get work started on it!
Icklewriter Marg ⋅ January 12, 2020
I can't bear to go in there! I go in, I switch the kettle on, I leave. I go in, I put bread in the toaster, and I leave. I put things in the Remoska to cook, and I leave. It's the worst kitchen I've had in my life.
Icklewriter Marg ⋅ January 12, 2020
The thing I really can't wrap my head around, is that the lovely lady who owned this house before us lived here for 12 years and THAT was her kitchen! She lived in this house as it is now (actually worse than that, because propane gas heating, which was shite and very expensive). The only way I can live here is knowing that we're going to make massive changes to it.
Marg Icklewriter ⋅ January 12, 2020
How odd! Horses for courses I suppose - maybe she came from something much worse!
Icklewriter Marg ⋅ January 14, 2020
Yes, very likely. There are still a lot of elderly Portuguese people who live here without electricity or running water in their homes. There are villages with a communal washing area for clothing where they all meet up and sit around and do their washing by hand. In the 21st century!
Marg Icklewriter ⋅ January 14, 2020
Jesus that’s incredible!
Icklewriter Marg ⋅ January 14, 2020
I know! The sense of community here is very strong though. It's not uncommon for you to go out shopping and come home and find a bag of vegetables on your doorstep from a mysterious visitor.
Marg Icklewriter ⋅ January 14, 2020
Aw that’s nice - makes you feel welcomed :)
Icklewriter Marg ⋅ January 14, 2020
One of my friends is living over here at the moment in a house owned by her friend who runs a huge farm. The house my friend is in has no bathroom. She has a bucket in her bedroom for washing, and a compost toilet outside somewhere. She has no shower - she uses the local river beach for that. She also only has a log fire for heating at night (and it does get bitterly cold some evenings). I don't mind roughing it a bit (as we had to when we moved into this house), but I couldn't bear not having hot showers every day. Everyone has their limit I suppose.
Marg Icklewriter ⋅ January 14, 2020
I’d definitely struggle with that as well - the heating more than anything I think. I can’t do anything when I get cold - it’s like I shut down!
Icklewriter Marg ⋅ January 14, 2020
Really can't wait - but we have a date now for that to be obliterated.
Camdengirl ⋅ January 12, 2020
My kitchen is bad, yours wins though! Ah well, sort of functioning, better than camping??!
Icklewriter Camdengirl ⋅ January 14, 2020
It is like camping most of the time. I can't bear to go in there!
Firebabe ⋅ January 12, 2020
Well, I thought our kitchen was bad, but I think you have us beat. :D It's got to be a huge relief knowing that you've at least have plans in motion to buldoze the whole thing and start fresh!