Last night the heatwave that gripped mainland Greece began to break. Athens went from highs of as much as 106 Fahrenheit down to 88 degrees – a welcome relief, I’m sure. The weather system that roasted the Peloponnese had a more mild affect here on enchanted Patmos where the high was 82 degrees – though less breezy than usual and more humid giving it a “felt temperature” of 88.
“It’s fucking hot today!” jovial Andreas told me as I said hi before leaving the cafe at Agriolivadi, where I chose to write, eat and swim for the afternoon. Andreas spends his days walking the beach – seeing people to their lounge chairs, adjusting umbrellas, getting rental customers their paddle boards and pedal boats and fielding all sorts of questions and complaints with incredible grace and kindness.
To me, the day was just a little warmer than usual – making a cold beverage and an afternoon swim all the more enjoyable. For Andreas – who is careful sharing his complaints – it was clearly one of his harder days, though you would never know from his demeanor. In fact, it seemed more than anything he chose to laugh about it because there was no better way to handle the situation.
Not that saying “at least” ever helps anyone’s situation, but at least Andreas – and all of us – were on Patmos and not the largest island of the Dodecanese chain, Rhodes, where it was 95 degrees. Like Southern California, the islands of the Dodecanese have their microclimates. Among those, Patmos has some of the most temperate weather year-round.
Today the Meltemi winds – which Zeus ordered the Anemoi (wind gods) to blow across the Aegean for 40 days each summer to keep the Greek people cool and safe – returned, sweeping away stagnation and humidity and making for a very pleasant 78 degree day. As if Zeus is apologizing for the Anemoi’s failure yesterday, he also sent away the cruise ships – with none at all at anchor today. The locals all seem more relaxed and Alessandro – a large Cuban man who along with his Greek wife, Eirini run Nektar, the natural foods and gift shop near my house and for whom in past years the kids have worked – told me today in his heavy Cuban accent:
“It’s quiet today, man! So quiet! It’s good. I’m going swimming at Meloi today!”
I’ve never known Alessandro to leave his shop for more than an hour – and that’s usually to shower and change clothes from his morning to evening attire. His trademark style involves well-considered, very colorful attire.
The cafe where I’m working is filled with locals taking breaks and catching up – something you don’t typically see on a July afternoon.
The sense of relief around town matches perfectly with my own sense of accomplishment. Yesterday, Mohammad the handyman/painter/contractor sent one of his guys to string up the lights I bought for the yard. I wasn’t sure they would work yesterday evening because they’re solar powered and they only had a few hours of sun from which to work. Then, just after sunset as I was about to eat dinner, the yard lit itself. Only it was blinking – which I hadn’t considered a possibility. With four large strings of lights criss-crossing the yard – all working on the same model remote (technically, there are four remotes, but they aren’t specific to any string of lights), I went through the comic process of stabilizing one string of lights as solid only to send the next into blinking. After enough tries and Ailyn’s coaching via FaceTime (because she has fairy lights in her room at Emily’s and has fully explored her remote control options), the yard had a beautiful, calm glow.
One set of lights, draped over the grapevines is plug-in. I got the needed extension cord today. I also rode up to the nursery in Kampos and ordered two more, not-so-expensive-pots to solve my problem with the jasmine vines I have struggled to plant in the ground. They’ll deliver. The first steps to extending jasmine vines to cover the side fences of the house have begun.
Next-up – drop irrigation. Neither the landscaper or the nursery have anything to offer me and suggest a plumber. That feels a bit overkill for a drop irrigation system. Three years ago, these were the things that really stressed me about home improvements. Getting information, products and the appropriate professionals was hard.
I have since learned two things that have changed my life and attitude: 1. Mohammad get any provider I may need. He generally starts by saying he can address my issue – and when it’s outside his skill set, he just gets the right person (electrician, plumber, landscaper, etc) who will come because Mohammad who they all seem to love and respect asks, not me. 2. Skroutz – the Greek answer to Amazon – works VERY well and usually has what I can’t find locally. Like drip irrigation systems. I don’t need a plumber to buy $55 drip irrigation – which can be delivered. Days of asking, begging and stressing – GONE.
That said, one of the few seriously negative differences between Patmos and the US is how people value my business. Here, people tend to see my requests for their products and services as more of an annoyance. Tradespeople act as if they are doing me a favor by coming – and they are in no hurry to do so.
I contacted Dimitris the appliance repair man about excess condensation in my refrigerator two weeks ago. He said he’ll come soon. It’s been two weeks. I’m a good customer too – I bought a new A/C system from him last year, had him service my three A/C units this past spring – as I do each year – and have had him fix my washer and try to revive the old dishwasher (he couldn’t get the part). At home, a busy HVAC contractor or plumber might put me off a few days in a heat wave or after major rains – but usually with some apologies and a sense that they needed to get to me as soon as they can. On an ordinary day, they’re usually happy to show up and take my money.
Vasili at the nursery told me to setup drip irrigation I should talk to a plumber, but not to expect it before October. I knew he was right.
My revised approach of setting up projects for Mohammad to oversee over “the winter” – meaning October through May – has been working. The kitchen and bathroom remodels, the landscaping, the exterior paint – it was all done in fits and bursts over the course of the off-seasons each year. I trust Mohammad to make sure it happens, he brings business to tradespeople at a time of year when they aren’t so busy and in turn, they direct business to him – especially for painting, which is his mainstay. It’s a system that works – so long as I don’t need anything urgently.
I can’t imagine it will take a plumber to get water from my hose spigot to the potted plants around the yard. This seems surmountable.
This winter’s projects include replacing the bedroom doors that currently have frosted glass with solid wood – and having them planed so they are easier to close, fixing some patches of peeling paint which Mohammad says need some weather sealant behind them, and replacing some of the broken lights around the perimeter of the yard. I feel confident they’ll all get addressed. Likely in drips and drops – but they’ll be done.
Outdoor furniture for the yard has been my other challenge this summer. The local furniture shop didn’t have any options I like – or more specifically, the options I liked aesthetically, I didn’t like financially. In order for furniture to show up on Patmos without incredible hassle, it must be ordered within the country. Greek companies are used to delivering goods within an archipelago and know the transportation systems involved. So, I’m beginning to sort through online furniture stores and think I may have found the right sofa and coffee table. I think I may start with just those and see how they affect the yard – along with the lights and potted plants – and evaluate from there.
Each year the house changes some. Each year I learn. Unlike anywhere else I have ever lived, this house has been a journey that involves personal growth. Even though I get a little frustrated or panicky at times – or maybe because it takes me out of my comfort zone – I have enjoyed and value it in a unique way. This house has taught me so much.
At this point, I’m beginning to see what could be end of the changes within the house’s current form. I’m happy with what it’s becoming and won’t need major year-to-year changes.
The next big leap may take more time – because it will take a lot more money: adding an additional bedroom and bathroom, bringing the front of the house further into the yard. Apparently, the people before me mapped out this very concept with the local architect and at that time, the cost of the expansion was $50,000. Not change I have in my pocket, but not crazy for what it is.
Lord knows Ailyn is enthusiastically in favor of this plan.
I have the rights to build a second-story. So the next phase after expanding the house’s footprint would be adding a level so that it really has two units – each of three beds and two baths. The options then become fantastic. I could be here and Airbnb a unit during the summer. Or visiting family and friends could have a nice amount of space and privacy. Or the kids can bring boyfriends, girlfriends, spouses, families as the years progress. I want this house to be a place that is always there for our family. If it can change along with us, that would be for the best. It certainly can’t hurt the value of the property either.
Writing this, it sounds so simple. If the bathroom and kitchen remodel are any indication, the work doesn’t have to cost a fortune to be what I want – but it won’t be hassle-free. I’m sure it will also be worth it.
First I have to get through drip irrigation.
