Profound Transformation

We got off the ferry at 12:45 am and hauled our bags through town toward my house. Michelle mentioned she was hungry and while I at first thought maybe we would stop at one of the remaining open cafes or restaurants, I suggested we first lighten our load and drop our bags off at the house first. In the end, we never made it to a restaurant.

We had both underestimated what would happen when we opened the door to my freshly worked-on house. Since August 2023, the kitchen and bathroom were remodeled and much new furniture had arrived. I was prepared to be disappointed and even frustrated at the contractors having furniture in the wrong rooms and perhaps the house being dirty and unkempt. 

But no. Not only had Mohammad the contractor ensured the house was cleaned immaculately including having my bed made up perfectly, but by and large furniture was correctly positioned and things were in good working order. 

More importantly, I was stunned and overwhelmed seeing the change in person. The new kitchen and hallway floor tile had appeared gray in photos when it was supposed to be blue. It was in fact stunningly blue, but somehow shown gray by iPhones. After feeling elatedly stunned, I realized color correcting photos of the tile was required.

The blue floors bleed perfectly into the blue doors and trim that had been painted last summer – and the new blue cabinetry in the kitchen. The light fixtures all had their new shades and the lamps I setup on the last day I was here in August complemented them perfectly. Most importantly, the living room was delightfully transformed. A beige throw-rug, round blue coffee tables, a giant Aegean blue sectional sofa, matching sitting chair and a custom-made lulaki TV console made for a completely different central living space – one that feels homey and inviting – while also very Greek and complementary to the traditional stone tile floor.

New dressers, a desk, and kitchen dining and cabinetry also contributed to the overall profound change – though nothing could be more pronounced than the bathroom. From cheap glossy tile, an awkward, stained tub-shower, an unimpressive toilet and forgettable lighting, the bathroom has been transformed into gray-painted cement and plaster with a sculpted stand-up shower and a basin built into traditional Patmian cabinetry painted lulaki blue.

It took a lot of work, time and patience to make all of those changes happen – the work of an entire summer prior plus patience into Fall, Winter and Spring. Looking at it all, I was in-short elated. It helped that Michelle was impressed and happy about it too.

I also discovered that I can be quite consistent in my thinking. Not remembering exactly what I had brought, bought, left or kept last summer, I purchased and brought some of the same things AGAIN including Costco quantities of dryer sheets, more sunscreen than a family of 10 albino Norwegians could use in a year, another multi-pack of Tide Stick and Jet Dry. So now, I'm REALLY set there. I also found myself narcissistically impressed with how well I stocked the kitchen with every kind of culinary tool, implement and service-ware possible. I wanted a working kitchen and indeed – this is a working kitchen.

Except for one outstanding item: the dishwasher. I bought a new dishwasher after the old one was pronounced unfixable by Dimitris of Grikos – the appliance repair man – in April. The new dishwasher wasn't fitting under the counter the way the old one did. Mohammad told me that despite having taken off the top and bottom pieces, he could not get it to slide into place and recommended I return it to the company from which I purchased it and buy a new one that perhaps was a few centimeters shorter.

However when talking to a company representative today, I was told the dimensions were standard among all brands and that if I couldn't figure out what I had, it's unlikely any other make or model would do better. That emboldened me and with a little more braun than finesse, I managed to finagle the rear of the dishwasher under the countertop. As I was about to use brute force to finish the job, Michelle implored me to halt and make sure we had accounted for the safety of the new kitchen tile before going further. Despite being painfully close to victory, I paused and plan to complete the work – hopefully smarter and scratch-free – tomorrow. If that can be done, the kitchen will truly be in great working shape.

Of course, any homeowner knows the job is never done. The bathroom still needs a few fixtures which Mohammad has been waiting for me to return to select – towel racks, toilet paper holder, lighting and mirror. I discovered some of the exterior walls need repainting as does an interior wall in the kids' room.  Then came the ideas. Wouldn't it look even better if ALL the kitchen cabinetry were lulaki blue, Michelle posited. Well yes, it very well might. Wouldn't the same hold true if all the window trims were also lulaki? Yes, definitely. And that corner, and that other one need….something…. Well, yeah, I suppose that's true. Then there's all the vast white wall space that needs filling in. That assignment – well understood already – goes to Ailyn and Sennen to consider. They have ideas – especially Ailyn. We can all work together to bring some art to the house.

By the time Michelle and I finished appreciating the house, buying her some packaged snacks from the only kiosk remaining open on the island, briefly walking around town, showering and unpacking, it was 4:30 am. We allowed ourselves to sleep no later than 9:30 because jet lack is best confronted head-on. But also, like any first day on Patmos there was a lot to do.

Besides the obvious goal of having Michelle see Patmos by daylight – and she did indeed end up getting the full tour from South to North – there was getting a motorscooter from Stefanos, gassing up the motorscooter, consulting the appliance people about the dishwasher, grocery shopping, figuring out where my storage bin on the side of the house went along with all the stuff in it (not fully resolved, but it seems the gardener may have thrown it out?!!!), eating lunch at Ktima Petra (one of my favorite restaurants near my very favorite beach) and last, but not least – getting the new wireless router from Manos my Greek attorney who acts as my representative for bills and legalities. 

Despite all the busy-ness, all the accomplished tasks which included a little furniture rearranging – Michelle and I still managed to fully enjoy a beautiful sunny Saturday on Patmos with special love for Petra and Livadi Geranou beaches – easily the most richly blue and vibrant of them all. 

Anyone who has ever visited me in any of my homes abroad over the years knows how much I enjoy giving tours and sharing the places I love. So it was fun to be able to do that with Michelle. Not surprisingly, she didn't seem to need long or much of my input to understand and appreciate Patmos. "This place has such amazing intimacy. It's so rare to find any place this intimate." She said she felt it immediately walking off the boat. And then there was the general, "So beautiful…." she uttered regularly as we rode through the Patmos hills and vistas by motorscooter. Because in the end, Patmos speaks well enough for itself.