Back to the Important Stuff - Piso Work Update

Now that I've handled that little election thing it's time to get back to the more important stuff - What the "F" is going on with the Piso project?

Well, I was in Madrid in June / July and swore I was just going to hang out, relax, visit friends, eat menu del dia, drink wine, read El Pais and get pissed off, etc. and not work on the goddamned piso. But I couldn't take it. I decided to start on the cabinets in the kitchen. So, I made the long train trek to the dreaded IKEA, stressed out there, spent too many Euros, fought with the IKEA girls in the kitchen department, got a million boxes back to the house somehow, and got to work.

I tackled the hardest part of the job, the lower cabinets. This included new oven and cooktop, new sink, new dishwasher (gotta have wasteful American-style conveniences - including my garbage disposal I brought from the States), positioning washing machine and clothes dryer - yes a dryer, and a new very heavy solid oak countertop. I got it all installed but not fully working - then I ran out of time and energy.


Doing "obras" in a piso is a huge pain in the ass. You are working inside the house. If you cut a piece of wood the dust goes everywhere, if you have to get rid of some trash or old cabinets, it's five flights of stairs down to try to find a place to get rid of it. It's constant dust, dirt, and mess. Not to mention just getting the construction materials to the piso... there is no car, no elevator, no parking, en fin, it's rough.

I am not finished of course. I'll be back in early December to continue with the torture - but you know I love it.

What I Accomplished in Madrid

Answer - not much.

I was in Madrid for a while (back in L.A. now) and since I am a goal-oriented individual I am usually thinking about what I've accomplished, or what I haven't accomplished - so I can then feel badly about it.

Let's see .... I found this old table top in the street near the Plaza Mayor. It is from a bar there called "La Posta de Quitapenas". Which I would say means, "The Place to Forget Your Troubles". It looked like a deal - free. So I picked it up carried it home and worked on it a little to make it presentable. Not much, just added some stain around the edges to make the cheap particle board look "aged", cleaned the front with furniture polish, etc, and hung it on the wall. I like the "old Madrid" look, and I like the sentiment too. I do want Madrid to be the place to forget my troubles at least.

Did you know that Madrid now has THREE IKEAs? I'm afraid that I do. I went to all of them on this trip, which is pretty pathetic since I was in Madrid - where there are a few things to see other than huge furniture stores that are exactly the same in Los Angeles.

IKEA is a total pain but I love it. You see, things are expensive in Spain. The dollar sucks ass, and there seems to be only two versions of furniture stores. 1) The fancy Spanish or Italian (modern or traditional) store where everything costs a boatload of money and the people seem to enjoy paying for it for the status or something and, 2) The really crappy old-looking furniture that Grandma buys and seems to be in every Spanish house you walk into. I am trying to do a modern look so my only (affordable) choice is IKEA.

Don't get me wrong. IKEA is a battleground. You have to know what you want, know how to put it together, know that however much you plan something will be missing, or they will be out of the one thing you want (hence the trips to the 3 stores in Madrid), and just know that you are on your own - actually that's the way I like it.

This trip's goal was to install one section of kitchen cabinets (a pantry) and to replace the old propane tank stove I've been using with an electric one. Well, most of the job was done. I got the kitchen pantry installed including a section for the "bar" but the stove is not in, it is purchased though and sitting in the house - which believe me, is an accomplishment.

There is still a piece of "Zocalo", or baseboard, missing over there in the corner. Guess what that means? Another trip to IKEA to get another piece ..... next time..

Other than these two jobs I mostly just ate and drank too much. Nice!