Simple Pleasures

I am easily entertained, easily delighted. That is what my house help thought this morning when I began dancing around the kitchen. The cause of the dancing was a 4-burner propane stove. It is complete with an oven and broiler that has a rotisserie and an electronic ignition. It is something that most Americans would take for granted, but I have waited 4 months for it. I am elated! It set me dancing!

The issue was getting it from Kigali where I could buy it to Butare where I live, a two hour drive. What was needed was a truck for transporting. There is no appliance delivery, especially not that far. I needed to wait until my friend Celestin was going to Kigali and was able to make arrangements to borrow a truck to transport the stove. We had been able to load the small refrigerator in the back of his Toyota Rave, but the stove would not fit. On Friday, he told me he had things arranged, since he was going to Kigali for a wedding, so I gave him the money. He knew what I wanted and he had done the negotiating for the other appliances. I was comfortable with him making the selection. We had seen a dual stove – propane and electric – that  he thought would be good for when the power goes out but about 4 p.m. on Saturday he text me to ask if I would accept all gas. It was less expensive and more reliable. As long as it had an oven, I was content.

I thought that Celestin and his wife would be back from the wedding in the evening. When they didn’t come by 9 p.m., I thought they must have stayed in Kigali overnight and he would bring the stove Sunday. But at 10:30 p.m. a truck pulled up to my gate, and honked to be admitted to the yard. The stove had arrived. In came my friend in his suit and clergy collar, accompanied by his wife, another pastor and the driver. In the dark, we unloaded the stove and set it in the kitchen, to install it on Monday. We needed the electrician to put a plug on it. The wiring was there but since the stove is made by an international company, they do not attach plugs since each country has its own plug system. So the stove sat, but at least it was here. Every time I went into the kitchen, I admired it.

Today, Tuesday, the electrician was finally available. He came about 11 a.m. I thought it would be an easy thing of wiring the plug, attaching the propane canister, which I already had, and I would be cooking lunch on my new stove. Nothing is ever that easy. There are not enough outlets in my kitchen for all the appliances and the power strips I have are not heavy duty. The electrician was emphatic that everything had to be safe. Praise God for that. He knew what was needed but he also wanted to be certain that everything worked. He had my watchman/gardener Jean Baptist assisting him. He instructed Jean Baptist in wiring the plug while he went to PIASS to borrow the correct power strip. We had to reposition the microwave for the power strip. That meant finding a small table on which to place the microwave and adjusting the position of the fridge so its cord would reach, too. When everything was plugged in and the propane tank was attached, we tested the stove. Nothing happened. The power in the area was out. We were experiencing “power sharing.” This happens daily. We had been so preoccupied that we hadn’t noticed that the kitchen light went out. This gave us an opportunity to test out the manual lighting of the stove, which worked perfectly. Fortunately, in about 5 minutes the power came back on and everything worked. That is when I started dancing. The electrician unplugged everything and took pictures of the power strip on Jean Baptist’s cell phone, so he would be certain to get the exact strip. The electrician packed up his things and left, sending Jean Baptist for the correct power strip at the market. He returned about 2 p.m. and we set all the appliances up as planned and I was in business. I have a fully functional kitchen. I think that is something to dance about.