After a couple of months of being put off by Sandra and Michel Thille, we came to the conclusion that what they needed more was our friendship, rather than to feel that we were pressuring them to come back to church. So we asked if we could just have a time to play Uno with them one day, and they happily invited us back. We spent a fun hour with them, while Emma slept through it and Maelys sat on her Dad's lap as his lucky charm. On a Tuesday, two weeks later, Sandra called Jack for advice about how to take out a wall to open up her kitchen area, so we dropped everything and drove out to see what could be done. The wall had an electrical outlet, but was not a bearing wall, so Dad concluded there should be no problems with it. We promised to be her helpers, but Jack said we'd have to come back in a week. On Thursday night she called again and said she couldn't stand waiting to hit that wall of hers until next Wednesday, and had begun punching it out...would we come tomorrow? She knew how to get his attention! So, we loaded up the ladder and toolbox and headed out to Armientiers, where we found that the impatient Sandra had taken a mallet to the left side of her kitchen doorway and was feeling very proud of herself.
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| Sandra and her mallet. |
Her refrigerator had been hiding behind that wall, and was now in the open, plus there was a hole in the tile floor and a scar running up the wall and across the ceiling to be dealt with. She is such a funny duck - I knew when we saw her Tuesday that she was mentally ready to go after it, and saw the disappointment in her eyes when Jack said we'd be back in a week. But, when she took the bull by the horns, he had to go to her aid, and that was that! She would not give up that mallet it must have been therapeutic to the max as she pounded on the wall with all her might. Their walls are not like our sheetrock at all. They are thick and hard, like white chalky cement, so it took lots of heavy hitting to bring it down, piece by piece. Hiding behind the right wall was her bank of built-in floor level cupboards, one tall free standing cabinet that held her oven and microwave, and counter space with those cupboards underneath. Plus, behind the tall cabinet was a door (to the hall area), closed and unusable until now. What she wanted us to do seemed slightly crazy; to saw through the countertop and remove the underneath cupboards to just THIS side of the countertop burners, then reposition the tall cabinet into that new space. To hire experts for this job would cost hundreds of Euros, so just get the nutty Metcalfe's to do it for free!
Jack worked his tail off down on the floor trying to figure out how the cabinets were attached to one another. He finally found the well concealed screws and was able to work them out; so he and Michel pulled out two banks of drawer units, and were left with the free standing counter top. Sandra borrowed a 'mighty' hand sized jig-saw from a neighbor and Jack cut across the piece real slick and Voila!...her dream kitchen is realized! (Thankfully not the nightmare of last night when she dreamed that all her pounding made her house fall down!) The tall cabinet slipped into place beside the countertop burners nicely, then Michel took the once hidden door off its hinges and a new passageway through (past the WC) to the hallway and stairs to the second floor was revealed. Sandra is a wonderful person and I came to know her much better that day and found out a lot about her life. I would like to write about that one day. We enjoyed our time there and playing with the new addition to their family, a little black puppy who reminds me of the little dog we had on the ranch in Cokeville whose name was Muttsy. It was fun playing with her even though she is a toe-nibbler.
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| Cutting the countertops. |
On our next big working day in the Thille family kitchen we brought a young adult with us, a refugee from Somalia who was rescued by the Catholic church and sent to live in Italy. There, Emmanuel Katura encountered the LDS missionaries and later joined the church. He has gone through some horrible things in his life (the loss of both parents by violence), but he has a great attitude, a wonderful outlook on life, and an irrepressible smile that wins him many friends wherever he goes. He told us that he learned the plumbing trade in Italy, so he was happy to help members of the church all he could. His friendly personality and disarming manner quickly won Sandra's confidence, and they soon had mutual respect for one another. He and Jack's job today was to replace the kitchen countertops: one holding the sink and the other the gas-top burner unit. They loosened the burner unit first and used the old counter as a pattern for the new one that Sandra had found for a good price online.
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| Emmanuel and Elder Metcalfe |
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| Emmanuel knows his stuff! |
Cutting out the hole with the little jig-saw took a lot of time, and Sandra wanted to feed them lunch, so we took the two girls and walked down the street to a small store for sandwiches. That's when the 'fun' began with Emma. There was a line of people (with 2 groups ahead of us), and only one man filling orders. Emma was content for a couple of minutes with the toy she had brought to hold, but then the attraction of all the different candy displays was just too much; and her constant "Mama, mama" filled all our ears as we watched her grab a candy bag here and some Tic-Tacs there. Sandra tried to restrict her enthusiasm, but she kept twisting out of her arms, her strong little body almost too hard for her mother to restrain all ready. I felt guilty because I had not wanted to leave her behind with the workmen. They were so absorbed with what they were doing, they'd all ready left the front door open so that the puppy had gotten out and led us a merry chase as she dashed into the street. So the customers in front of us, and behind us now too, waited in uneasy silence, wondering who would win this mother/daughter tussle; while the tally for treats that Emma couldn't live without evened out to 3, to Maelys 1 item. The poor overworked sandwich maker was throwing himself into his work, hands flying, until we finally got our two baguettes and could get out the door.
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| Emma keeps busy while the work progresses. |
It was interesting to see how the two girls co-exist in their family setting. Maelys is now 5 years old and she wonders why Emma gets by with things that she is taught are not to be done, and wonders why her sister doesn't interact or talk to her like her little friends at school do. With Emma there is always lots of drama going on, whereas Maelys can be talked to and reasoned with, so that gives the parents joy in a sometimes hopeless seeming situation. The two girls sometimes fight over possession of what one might have and the other wants, but I didn't see 'mean' aggressiveness (hitting), so that's a positive. But, Maelys IS frustratedas with Emma's lack of sisterly or even human connection to her (sharing smiles, talking to each other, playing dolls together); it just doesn't happen, and that's just really sad. Later, when Emma was amusing herself outside in their large playhouse, Maelys came up and said something to her mother about us two speaking English to each other. Sandra, who served a mission in England, told her that's why she should study hard at school, so someday she can do it too. Then the bright little redhead began showing me all the English words she has learned so far: hello, good-bye, thank you, you're welcome, pleased to meet you, etc. Her accent was very good, so I hope she takes the challenge to heart.
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| Maelys |
The men finished up with the sawing part on both counters, now it was time for Emmanu (his nickname) to shine, and he did; he knew his stuff. They put the burner unit together and settled it into place, then they worked to hook up the new sink and faucet, complete with overflow device. When the water filled her 'chic' new round sink, Sandra beamed happily. Michel came home from work just then and as he looked at the kitchen he also beamed happily. It was a good day of work and we've come a long way with this wonderful family.
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| Sandra beams happily. |
