Running Cold

            We adapt.  We get used things that we never thought we’d do.  Our home is 600 years old, and living in a house this old presents some challenges.  The layout is not at all typical to other houses I know.  The rooms are small and windows are limited.  The construction reflects the needs of the people who build it eons ago.  Of course, there have been changes and some additions.  The living room was once the hay barn, the animals lived in the basement, and the only human inhabitable space was the kitchen.  Now, the house is completely inhabitable and has all the modern amenities needed, well, almost.  We don’t have hot water in the kitchen.  We have super solar panels that heat water for the bathroom and the washing machine, but our kitchen water runs cold.  If this was a newer house, we would have already installed a facet, and that would have been the end of the story, but a 600 year old house does hold a few tricks up its sleeve. 

It’s the question of finding a facet that would fit in the space.  The current facet is mounted to the wall just above the stone sink, which sits in a niche built into the wall.  Above the facet is the kitchen window that opens inward to the house.  A new facet would not work because there is not enough space to mount it next the sink, and because it would block the window from opening.  A small wall mounted facet is needed.  Most likely, we need two water spigots:  one for hot and one for cold.  Finding something that meets this criteria has been our challenge for the last few years.  Of course, we don't think about it every time we go shopping, but after washing thanksgiving dishes it is back into the forefront of my mind.  I’ve just gotten used to bringing hot into the kitchen from the bathroom, odd, but true. 

So, now I’m back to scouring antique and junk shops for the right fixture.  I’ve looked on numerous websites and even wonder if I can find what I need in the US this Christmas.  Suddenly, it has become my number one priority, yet again.  I’ve taken up this cause before, but time passes and I don’t find we need, and I get used to it.  We put a kettle on the wood heater, we bring in water from the bathroom, we adapt, and forget about what we don’t have.