After five years of documents, frustration, payments and waiting, the Lighthouse Cafe was permitted to turn on our gas heating yesterday! Natasha, our administrator was in complete shock, because we’ve repeated this ‘routine’ each winter and always seem to come up short with required permits or inspections. We did meet last week with our friend who works with the gas company, and maybe he pulled a few strings, we don’t know, but we’re so pumped!
For those that have followed our crazy adventure of migrating through Ukrainian bureacracy and corruption, you know we already gas for the Pizza oven (it took only 3yrs!). However, each winter we have been left scrambling to heat the Cafe, using pellet stoves and expensive electric units.
Today I walked into the Cafe and noticed all the windows were open. The staff had no idea why the place was so warm when it’s a chilly fall day outside. The heated floors had the tile nice and toasty, so we know it works! It’s now turned down awaiting the chilly months ahead.
So excited to provide a warmer place, and hopeful it will be less costly too!
In other news, Liza from Minsk is finished tracing on our exterior wall some art (hands holding fire of some sort) – she’s begun spray painting! We need a better set of stairs, these would not pass any inspection whatsoever in the west. Sigh. Looking.