Additional Sunday Update

No time for pictures again today, so we'll all have to make do with text.

Jane found the espresso machine cleaner yesterday, so today I gave the coffee machine a good cleaning.  Now it doesn't taste so much like the arse end of a Starbucks.  I also trimmed the drain line down to the proper length, so the drain is working fine now.  The whole layout of the coffee maker is so much better than before.  It's great having the grinder at counter level again, and with no cabinets above the coffee maker, I can put the cups and saucers on top of the machine, as it should be.

Jane made delicious pancakes this morning, her first meal cooked on the FBMB.  It seems for both of us, the first meal cooked was pancakes.

The balance of the day was spent unpacking more stuff, and generally organizing things.  Lots of progress, but lots still to come.  The bedroom closet is a bit of a space-planning challenge, but we're getting there.

I put an Ikea bookshelf back together that will be used for cookbooks.  This is a huge improvement over the tiny cabinet used for cookbook storage in the old kitchen.  Not only can you now easily access a cookbook, but there is actual room in the event that any new books arrive in the house.  Previous to this we pretty much had to get rid of a cookbook whenever we got a new one.  We also have a little Ikea step stool for the kitchen, and this is pretty much a required item to get into some of the higher cupboards.

We had a lovely dinner tonight.  Pork loin roast with a soy-garlic glaze, roast Yukon Gold Potatoes, a simple green salad, and bread from down the street.  The FBMB has a temperature probe, which I used for the roast, and I did the meat and potatoes together on separate pans using the convection roast setting.  Everything turned out great, and the thing was foolproof to use.  Even with the kitchen full of bottles and other things that have not been put away, there was still ample room to actually prep a meal and plate food, etc.

Other simple pleasures:

• You can take a hot pot straight off the stove and stick it on the soapstone counters, no worries.  I already do this all the time.  It's too bad the island couldn't have been made out of some kind of magic plywood that would be equally heat resistant.
• You can lie a roasting pan or cookie sheet down flat in the sink, and soak it.
• Tomorrow, when I have to leave the house, I can wear warm clothes.

This week we'll hopefully get the island sink connected.  The faucet is already partially attached, but not functioning.  I find myself going there unconsciously, trying in vain to wash my hands.  Also hoping to get the dishwasher in its happy place, and to get some progress on the ensuite shower.  The glass panels are scheduled to be installed sometime through the week.