Dinnertime

Bulletin: we're eating just fine.

Our little temporary kitchen is functioning perfectly (now that I've learned not to use all the appliances at once). Dinners are pretty much what they've always been: something grilled, some rice or pasta, a nice big salad.

It does take a little more thinking about the process. For example, I try to make only one run to the big fridge in the garage to round up everything I'll need (the little fridge in the temporary kitchen only holds breakfast stuff). And without a sink, I have to wash the vegetables all at once in the bathroom, then tote them back to the "kitchen" across the hall for prep. I've learned to be very careful with my work, because I don't have a handy sink into which to sweep the trimmings. It's peel, slice, toss the leftovers into the green bin for composting.

I've tried a little "microwave pasta cooker" called the Fasta Pasta. On balance, maybe a little easier than using the hotplate to boil pasta the regular way. But I think it'll get tossed when we unveil the new kitchen.

Table-time is a little tricky. Even with just two of us eating, that card table is mighty small (and low, too: a card table is a couple of inches lower than a standard dining table). When Geoff gets home from school in a couple of weeks, it ought to really get tight.

Under the long-standing "division of labor" rules chez nous, I cook and Tharon cleans. I feel for her: doing the dishes requires leaning over the bathtub to fill a plastic dishpan with hot water and soap. She then lugs that dishpan to the bathroom vanity to wash and rinse. I'm not exactly sure where she puts everything, but she swears it's not bad.

And so far, not a single paper plate!