A Little More Lipstick on the Pig

The new range was delivered (twice actually--I sent the first one back for a few minor scratches--am I too picky? The delivery guy was very sweet about it all, though) and installed yesterday, a marvel of German engineering.

I admit it looks a little out of place in the sad state of affairs that currently passes for our kitchen, but we have to have it and the new dishwasher in place before we can go forward with the countertops, followed by the floor. And there needs to be a painting step in between. Ah, the dance of home improvement.

And the devilish little details--for instance, our old range was electric and therefore plugged into the 220v outlet in the wall behind. The new range has only 110v needs, and the nearest outlet is behind the fridge, separated by a cabinet, so we're temporarily draping the extension cord over the countertop. We also of course had to install a gas outlet, and so the new range sticks out a bit more. We love the continuous grates on top, but it also means there's now no place for the spoonrest. The sacrifices I make!

M defrosted several types of meat to try cooking on the range. I need to come up with a proper baking project, too. Cookies, perhaps. Or cupcakes to give the convection feature a trial run.

We'll pick up the dishwasher early next week from Sears. The bastards at Home Depot raised the price of the LG we had our hearts set on, though I think it may have been for the best after all--the LG didn't have good customer reviews. I ordered two other must-have-before-the-countertops items yesterday, a new kitchen sink and faucet from a plumbing warehouse in Kentucky (we are making an effort to spread the spending around). No tax and free shipping to boot, woo!

A lovely weekend so far. My favorite strawberry lady was at the farmers market, so I've been enjoying that treat. M and I went to see a late afternoon showing of "Up" in 3D yesterday and really liked it. We both cried. On the way home, we stopped in the down town area, which had been blocked off for the classic car cruise. That was great. Hundreds of examples of cars and trucks, from Model Ts to '70s muscle cars. The parade route was colorful (spectators included) and smelly and loud as the drivers revved their motors, but that was something you never really get at a show-and-shine. They had cleared out all the regular parking so that the vintage autos could park or join the parade at will. Some of the parked cars had their hoods up and windows down, which was nice for interior ideas. Some drivers and passengers came in costume. I was glad to be there with M, he knows so much about the muscle cars. It made us both want to start the Chevelle project again…though the house is the priority these days, so it will be a while.

Not sure what I'll do today, which is kind of a pleasant feeling. It's a beautiful quiet morning--the yelling neighbors have been on vacation for almost two weeks (!) and the hippie-wannabes camping at the nearby Fairgrounds for the Harmony Festival haven't woken up yet. I'll try to make some good progress in "The Three Musketeers"--I've only been doing a couple of pages a night and have been enjoying it but am ready to move on to new reading adventures. Knitting, writing, crafting. Chores? Maybe a little of all of the above? Ah, life (and the lipstick) is sweet.