It's Almost Five Weeks...

 ...since we declared The Kitchen Project "finished". Thoughts thus far

• we still need one more coat of white paint on the door surround. Oops!
• despite using the room A Lot, it remains amazingly tidy and clutterfree
• however late it is, I will not go to bed if there is anything on the worktop which should be elsewhere
• the undercounter lighting is superb
• the majority of 'new protocols' have worked
• keeping the Futility Room as a 'scullery' for dishes and cutlery [both clean and dirty] is proving a very efficient system
• the 'Breakfast Area' works really well, apart from one minor change ***
• regular use of my new, more accessible, breadmaker means I am buying less bread, and eating in more mindfully
• the bins under the sink [recycling, compost and general waste] are an efficient system
• listening to other people's comments is amusing
• I like the alphabetical pull out spice drawer, I want one!
• Where did you get the Atora sign? [Liz picked it up from a freebies heap on the school run]
• How do you know where everything is? [I have it all listed in my little file here]
• The labels on the electric plugs are brilliant...especially the one that says μwave, because μ means micro [this from my GCSE student]
• The tiles look really brilliant
• having the cooker hood venting to the outside has made a difference- especially in this hot weather. The kitchen is by the front door, so the exhaust comes out over the doorbell. The Evri delivery guy actually said to Bob "Is that your wife cooking the tea? It smells delicious - she's a keeper" I'm still grinning about that unexpected compliment.

Fitting that hood was one of the worst parts of the whole project- crawling in the tiny space under the eaves, directing Bob below in the kitchen as he tried to drill through.

You know that bit where Tom Cruise is suspended, and mustn't put his foot down or everything will go wrong. I felt just like that as I balanced over the joists, in the dark, struggling to breathe behind my face mask [mustn't inhale insulation dust!]

**the minor change is the relocation of the toaster. According to Emma Perkin, in the Guardian this week, one "clever storage hack in your kitchen" is to get a tall cupboard, and fit an electric socket inside it, so you can store your airfryer and toaster in there - and use them there too. I cannot believe she got away with this dreadful advice! It is essential to have space around these appliances. They get so hot. The ROSPA and the Fire Service are already alarmed by the rapid increase in domestic fires since air fryers became so popular.

My air fryer and toaster now stand to the left of the hob, there is no wall cupboard above them, and when in use they are moved into a position where there is ventilation all round.

***yes that is a shiny new Dualit. Our Very Old [17+ years] toaster went on the blink in May, the plastic knobs had broken and kept falling off, and worse, it kept grilling, and didn't stop-and-pop-up. And  Not safe at all. So we looked around, and decided on this one. Buy well, buy once -  if any part goes wrong, they will replace that part. Ours was assembled by Michael [it says so on the label underneath!] and it has a very clever bagel setting, as well as the option to toast 1,2,3 or 4 slices of toast. We are thrilled with it, the engineering and design is excellent.

...and the cupboard doors close, the drawers do not collapse, the contents of corner cupboards are accessible, and I feel the kitchen is really fit for purpose. Which is useful as we have dinner guests coming round twice in the next week!

🧀🧀🧀 Thank you for all the wonderful cheese comments yesterday. It is good to see so many of you supporting the cheeses local to your area. 🧀🧀🧀