the hearth is the home
Jan. 24th, 2010 06:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kareinaI had thought about heading off to the Alps this weekend, since I had no time-commitments on the calendar. However, I wound up staying up too late on Friday night playing D&D, and didn't wake up till nearly noon on Saturday. Which means I couldn't have made it out there via public transit till sometime between 1 and 2pm. I don't know how early the sun sets in the mountains here this time of year, but that didn't sound like enough time to really enjoy the day, so I came up with a plan B instead. I first got out my rollerblades and went to stretch my legs (I'd also gone skating on Wednesday, determining that it takes just over an hour to get to Dance Practice on the rollerblades, but I do *not* recommend the path I took--it cut too close to the city center, with lots of cobbled streets, or streets with the pavement in very bad repair. I think it would be faster to do a larger curve to get there (there are *no* direct streets anywhere in this city)).
While I was out I saw a sewing machine shop with an electric mixer in the window for only 13 Euros. Since I'd been looking at mixers in other shops, and had noticed that they range from 30 to 80 Euros this one caught my eye. I am amused to note that the mixers in the other store were all not quite what I wanted, their "look" didn't quite do it for me. The one I now own, on the other hand, looks exactly like what a mixer should look like, to my eye. I would have been willing to pay the higher price for this one, even though I hesitated at the others. Sure, one *can* stiffly whip cream or egg whites without an electric mixer, but the amount of additional time required had meant that I've refused to make anything requiring it for the six months I've lived here. Now I own another power tool (I can call it that--the manufacturer is Black and Decker), and can add such recipes back into my repertoire.
After that purchase I got to thinking that I really would like a microwave in the house. Sure, I have access to the one at uni, which is great for re-heating leftovers for lunch. But one of my staple snacks hitherto have been variants on instant puddings, wherein one puts cornstartch and milk into a mug (+/- other ingredients to add flavour) and microwaves it for a minute, stirs, and microwaves it again for another minute or two, till it is nice and thick. Eat hot, or leave it to cool in the fridge. Yum. A favourite treat, but not convenient to do at uni (the microwave is in a room without a sink or fridge!). But if I were to get a microwave, where would I put it? It isn't like there is much space in my Closet. The perfect spot for one would be on top of the fridge, where the toaster oven is. I've never been very happy with that location for the oven, because the overlying cupboard tends to get rather warm when the oven is on.
Then it occurred to me that I do have a place I could move the oven. One corner of my Closet is the loft where my bed is, one is the entrance to the apartment, one contains the kitchen sink and small amount of counter space, and the fourth is where the wall mounted heater is located (with the futon couch between the heater and the loft. If I built a shelf above the heater, tall enough to have the oven at close to eye level it would be high enough not to trap heat from the heater under the shelf, and there would still be a couple of feet of space between the top of the oven and the hanging pot rack. So I dropped my skates off at home, switched to shoes, and headed out to the local hardware store, where I purchased everything I needed for only 15 Euros. From there I went to Uni, to drill holes in to the wood with the drill press there, before heading home with my loot.
I was very surprised to see that it was already after 6pm by that point, and if I was going to build the shelf and move the oven, perhaps I should first head out shopping and pick up a microwave before the stores closed (while stores tend to be shut for one to three hours over lunch, they are often open till 19:30). I set out on the half an hour walk to Media World, where I'd seen microwaves on previous visits (and I was pretty certain it was the sort of place that would be open on a Saturday). They were open, and they had a variety of microwaves on display. One of them, the only one small enough to fit where I want to put it, had a price tag of 49 Euros. The others ranged from 70 to 200. When I asked for that one I was told that it is "finished".
"Finished?"
"Yes, no more, next month, perhaps."
"But I want it today."
"No, sorry, it is finished."
Sigh. She wouldn't even let me have the display model. However, there is a HUGE supermarket just next door. Perhaps they carry microwaves. Nope. I checked every isle (not easily done--the place was jam-packed with customers). They have sandwich presses, imersion blenders, toaster ovens, meat-slicers, and other appliances galore (all scattered here and there about the store, mixed in with other types of products), but I didn't see a single microwave. Oh well, at least I got plenty of exercise between the walk there and back and checking every isle in the store.
Home I went, and started to work on my new shelf. Didn't finish till well after midnight (not surprising, since I didn't get home till after 9pm). My wood working projects tend to be very simple (the polite might say "rustic") things that serve a purpose, but aren't particularly high quality nor pretty. But I generally manage to finish them the same day I start, and one can't say that about high-quality wood working. I think that someday, if I'm ever living some where I can have a shop I might like to learn to do good quality wood working, and made furniture that will last a lifetime, but in the mean time, I'm glad I've got the skill to make functional things reasonably quickly, when I decide I need them.
I may not yet have the microwave installed above the fridge, but I am very happy with the new location for the oven. One can curl up on the couch with a book and watch one's bread baking. Previously that corner didn't really feel like part of the house. Now that I've expanded the kitchen that direction it feels like it is. Given how often we bake bread, the toaster oven really is our "hearth", and where it is really does feel like the heart of the house. Previously I would put cushions on the floor to lay down to read while waiting for food to bake. Now I'm happy on the couch. Now that the couch is between my bed and my hearth, the couch is much, much more inviting!
Today has also slipped by quickly, but that because I've been reading and relaxing. But I've a few hours left, so had better see if I can make some progress on that paper that needs writing...
While I was out I saw a sewing machine shop with an electric mixer in the window for only 13 Euros. Since I'd been looking at mixers in other shops, and had noticed that they range from 30 to 80 Euros this one caught my eye. I am amused to note that the mixers in the other store were all not quite what I wanted, their "look" didn't quite do it for me. The one I now own, on the other hand, looks exactly like what a mixer should look like, to my eye. I would have been willing to pay the higher price for this one, even though I hesitated at the others. Sure, one *can* stiffly whip cream or egg whites without an electric mixer, but the amount of additional time required had meant that I've refused to make anything requiring it for the six months I've lived here. Now I own another power tool (I can call it that--the manufacturer is Black and Decker), and can add such recipes back into my repertoire.
After that purchase I got to thinking that I really would like a microwave in the house. Sure, I have access to the one at uni, which is great for re-heating leftovers for lunch. But one of my staple snacks hitherto have been variants on instant puddings, wherein one puts cornstartch and milk into a mug (+/- other ingredients to add flavour) and microwaves it for a minute, stirs, and microwaves it again for another minute or two, till it is nice and thick. Eat hot, or leave it to cool in the fridge. Yum. A favourite treat, but not convenient to do at uni (the microwave is in a room without a sink or fridge!). But if I were to get a microwave, where would I put it? It isn't like there is much space in my Closet. The perfect spot for one would be on top of the fridge, where the toaster oven is. I've never been very happy with that location for the oven, because the overlying cupboard tends to get rather warm when the oven is on.
Then it occurred to me that I do have a place I could move the oven. One corner of my Closet is the loft where my bed is, one is the entrance to the apartment, one contains the kitchen sink and small amount of counter space, and the fourth is where the wall mounted heater is located (with the futon couch between the heater and the loft. If I built a shelf above the heater, tall enough to have the oven at close to eye level it would be high enough not to trap heat from the heater under the shelf, and there would still be a couple of feet of space between the top of the oven and the hanging pot rack. So I dropped my skates off at home, switched to shoes, and headed out to the local hardware store, where I purchased everything I needed for only 15 Euros. From there I went to Uni, to drill holes in to the wood with the drill press there, before heading home with my loot.
I was very surprised to see that it was already after 6pm by that point, and if I was going to build the shelf and move the oven, perhaps I should first head out shopping and pick up a microwave before the stores closed (while stores tend to be shut for one to three hours over lunch, they are often open till 19:30). I set out on the half an hour walk to Media World, where I'd seen microwaves on previous visits (and I was pretty certain it was the sort of place that would be open on a Saturday). They were open, and they had a variety of microwaves on display. One of them, the only one small enough to fit where I want to put it, had a price tag of 49 Euros. The others ranged from 70 to 200. When I asked for that one I was told that it is "finished".
"Finished?"
"Yes, no more, next month, perhaps."
"But I want it today."
"No, sorry, it is finished."
Sigh. She wouldn't even let me have the display model. However, there is a HUGE supermarket just next door. Perhaps they carry microwaves. Nope. I checked every isle (not easily done--the place was jam-packed with customers). They have sandwich presses, imersion blenders, toaster ovens, meat-slicers, and other appliances galore (all scattered here and there about the store, mixed in with other types of products), but I didn't see a single microwave. Oh well, at least I got plenty of exercise between the walk there and back and checking every isle in the store.
Home I went, and started to work on my new shelf. Didn't finish till well after midnight (not surprising, since I didn't get home till after 9pm). My wood working projects tend to be very simple (the polite might say "rustic") things that serve a purpose, but aren't particularly high quality nor pretty. But I generally manage to finish them the same day I start, and one can't say that about high-quality wood working. I think that someday, if I'm ever living some where I can have a shop I might like to learn to do good quality wood working, and made furniture that will last a lifetime, but in the mean time, I'm glad I've got the skill to make functional things reasonably quickly, when I decide I need them.
I may not yet have the microwave installed above the fridge, but I am very happy with the new location for the oven. One can curl up on the couch with a book and watch one's bread baking. Previously that corner didn't really feel like part of the house. Now that I've expanded the kitchen that direction it feels like it is. Given how often we bake bread, the toaster oven really is our "hearth", and where it is really does feel like the heart of the house. Previously I would put cushions on the floor to lay down to read while waiting for food to bake. Now I'm happy on the couch. Now that the couch is between my bed and my hearth, the couch is much, much more inviting!
Today has also slipped by quickly, but that because I've been reading and relaxing. But I've a few hours left, so had better see if I can make some progress on that paper that needs writing...
