My Kitchen

My new kitchen is a joy to work in. It is much smaller than what I am used to, but what it lacks in size it makes up for in efficiency. I am most impressed with the sink area. It is comprised of a wash up sink, a produce sink and a drainboard, all of stainless steel, and taking up less room than width of the new sink I had installed in my Houston kitchen, just before I left. There are two deep drawers underneath the sink. The first one glides out to contain all the cleaning agents, sponges and cloths one needs at ones fingertips. Within the second drawer is the garbage/recycling area. There are two small stainless steel garbage cans there, one for refuse and one for recycling. A metal bottle rack is there to hold empty wine bottles upright.

The sink area is on the long wall, along with the cooktop. The counter top is granite, and oddly enough, it is exactly the same granite I just had installed in my kitchen back home. I love it-- Messes are easily camouflaged and you never see the water marks, left by damp sponges. The cooktop has 3 gas burners, small, medium and large, plus an electric burner! Great for simmering, as you don't have to worry about the flame going out.

The opposite wall holds the wall oven and the refrigerator. The refrigerator is small, but when you live in a country that sells milk in quart bottles, you don't need a big one. I am still learning how to use the oven. The temperature is in celcius, which takes some getting used to. And I abhor the digital clock, as it gives you the time in military fashion. I am fine in the mornings, up till 12:59--then suddenly it's 13:00. I am lost all afternoon, even though I have been told to "look at the clock and subtract 12". Seeing a clock read 20:30 just doesn't feel like 8:30.

The kitchen is large enough to contain a breakfast table for the three of us. I don't remember ever living in a house that had a kitchen table. The first week I was here, for the sake of propriety, we ate in the dining room. One night, on a whim, I sat us at the kitchen table, and we've never gone back to the dining room. It's pretty cosy in the kitchen, and cleanup is a snap, since we are literally two steps away from the sink/dishwasher.

The only improvement I would suggest that would make this kitchen perfect, would be when I have hot water coming out of the faucet. And I will definitely be blogging when that red letter day arives!