Kitchen Catastrophe

Dear Reader,

My life has taken a turn for the worse ... well okay it's not that bad. Yesterday, the builders did the one thing that is quite opposite to their title but essential to their role in life. They tore down the wall seperating our kitchen from the fancy new extension. I wasn't actually present at the animalistic chaos but I did see the aftermath. I felt as if I had stepped into a volcanic ash-cloud. Once it had finally settled down and I was finally able to breath again, the grey-snow-filled gaping hole left behind inspired in me a sense of nostalgia as well as excitment at what was to come ... i.e. a bigger, lavish-ier kitchen with elobrate squiggly draws and cupboards.

But - dramatic sigh - gone now is my favourite window to the garden where I spent hours amusing my thoughts while my restless hands scrubbed away at dishes from dinners-fit-for-queens; now to be replaced (thankfully?) by a fully-automated-mechanic-dishwasher. Gone is the beloved stained-glass garden door (which will hopefully be transplanted on to the extention). 

Our temporary kitchen has been set-up in the corner of our living room between two antique mahogany book-cases. There's a fridge, toaster, kettle (thank Allah (swa) for tea) and a microwave; as well as boxes and boxes of cutlery, dishes (wrapped in newpaper), tins and other essentiallities of a kitchen. But, dear intelligent Reader, you'll notice I did not mention something vital. Appearently we don't have a gas supply in our living room! So for the next two weeks or so I will be living off the delicate art of microwave meals. In truth, I've never been much of a fan of the microwave oven, only ever needing it to melt chocolate and butter for such delicacies as brownies. But the waiting will soon be over, in the wise words of Charlie Chaplin: "Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - not even our troubles."      

<---- In other news, I saw this cartoon by Kate Beaton online and after laughing for a good ten minutes I thought "I want this on a t-shirt!". And guess what: I got it on a t-shirt; all thanks to the miracle of shopping online. Who has time to go all the way down to the local high streets anyway.

It seems of late that I can't get enough of Gregory Maguires books. Having finished Lion Among Man just days after Son of a Witch, I've now moved on to Mirror Mirror, a retelling of the story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. I especially like his take on the original folk tale. He's set it in the heart of Renaissance Italy with some of the pesky Borgias taking-up central roles. I recently did some research on this particularly corrupt family as they play the bad-guys in one of my favourite video games: Assassin's Creed II. The first one was also extremely excellent and was set in the time of the good-ol' crusades and Richard the Lionheart. I just happened to be reading Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott at the time. "A little too ironic..." - I completely agree with Alanis Morissette.

Anyway, I must be on my way now. You know 'meetings to attend, meals to eat' that sort of thing.

Nida