A Hard Weekend's Work

Installing the three wall cabinets and the microwave on the stove side of the kitchen was this weekend's business. We succeeded, but we are tired. I drank a bit of tequila at the conclusion of it; I believe this was the hardest weekend yet. The satisfaction is profound: we have closed the cabinet chapter on this remodel project, and we ended up with a nice, neat row of cabinets and a functioning microwave oven. The ductwork was a bit of a pain in the ass (plenty of time up in the attic, of course). I had to wire an outlet for the microwave, too.

We haven't had a microwave for three years. I've only occasionally missed it, but I suppose it will be cool to have one. Lindz defrosted some frozen sausages for this evening's dinner, and to my astonisment, it thawed them. Every other microwave I've ever used in my life cooks the hell out of the edges and leaves the middle resolutely frozen. I suppose years of convenience privation will lower one's expectations. It's close to being the cheapest model in the Kenmore line, but it does more than we are likely to ask of it. We were silly enough to go to the mall on a December Saturday looking for an appliance, but that actually went pretty well (I unexpectedly was given a model that cost $50 more for the same price because they didn't have the one I wanted). We're rather pleased with ourselves to have gotten that 54-pound bastard into position ourselves. My main complaint is the feeble light it sheds on the cooktop. The old hood had a brighter light. It also had a weaker fan, a dated bisque color, and 25 years worth of greasy dust inside of it. When we get the counter, sink and faucet replaced, there will be nothing left of the original kitchen but the floor.