O.K., moving on.


Big news here at the Hot Water Bath homestead: we're finally updating the kitchen! Oh, the happiness of it all. No more orange-red formica (I have nothing against formica, but the orange-red has got to go), no more faux-pebble linoleum. No more three-shades-of-white walls and kind-of-brashish hardware on the cabinets. Wait! Can you hear that? It's the angels singing, celebrating with me the joy of being rid of such eyesores.


Not sure what will go in their place yet. We have a (very) limited budget, so there will be none of the $80,000 upgrades touted in a recent cooking mag. Still, with the money that's available we should be able to come up with some new hardware, fresh paint, countertops and flooring. Our cabinets are good and, even if they're not really my taste, won't be replaced. I think the new hardware will be enough to update them. I'd kind of like a new range, given that its ability to keep a steady temperature is a new adventure every day (that is, one day to get to 350 degrees I need to set it to 475 and the next 225 will do - it's maddening). No new appliances for now, though.


So excuse me while I finish this glass of wine and head out to the nearest home improvement shop.