&roid

Keep the updates coming - you’re tempting me to try one of those machines!

Things have really broken down with the kitchen company. They are now over three weeks delayed (on a fit which was meant to take just two). They sent their workshop manager out to inspect things at the end of last week - his view was pretty damning, doesn’t seem like the fitter has done anything that he should have 😡 I’m sure we’ll get it all sorted but it definitely won’t be done before new year now. Grrrr... If only things indoors were going as well as outside, the builders have pretty much finished now, the resin floor got poured at the weekend and the last of the electrics have been done out there:

I saw a woman obliterate her nose on a plate glass window in a local shopping centre a couple of ears ago - not pretty! will definitely look into these

I’ve not come across distraction marks - what do they look like? They sound a very good idea if they don’t get in the way of the view too much

Funny you should say that... while trying to fix a lighting issue yesterday, the electrician drilled through and alarm cable 😣

More progress and more frustrations this week. The floor is all finished and looks amazing (though now it’s covered up again to stop all the other trades damaging it!). Most of the lighting is in, including our copper pendants (currently our shopping bag pendants!) But, and it’s a big BUT, the kitchen cabinet people continue to let us down. Progress has been really slow with their work and I’m just not confident any more that they’ll get things right I’ll be having a big unpleasant conversation in the morning to try and get some sort of plan from here... we shall see how it ends up. Better news is that outside is nearly done, the bbq area is almost complete, my Kamado Joe has been put in place so all we are waiting on is the final floor finish and the countertops out there. The really good good thing about getting used to cooking with no space is that it’s made me love ingredient bowls even more - they are now the only way I can prep food for a meal, no longer can I just chop things and dump them down: I have to plan! It’s getting to be a real slog but this next week or so should see things get better. If we’re lucky we might have kitchen countertops and a working rangetop by next Friday... if we’re lucky!

Beautiful. Great technique 👍🏻

I could have written this entire post 😂 ive treated myself to some DARTO pans as per the thread on here, otherwise we’ll have to see what Santa brings

I’ve not had it in ages but have a bit of a soft spot for canned corned beef: Served cold, in cheap white bread sandwiches with Branston pickle is something I’ll always love. The other childhood memory I have of it is corned beef rissoles which my grandmother used to make - mashed potato, corned beef and onions; made into patties and fried in butter 😋

I’d never heard that song before 😂 id cheerfully move in next door right now!

They're basically a safety feature 😂

Funnily enough, that’s exactly the plan! My other half has wanted a “birdwatching chair” for ages, one of the key parts of the brief for this extension was to give her somewhere to sit and have coffee while looking out into the garden.

Its amazing to see - I’m so pleased we went all out on it. It’s been such an up and down day but I can’t wait to go down tomorrow morning and actually see daylight.

Two steps forward, one step back with this update. Today was a pretty momentous day as the glass has finally been fitted. It was pretty hair raising watching them manoeuvre the two panels into place but everything went to plan and we are finally fully watertight. (forgive the mucky glass!) in other good news, the rangetop has arrived: and the floor is going down: But, unfortunately, more delays to the kitchen cabinets mean that we won’t be in in time for our party ☹️ The kitchen people have made yet another mistake with some of the new cabinets so we are looking at not being fully complete until the new year. Very, very frustrating but there’s not much to be done about it, we’ll just have to grin and bear it.

I’ve had plenty of bad experiences with Drop it, Hide it, Lose it 😨 hope you get your pans soon, Rotuts

A little light at the end of the tunnel, we should be getting the glass fitted on Saturday and the floor starts getting laid tomorrow. Also, the Wolf rangetop has arrived in the country early so should be with us on Monday 🤤 Fingers crossed this will all be over and done with soon and I can get back to cooking! A bit more of the kitchen furniture has gone in, we’re starting to lay out the TV area and we finally have most of the lights in (nice neat job of the lighting control units by our electrician deserves a pic):

Not sure if you can get them in the US, but on the recommendation of an Indian family I know I tried some laziza spice blends recently. They are really excellent and much better than any other pre-made mixes or pastes that I’ve tried. Couple of examples below but there are loads to choose from. In the UK amazon sell them so might be worth checking amazon.com out.

Only on updated picture to share, a little progress on the kitchen cabinets. But overall a pretty frustrating week 😏 EVERYTHING has been delayed: The main glazing units had a fault inside the glass panels so are being remade. The new kitchen cabinets were the wrong size, so are being remade. The concrete infill to the window frames has dried incorrectly, so is being... remade 😡 Basically, nothing has gone right this week and it’s all getting a bit stressful. Plans for a 15th December party are looking a bit hopeful unfortunately. For the first time in the whole project we are starting to question why we even started... I’m sure this will pass but it’s been a hard week. Hopefully we’ll look back on this part and laugh!

Just had a very sad email from broadbents - their website was messed up and shouldn’t have allowed me to order as they don’t ship outside the states 🙁 no ham ham for me

Having read the links posted above, and a few more I found regarding country hams, I’ve taken the plunge and ordered some broadbents goodies. Amazing that they will deliver to the UK and for a pretty reasonable price too. Any recommendations for a country ham novice on how to eat/what to eat with?

Just my take on it, but the 3 1/2 cups of flour will do enough damage to everyone’s blood sugar that subbing out the sugar/candied fruit won’t make this recipe diabetic friendly.

Alas, no. Just dry electric heat. Maybe in the next kitchen we’ll get steam - if I haven’t been stopped from buying toys by then.

They are brilliant aren’t they? They are a part of the old kitchen that we had no desire to change - especially seeing as they are now about twice the price they were when we did the kitchen the first time 😱 have to admit I’ve never used even half of the programmes on them - fan oven, regular oven and grill are plenty for me. Just want something that holds a temperature well and they seem to do a great job of that.

A bit more progress this week, kitchen units are all nearly prepped and ready to be fixed in place. We had a delay of a couple of days while the plasterers finished off the skylight reveals. And the thing which has made the most difference to the feel of the place is that the decorator has done a first coat of paint to all the walls and the ceiling. It’s transformed a building site into something which is starting to feel like the space it will become. Second fix electrics start on Tuesday so we may even have some light at night time soon! The blue protective film on the window stops the camera getting a decent read on the wall colour but we’ve gone for Hague Blue by farrow and ball. It’s a very deep colour but there’s so much glass in the room that it can probably take it.

Beautiful, @blue_dolphin They look great now. How many coats did you end up doing? I’ve seen mention of six, ten even? More?? Have you cooked with them yet?