1) Just writing the words “Monday, July 27” this morning underlined how little time there is between now and the official start of kitchen demolition on August 12. So this morning I finally finished selecting appliances, but for the kitchen and for the field kitchen I’ll need to set up in the dining room for the duration. Besides my coffee maker and convection oven, I will now have a two-burner hot plate and a retro* mini-refrigerator in lipstick red. As soon as I saw it I said “Cheerful!” And I’ll need that to keep my spirits up . . . not to mention iced.
1a) Since I’m not a gourmet cook, I was looking at a less-expensive gas stove, which a friend discouraged. “Buy the best!” he said. Consumer Reports, to my surprise, actually rated my selection a wee bit higher in a couple categories than the stove made by the company making my fridge, so I’m sticking with my original choice.
2) Carting stacks of plates and other gear down to the cellar, I kept asking myself when it would be safe for me to give a party at home again. The last time I had people in my house was February! I am like my Granny Dimmick in that way; I like to have a lot of people around.
2a) Granny, of course (as I may have mentioned before), grew up in her mother’s New Orleans boarding house surrounded by her parents, six siblings (Bess, Fannie, Lal, Johnnie, Kate, and Uncle Jim [who really belongs near the top of the line, but he’s the only boy in a family of powerful women]); around 30 boarders (often Tulane Medical students), the cook, and a hall boy. So you could have almost 40 people sitting around in the parlor after dinner - and all this before even radio, much less the Yewtybbe.
2b) Aunt Kate remembered that everyone would keep their places as long as they possibly could, because as soon as someone made a move there’d be a chorus of “While you’re up, could you please get me . . .?”
3) SCIENCE! A very interesting article about using ultraviolet light in the battle against the coronavirus (without introducing it into the body). “One approach to battling such airborne-spread of coronavirus that’s capturing attention is a century-old technology, known as germicidal ultraviolet air disinfection, or GUV, that zaps harmful airborne germs.
*Translation: darling!