So, I have a dryer. This is progress. Admittedly, it's not installed, and they didn't bring the washer when they delivered it, so it's not much in the way of utility. But it is progress.

But that was the frustrating part of my day. Why talk about that?

We unpacked a ton of stuff today. I got almost all of the kitchen squared away, while Daniel tackled the book boxes. Then Daniel took a nap, and I went grocery shopping. I came back, did a bit more unpacking, and watched a DVD of Samurai Jack.

Then I put together some dinner. I made this soup, with a few modifications to the recipe: I omitted the leeks and parsnips, and threw in a goodly dollop of herbes de Provence. Served with a salad of cucumber, red pepper, avocado, grape tomatoes, and crumbled feta cheese with just the teensiest bit of balsamic vinegar drizzled on it for dressing, because with all the avocado and feta, it really doesn't need a source of extra fat. And a nice French baguette.

Yummy. And there's enough leftover soup for a few lunches this week.

I have to say, the stove in this place rocks. The stove in our last place had the wonkiest burners. (Cooking pasta, of all things, was actually an exercise in frustration, because it took an aeon to boil a big ol' pot of water.) With the gas burners on the new stove, you can really make things sizzle - I think I'll be daring and try doing some pan-searing.

You can tell that I've been suffering from these repressed cooking urges, being in this house with this gorgeous kitchen, and having the great bulk of all my pots and pans and utensils being in boxes all this time. If the first stage of civilization is being able to achieve the preparation of a decent cup of tea, then the next stage is definitely being able to put together a real dinner from scratch.

I'm not sure what the next stage of civilization is. But hey, my spice rack is arranged in alphabetical order. Who knows where I could go from here?