onward and upward - from the basement to the kitchen

New additions to our home:
I can't wait for Stefan to come home and hook it up! Fluffy towels and non-sour laundry items, here we come! It's officially really cold here in Germany now and we're back to drying our clothes on a rack in the living room. After a week both of us were tired of the emotional roller coaster one has with air drying in the living room. It goes like this: "Maybe if we have the little oscillating fan blow on the rack overnight it'll make it better. - Yeah, that's a good idea!" then, from the bathroom: "Ugh - this towel is so ranky! Give me a fresh one fast! - Serious? It seemed fine when I took it off the rack." "Maybe we can put them out on the balcony with afternoon sun for the first part, then inside overnight with the fan. - Yeah, get a little fresh air in there, maybe that'll work" the next morning Stefan calls me during a break from school "My only jeans were so stinky sour this morning I couldn't wear them - we're getting a dryer, I can't take this anymore!" back at the house I'm rejoicing - finally!! Yes, this will make our energy bill go up and make the environmentalists hate us, but I don't care. No more sour clothes in the winter!

and in the kitchen:
A microwave, with grill and convection oven features. Can you say energy saver?!? This will also mark the end of all cold leftovers and the era where Stefan felt tempted to overeat sometimes because better hot then, than cold later. It will also save me time and energy using the stove/oven to thaw and reheat things. What a relief! Can't use it yet either since we need an extension cord, but it's all ready to roll!