However, unlike every day, our kitchen set-up was a little different. The step-down voltage transformer is a device that sits on our countertop and is absolutely vital to allowing our American 110V appliances work safely despite running on a 220V power grid. Our coffee grinder and my wonderful Zojirushi drip coffee maker 
were unplugged, and I plugged them in. I fired up the grinder, it started, and then stopped. No more. I tried it on the transformer in the office, and no dice still. I came back to try one last time in the kitchen, and found that the coffee maker had stopped working as well. I turned on the toaster, and it was instantly blazing hot. It took a minute before I figured it out: I had the power strip plugged into the side putting out 220V! I had nearly instantaneously fried my coffee maker and my mill.
were unplugged, and I plugged them in. I fired up the grinder, it started, and then stopped. No more. I tried it on the transformer in the office, and no dice still. I came back to try one last time in the kitchen, and found that the coffee maker had stopped working as well. I turned on the toaster, and it was instantly blazing hot. It took a minute before I figured it out: I had the power strip plugged into the side putting out 220V! I had nearly instantaneously fried my coffee maker and my mill.As far as the mill is concerned, it was a cheapy; a simple spinning rotor that worked well enough but wasn't particularly loved. But it worked. And now it doesn't. And I have other ways of making coffee (here the "French Press" 
and "Mokka Express"
are ubiquitous and work quite well when there's no electricity, and I have them both). But I love a good-ol' American pot of coffee, and now, it's finished.
and "Mokka Express"are ubiquitous and work quite well when there's no electricity, and I have them both). But I love a good-ol' American pot of coffee, and now, it's finished.So the reason the appliances were not plugged in this morning was that I had to replace the transformer I had been using. This was because our old transformer was stolen from our kitchen while we slept last Thursday night. Some thieves broke into our house by cutting the screen of the window in Zoe's play room and made off with a pirate's chest worth of our stuff, including Andrea's work laptop, our good camera, our DVD player, our stereo with speakers and subwoofer, and cash from Andrea's purse (though strangely no phones or credit cards, thank goodness).
We'll miss all of these, and probably replace all from our own pockets, but the worst part is the really unnerving loss of a sense of security in our own home. We had a guard on duty who did not hear the thieves, but then again, neither did we, and we were inside the house. Now, before bed, we lock every ground floor window (except one in our bedroom -it's just too hot here for that), as well as the doors to the guest room, the play room, the office, and the kitchen. We keep one more external light on all night. We don't keep our iPods or keys or Andrea's purse or anything electronic out -even in our bedroom. It takes 5 minutes longer to get ready for bed and to open up the house. And we're thinking of getting a dog. We met a few puppies who applied for the job from our friend Isabel, who found them on the side of the road two weeks ago. This is the biggest step, and we're not entirely ready to go ahead, but think it's coming.
So that's how my morning started. But Zoe got to school well, Andrea got to work on time, and I used a mortar and pestle to try to grind the coffee. I don't recommend it.
