The basement apartment was configured well, with a shoji screen separating the bed from the living area. There was a comfortable couch and chair there, and a small table with two chairs in the eating area, which I also used for computer work. There were shelves with mugs, plates, bowls, glasses, and tumblers, and a small fridge stocked with fruit juice, milk, and yogurt, and there was instant coffee too (which might deter some people...but it was fine, since a block away are good coffee places). There were also a bowl of fruit, granola, and instant oatmeal provided. Janis gave us a container of homemade muffins when we arrived -excellent.
There was an informative list of how the heating, WiFi, etc. worked, and a list of places to go and nearby restaurants on Bloor, as well as places to eat and go in downtown Toronto. We have cousins 15 minutes away whom we were visiting for Thanksgiving, and were quite familiar with Bloor Village. For those of you not familiar with Bloor Village, it is a nice compact area of about 10 blocks, bordered on one side by the Humber River with an excellent park for jogging or walking (Étienne Brûlé Park). Lots of nice shops and places for snacks, as well as a few good restaurants for dinner. There are no cooking facilities at Janis's place, but frankly, the restaurants on Bloor are just fine. I would definitely recommend Bloom - a tad pricey, but as good as any good restaurant in Vancouver, where we are from.
As we were leaving, we had a good conversation about books we recommended to each other, and I am looking forward to reading them.