"Getting rid of everything that doesn’t matter allows you to remember who you are. Simplicity doesn’t change who you are, it brings you back to who you are."

Monday, June 10, 2013

On Second Thought, Maybe Not The Best Idea

My old electric stove is shot.  The oven door doesn't close properly which means that there's no way to know what temperature I'm actually baking things at.

Not such a big deal during summer as I don't like to turn the oven on much anyway, but I told SM months ago that we needed to plan for a new oven by this Fall.

"How about a gas stove instead of electric?"  SM queried. 

"Won't that be expensive to buy a stove AND run the line?"  I reply.

"Let me check into it."  Which SM did and we decided that budget-wise it was doable and a smart investment besides.  SM says the water heater needs replacing soon too and he'd like to upgrade to a gas water heater while we're at it. 

Fast forward a few months. 

I'm making brewed Ice Tea the other day and I'm using a pot holder to lift the lid and drain off the tea bags.  While I'm moving the pot off the burner, I must've laid the pot holder on the counter in such a way that the little loopy thingy-ma-bob attached to the pot holder laid directly on the burner coils.

Poof. 

I have a small mini fire going and as I whack it out SM (who was observing all this) says to me...

"You know, having a gas stove means that you'll have to deal with an open flame all the time."

I look at him with the pot holder still smoking in my hand. 

I can see in his eyes the memory of me walking away from a pot of rice to gab with a neighbor next door.  I returned home to a smoky house, a ruined pot and the stench of 3 inches of burnt rice fused to said pan. 

Not too long ago, I decided to steam some broccoli and cauliflower for dinner.  The strangest smell started coming from the pot.  Upon inspection I discovered that I hadn't put any water in it.  Um, steam means water, Tami.

(What can I say?  I'm easily distracted and age is NOT improving that condition.)

"Maybe a gas stove isn't the best suggestion."  I offer up.  "Given my track record and all..."  I say with my eyebrows raised.





"Maybe not."  SM walks away with a smile and shake of his head.


8 comments:

  1. LOL - sounds like soemthing I did a couple of years ago when we were still building.

    RMan was laying the undercoat on the walls, and I covered the kitchen counter with newspaper to catch the drips... A while later RMan decided he'd like a cup of coffee, so I shoved the kettle on the small gas stove. Opening the back door, I didn't notice that the paper had been blown nearer the stove by the breeze - for my stupidity I had to live with blackened walls for a year - a reminder that gas is different to electricity LOL

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  2. Ugh! I just did that with a batch of milk/cheese....boiled milk over the entire stove surface. And burned milk smell in the house for half the day.

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  3. Ha! I can see that happening here. Better stick with the electric for now...

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  4. It gets worse with age. The other day I put the can of Pam spray under the sink instead of under the stove. That evening, doing kitchen cleanup, I grabbed what I thought was my can of stove top cleaner and sprayed my entire ceramic stove top with oil. What a mess! It could have been worse, I could have put the can of glass cleaner under the stove and sprayed my frying pan with it. Yes, I'm the same person who puts hairspray under her armpits and deodorant on her hair.

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    1. Oh, I can just picture it. You're so funny! I sure wouldn't be laughing if it was me that did it, though...

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  5. Oh Tami, LOL. I hate to admit it but you sound like me!

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  6. We have a gas stove, but I am sure I would do just as many wacky things with an electric stove. The last dumb thing I did was to somehow manage to get a potholder stuck to the bottom of the roasting pan and unbeknownst to me (until I kept smelling smoke) baked it under the pan for about an hour and a half. I just thought that the oven was a bit smoky because it needed cleaning, until I took the roast out of the oven and the scorched, smoking potholder fell on the floor.

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  7. Just a thought...maybe they should start making pot holders out of material that will not burn.

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