Not Too Nice

My old cheap-ass stove has been on the fritz for over a year now.  

SM would constantly replace the gizmo that kept the electric coil from heating up but within a few months another one would fizzle out and I'd be back to square one. 

Plus the oven door was catty-wampus and wouldn't close flush so not only was I heating the house, I was baking at God knows what temperature.

So we went shopping for a new stove.
And found squat.

Oh, you can get all manner of smooth top glass electric ranges and don't think I wasn't tempted with SM whispering in my ear.

But I know better.
I'm a cook, not a re-heater.  
(That's way God made microwaves.)
And cooks come in all manner of shapes and sizes.  

My size is wide.
As in a wide splatter zone.
I tend to get messy when I cook.
Plus, I just knew in my heart that I'd have that pretty glass top ruined in no time flat.

So I refused to be seduced.

Since coil top electric stoves are so out of style, it was pretty slim pickings at the big box stores.  SM dragged me to Sears in hopes that Kenmore might turn my head.  

I stood there with my index finger pressing the metal top up and down with a sad look in my eye.  You could almost hear it pop.

"Are you sure you don't want to try an smooth top?"  SM moved down the line to a GE and opened the oven door.  "This feels nice.  Heavier."  SM said about the quality.

"Yes it does.  I wonder if they make coil tops?" And asked the sales person that very question and received a blank stare.

Clearly I was speaking in tongues.

Once we got home I pulled up the GE site online and sure enough they make them, but finding a higher quality one at a retail shop was just not gonna happen.

I am not one to make a major purchase sight unseen.
But I did this time.
I bought the most expensive, highest rated GE electric stove that they had.
And spent a whopping $494.  
It was on sale. 

Lowes told me that it was a special order and might take a month to get in.  What's another 30 days...{shrug}  

While we were at it, I also ordered a Broan range hood that was also special order because I wanted it in black instead of stainless.  It seems to me that stainless is available in so many finishes I'd never be able to match it.

Well, the stove was delivered the other day along with the hood.  
Two weeks early!  Yeah me!

The stove top is heavy and firm.
The oven door is also heavy. 

I cranked that sucker up to 400 to burn off the manufacturer fumes and the surrounding area stayed cool.

SM and I decided to mount the hood this morning.  
Easy Peazy right?
HA!

The hood didn't come with mounting screws and was designed to be hard wired into the house.  We had a wall plug inside the cabinet.

Why is it that simple stuff turns into all day drama?  
You'd think we'd be used to that by now.

So back to Lowes we went.  

Screws, washers and nuts purchased for an under the cabinet mount.  

We then had to talk to the Dude to explain we needed a plug in cord on one end with a hardwire "pig-tail" on the other.  Dude walks us over to the garbage disposal area (huh?) and yoinks a cord off the wall.  

"Garbage disposals have the same issue.  Some houses have a wall plug like yours and sometimes it's a hard wire."

Fine.  So back to the house we go to get it hung.

We both stood back looking.

"How do you like it?"  SM ventured.

"Nice."

"Nice enough?"  SM asked.

"Not too nice."  I replied.  "If it was too nice then I'd have to re-do the counter tops and get a new dishwasher and fridge."

SM gave me that look.  You know the one. 

"As it is..."  I continued,  "You know we'll need to decide on a new back splash and once that's done consider new flooring..."  

My voice climbing louder as SM turns his back on me and walks away.

Somebody around here watches way too much HGTV.  @:)

Modge Podge

Modge Podge. a word used to describe a confused or disorderly mass or collection of things; a "mess" or a "jumble".

Well, that's a pretty spot on description of what's been happening in my life lately.  
It's been a Modge Podge out there my friends!

First off, my work life has been a blurr.  
One day was SO busy I seriously considered sacking out in reception.  
What was the point of going home only to have turn around and come back in?  

Good thing security throws us out or I'd have been curled up under my desk. 

I work with a great crew and of course we rocked learning all our new tech and I kinda think I impressed the clinical crew that came in to oversee us.  

Could there be a job offer out there in the future?  
Maybe.  
But I wouldn't like all the travel.  
Every time I'm on an airplane I get sick and these folks live on planes.
No Thanks.

Secondly, there's been a bit of extended family drama that makes me appreciate how lucky I am to have SM.  

He's been a lot of things to me.  
Best Friend.  
Financial Advisor.  
Life Coach.

But best of all, he's a MAN.  

He knows what it takes to be a man and he steps up everytime.  

There are a lot of guys out there who "think" they're a man but they're not.
They don't have the stones to step up.  
And so they stay boys all their lives.

Thank God I got me a man.

And lastly we turn to the home front.  
I might finally have a weekend where I have the energy to get out to the garden and clean it up.  

We had temps in the low 30's here this past week.  
Ice on the car windshield and dead zinnias in the back garden. 
Boo.

But SM bought me some Mum's to spark up the front door.

And he drove out to Hendersonville last weekend for our yearly apple supply while I lay at home in a work induced coma in my recliner.

And yesterday he announces that he bought not just ONE Autumn Blaze Maple trees, but TWO. 

One to shade our back porch and the other for the front yard.  
SM feels it's too plain since we cut down the birch last year

"And why didn't you pay the nursery to come out and plant them?"  I asked eyebrows in hairline as I went out to take a peek at our new additions.

"Hey...I can dig a hole." SM says.  "I hope your back is in good shape."

How did I get pulled into this?  I thought to myself wondering if SM had bitten off more than he can chew.

   
Look at the size of those root balls.

Hm.  
This is one of those times that I wish SM wasn't feeling quite so manly.
 

All Is Well

SM and I had last week off and rather than stick around here in the rain (we had no idea how bad it would get at the time) we took off for a road trip.

SM wanted to go to Boston.
Rain.
I suggested New Orleans.
Rain.
DC? 
Rain.  
Hilton Head?  
Rain.

Toronto?
Hm.

I had been to Niagara and Toronto before on my own but SM had never been, so that's where we headed.

Canadian Falls and "Yes" it was cold.

Ripleys Aquarium in Toronto was stunning.

Right about Wednesday we were watching late night TV and here comes a report about Joaquin.

Whaaat?
I sat up straight when I saw they thought the track might go through Charlotte.

Needless to say, we dodged a bullet there.  Neighbors tell me that we had several inches of rain but NOTHING like whats going on in SC.

On the way home we did swing by Cleveland's West Side Market for the smoked meats and delicious cheeses that we just can't get locally.  We packed our cooler full and then went back in for fresh eating.  SM munched on pickled eggs and bratwurst.  We both shared a Neapolitan and I found heaven in a lemon macaroon.

We finished up our travels in Columbus.  It just worked out that SM's brother Ron was having his 72nd birthday party this past weekend.  Great party and a nice surprise for Ron who didn't know we were in the area.

I've got today off for doing laundry and cleaning the house.
Maybe mow the overgrown lawn.
 
Back to the grind tomorrow!