Patience, patience…

Waiting for Christmas delayed is a tough thing… even for adults.

These days, the highlight of Christmas is seeing joy on the faces of others — especially the kids. I also got a kick out of helping my dad figure out his new digital camera (a gift from my youngest sister, who wasn’t there this year).

My gift is one of necessity: days before the Oak Ridge Utility District‘s grand opening of their new offices and showroom, my old stove — the last of the 33-year old avacado-green appliances in my house — began to die. Handyman Hubby’s quick inspection of a burned-out burner revealed that the wiring was decayed, meaning that the others are likely to go soon.

Not to mention the whole thing being a fire hazard.

new stoveI’ve wanted a gas stove for 20 years, but as with the rest of the items i wanted to upgrade, I waited until they needed to be replaced anyway. So, a couple of weeks before Christmas, we ordered it — providing the perfect excuse to buy Hubby a Roto-Zip (which he’s admired for a few years), so he could enlarge the inset in my ceramic-topped island to fit the new stove.

I thought surely it would come in the week before Christmas, and be ready to install the week after. But, apparently there’s been a run on new gas appliances with the opening of ORUD’s new showroom, and it’s not in yet.

So hard to be patient.

My mother thinks I’m crazy; she grew up with a gas stove (the kind you had to light with a match), and thinks that having a solid-surface electric model is the ultimate in appearance and ease. But have you ever heard anyone say, “now we’re cooking with electricity?”

4 thoughts on “Patience, patience…

  1. Don’t listen to your mom. Gas rulz. We haven’t had a gas range in nearly 20 years, but when we had one, it was teh best range in the history of the universe. Even my lovely and talented wife (who would microwave the laundry if the oven were large enough) agrees.

  2. The theme of this year’s fire prevention week, month for ORFD, was “Watch What You Heat,” and I’m glad that you took our efforts to heart.

    The rest of this is funny.

    When we moved into our “D” house in January of 1992, the large right front electric control on the range had to be in the “high” position for the element to be “off.” Mzchief and I owned two houses at that time, and decided we could live with it, not a good plan, but there was no alternative. When times got better, we could not find a 40 inch stove to fill the hole in the counter space, and we continued to operate in this unsafe manner.

    Late summer 06, and the left element would not heat, the next week–the left rear element would not heat, and the fire prevention materials began arriving. WeLLLL, it would be a good example of a bad example if the ol’ fire chief’s house burned down because of a faulty cooking appliance during fire prevention week when the theme was cooking safety. Todd XXXX had told us the appliance was last manufactured in 1956, and no parts were available.

    The range was one of the 40 inch models, opposite of your problem. What do we do, replace our beloved stainless steel counter top with something else at who knows what expense, or find a 40 inch range? ORUD to the rescue, with a flier in the gas bill, 40 inch stove. YAY. Mzchief and I decided to go for the gas range. I dropped by the old office, and told them I wanted the stove, they asked if I wanted a demonstration, I said “no,” they asked if I wanted to look at one, I said “no,” but come put it in. They said our inspector can’t come until Wednesday (this was Monday), and I said “great.” I had to go to City Council Monday evening, and couldn’t get the old one out until Tuesday, and if they could come Wednesday, that would be fine. I sincerely thought that I had contracted for the stove to be installed on Wednesday. I called Little Chief, now 27 and 235 lbs., and we chunked the old stove off the kitchen deck into the yard, busted it all to hell, picked up the pieces, put them in the truck, and hauled it to the dump.

    The inspector showed up right on schedule the next day, did some measuring, and some looking, and said installation would be about $150, and I said get to installing then. He said he would have to order the range, and it would not be delivered for a week or ten days. MzChief was not pleased, but decided that it would be a good time to replace the 1950s (probably) floor covering. We had refinished all the old hardwood floors in the house over the past 15 years, and decided that would be a good plan for the kitchen. We ripped up all the old stuff except for some black rubber-like crap that impervious to everything, heat, paint stripper, brute force, etc. Down to the Depot for more options, and “floating hardwood flooring” was on sale, $1.17 per sq. ft. Great, easier than sanding, staining, three or more coats of finish, etc.

    Problem, the flooring is displayed at the Depot near the cabinets. MzChief decided that the particle board, cheap, microwave stand, the “portable” dishwasher that I had semi-permanently installed, and an old table, that were located on the other wall of the kitchen needed replacing too.

    Making a long story longer, MzChief was able to prepare Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner and goodies on a new $2200 stove, on $1300 worth of new cabinets and countertop, while standing on $200 worth of new floating hardwood flooring for her husband (and family) with a sore back.

  3. Wow — you got off easy on the countertop! I checked into a new solid-surface top (direct from the manufacturer, no installation) for the island, it it would cost more than the stove and installation combined!

    Yeah, I need a new floor too… which will have to wait. But Chief, thanks for a great laugh!!

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