Let me state that I have nothing against Sears, in fact, I think I might love Sears. Especially their appliances. Specifically, their appliance outlet stores like the one in San Diego.
So when my Maytag oven went on the fritz, I called upon Sears to send a repair guy. Quite frankly, I didn't know who else to call. I knew exactly what was wrong, the front electric panel had just stopped working and needed to be replaced. It happened once before, when our house, and all the appliances, were still new enough to be covered under warrenty. That time, the home builder's repair guy said he'd replaced four of those panels in our neighborhood already, so it's clearly a lemon.
But it's no longer under warrenty, so to Sears.com I went for help, and scheduled a repair man. Earliest appointment was 8 days later! But I had company coming, I planned to bake a cake for my sister! And I had 2 boxes of brownie mix in the cupboard! Oh, well, que sera.
We muddled thru well enough without the oven. But it seemed like every day I would start planning a meal and then realize I couldn't do it without an oven.
I had a ham I wanted to bake. Breakfast with bacon, which we usually roast in the oven. Cookie dough from the kids school fundraiser came in. My new Better Homes and Gardens had a recipe for an awesome looking chocolate truffle cake made with whole wheat flour. I wanted to bake potatoes. Blueberry muffins for my visiting sister. Scones. Roasted potatoes. Quiche. Yeast rolls. I kept eyeing the whole chicken in my freezer.
So finally Hector came at 9:30 AM on the appointed day. Which is a pretty good target in an 8 to 12 window. He quickly confirmed my assessment of the oven, and that he did have a new panel in his truck.
So then I showed him the fridge, the one that leaked water all over my kitchen last deployment. We trouble-shooted and found that the ice maker pipe was frozen. I fixed it, and we tightened the freezer door so that it won't jiggle slightly ajar when wild monkeys swing from the door handle, as is a common occurence in my kitchen.
So bottom line, oven is fixed, and I one again have ice and filtered water from my fridge. Great! Right?
It's been three days. I did indeed roast some bacon to toss in a pasta dish. And tonight I made a frozen pizza. That's it. No scones. No baked ham. No whole wheat truffle cake. There are still two boxes of brownie mix in my cupboard. The chicken is still solid as a bowling ball.
I now see that the idea of all the things I couldn't make without an oven were just fantasies. Wishful thinking, temptations sparked by the knowledge that I was barred, they were impossible, I just wanted what I could not have. Like the way I am consumed with longing for doughnuts the second I decide to go on a strict diet.
Ok, they're not exactly fantasies. I will eventually make the brownies, and the chicken, the ham, and even the quiche. But the urgency, the sense of loss I had at having the OPTION of baking taken from me--I think that's really insightful.
Hector brought me back to earth. Still, I'm glad I have all my options back. Maybe I'll make some scones in his honor tomorrow. Or some frozen chicken nuggets. Whichever.
So when my Maytag oven went on the fritz, I called upon Sears to send a repair guy. Quite frankly, I didn't know who else to call. I knew exactly what was wrong, the front electric panel had just stopped working and needed to be replaced. It happened once before, when our house, and all the appliances, were still new enough to be covered under warrenty. That time, the home builder's repair guy said he'd replaced four of those panels in our neighborhood already, so it's clearly a lemon.
But it's no longer under warrenty, so to Sears.com I went for help, and scheduled a repair man. Earliest appointment was 8 days later! But I had company coming, I planned to bake a cake for my sister! And I had 2 boxes of brownie mix in the cupboard! Oh, well, que sera.
We muddled thru well enough without the oven. But it seemed like every day I would start planning a meal and then realize I couldn't do it without an oven.
So finally Hector came at 9:30 AM on the appointed day. Which is a pretty good target in an 8 to 12 window. He quickly confirmed my assessment of the oven, and that he did have a new panel in his truck.
So then I showed him the fridge, the one that leaked water all over my kitchen last deployment. We trouble-shooted and found that the ice maker pipe was frozen. I fixed it, and we tightened the freezer door so that it won't jiggle slightly ajar when wild monkeys swing from the door handle, as is a common occurence in my kitchen.
So bottom line, oven is fixed, and I one again have ice and filtered water from my fridge. Great! Right?
It's been three days. I did indeed roast some bacon to toss in a pasta dish. And tonight I made a frozen pizza. That's it. No scones. No baked ham. No whole wheat truffle cake. There are still two boxes of brownie mix in my cupboard. The chicken is still solid as a bowling ball.
I now see that the idea of all the things I couldn't make without an oven were just fantasies. Wishful thinking, temptations sparked by the knowledge that I was barred, they were impossible, I just wanted what I could not have. Like the way I am consumed with longing for doughnuts the second I decide to go on a strict diet.
Ok, they're not exactly fantasies. I will eventually make the brownies, and the chicken, the ham, and even the quiche. But the urgency, the sense of loss I had at having the OPTION of baking taken from me--I think that's really insightful.
Hector brought me back to earth. Still, I'm glad I have all my options back. Maybe I'll make some scones in his honor tomorrow. Or some frozen chicken nuggets. Whichever.