My electric skillet and other kitchen friends....

It was Christmas morning and all through the kitchen, I was busily stirring, trying not to wake the house....

Okay, so that was my feeble attempt at spoofing The Night Before Christmas. I bet if you read it again, you would catch on, although why waste the time? It wasn't that good. Anyway, it was Christmas morning and I was getting ready for our annual pancake picnic. This was a tradition started last year out of desparation. I always try to set the table for Christmas dinner the night before so that I can picture where everyone will sit, make sure I have enough dishes, serving bowls and spoons, etc. So, since the table is so nicely set, where do we eat breakfast on Christmas day?? And so the annual pancake picnic was born.

As I was busily making pancakes, I realized my elecrtic skillet that I use every day, sometimes twice a day, was not cooking the pancakes very quickly. This made me sad since I had been noticing in recent weeks that this favorite pan of mine had been slowly going down hill. I have to admit, when we were given this electric skillet, it was NOT love at first sight. It was given as a hand-me-down, for our wedding, and at the time I didn't know how to cook with something that wasn't coated with that non-stick garbage. (I learned that it is not healthy for you when it starts to wear off into your food.) So anyway, the pan sat in the closet for a few years. I don't remember when it finally made it's way into my kitchen and I began to use it, but eventually I fell in love with it. It's big and stainless steel. It's heavy and has an awesome lid. It cleans up great with a good scrubber.

I make everything with my electric skillet....soups, chicken dishes, rice dishes, stir fries, grilled cheese....you name it, I make it in my pan. But, it's dying. Greg said he would look at it to see if there is something he can do for it. I'm crossing my fingers, because I know "they don't make things the way they used to!" I won't be able to find another pan of it's quality ever again!

So, rewind back to Christmas morning. As I was putting the final touches on our pancake picnic, I decided to check the turkey which had been "cooking" in my 18 quart cooker all night. I thought it was strange I hadn't smelled it cooking yet. Until I opened the lid and realized it wasn't strange or weird....it really had NOT been cooking all night. You have to understand, this bird was more than 20 pounds, it filled my cooker and as I put it in on Christmas Eve, I couldn't wait to see it's golden-browness the next morning. But, my trusty cooker, the one that had cooked many juicy, golden brown turkeys, had died. Right when I needed it the most. Thankfully, a friend had brought over a ham earlier in the week that I was able to pop into the oven for Christmas dinner and it was the best ham ever!

Wow, losing the cooker, and watching my skillet die a long painful death....well it made me take a walk around the kitchen wondering who would be next. My kitchen aid? The blender? The toaster? Who's gonna kick the bucket now? I've often heard my mother say that a woman really needs a bridal shower every 10 or 15 years. Have you noticed that too? Small kitchen appliances die, bath towels get stained and holey, silverware gets lost, glasses brake, and on and on it goes. Wouldn't it be nice to register every 15 years for new things? I mean besides the fact that things wear out, we get tired of the colors and designs of the things we have anyway! Some people update their kitchens, buy new furniture or paint with new colors! (I say some people because I can't place myself in those catigories....we haven't had money to do any updating or furniture buying, but one day....and I haven't had time to paint our new house yet.)

Well, my toaster is the next one to be tossed. I'm pretty sure I bought this toaster soon after we were married. It doesn't pop up on it's own anymore and I am always burning the toast. ALWAYS. The silly thing has a huge crack along one side and sometimes the heating elements blink or won't turn on at all. Plus, it takes forever to toast, and it only does 2 slices at a time. With the growing family, it would be nice to have one that did 4 slices. Of course, my kids would love those toasters that can cook hotdogs in one slot and a bun in the other. haha!

I wish the demise of my small appliances was limited to the kitchen, but no. My flat iron for straightening my hair smells like something has died. I go to turn it on and this nasty smell fills the bathroom. I love to have my hair straight, so I just use it and hope I don't smell like a dead squirrel when I am done fixing my hair.

Thankfully there are some things from our early marriage that still work. The TV we bought still works great! It was one of our first major purchases from Wal-Mart, I think it cost around $60-70. Computers have come and gone, alarm clocks have been replaced, and on it goes. But, praise the Lord, we have never gone without the things we really need.

And not to get all mushy here, but we still have each other. We may need a bridal shower every 15 years, but we don't need new spouses. I may feel like a worn, stretched out shoe sometimes, but really, we're just broken in. We're comfortable. So, bring on the new 18 qt cooker, the new toaster, and fix the electric skillet. We're gonna need them for the next 10-15 years!