It Takes So Little

I takes so little to make me happy. Today our new washing machine came!!!

The washer went out a day or so before the Pergo went in and what with all the things that were going on at the time, it was this week before we went out to actually buy the machine.

Walt was wonderful. He has been schlepping essential clothes to the laundromat since the machine broke, but there's nothing quite like being able to toss things into the washer when they really need to be cleaned.

The last appliance we bought was our stove and I remember we had a brief conversation at the shop about whether or not to spend the extra money to get the one which came with a griddle in the middle. We reasoned that, given our age and how often we replace appliances, this was probably the last stove we would ever purchase and so what the heck. That turned out to be a wonderful decision and I use the griddle several times a week and absolutely love it.

So when we were looking at the available washers we had the same conversation. Did we want the regular agitator wash, or did we want to spend the extra money for the new agitator-less, water saving, energy efficient, quieter models? Again the "this is the last one we will probably buy" argument won out and we went with the newfangled model.

So now, at age 68, I have to learn a new way to wash clothes and I have to learn not to panic if (a) the machine doesn't make enough noise and (b) it appears to have very little water in it.

Walt went and got the new detergent we're supposed to use and did the first load of wash. They say it is quieter than the washer we're used to, but that's not quite true. What is true is that it makes a very different sound...and Polly isn't sure she likes it! (But we can wash all of our clothes again.

Old Friends

I came across this interesting meme the other day, which asked all sorts of cooking questions. I will probably do it the next time I do a meme, but I was thinking about it while I was mixing up some flour and spices to dredge medallions of pork in for making a pork picata (delicious, BTW!) and I realized that the bowl I was using was the largest bowl of a set of Tupperware that I bought when we were still living in Oakland (we moved from there in 1973).

Our friend Concetta had just become a Tupperware salesperson and over several parties, I bought a lot of stuff from her. This one has lost one of its handles, but in its day it has seen countless mixtures. Whenever I look for a mixing bowl, this is the one I use. (The others in the set are long gone)

Thinking about the bowl got me thinking about how many things I have had for a very long time.

Here are some more old friends. The Corningware in the upper left corner and the Le Cruset casserole in the lower right corner were both wedding gifts, nearly 46 years ago. The collander is all banged up but I think I brought that with us from Oakland too. The blue bowl in the lower left corner was the one that I kept my sourdough starter in for years until a foreign student living with us decided to clean out that foul smelling stuff in the bowl. I haven't made sourdough since.

The copper bottomed Revereware were all wedding gifts and all are still working just fine for me, though not nearly as shiny as they once were. I think we had to replace one pot when a handle broke off, but it's been a really good set for 45 years.

I have two of these muffin tins, bent, beat up and with holes in them (see the second from the right at the bottom, for example), but I have made hundreds of muffins in them over the years.

This may be the warhorse of the bunch. I know I had it when we lived in Oakland, when I was making all of our bread. This has a dough hook and it did heavy duty during those years.

When I took cake decorating classes and then started a cake decorating business here in Davis, I could not have done it without this mixer.

What stories this machine could tell if it could talk!

It doesn't get as much use now as it did when I first got it back in the 1970s, but I have definitely gotten my money out of it--and it is still going strong.

There are several other pieces of kitchen appliances that I've had around for decades. As with other things in my life, I tend to prefer the older, tried and true pots and pans rather than use a brand new one (though I do love my new big frying pan!)

One of these days I should go through all of the cupboards around here and toss out all of the appliances I no longer use, but if I did that, I suspect that these old friends (and many more) would not be tossed out. Too many good memories, too many shared experiences. You don't throw out old friends.

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Going off on a 2-day Cousins Day. I probably won't have internet access, so I may be posting 2 entries when I get home. But, if I'm lucky, I'll be able to find something. Anyway, if I disappear for 2 days, that's why.