Do you have hobbies that give you a sense of peace? One of mine is cooking and even more specifically, baking. I was without an oven for a time. We had these 30 inch double ovens that were big and perfect and I loved them like crazy because I could fit a huge turkey in one and have two or three large things cooking in the other. But this particular (expensive) model had a massive flaw. If you ran the self-cleaning option, it fried the whole appliance.
Now, I did my usual thing and researched, found this happened to a LOT of these models, found the usual culprits and ordered the parts. We didn’t call out a repairman because my husband can usually repair things and I’d researched the schematics. We changed out two thankfully inexpensive parts and though the oven came back on, it powered itself off when it reached a certain temp. We had priced main boards and knew we couldn’t yet afford to repair this oven, so we decided to do without for a time. I learned more about grilling than ever before and I’ve made countless skillet and crock pot dishes.
But I missed the oven. Never realized how much I used it. I make a lot of baked dishes. Then Fall arrived and the whole family got a little down about the missing oven. Fall for them has always arrived with the scents of baking. So Monday, we called out a repairman and it turned out the expense would be even worse than we thought. Even he thought it would be a bad investment and that the ovens would break down again. Bummed, the hubs and I drove to different stores to price new 30 inch double ovens and OMG, it’s been some time since we’d bought ovens. Disheartened, we were in the last store and considering cutting up the kitchen to make room for a stove/big oven combo (Gotta have big for that turkey, ya know?) when my sister sent me a Craigslist ad that had been placed the very day before. For 30 inch double ovens in excellent shape–the owners had to replace with stainless steel in order to sell their home.
I called, the owners were in my town, the ovens were still there and the price was unbelievable. They slid right into place and worked like a charm.
Nothing like a little serendipity to give you a wonderful boost, eh?
So, after hours and hours on this computer working on rewrites, I’ve spent the last two evenings making up for lost time. Cakes, cookies, casseroles… It feels like Fall in my house again and I’ve got my soothing hobby back to help me when the frustrations of the writing world get me down. 🙂