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They don’t make ’em like they used to

Coming up on six years of blogging. Lots of life happened during that time – two and a half kids through college, three spousal hospitalizations, many tons of new paving stones and blocks surrounding our house and a total turnover of appliances. They don't make them like they used to, referring to the appliances, not the spouse.

Since the inception of this knitting blog, we've replaced the fridge, dishwasher, washer and dryer, and now, the stove. Granted we've given them a run for their money with three now grown teenagers and 40 or so overseas students. Not to mention Doug, our good friend and boarder for the past two years.Trying to think of a blog name for Doug. Maybe SD (Significant Doug). I'll be writing about SD in the future as he has done his best to turn us into accidental vegetarians. Just so you know, when you're reading about him, SD = Significant Doug.I think that's better than VD – Vegetarian Doug.

Figuring that my major cooking days are behind me, I didn't succumb to my unrealistic dreams of a commercial type cook stove in aqua or British racing car green enamel; one requiring an additional mortgage. Besides we only had room and budget for 30" of range. Pity. So here it is, awaiting installation:

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What's with the blue interior? There must have been a manufacturer's sale on cobalt blue porcelain enamel. And does anyone know what might be the difference, in how the stove functions, between the roast and bake settings? Can't find it in the instruction book. One of the stoves I looked at had a chicken nugget setting. Can you imaging cooking enough chicken nuggets to warrant their own setting?

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And what is is about a new stove that makes you want to cook turkey?

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15 responses to “They don’t make ’em like they used to”

  1. Ellen Avatar
    Ellen

    ‘Just had to let you know I chuckled through your blog today. I thought SD loved your lamb. How can he be a vegetarian and love lamb? Our stove is 25 years old, bakes 25 degrees hot, has three burners that are either “on” or “off,” and one that doesn’t work at all. Maybe if I started cooking again I could talk Greg into a new one.

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  2. Chris Avatar
    Chris

    Wrong, NOTHING makes me want to cook turkey. We moved into new house, it has a convection/regular range combo. Not sure I am brave enough to try it without instructions. Can’t find any in the entire house. We kept instruction books on EVERYTHING! What’s with the caps tonight? Huh.

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  3. Teresa James Avatar
    Teresa James

    Hope you got a self-cleaning oven! It is well worth having one.

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  4. Jane Toumpas Avatar
    Jane Toumpas

    I laughed over your expilination of SD. I wrote a simular thing about Mom on my wall on facebook……. I have finally figured out who my mother reminds me of lately, Mrs.Howell from Gilligans Island! She is prime and proper and oh so sweet. Must have the finest things and NOW! So if you hear me talking about someone named “Lovey” then you can be sure it’s my Mom and she has just thrown me over the edge 😛
    PS LOVE your new stove and it’s innards 🙂

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  5. Carole Avatar
    Carole

    I know just what you mean about the turkey! I don’t know why but I always feel that way, too.

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  6. Dorothy Avatar
    Dorothy

    Pretty! I love the blue interior. We’ve been through pretty much the same experience in replacing appliances. I cried when the washer left – we’d bought it new 32 years ago and it was still chugging along. We only replaced it for energy savings reasons, not because it quit working. They really don’t make ’em like they used to.

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  7. Rebekah Avatar
    Rebekah

    They definitely don’t make appliances like they used to, or well for that matter anything. We still have 2 tv’s one is from the 90’s and one from the 80’s, and they still work fine, but the one we bought 4 years ago is already failing! I refuse to buy any more televisions.
    Oh stove settings are hilarious. When we had to purchase a new stove 3 years ago when are old stove started turning itself on and super heating, so much it burned all the insulation out of it, we did end up with the extra expensive Viking because my husband 1) uses the death out of stoves and 2) he liked that there were no special settings. It’s basically on and off and various degrees of on and off.
    haven’t heard of the chicken nugget setting.
    Thank you for your comments by the way, I tried to respond via e-mail but once again my e-mail doesn’t like your e-mail address. I think its anti-canadian. 🙂

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  8. Awesome Mom Avatar
    Awesome Mom

    A chicken nugget setting? Wow! That boggles the mind.
    I do wish we had a gas range. I used one early on in my marriage and fell in love. Sadly all our houses since have been electric.

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  9. sherry Avatar
    sherry

    Li,
    I always am hungry for turkey! Now as I have been searching for a new frige, I have wondered over to the stoves, as I want a new stove(not need one) and the blue is supposed to appeal to us. I found what I want, its a BOTSCH stove, and it IS made how it used to be(in the USA) its a true convection and has a setting for
    dehydrating (that is a selling point for me, as I don’t eat chicken nuggests.
    very pretty

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  10. Christine Avatar
    Christine

    Most of the ovens you buy in New Zealand have blue insides – one major manufacturer. Don’t know why though. I think the difference between bake and roast is that bake usually only uses the elements on the bottom of the oven, while roast setting uses all elements to surround the food with heat.

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  11. LoriAngela Avatar
    LoriAngela

    My sister had a friend, Doug, living with them and we always sent home a “Dougie Bag”.

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  12. Nancy Avatar
    Nancy

    How exciting a new stove! It is really pretty so don’t get it dirty. 🙂 If you do make a turkey be sure to brine it first. I made one last Tuesday and I will never do any other way again. So delicious! Have fun.

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  13. Kristen Avatar
    Kristen

    Where have you been hiding Significant Doug? SD does sound better than VD, which in my day wss a naughty phrase, though today kids don’t know what VD is because they’ve changed it to STD.
    Snazzy stove- bon appetit!

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  14. Valeria Avatar
    Valeria

    Blue interior – nice and cheery compared to gray speckles or black. Wish I’d plumped for a selfcleaner as, after the fact, I discovered that the electronic ignition was saving me about $15 a month vs having pilot lights so the gas savings along paid for the stove in about 3 years and the extra cost of a self cleaner would have been paid off by the gas savings in another year. But i was feeling poor at the time.
    As for turkey? This time a year with the damned non-migrating Canada geese honking incessantly on the pond, I’d like to cook myself a goose! Hard to imagine the blasted noisy poop machines were considered endangered just 25 years ago.

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  15. Dotty Avatar
    Dotty

    Does the oven come with an internal thermometer for meat? That might be why there’s a roast setting. It will cook until the meat reaches the set temperature. My SIL’s stove has the thermometer and you have to set two things – the oven temp & the internal temp for the meat.

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