Monday, March 16, 2009

Goodbye Old Friend

A good and faithful friend passed away tonight at 10:15pm... I was putting a piece of corned beef for tomorrow's (St. Patrick's Day)
dinner and when I plugged in my 35yr. old crock pot I heard something sizzling, cracking and an odor of electrical burning reached my nose. OH NO!!! I cried...it can't be!!!! Yes, Dr. Jack actually pronounced it dead after smelling the burned out cord. Gone, it can't be saved he said. I looked at the poor thing and although it was quite bruised, scratched and well worn, it never failed to deliver a wonderful dinner, cooked while I was away...usually at work which made it all the more wonderful to come home to a cooked meal ready for my hungry family. I remember the first meal I prepared in it. We were married a whole week and I put in a chicken, some barbecue sauce, plugged it in and off to work I went. When I arrived home a delicious aroma met me at the door and Jack came home from Chiro college shortly afterward and he immediately commented on the wonderful smell. What a great wife I was...so talented...so creative in the kitchen...soooo...well never mind, anyway we took off the lid, looked inside and found a heaping pile of black char...I had inadvertently set the crock pot on high...not good for chicken...not good for chicken cooking for 8hrs. Well, I didn't give up on it or my ability to create a meal with it. It stood the test of time, moves and changes in cooking styles and four boys. I will miss it dearly because you can't find that shade of avocado anymore, made all the more lovely with it's scratches. Reminds me of my own worn scars of time that the last 35yrs has given me! Amy and Craig gave me a new crock pot last year that I have used many times too, especially for pot luck carry ins. It's a bit bigger than my old friend and I had to adjust to it's hotter cooking temps, but it has delivered some tasty morsels too. Hopefully it will last 35yrs , although I might not! Here it is next to avocado pot...So shiny, so new. So long old friend. I may bury it next to our old dog Ferris, I don't know if I can just throw it in the land fill....I'm getting teary eyed, I must go to bed now...




3 comments:

Amy and Craig said...

you have a gift. I'm so glad that we introduced you to blogging so we can all enjoy your gift of dramatic writing. it's really moving me to tears..

Donna said...

hahahaha! Amy's comment made me laugh as much as your drama!!

Midge said...

Don't worry Kathy...you next to maybe Mom are the one person in the world that I know that holds on to appliances for the longest time. If there was an award you would certainly win it...but your old retired friend truly did cook the best food.