Random As Ever

This is the view through the window of the Old Fort Pub where we had Cynthia's birthday dinner. It is a stone's throw from our house.

While I was trying to clean the oven recently the broiler element shorted out in a rather spectacular fashion. We decided to take advantage of the Memorial Day sales and upgrade from our entry-level GE, and finally give up on or fantasy of ever having gas burners (natural gas is virtually impossible on the island, and conversion to propane would be obscenely expensive (and from what we've seen, propane cooktops don't work too well). as I scouted the various appliance stores on the mainland, staying in constant communication via cell phone with Cynthia, reluctantly resigned to choosing from glass-covered ceramic cooktop models. Looking like we could get a good deal on a convection oven, I drove sales personnel crazy with questions, details and comparisons, finally narrowing the choice down to two. When it looked like we were narrowing down the decision, we were told that the one remaining model of our preferred choice had in fact been sold via an internet sale and had been shipped out. Just as we were ready to go for our second choice, the manager said they found one of or preferred models — apparently there had been a change in the model number. We bought, scheduled delivery, and I headed for home.

Just before I got home, I got a call telling me that there had been a mistake. The stoves were NOT the same model: the difference in the model number included a "D" which referred to a dual oven. But since I had already checked out, they would let us have the stove for what I paid. Thanks to mobile internet, I could check out the new model, and verify that we could get a $1500 stove for $700. We took it.

We love it so far; convection is awesome and the second oven is extremely useful, however, since it is so small, it heats up really fast and certain things, like pizza crust, can burn on a dime. The larger oven is closer to the floor, so we mature adults have to stoop lower to get the big cast-iron braziers into the oven, but the bottom rack slides out when you open the oven door which helps that a bit. Also the extra racks are a little too small and fall out.