Out with the Old...

stove, that is. And the timing was perfect (note the sarcasm): December 31. Mind you, we didn't want a new stove or plan for one, but we have a new one now regardless.


So, I was baking in preparation for New Year's Day dinner at my parents' house. Nothing out of the ordinary. Nope, just two dishes that I've made before.


Well, wouldn't you know it if the oven beeped and flashed an error message before turning off. Well, I ignored that message (read: don't ignore your oven's warning), and just re-started the oven (no comments necessary, I know). I DID at least locate the owner's manual, hoping it would contain a key to the error message. Silly me. The manual doesn't HAVE a code; it's advice in case of a warning message? Contact your Sears service representative. (Like that was going to happen Dec. 31.)


So I'm thumbing through the manual while in the kitchen, when the oven beeps and shuts off again, but this time, there's smoke pouring out of it. POURING. Oh my! (Oh, one minor detail I failed to mention: guess who was at work?)


Not sure what I was thinking, but I opened the oven. I guess I was hoping I could grab whatever was smoking and take it outside. That wasn't the case; the oxygen fueled the fire (yes, FIRE), thus compounding the smoke. Since I couldn't safely remove the burning food, I did the only thing I could think of: I grabbed our fire extinguisher and blasted the fire. Mind you, by this time, the smoke alarms on the main floor and top floor were beeping (not a bad thing), the family room and kitchen were filled with smoke, and I was racing around the main floor opening doors and windows in an effort to air out the kitchen.


All of this happened in just a manner of minutes, so I didn't have much time to think, only react. When I called Scott, I broke down, thankful that it wasn't anything worse than a ruined oven and a smoke-filled family room. Thankful that Scott was comforting and understanding, and not in the least bit worried about buying a new stove. (He even called me back later that night to see how I was doing.) Thankful that my dad was home that day, so I took the kids over there to play while I cleaned up the mess. Thankful that Leah and Hunter were upstairs resting and napping, oblivious and SAFE from the debacle in the kitchen. And even thankful that Lowe's had a sale on appliances, saving us just a little money.


Take it from me: if your oven beeps at you, turn it off and call your oven repairman (unless you're hankering for a new stove).