As much as the few weeks of busyness (our very own March Madness!) has been a lot of fun (and it really was fun -we made so many special memories!) – I have had one irritation.
It has been a thorn in my side for weeks now – but finally put me over the edge yesterday. Yes – I actually slammed doors and threw things.
My stove went on the blink.
It started quite innocently with the large front burner not always turning on. We wiggled it around and called it fixed. Ha.
It continued to selectively turn on the next few weeks. This became very frustrating with Katie sitting at the breakfast table saying , “Me hungee, me hungee! Eggs Auntie ‘linna?”
But the real problem was with the oven. On Palm Sunday I had 16 people around my table after church waiting for lunch – and the pork roast was raw.
Talk about panic!
I did some quick thinking – then dug out a package of left-over ham in the freezer, thawed it in the microwave, diced it up and tossed in the crock pot of scalloped potatoes.
I called it scalloped potatoes and ham and served it with corn and dinner rolls.
Whew!
I felt heat in the oven – so I knew it was on – but the thermostat must have been wrong. We just ate the pork roast when it was done – at supper time.
The next fails weren’t so easy to fix.
The egg casseroles took forever to cook – as did the coffee cake and peanut butter cupcakes.
But the angel food cake that I baked on Saturday was the most frustrating. It was in the oven for twice as long as the recipe called for and had browned on top when I finally pulled it out and inverted it.
I few minutes later I was talking with my sister on the phone when I turned around and saw that the entire cake had fallen out of the pan and lay in a dejected mass on my counter – the inside raw.
But the straw that broke the camel’s back was yesterday. I put the ham in the oven for Easter lunch and just told the family we would eat whenever it chose to be done. Then we went off to church.
When we arrived home – an hour earlier than usual – my ham was not just done – it was burnt.
The oven decided that instead of cooking at the normal temperature, or lower as it had been cooking, it was going to cook hotter than normal.
My beautiful spiral cut ham was ruined.
I threw my oven mitt down and stomped off upstairs, slamming doors. (So lady-like and mature, I know.)
After I composed myself and headed downstairs, I saw that the kids had finished dishing up lunch for me and were sitting around the table very quietly.
My husband sat down and asked (as he often does) “So – who’s thankful today?”
Nobody said anything.
My husband looked at me and smiled just slightly – I gave in and and replied “I’m working on it.”
The whole table laughed, every one relaxed and we enjoyed a nice – although blackened – Easter lunch.
Today I went stove shopping.
I’ve linked this post up with Myra’s Friday Fails over at My Blessed Life!
Blue Jeans and Cotton Tees 
Oh, that STINKS! It’s always the expensive or important food that fails, isn’t it, never the frozen pizza.
Hope you found nice one that will last you years and years of great service! In the meantime, you can cook just about anything in a crockpot.
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Ugh! What a horrible way for an oven to go. I hope you are able to get a new range with lots of bells and whistles to make up for the frustrations.
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Ugh; sorry to hear this. My mom had a very similar holiday-dinner disaster, many years ago. Glad you have a slow cooker and a quick mind, so you could find an alternative!
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Oh, I am SO sorry to read all that! Gosh, I would have been slammin’ cabinets left and right, no doubt about it. How frustrating!
I wanted to let you know, though… you simply MUST link this up to Myra’s “Friday Fails” carnival over at myblessedlife.net. That’s a wonderful place to share these things that just go wrong sometimes!
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Thanks for sharing that sometimes you act like that too. I always wonder if I am the only one who stomps off at times. Enjoy stove shopping!
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Wow, that must have been so hard dealing with all that stress!!! I hope you were able to find a replacement.
Thanks for stopping by my site today!
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Oh my I would have so freaked if I had 16 people and the food wasn’t done. Talk about melt down! Hope the new one is great!
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Hope you found a nice one! I can have my moments also where I have a mini melt down! I guess we all do. If something like that happened on a holiday I would melt down for sure!!
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Oh man – I would be right there with you slamming things! I’m not one to get overly worked up to the point of violence, but I know how frustrating it can be to prepare a meal and then have an appliance ruin it. And to think of it happening on a holiday – now that is stressful. I’m glad you and your family were able to laugh it off! I hope you find an affordable but efficient replacement!
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Oven fail is a huge one knowing how much you bake for your family and friends. I sure hope you’re able to get the replacement you need plus a few bells and whistles. You deserve it after all it put you through.
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Thank you for stopping by my site. I love your blog. You did great thinking quickly with your meal. I hope you get a fabulous oven.
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I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing. Well I would have added crying to my tantrum 😦
Please tell me you found a new stove~ Good thing you had a microwave.
Ever think of solar cooking (hee hee) okay sorry, your wounds probably have not healed yet from the whole burnt ham experience. Save solar cooking for next year 😉
Hugs~ Cinnamon
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Being thankful is nice…….Always be thankful….someone other than you may have had worse days…..:)
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Hi! Thanks for the blog party visit & comment!
Oh WOW I think I would stomp and throw my oven mitt too! I have a very old stove, and I am waiting for it to die. I want it to die, but I know that when it finally does, I will have a house full of people waiting for the food it was cooking. NOT fun! But you got a new stove now, right?
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