Ready to Bake

I love to bake. I am proud of my reputation among my friends and family as the purveyor of delicious treats and goodies. Robby has been toiling with me in the kitchen since he was an infant, and I was delighted when he could crack an egg and measure sugar before he could speak.

During the past 18 months my baked goods production came to a halt. My extra large oven that I purchased after we moved into this house broke, forcing me to rely upon a small, built-in wall oven. The oven only had room for two small cookie sheets and it was virtually impossible to accurately regulate the temperatures. It should have just had two settings- "burn" and "under bake." Robby's Easy Bake Oven was more reliable!

I have been coveting a double wall oven for over a year, diligently checking the weekly sale circular hoping for a bargain. After experiencing disappointment every Sunday morning for over a year, I was shocked when I opened the ad last week and saw that my dream oven was not only on sale, but it was 50% off the lowest price!

I went to the store that day and bought my double oven. I have waited for so long, but somehow the few days before delivery felt like an eternity. It felt like Christmas morning when the long awaited delivery truck pulled down my driveway.

They delivered the wrong size oven. My plans of baking chocolate chip cookies were dashed as the delivery men drove away with what I had believed to be my oven still in the truck. I went back to the store and waited for another oven to be delivered and installed.  

We waited all day on Saturday for my oven delivery redo. Finally, about 5 pm the delivery truck pulled into the driveway. My other oven was quickly removed and my shiny new stainless steel oven was brought into my kitchen. Ready to give it a try, I discretely took the butter out of the refrigerator so that it could start to soften for my evening of baking fun.

I was deflated and angry when the delivery person informed me that he was not going to install my oven because he didn't bring the correct tools. I reminded him that I already paid for the installation, and produced my paperwork as proof. He simply shrugged and said that there was nothing that he could do and that I should talk to the store about removing the installation charges. I was furious when he turned his back and walked away, leaving a gaping hole where my previous oven used to reside and my new oven in the center of my kitchen.

After speaking with the store manager, I concluded that I no longer trusted them to perform the installation. I called my neighbor and she recommended that I try her handyman. I gave him a call and was thrilled when he told me that he could do the work.

Yesterday, after months of waiting and over a week of the anticipation roller coaster, my wall oven was installed. Within hours the smell of baking cookies and bread were wafting through my house.  The saying that "good things come to those who wait" is certainly true, especially in this case. I love my new oven and, to the delight of Scott's students and my neighbors (the recipients of most of my baked goods), I can now bake 80 cookies at one time!