Frigid Tuesday…

I woke up early on purpose on Tuesday. It was damn cold outside! Fortunately, the stiff winds they predicted for the day had not started when I left the house at 7:00 a.m. I put the trash can out to the road, and then I went to Home Depot to buy some pipe sealant and a bottle of leak detector. I was also hoping to pick up a new 3/4 –inch flange coupler (I hate using old shit on dangerous stuff like gas) but they didn’t carry them. Damn! Now I will have to go to a hardware or appliance store before my new range can be hooked up!

It was early still, so I treated myself to breakfast: A McDonald’s sausage and egg McMuffin.

I got my delivery call about 10:30 a.m. so I left to get my stove. By the time I got there, the delivery guys were already there and waiting. First they took away the old stove and the one guy asked if it still worked. I said, “Yes, it’s just old and screwed up, why?” He said that, in that case, they would donate it to a local charity. That made me feel good. Jake, Carla and I had all cooked some amazing food on that old stove! Not to mention the Christmas cookies Tracey and I baked.

He spent a lot of time taking off the rather elaborate pieces of gas pipe and elbows on the old stove. Please note: I did not install this stove, my then landlord (the woman I bought the house from), bought it new, along with the fridge, the washer and the dryer when I moved in. He laughed and suggested that they had a gas installation kit for $15-18 bucks in the truck that would simplify my new installation. Knowing I didn’t have the new flange fitting, I jumped on his offer.

They then left and I left for work. I still had enough time to stop at Jimmy John’s to get a #4 turkey sandwich (with cheese, please) and make it back to work under an hour.

But the day dragged on from there. The wind definitely picked up and the wind chills made the “feels like” temperature in the single digits and the temperature dropped all day long. I keep telling myself that my daughter Amy has it much worse in Minnasota, but this is not really working, any more.

So, I walked inside, both times.

Finally, it was 5:00 p.m. and I headed out for home. At 5:15 p.m. with was 26 degrees here in Redford, with a strong wind. I treated the cats (they had run like schoolgirls when the delivery guys showed up earlier) and then changed clothes. I took a break to watch the news.

Then I started to hook up the new stove. It was pretty damn simple and as I applied the leak detector (you could make this yourself with a heavy dose of dish detergent and water), I had to laugh. Why? I can still recall my Brother Peter hooking up some gas appliance for me when I was younger. His method to testing for gas leaks? He lit a match and applied it to every joint. Probably not as safe, but definitely effective!

Anyway, I had the stove stripped of all the plastic/tape crap and set in place. From there the only problem was leveling it. It actually took longer to level it than to hook it up!

The only thing I didn’t do was to add the “anti-tip” flange. You can secure this to the wall or to the floor and the purpose is to prevent toddlers from leaning on the oven door and tipping the stove over. It seemed like a pain in the ass and I don’t know that many toddlers.

In case you were wondering, as you may have expected, I wanted a big Wolf’s commercial range with two ovens, a griddle and six burners. Or maybe even just a 36-inch stove. But, I have a space restraint. I only have 30 inches between the tiled-in counter and the pantry. So, I bought just a regular-sized stove, but with all the features I wanted. I got a Frigidaire Gallery 30-inch, 5-Burner, Freestanding, 5-cubic foot Self-Cleaning Convection Oven Gas Range.

I got it leveled by 8:30 p.m. So, I tested it by boiling some wide egg noodles. I used the “quick-boil” burner (17,000 BTUs). Meanwhile I warmed up some Swedish meatballs I had thawed in the microwave.

By the time I got to eat, the Bonnie and Clyde second half movie seemed like it was too long. So, I just watched the new NCIS show I had taped and then went to bed.