We’re extremely fortunate that we did not burn down the house last night.
Xy had just made a couple trays of her famous pseudo-enchiladas. She had a tray baking in the oven when a strange odor began to permeate the kitchen. It smelled like something burning. Perhaps some food remnant crusted on the bottom of the oven?
Nope, turns out it was the particle board in the cabinet next to the stove. It was burning, not an open raging flame, but a slow smoldering burn, blackening the interior, peeling the veneer. Our electric mixer was in there and melted partially. Wow, did it stink.
I think it’s time for a new stove. I’m not sure what caused this problem, but the stove really is very old, maybe 50 years old or so. It’s got a great look, but it’s not in very good shape. If properly restored it could be a really cool antique stove. But I think we’ll just get something new.
Anyway, yesterday was a very lucky day, it seems. We’re lucky Xy caught this before it became more serious. We’re lucky her car pool was able to change up on short notice when the car wouldn’t start.
I celebrated our excessive good fortune with an extra dollop of cognac in my eggnog.
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I’m really glad y’all are OK.
Know that there’s a real market for antique stoves, even un-restored ones like yours. Don’t just throw it away or give it away. I would think yours is worth at least $200. Probably a restorer would buy it, restore it, and re-sell it.
Ha ha at the cognac.
I hope that your eggnog w/a dollop of cognac was extremely potable 🙂 happened to catch another episode or Rox last night and have enjoyed the return of “potable” to my vocabulary- cheers to good luck!
I, too, am glad you are all still here and the oven didn’t cause any further damage to yourselves or your home.
Get something new. And check your wiring and gas connections while you’re at it.
When speaking of electric or fuel-powered devices, “antique” always means “dangerous.”
The three of y’all are very lucky. I’m very glad that the fire was caught in time.
I had a stove in an old Edwardian rental apartment almost burn down my part of San Francisco.
Look for a Maytag at Sears… we got a 42 incher at a killer price last year. I have no doubt that ya’s can get one at less cost this year than we did.
When I lived in Seattle, I had a furnished room in a glorified flophouse for hipsters, people who were living the Charles Bukowski dream. Anyway, the stove in my kitchenette started acting strange, so I told the super, who was sprawled on the couch in the foyer, drunk as a lord. Next day, a repairman walked up to the 6th floor and inspected my stove. He came out and said ‘You can cook on this?”
I said, “Yeah, I’ve been cooking on it for a couple of months, never had a problem with it. Why?”
He said “This thing was built in 1908!”
But he fixed it and I used it until the day I left. How many appliances nowadays do you think will be around in working order in 83 years?
O/T, but tomorrow is the 75th anniv. of repeal day: http://www.prohibitionrepeal.com/
Seems appropriate to the whole Rox thing.
my dad used to fix g.e. applicances with my grandfather. i bought a groovy old stove for my first apartment downtown and one day my dad came by and said very seriously something like ‘girl, you coulda blown up the whole block’ and he put a new sears stove on his card and had it delivered the next day.
your choices are a new stove (which i have now and adore) or get your old stove all new gas lines. price it out.
and always get a new fire extinguisher this time of year!