May 3, 2016 (Tuesday)
Yesterday’s blog was about “Old Faithful,” our refrigerator. It has been serving us for 46 years. The upright freezer in our garage is almost as old. The other appliances in our kitchen have been more normal, having been replaced more than once.
When we moved into our house in 1970, we had a GE electric range. Everything in the kitchen was avocado color, including the range. It was replaced in 1980 with another electric range much like it. We had that one for nearly 20 years, before replacing it with a gas range. Wanda had always loved cooking with gas, and insisted on replacing the second stove with one that used natural gas. It is a Frigidaire brand, and even though she did not get to use it but about 3 years before her death, she really enjoyed it. Here is a picture of one very much like it:
We use it every day. I can’t remember the exact date of purchase, but we’ve had it for at least 17 years. I had to replace all the igniters on the top burners, at least one of them more than once. They cannot be purchased apart from the burners, so they are not cheap, and each time I buy one it is significantly higher in price than the previous one.
Nothing compares in length of service with our refrigerator. We’ve had three stoves, I don’t know how many dishwashers, and several microwave ovens as well. The refrigerator just keeps on keeping on. Maybe it will be like the grandfather’s clock in the song and stop short never to go again when the old man dies.