THINGS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED...

THINGS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT I WOULDN’T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT (AND WHY)

1.  Microwave - We recently found ourselves between microwaves.  Every time I took something out for supper, I had to thaw it.  Without a microwave, a 5-10 minute process turns into an hour or more.  I got creative, putting sealed packs of chicken in hot water or heating frozen stuff wrapped in foil in the oven at 200°, but the microwave is so convenient.  And popcorn is so easy.

2.  Pellet Stove - Sometimes I think the pellet stove is kind of a sissy version of a wood stove, but I wouldn’t trade ours for anything.  Well, I would trade it for a large sum of money, but I’d just use that to buy a new pellet stove, so what’s the point?  This little wonder can raise the temperature in our (13x20) living room by 7 or 8 degrees in an hour or two, which comes in handy because the heat in that part of the house doesn’t work and I can’t afford a plumber.

3.  Hot Water Heater - Yes, I know it’s not a hot water “heater”, because who needs to heat water that’s already hot, but you know what I’m talking about.  Over the years, due to either running out of oil or hot water tank problems, I’ve experienced cold showers in the winter.  ‘Nuff said.

4.  Air Conditioning - We actually went almost 2 full summers without A/C because I didn’t want the horrific bump in the electric bill, relying instead on fans.  Last summer I finally caved during a prolonged heat wave and never looked back.

5.  Dishwasher - Doing dishes by hand is a pain.  That about sums it up!

6. TV remote - Who’s old enough to remember having to get up, walk ALL THE WAY across the room, and change channels by turning a dial?  This was inevitably followed by Dad yelling, “One at a time!”  Hey, if I knew I was going from 2 to 12, why stop at 3, 4, 5, et al?

7.  Speaking of TV, although this doesn’t support my topic, one thing I’d love to live without is cable.  I miss free TV, even thought there were only a handful of channels.  What the heck, with hundreds of channels I only watch a handful anyway.  Yes, I know I wouldn’t have those channels on free, over-the-air TV, but I was making a point.

So that’s my list.  What can’t you live without?  Leave a comment.