Conversations

My wife and I have had a couple of interesting conversations of late.

For one, we were mulling over what it would be like when she retires, and we're both here pretty much all the time. She said she would likely volunteer at things just to get out of the house, not to mention, give me some time alone. (Which is funny: this is a big house, and it'll be just the two of us. Still, I know what she means.) I told her that I didn't think I would routinely want time alone, because I liked being with her, and, indeed, get a little antsy if I go a long time without it. What worried me was how she'd feel about things that I do now which, given her druthers, would be done differently. For example, cleaning our bathroom. She likes that I do it, but I am sure that if she did it, she'd do a more thorough cleaning than I do. I'm willing to let her do that. I just don't want to have to clean to her standards, because they're higher than mine. (Truthfully, the bathroom does look better after she's done it.) Do you want to know how quickly I do it? I asked. Don't tell me, she said quickly. I don't want to know! Oh.

We're also talking, in a desultory manner, about replacing the stove. This one is about 15 years old, and to my mind, those things ought to last for at least 30, if not more. There's nothing exactly wrong with it, just minor deals, like one of the electric burners occasionally not getting hot enough. The fix is to bang it, forcing it to mate with its plug. Another is that there isn't any easy way to tell if a burner is on. A single red light illuminates on the dash if any of them is on; I've always wanted to have an indicator right there, right next to the burner. A plug-in electric griddle would be nice, and, when I'm feeling extravagant, a plug-in grill. Probably won't do that -- the ones I've seen require a powerful exhaust fan, and I wouldn't want to have to snake a vent through the cabinets. But the griddle - it'd be occasionally pleasant, though the cast-iron one we rest on top of the burners works fine, too. My wife thinks it'd be nice to have a range with two ovens - one, smaller, is, I think, called a 'warming oven'. We've never had a need for that, though on rare occasions we've wanted to bake two different things at once. So, maybe. Not soon, though.