2002-09-08 10:47 a.m.
Magpie The Enamel Abuser
I dropped my beloved Le Creuset french oven on the kitchen floor the other day, and it went *thump* POP.
Wait, "pop?"
So I picked it up and found that I'd manage to bust a huge crack in it. A pretty impressive achievement, considering it's cast iron. I was sad for a minute, because that pot really had served me well. It simmered soup like a trouper and saw enough pasta to fill the Duomo. Then I thought, Australianly, "No worries. I can take this in and get it replaced, thanks to the lifetime guarantee!"
Today TheBoy is off doing biker things, so I had planned to take this in to the nearest cookware shop today and trade it in for a new one. It's not that TheBoy is a bad shopper -- quite the contrary. Whenever I take him into any kind of housewares department, he's right by my side, shamelessly encouraging my baser instincts. "You reeeeeaaally want the 320-thread count sheets," he'll croon evilly into my ear. "Think about how nice they'll feel." A couple of weeks ago we went to Macy's to buy a new pillow and made the mistake of straying into the Cellar, where they were having a sale. It took two trips to get my haul in from the car.
But I digress.
I read the warranty. OK, call them and get an RMA number, don't need a receipt, which is good since I bought this 7 or 8 years ago, blah blah blah. And then two words jumped out at me.
Abuse. Neglect.
It never fails to amaze me how easily maternal guilt can be invoked, even in those like me who have only the faintest stirrings of maternal instinct. You killed your pot, the voices of cultural guilt whispered. You don't really deserve to trade this in, since you dropped it when it was hot, and that's not "normal wear and tear." You are a BAD NURTURER OF COOKWARE. (Plus you bought it at an outlet and the guarantee probably doesn't cover seconds. Butstill.)
Or maybe that's just the hormones talking. But I'd better replace it today either way, or TheBoy will end up tagging along and I'll never be able to close my kitchen cabinets again.
-=-
Got my first Google hit. It was on live redwood burl. Eeeee.