Honey, did we pay our tithing this month?

It's a really good thing that we have fire insurance--both temporally and spiritually--because this last Sunday night, it sure came in handy...

Sunday was a long day.  We had our Primary program in church that morning.  I'm the Primary Chorister, so church seemed busier than usual. After church we came home, snarfed down some lunch, and I took what I felt was a well deserved nap.  ;-)

Later that afternoon I informed Josh that he was going to take the kids to the park so I could cook dinner in peace.  That's right.  Even though he's the newly commissioned Officer, I still give the orders around this house!  haha

As Kuzko would say, "Oh yeah! Things were going my way."  Josh followed his instructions and took the kids to the park.  I practiced my clarinet...then did a crossword puzzle....and then I got around to starting dinner.  I had all the ingredients laid out on the counter--opened.  I preheated the oven...
I went back to clarinet practicing for a minute when what to my wondering eyes should appear?  Why, some sparks and some flames coming from the oven so near!!
 

I very intelligently open the oven door with my bare hand only to be met by friendly flames and a shorting-out, sizzling element.  Ok, now's it's time to panic.   I rushed to grab the fire extinguisher and screamed like a crazy person for my bro-in-law, Nate, to help me.  (he lives with us)  I gave Nate the fire extinguisher and he put the fire out.  The oven's heating element was still sparking so Nate pulled the oven away from the wall and unplugged it. 

Phew.  A sigh of relief.  That's over.  But oh my word! Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher before?  This was my first time and I guess unless you're the one who has to clean up the foamy/powdery mess afterwards, you don't realize just what a feat it is to clean up after using them! I wish I was able to take some pictures of the ginormous mess, or even of the sparks and flames.  Because there's no better time for a photo op than when your oven is on fire!!  But my kids were playing with my camera a few weeks ago and I haven't seen it since.  Grrrr. 

I had to throw out all the food that was opened on the counter and wipe down everything in the kitchen from the soffits on down to the floor.  That white powder stuff was everywhere!!  Of course, the alternative would have been a burned down kitchen, so I probably should've felt a bit more grateful as I cleaned my kitchen until 2 a.m. that night. 

That range was really old.  I had problems with the two big burners shorting out and not working, too.  Like while I was canning peaches last month and the stupid burner kept shutting off during processessing.  Our landlords were quick to order us a brand new range (yeah!) but Sears can't deliver it until October 3rd.  So until then I've been using the microwave, the crock pot, the griddle, and a plug-in single burner hot plate thingy my grandma gave me.  Maybe I should just stop using a range altogether because we've gotten along just fine without it this week, and best of all, there's been less dishes to wash!! Less big pots and pans = more space in the dishwasher!