Post-Christmas Post

Happy 3rd or 4th day of Christmas, depending on what day Sarge (and Beans) lets me publish this. I was inspired by Beans' post about holiday cooking as well as one by Juvat where he spoke about doing some of his own work on his mancave/workshop.*  About 10 days ago our oven stopped working.  The burners worked fine, but the oven itself would not preheat, or any function using the panel.  I went online to our Next Door app, which is useful and entertaining with posts of dog poop anger, parking woes, or sketchy people walking through the neighborhood.  It's also helpful for getting recommendations for handymen, contractors, and in my case- reputable appliance repairs.  I used the app to click a link and contact one company, but apparently Next Door uses something called Thumbtack- posting my request to several appliance repair places.  Minutes later I was on the phone with one of them and got two calls waiting from other companies.  Each of them was $10 more than the next for a service call, a charge that is waved of course if a repair is needed and purchased.  One of them was able to come over in about an hour, and after pulling the oven out from the wall and removing the back panel, he fiddled with some wires and it started working again.  It was some sort of short, or maybe something else.  I wasn't really sure as his Russian accent was thick and he mainly said the panel was going out.  A repair might be a workable solution, but a replacement panel wasn't possible since they are out of production, with our oven being fairly old, installed back we had our kitchen renovated in 2008.

As it turned out that repair only lasted about 3 days so my wife and I made the expensive decision to buy a new oven, not confident that a more in-depth repair would last or that a used or refurbished part could be found.  We also didn't want to wait seeing how I had planned a big Christmas dinner.  More on that later.

A quick trip to the Navy exchange was unsuccessful as the COVID-supply chain woes must have also affected their offerings.  None, of only four available in the Navy's second largest Navy Exchange (Norfolk's is larger), were compatible with our kitchen.  We were needing a slide-in gas range, vice the freestanding or electric ones they had.  We then checked out our local Best Buy which had some decent sales and several ranges that we were interested in.  I asked my boss who had recently replaced one where that purchase was made and was reminded that Lowe's has a military discount which saved us $100 on the one we purchased. Best part of that is that it was available (one of the main reasons it was chosen), local (Escondido - 30 min north), and could be delivered on Wednesday the 22nd.

My command has been allowing liberal leave and telework schedules over Christmas so I took the afternoon off to meet the delivery man, also paying Lowes for them to connect the gas line and haul away the old range.  When it showed up one of them disconnected the gas line and removed the old range while the other brought the new stove off of the truck. Unfortunately once it was opened I realized it was the wrong oven. The correct one wasn't even on the truck. He made a phone call and then I got both an email and a text saying that the order was canceled.  They left, I called Lowes Customer Service, and after 15 minutes finally found out that Lowe's had canceled it because the stove was no longer in stock. I thought this was absolute horse$#!% not quite right because there were three of them in stock just two days before.  I then called the store, asking for a manager, explaining that the reason I had ordered this particular model was because it was in stock and I needed to cook Christmas dinner.  He said he would look into it and call me back right away.  The lady in charge of appliances and called me back shortly thereafter stating that they found another stove in stock at the nearby Lowes (5 minutes away) and they would be delivering it on Thursday the 23rd.  Christmas Dinner crisis averted!  Or was it?

Fortunately that delivery went without a hitch other than them telling me that they wouldn't install it since the gas line was in the back of a cabinet next to the stove.  When we had the kitchen remodeled we had removed a wall oven which was directly above that gas line.  That must have been easier for our contractor to just route a new hose through the back of the cabinet, vice moving the gas line about 6 inches to the left.  So I had the delivery guys just leave it in place and I said I would hook the gas line up myself.

To be honest I was a little out of my comfort zone with that one, but I took the necessary precautions, securing the gas to the house, securing the line at the stove connection and ensuring everything was well ventilated just in case. Unfortunately the old stove was at a lower BTU then the new one so a new gas pipe nozzle would be needed. I later found out that the new line I ordered that was recommended with my purchase didn't have the adapter so off to Lowe's again. The guy in appliances was very helpful and gave me the correct adapter because it was supposed to have been in the box already.  If you've ever noticed at those big box stores, packages seem to get rifled through and sometimes you'll find them on the shelf ripped open with screws or parts missing, or other irregularities.  Our box was no exception.

Thanks for the parking spot Lowes!

So, after one Lowe's trip for the fitting (and installation fee refund), and one Home Depot trip for the larger gas valve, I was finally prepared.  Then I wrenched my back as I twisted on the floor to reach into that cabinet, not to mention climbing behind the stove which had little room to spare due to the short length of the gas line.  Turns out righty tighty, lefty loosey is a little complex when you're upside down on your back with your hands over your head.  Anyhoo, after several tries I finally got it all hooked up in time for dinner.*  

Christmas dinner was amazing. I made a prime rib for the first time in my life and it turned out perfect. The instructions were very interesting to me as I had never cooked something like this before. It said to season the roast with a garlic, salt, and pepper rub, lay it fat side down in the pan, and cook it at 550 for only 5 minutes per pound**, then securing the heat and leaving in the oven for 2 hours without opening the door.  I guess it seared the outside allowed it to just slow cook on the inside. It was delicious and I will be making that again.

I paired it with some seasoned potatoes, grilled asparagus, and both a Pinot noir and leftover champagne from our Christmas morning mimosas.  My wife broke out the China as we don't use it often enough, and Christmas Dinner is a perfect opportunity to use it while breaking bread to celebrate our Lord's birth.

I'm familiar with songs using this lyric, but I didn't realize that "I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day" was a poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.  It's a nice one for the season, but also gets semi-political at the end if you want to read it that way.  Fortunately Longfellow is a bit of an optimist, knowing that what's good and holy will win out in the end.  Enjoy the poem, then a musical variation which is one of my favorites of the season.

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
    And wild and sweet
    The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
    Had rolled along
    The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
    A voice, a chime,
    A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
    And with the sound
    The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
    And made forlorn
    The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
    "For hate is strong,
    And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
    The Wrong shall fail,
    The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."

Enjoy the rest of the Christmas Season.  I will be keeping it going, trying to keep my wife from dismantling the house before Epiphany.

Oh wait, I almost forgot about Christmas Eve Mass.  There's no midnight mass anymore apparently, and my own parish has only a bilingual service at 5pm, and the same at 9am on Christmas morning.  So we attended a lovely service at 9:30PM at the even more lovely Carmelite Monastery here in San Diego, just a few minutes away from our house.  If one googles it, it says that it's permanently closed.  In a way it is, as it's not an active parish in the diocese, but they (Discalced Carmelite Nuns) do hold daily and weekend masses which are technically open to the public.   We invited a friend to join us, and when she arrived she was amazed that such a beautiful place was so unknown. "It's like a secret church" she said.  It only has eight or so rows, with seats for 6 people on each side, so we were surprised it wasn't more full, but our government has definitely ramped up the Omicron fear.  I hope you have a fear-free New Year and see you 'round the Chant!

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Final final note-  Juvat wanted me to call attention to an important update to his Monday post- that he had incorrectly stated that the unvaxxed were allowed onboard.  Other than small kids, everyone had been vaxxed.  So any of you unvaxxed hopeful cruisers will have to re-think your plans.

*Turns out I didn't use enough plumbers' putty so the next day we smelled a little gas, but I just removed all the connections and reapplied more, but with plumbers tape as well.  No asphyxiation so far so wish me luck.

**5 minutes for rare, 6 for medium, 7 for well.  I went for medium rare.