When I downsized into my present residence in 2009, a few essential items disappeared, among them a venerable but excellent toaster. I did not replace it because I was distracted by more pressing matters. I went toasterless for almost five years.
Later, when I entered into a tentative new relationship, toasterlessness became a matter of concern. Toast was an essential item in the diet of my new lady friend. For a while, before she began to spend nights with me, she would daily transport in bag or backpack -- along with toiletries and toothbrush and changes of undergarments -- her glamorous red enamel Cuisinart toaster.
That this arrangement was comic became immediately apparent. No one can carry a toaster from one home to another day after day without feeling the irony.
As our relationship solidified, it became clear that something had to be done, toasterwise. And so we came to realize that it was time to progress to a stable two-toaster situation.
The Cuisinart went back to its original home and off we went to McGuckin's Hardware. There we acquired a Proctor Silex, with which we have lived until a short while ago.
I don't want to badmouth the Proctor Silex, but let's face it, it's a cheap lightweight contraption with too much plastic and a tendency to leak crumbs over the counter. A paucity of knobs and controls. It's an entry-level toaster, a "starter toaster." A provisional toaster that lacked the dignity that our maturing connection demanded.
So yesterday, at Peppercorn on the semi-famous Boulder Mall, we purchased a superior toaster -- a highly-recommended, weighty and substantial Breville two-slicer equipped with "Lift and Lock" and other bells and whistles (which we will no doubt some day master), the upper grill of which is inscribed with the comforting motto, "BAGELS FACE INWARDS." A toaster of heft and permanence. It's sitting proudly on the counter now.
Moreover, we purchased it with our new joint credit card.
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