R.I. P. The oven died January 1

Last night from Shaw's Plaza in Sharon, I called S.O. to turn on the oven for the hors d'oeuvres, a rare treat.  Ten minutes later, when I arrived home, the oven wasn't hot.  Hmmm.  Adult Male Relative (AMR) relit the pilot light, which was out.  Cleaned it a bit.  I turned it on again, and we cooked the hors d'oeuvres which got awfully brown awfully fast.  I turned the oven off and later back on again to keep the latkes  warm while cooking the new ones.  Eeek!  At 250 the oven was hot as hades.  Must have been 500 degrees.  Turned the oven off.  In the meantime,  a nice earthenware tray was ruined.  WTF?

 Today, I turned said oven onto warm and set the timer for 6 minutes.  The oven was again hot as Hades.   O.K.  So the thermostat has crapped out.     Now the oven in 20+ years old, and even the finish is worn off in places.  One burner doesn't work.  I have noticed temperature problems for months, due to the cookies taking 2 times as long as the recipe before they are brown at the edges.

Happy New Year.  We need a new oven.  Of course, you can buy a stove for $400, or for $4000.00 (or more).   We went to Sears and got the top of the line highly rated Kenmore--stainless steel, warming oven, convection, 5 burners with a special burner for grilling, and another for heating up the tea kettle.  So many amenities that my 20+ year old stove doesnt have.   I cook a lot, so a good stove is a necessity, not just for reheating pizza and takeout.  This was the last of the major appliances  to be replaced since we moved into the condo.  Laundry facilities and garbage disposal next.  Except for the idea of paying the bill, I'm rather excited.  In the meantime, we fry everything  (or nuke it) between now and Jan. 12th.
 Or maybe main course salads?  In a New England January?  I think not.  La di dah.   Soup and sandwiches, fried chicken, sauteed salmon.  And no baked deserts.  Pudding and tapioca.  How bad can that be?

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