I've got a brand new pair of roller skates

Well, not really. But I do have a brand new mixer. Christmas gift from Mom and Dad after watching me prepare food with my previous mixer. Now, I really think my old mixer was just fine. I bought it at a garage sale for $5. I think it was shortly after we got married, which would make it . . . (brief pause here while I attempt to perform the cognitive gymnastics known as mental math) . . . 23 years old.

When I was 23 years old, I was in peak physical condition. Looking good. No kids yet, lots of exercise, didn't really worry about what I ate. My mixer did look a bit the worse for wear at 23, though. The beaters were all bent out of shape. I tended to insert the spatula into them frequently. And the power cord displayed the colorful assortment of wires that, apparently, are supposed to be kept inside. Did you know that sparks come out of those exposed wires sometimes?

The reason I bought this particular mixer was because it was the exact same model my mom had through my growing up years. It was homey and familiar. It didn't scare me, and it didn't do a million slice and dice activities. It simply mixed stuff up. I prefer simplicity in my household appliance. Particularly motorized ones.

I'm a bit afraid of motors, truth be told. Once, my dad tried to teach me how to ride some type of small motorized thingie. It was either a snowmobile or a motor bike--can't remember which. Dad? Anyway, I distinctly remember my vocal emissions while attempt to drive: I'd squeal loudly each and every time I accelerated. And my accelerations were rather, um, jerky. And so I progressed around the trails up behind our house. Vrroom. Jerk. Squeal. Vrroom. Jerk. Squeal.

Back from the digression. You can see why I felt like my mixer was just fine. My mom disagreed and offered to purchase a new one for me for my Christmas present. Guess I wasn't quite as attached to that ole mixer as I thought, because I jumped right on that bandwagon.

We perused the Target website, sizing up the mixer competition. Oh my. There was definitely another reason I had clung so vociferously to my old mixed. Those new-fangled jaws of power cost a bundle! Fortunately, I wasn't paying. I told my mom to pick whatever she wanted to get for me. I reserved the right to choose the color.

It arrived yesterday, but I was in the midst of bookcase mania so chose to leave it boxed. But now it sits, in all its colorful glory (Cobalt Blue) on my counter: the KitchenAid Artisan. Wow! I made Banana Muffins this afternoon in it. My butter and sugar have never been so creamed. I did have a little Lucy-esque accident with the flour. But the kitchen's all cleaned up again . . . .

Perhaps I'll take up bread baking, now that I have a dough hook. Lemon Meringue pies, anyone? There's a sausage stuffing attachment available, as well as many others. I foresee a whole new world of cooking for me.

Or maybe I'll just make better Banana Muffins and skip the rest. :-)

Liz