The story of a waffle iron....

It started out at Fry's. No I don't mean the California electronics superstore Fry's or the Utah grocery chain Fry's, but our neighbor on Chatwin Avenue - Bill Fry. Bill held a garage sale from time to time and his merchandise was just eclectic enough to fascinate our kids. We didn't fund the kids for any purchases on the theory that they had enough eclectic junk in their rooms already. But if they pleaded their case extra well Carolyn or I just might be persuaded. Or, on the other hand, if they appealed to Bill Fry, he might lower the price or even give the desired object away.

My recollection of THE waffle iron was that Lee was so stricken by it that he talked Bill into parting with it for next to nothing. Bill wasn't ever sure it worked and it needed a power cord in any case. It was presented to me as a minor inconvenience, a "Dad can you please fix this for me?" sort of thing. "Where's the cord?" I asked. "It doesn't have one," was the reply.

Now this waffle iron wasn't your usual rectangular or even circular iron. It did make circular pancakes but it made them 2 at a time. You put the batter in one side, then turned the iron over and filled the other side. By turning the iron over, you actually got better waffles. But I'm getting ahead of my story.

Using a continuity checker, I verified that the waffle iron was safe and probably would work with a new cord. We didn't have one in the house in spite of having half a dozen appliances with the two prong connection. These prongs were just a little bigger or just a little wider than what we had. After a visit to several hardware stores we found what we needed.

It worked first thing with the new cord although it had a horrible smell of old dust. The waffle plates were washed thoroughly giving us a chance to see the insides of the iron. Turns out I'd see the inside a lot more over the years as I repaired and replaced the heating unit time and again. Finding wire and connections that can stand the heat of a waffle iron is challenging.

[added in response to first comment] Turning a waffle iron allows the batter to more evenly coat the iron making a better, more evenly baked waffle. Many industrial grade waffle irons like those found at a Marriott Residence Inn turn the iron over to cook. But this one from Bill Fry had the additional advantage of cooking two waffles at a time. With 6 kids we needed that kind of efficiency. [end of addition]

Finally, we retired the double sided waffle iron and Lee or Philip spirited it away, some day to reappear on the scene.

Flash forward to the present or at least Thanksgiving last week.

Our kids from southern California bring up a box, a huge box containing our Christmas gift from all the kids. Then, saying they couldn't wait for Christmas and besides they want to make sure it worked, they promptly opened our Christmas gift. It is

a double sided waffle maker. Take that back -- a waffle BAKER. It is twice the size of the other waffle iron - twice the size in every dimension so it seems 8 times the weight, bulk, and gadgetry. We used it twice while all the kids were here but neither Carolyn nor I have had the chance to use it. We are thinking of using it for the church New Year's Day breakfast. That will be a first.

Anyway, thanks kids for the waffle iron and for the memories.