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Thursday, February 21, 2013

Today's thing

No golf today

This morning I broke the glass turntable in the Microwave – or rather it broke itself. I was collecting my porridge from the Microwave and the turntable hurled itself onto the kitchen floor and smashed to smithereens.

It scared the bejesus out of the cats – who at the time were quietly eating their breakfast – and didn’t do much for me either. By the time I had cleared up all the broken glass my porridge had congealed and had to be resuscitated.

I was quite distressed because I simply cannot start a winter’s day without porridge and I could see this daily essential disappearing before my very eyes.

I mean – how can you use a microwave without a turntable. They have this little widget in the middle that turns around – and on which the glass turntable fits and sits quite neatly.

My immediate thoughts were that I must order a new turntable but I knew that – things being the way they are – even with a following wind -  this would not arrive until next Christmas even if I could find a turntable  – and I just knew before looking that the model I have is obsolete – has not been made since 1979 – and that all the spare parts were lost in a warehouse fire in Potsdam in 1986.

So I needed a work-around – and have found a couple. ESB would find 50 but I have a limited capacity for these things.

I can actually balance a plate on the widget and this seems to be reasonably stable although I admit that I can see the dangers. But I have some kitchen implements and paint scrapers that I could use to get the porridge off the inside of the microwave.

 Or I can place a glass jar top over the widget and stand a plate on that. This would mean that the widget would turn underneath the glass top – out of harm’s way. This would also mean that the porridge would not turn when it was cooking so may end up a bit lumpy but it would – after a fashion – still be porridge. 

Having assuaged my immediate fears of being porridge-less I could turn my attention to ordering a new turntable and of course hit the blindingly obvious snag. This is known in the trade as Snag #1. You need the model number.

The microwave is fixed in position somehow and I cannot work out how to get it out to find the model number – knowing anyway that this will be a pointless exercise (see above).

So I had to do what I always do when I am stuck – contact Rozalin. She will arrange for a Siemens man to come and inspect the microwave – order a new part – and charge an extraordinary amount of money for the task.

This will include a call-out fee, a travel fee, a hourly fee and a fee for the bare-faced impertinence of bothering Siemens for something as trivial as a microwave turntable.  

Incidentally I settled down to watch the World Golf Championship in Arizona last night and after an hour it started to snow and play was cancelled. SNOW! Can’t believe it.


6 comments:

  1. I'd just go out and buy a new microwave (unless yours is built-in, or something). Anything to avoid having to clean up the mess! :)

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  2. Remember, my microwave oven died so I have a plate for you!

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  3. The freakish weather is moving this way. The chances of being able to order the part is highly contingent on who owns the microwave, you or the landlord.

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  4. You could always cook your porridge on the stove if you really wanted to start your day the right way !!!
    Is there nothing written on the front of your microwave when you open the door - around the seal ?
    Good luck with getting it fixed - hope you don't have to sell a kidney to pay for the replacement.
    Have the best day you can and hopefully the snow will stop and you can watch the golf again !
    Me

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  5. I'm with SK - I'd be heading out to buy a new microwave!

    I can't function without my morning porridge, either :)

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  6. SK Waller: Yes it's built-in

    esb: Perhaps I can collect it?

    fmcgmccllc: See blog

    Me: But it's so messy! No the code is on the back or sides.

    Alexia: See blog

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