Aha! So the Birthday Month is over; and what has been the non-treat of the day? – Going to the dentist. This was only my fourth or fifth visit to this new dentist since the trusted and faithful practitioner retired. At least my jaw did not shake, nor my knees; I even managed to admire the new super-reclining surgical chair. The good news was that I only have one small filling to be replaced – the old one had simply worn out.
Later in the day I discovered that Son #3 had trouble with his tumble-dryer. Much to my surprise we found an advert in the local magazine, made one phone call and 2hrs later the machine was repaired. And no, it wasn’t expensive by modern standards. Another advantage of living in rural Scotland, it seems.
The day was going from worse to better – what could happen next?
Here I have to go back several weeks to explain that HBTW likes to be able to see the level of the water in the electric kettle. The old kettle was looking rather dowdy and a bit dodgy, so Himself decided to search out a new one. He duly arrived home and unpacked the new one, whilst making noises of appreciation and satisfaction. (For sake of clarification, the noises were made by HBTW and not the said kettle. ) As the kettle came to its triumphant boil and switched itself off, the most horrendous whistling noise ensued causing everyone, including the dog, to take evasive action. You know the kind of thing: hands over the ears, paws wouldn’t reach so high-pitched barking was the dog’s response. Mine was hands over ears and various expletives – mild ones of course.
Over the weeks I have been heard to mutter – That kettle must die – and of course when we discovered that the whistle was not even coming from the kettle itself, but from the separate base……. well, I leave it to your imagination.
Today – joy of all joys – HBTW discovered that the whistle can be switched off. Peace is restored at Dalamory and many happy cups of tea and coffee will follow.
This kettle likes to whistle while it works, I guess. I hate the sound of a whistling kettle because I have to drop whatever I am doing. I tend to microwave my water and then add it to the teapot.
Sorry your birthday month is now at an end Freda, but you only have eleven months to go to the next one.
You certainly made the most of this one.
While your very vocal kettle sounds pretty irritating were you not so far away, I’d invite you to listen to my tumble dryer. At a particular point – generally when it just feels like it – it starts an alarming groan which winds up as a squeak. The first time i heard it I was convinced the house was haunted but although I’m now used to it, it causes considerable amusement to visitors.
I’ve no idea how or why it does it but am quite looking forward to the day it breaks down when I’ll gleefully replace it with a silent model.
It’s too bad the whistle can’t be simply adjusted down to a lower level of “screech”! Then you could still be alerted without sending the household into shock. I love my stove top whistling kettle, as it isn’t piercing. When I hear it begin to whistle, I’m happy knowing a warm cuppa is just minutes away!
Hi there!
It’s good you have the courage to go to the Dentist. While I have all the courage cos I’m pretty tough, downside is I’m too lazy to get my teeth checked!
Might as buy yourself some Thermos? I think that’s what they call that.
I haven’t plugged my water kettle in for a while. The darn thing was becoming crusted with lime deposits the last time I checked. Addicted to expresso these days. I too had a dental visit last week. I broke another tooth. What a downer, the GP tells me I need to lose weight and the tooth breaks. Gee willikers, I haven’t been eating that much!!
Modern-looking kettle with clean lines. Glad it is back to bringing joy, not ear pain. We use a plain one that dear husband bought at a hardware store in San Francisco. The lodgings we had booked in the City were inexpensive (okay, cheap). Although promotional material said with microwave, none was included, and hubby made sure I could have a wake-up cup of hot tea first thing every morning during out visit. That little appliance came back home with us. We use it several times every day that we are home, and it is one of our favorite “souvenirs.”
handsome kettle, sorry about the fuss it makes.
but the poor dog, that’s like dog abuse, you know. hope he won’t leave home.
Electric kettles work so much better in the UK. Here they take so long to heat up it’s quicker to do it on the stove or in the microwave.
I’m sorry your birthday month treats are over till next year. Unless of course, you can think of other celebratory month categories — wedding month, dog acquisition month, retirement month, etc. You could just fill the whole year with treats. Why not?
Thank goodness the whistle could be turned off and home life is again stable. My clothes dryer makes the most horrible sound when the clothes are ready and after 5 years with it, I still haven’t figured out how to turn it off.
I like the way you wrote this funny story! Thanks for the laugh Freda. I have been remiss in checking your blog for a while. The BIG ROAD TRIP is over and we are happy to be home. Spring seems a bit reluctant here but I think there is promise.