The Dangers of Blogging.....and AGA stoves

No, this is not an amputation, there is a foot and ankle under this massive wad.  Additionally it could be a symbol for the massively clumsy. Nearly three years ago I ran outside, camera at the ready. The hunt was riding through our property, unusual. It was the perfect autumn day and the sight and sounds sealed the romantic visions prancing through my head of a perfectly seasonal blog post

Anticipating the ideal photo, I told myself, "wait, hold still, back up..............", my head was not engaged. My heel went down off a step, toes went straight up...... S N A P.

BUT THIS TOO BUSY FOR LIFE INDIVIDUAL WONDERED "CAN I LIVE WITH THIS?" 
Well, I did, until I no longer could. Torn tendons repaired, resultant dead bone removed, I am good to go, in another 5 weeks. But life is good, computer work, reading, Netflix and accomplishing two of many goals, to learn photoshop and blog more often, stay tuned.....

What on earth does this have to do with stoves? If you look closely, you can see mine in the above image, an AGA, and my resultant love affair with a stove/oven. If Bunny Williams can have 'A Love Affair with a House', I can do so with an appliance

A British import, this is the heart of our kitchen. Can you detect the lack of controls? What?! Yes, it is always on. That is correct, the entire appliance is entirely ON or OFF, no in between. However, it is well insulated cast iron and extremely efficient to operate.
The four doors on the front are; baking, roasting, slow cooking and warming. It is easy and speedy

Want to cook on top of the stove, lift the lid. One is for boiling and the other for medium heat cooking. Set the pot slightly off the hot pad and you can lower the heat

It's a toaster!

It is a sweater dryer!

A foot warmer!

A pooch warmer!

I can get lost in these London shops for hours with all the accessories and cook books available. The British call these appliances a "cooker"

AGA's have their own blog, "Lady AGA", with riveting stories  :-)

And of course a magazine. This is a manic obsession of ridiculous proportions. I can hear my friend Mary now, "Oh AGA schmaga"

You will always need a pipe that draws the smells outdoors. Odors from fish or say cabbage will never linger. Conversely, I need to set a timer or I can forget something is in the oven.

One of the better attributes is that mine gets turned off for summer necessitating grilling or reservations

I can see them in a contemporary or old world kitchen

Back to ours. Teddy the cat, lives here all winter.

My husband made the wood surround from old barn wood to replicate a mantle I was fond of

This piece in the center is a wooden ram key stone from a demolished pub in England dated 16thc

The shops uber talented Stephanie Fania painted this scene as a back drop. An image of a painting scheduled for auction was found in an antiques magazine. Stephanie duplicated with some requested tweaks. Painted on Melamine board, it can be removed if needed, and easily cleaned.

Firmly believe she had a touch of fun with this........can you spot the sheep with intentions other than grazing?

It's a long winter, stay warm

Debra