"A thing of beauty is a joy forever"

I must be fair and let you know that those are not my words. Those belong, of course, to John Keats. We've also heard "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." The author of this statement is unknown. Shame, really, someone deserves the credit.

Wait, I need to step back in time a few moments. As a child, one of my first memories is making Nestle's Toll House Chocolate Chip cookies in my grandmothers kitchen. Flour dust on my face, sneaking chocolate chips out of the bag before they would get poured into the bowl to mix in. My grandmother wasn't much for cooking (even though she's a great cook), but she loved to bake. And she had a 1940's Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer. The one with the spinning wheel so the bowl spun around as the beaters mixed the contents. I can still smell the bac-a-lite cord that would burn everytime it was plugged in, I can hear the sound of the motor struggling to cream the butter and sugar, and the sheer weight of it to put it away. I had always hoped one day that I would inherit Gram's, but she's not done with it yet. It still whirs every once in a while when she wants to whip up an old family favorite. I'm still testing the Joseph Family Apple Cake recipe, as soon as it's blogworthy, it will make an appearance.

Anyway, okay, okay, back to yesterday....hope you didn't get nauseous in the time warp....

Well, this weekend, my love, my husband of almost 13 years, and I got to get away for the weekend (THANKS MOM!). We travelled west to Lancaster County. We stayed at a picturesque victorian inn in the town of Bird-in-Hand. (Sorry Dopps, we wanted a weekend alone...next time we'll call, okay?). Our room was beautiful, comfortable and wonderful.

We were so close to the outlet shops that we decided to hit a few. Hubby is starting a new job in a few weeks, so we hit the clothing stores to update the wardrobe, shoes stores for new dress shoes, a toy store for games for us and stuff for the kids. We also made a trip to the Le Gormet Shop. Cooking is a love and a hobby for both of us. As we were wondering around, he spotted a box. Several of them, sitting there, all stacked neatly. The box was stamped "REFERBISHED". On top stood a sign announcing that the treasure of all treasures sat inside. For a chef, no, a baker, that is the only treasure that can truly make our hearts soar....a Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer. Metallic Chrome Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer. Five Quart Professional Metallic Chrome Kitchen-Aid Stand Mixer. As I quoted, "A thing of beauty is a joy forever." It really should be a piece of artwork. But to quote Alton Brown, "I hate unitaskers".

Now, will this kitchen appliance survive armageddon? Solve world hunger? (well, maybe in MY world). Save just one life? No. Of course not, and it truly won't stand forever. I do hope that one day, I'll be able to hand it down to my daughter. I also hope that I can pass down the dreams and memories as well. Of course, the flour dust will be rice flour.