I picked up my first blender from a yard sale while I was in college. It was an ugly avocado-green 1960’s model with a heavy motor and a heavier glass jar, but it did a great job pureeing soups and whipping up milkshakes.
That year, for Christmas, my brother got me a brand-new in-the-box blender. It was pretty and white and a lot lighter, with a plastic jar. I loved the “new blender” smell.
I immediately wrote an ad to sell my old blender, offering it for the $7 I’d paid for it. Right away, someone at my workplace called to say she wanted it. “I’ll bring it in to work tomorrow,” I told her.
The next morning, I packed the now-unloved green blender in a paper grocery bag and carried it to work, putting it under my desk. Selling the blender represented over two hours of work to me: My hourly wage back then was only $2.95.
Around noon, a coworker told me I had a phone call from my blender-buyer. I eagerly leaped to my feet, and then I heard it: The unmistakable sound of breaking glass. With a sinking feeling, I looked in the paper bag. The glass jar was in two pieces. In the process of getting up, I had kicked the blender and destroyed it. It was a long, sad walk to the telephone to tell my buyer there was now no blender.
I nearly cried at the injustice of it. Especially the loss of the $7.
Back at home, I began using the pretty new blender, and I found it almost useless. The wimpy motor could hardly blend an overripe banana, let alone an ice cube. The plastic jar soon cracked under normal use.
As soon as I got out of college, I bought myself a shiny, new, heavy-duty blender with a glass jar, paying full retail price. I had to pay for it with my shiny, new credit card.
In hindsight, I learned three valuable life’s lessons from my blenders:
- Don’t count your blenders before they’re hatched (Blender One)
- Blender beauty is only skin-deep (Blender Two)
- A new college graduate and her money are soon parted (Blender Three)
One day, a very special man came into my life. He shopped carefully, read Consumer Reports, and for Christmas, he gave me a top-of-the-line Cuisinart food processor. As a result, I learned a fourth valuable lesson:
- When it’s time to buy a kitchen appliance, let Barry do it!
(For things to do with blenders, see the recent Foodie Gazette piece,
Spring into Smoothie Season.)
If you’re in the Seattle area, come see Meps on Tuesday, Sept. 23 from 6 to 8 pm at Sweet Mickey’s Candy Shoppe in Ballard (next to QFC on 57th). An autographed copy of Strangers Have the Best Candy won’t rot your teeth. And the fabulous candy and fudge Sweet Mickey’s carries is worth a trip to the dentist!
