The new range is in, and Kathy has had more fun using the new features than I have getting a new Macintosh. One of the features is a digital probe. The probe has a large stereo plug (as in headphones) on one end and a pointy metal probe on the other end. One end goes in the top of the oven at the front. The other end is inserted into the unroasted beast.

We had a little mini-Thanksgiving dinner last night, featuring a probed and then roasted beast. Kathy set the desired target temperature, and the oven cooked until the temperature was achieved. The advantage is that you neither overcook or undercook using the digital probe.

I’m amazed the rubber coated probe cable didn’t melt. Stout was amazed at the large window where he could watch the cooking process.

Stout has watched every step of installing the range. I think it all appeals to his instincts as a terrier to go under ground looking for critters. His favorite part was helping me reach under the installed stove to hook up the electricity and gas lines. I spent much more time doing this than I wanted because we had a leak. Turns out the instructions that said “apply teflon tape or putty to all male threads” left out the key phrase: “except flared threads.” The flared connections rely on the pressure created by the flare to make the seal, and the putty actually worked against this pressure, allowing a leak.

Kathy, Claire, and I are now professional tile cutters and installers, too. We had to cut 2 1/2″ tiles to go along the back of what is a deeper range than the one we had before.

I’m also now a hack carpenter, because the cabinets had to be cut 1″ wider, and because this is a slide-in range (vs drop-in), I had to cut out the bottom parts.

The other crisis was that the gas pipe Danny and I installed had to be moved over three inches because the back leg of the stove wanted to go where the pipe was. I had failed to see the allow 3″ gap in the install instructions we had copied off the internet. Fortunately the way we put the pipes together, it was pretty easy to drill a new hole and swing the pipe into the new position.