MY NEMESIS -- THE TOASTER OVEN!!

How could one little toaster oven cause so much trouble???  I think I've been fighting with them for at least 40 years now!!  It's that love/hate relationship.  I  love my toast in the morning, but I hate the machine that makes it!!  My current RV toaster oven doesn't like me one little bit and shows it's distaste every morning!!

I definitely prefer the models that actually have holes in the top for toasting AND an oven for heating, which I have at home.  My toast always comes out perfect ... I mean how hard is it to just push the button down!  Bread pops up ... it's done!!

In the motorhome however, I have this monster that likes black ... burnt black!!  You put the bread inside the oven and turn the knob.  Who knows how long it's set for ... there are no markings!  In Boron yesterday morning, I burned it not once, but TWICE!!!  I SWEAR I only turned my back for five seconds to get the butter from the fridge .. and BLACK!!!  Alarms started going off, the dogs ran barking to the bedroom ... and of course when you open the monster's door, even MORE smoke erupts like a volcano!!!  I made a mad dash to open the front door and grab paper plates to fan the smoke detector.  Burnt toast fragrance again!!

I'm now very close to throwing this mechanical contraption in the trash!!  All I want is a decent piece of toast ... or bagel as the case may be.  As I contemplate heating my one last piece of frozen pizza in the toaster oven versus the microwave, a light comes on in my head.  The rack inside the toaster is in the top position ... there is one position lower!!  Oh for heavens sake!!  Maybe THAT's why the top keeps burning and the bottom never gets toasted!!  I moved the rack.  The third attempt at toast came out edible ... maybe it was operator error THIS time!!

The Governor has granted a toaster oven reprieve ... temporarily.  We shall see if it's temperament improves.  If not, it's GARBAGE time!!!

Five long hours driving from Quartzsite to Boron and another five hours to home, pretty much wore me out.  Amazingly, traffic was non-existent everywhere except Fresno!!  My only complaint is the State of California deciding to fix miles of freeway all at once!!  Where did they get all the money??  I mean really ... just drive down Hwy 99 and you will be white-knuckling it beside those white barriers most of the way!!

I have a long list of honey-do's today, all of which have to be done by me ... so I'll be spending the next four hours cleaning the inside of the rig.  I'm hoping no little critters hitched a ride ... I'll let you know!!