Garage Sale Happiness

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait

Last year I salivated when a family member added a Cuisinart food processor to her kitchen.  Just looking at the video on it (yes, there is a video) would make anyone envious.  Oh the wonderful delicacies that would be coming out of her kitchen.  That video caught my attention and made me dream about the one day I would be able to justify a similar purchase.  I gave it 24 hours, well maybe 48 or 72 and then I decided that I was just caught up in the moment and I really could do without it in the short term.  In reality, I just needed a chopper/slicer contraption since my previous chopper bit the dust about 4 months earlier.  What I really wanted was to make my kitchen slicing and dicing more efficient.  To my benefit, Black Friday was just around the corner so I scoured the papers and found a great mini chopper and slicer offered for a mere $22 dollars with a $10 rebate.  It doesn’t get much better than that so I made sure I was up early to get this gem.  My life improved immediately after this purchase and in my own little way I felt I had it all (and I blocked that Cuisinart video out of my memory).  I managed to love what I had even if it meant it wasn’t a contraption that did everything imaginable while holding large amounts of delicious creations its bowl eliminating the step of emptying the container and starting over to finish a job. 

I have reflected on how content I was and have managed to be after the purchase of my own little food processor purchase.  Nothing extravagant but it managed to help me create many of wonderful dishes.  The only thing was that it would not julienne carrots so I started a quest of what I needed to accomplish this.  A mandolin they say.  Of course I immediately put it on a wish list and for mother’s day, I was the proud owner of a mandolin that was sure to make my life even better.

Fast forward……….Three months later,
 I find myself walking the dog and making a detour to a garage sale.  Actually, it was an estate sale that was in its final stages.  The great treasures were to be found the previous Saturday I was told.  Then, it caught my eye.  An Oster Kitchen Center.  Was I dreaming?  I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  A full size mixer with two glass bowls that revolve when turned on, a meat grinder attachment and various slicer, shredder and french fry cutter discs.  Food would be processed and placed into a bowl courtesy of a chute attachment.  In addition, I obtained the original book as well!   In other words, my own little Cuisinart! 

In two weeks the Kitchen Center has been used approximately four times and with a lot of ooing and aahhing from my family.  To my surprise, I thought back about the mandolin purchased three months earlier and the fact it had yet to be used.  Lucky for me, the receipt was easily located and the mandolin returned to the store.  What I thought I wanted and what I really wanted were two separate things.  To set the record straight, my new kitchen center does not julienne carrots but I realize that I really don’t need a contraption to do something I have a need for once or twice a year at best.  In addition, it does not chop but my previous chopper/slicer does a wonderful job so I am content. 

The universe took care of providing everything I wanted. The key was I was willing to wait.  In the process, I won the lottery in kitchen appliances at a bargain price of $35.  The satisfaction meter is over 100% and the best part is this little gem did not land up in a landfill.  I couldn’t be more pleased.  How this kitchen center lasted a full day without being snatched up is beyond me.  It is amazing that I was even at this sale since the only reason I was walking the dog this day was to get home from dropping off our car for some minor repairs.  My path was different this day which happened to include a garage sale.  The first and only one of the summer I have attended.  Living more of a simple life and not buying into the desire to have it all now has led me to a richer life and a great story which I am more than delighted to share.   I’m sure this Oster Kitchen Center provided hundreds of great creations to its previous owner and will be the center of inspiration for hundreds of mine.  I just wish I could thank them but I know they are looking down from the heavens and smiling that their estate sale touched my life in such a profound way.  Now……I hope I can find some pastry beaters on the internet for this beauty because I plan to use this baby to the fullest!