there is this T-shirt, that used to be my mom's...

...we can assume she saved up proofs of purchase and sent in to Tropicana to get free. The quote on the T-shirt: 'more excitement than decent people need' is applicable to lots of things in life. What happened here, today, is some of that. We had a toast fire.

I put some bread in the toaster oven, to brown it for the guy here to make a sandwich for lunch. We sat down, and he put the BLT together, and proceeded to eat. I said, "hmm... I think your toast is burning up", and went in to check on the two slices I'd put in for his second sandwich. (Just an aside: I am pretty sure his favorite part of the BLT is not what you would expect - I'm nearly certain he thinks the best part is the mayonnaise. I have never seen anyone lavish so much mayo on a slice of bread.)

I went in to check, and sure enough: the toast was in flames! Holy Cow! I opened the little glass door and blew it out. But it came back, continuing to char the bread. So I went and got the little plastic water misting bottle I used to use back in the days when I ironed things. I got rid of my ironing board some years ago, with the intentions of never ironing again. But did not give away my iron or the little water bottle, which continues to live, neglected,  in the laundry room.

So I grabbed the little bottle and sprayed the fire to extinguish. Smoke billowing up towards the ceiling, filling the room. Now I am thinking it is probably time to take my kitchen fire extinguisher in to be re-charged, revived, checked as it has not been looked at in about ten years. In the way we always think we should close the barn door after the horses have all stampeded out and escaped.

I used the tongs to pry the blackened toast off the wire rack, and tossed it out in the yard. Opened windows and doors, turned on ceiling fans. And poured vinegar in little bowls to sit out around the kitchen to absorb the delightful aroma of char. It just so happens that I cleaned that little wire rack last week. It was nice and shiny for about four days.

I'm sure there is a mess in the toaster, but doubt it is sufficiently trustworthy for me to want to use again. I disposed of the little hamburger cooker we had around here for years, donating it to get it out of the house. It looks like the toaster is headed out the door as well. Which means there is really no point in cleaning it up, right?