Gransnetters, I could do with a bit of your lovely Humour.

I like that quote David1968

Cookie this is one of my favourites which I frequently quote to MrA
“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When
you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay
too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you
bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The
common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a
lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well
to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will
have enough to pay for something better.”
- John Ruskin
?

Thank You all so much.
On a positive note, I have rediscovered my slow cooker. It cannot replace my oven completely, but my goodness, you can cook a gorgeous joint of meat in it, especially beef.
I have several brochures with some fabulous fitted ovens, but I have now discovered that the fitted oven that we have had for 20 years no longer conforms to safety regulations, so I cannot buy the exact same type.
Annoying, but that is the way it is.
Hey ho.

"That'll see me out" are words that I vow never, ever to use. I'm careful, and don't go mad with money, (I'm a charity shop fan) but after many years of "making do", I'm determined to have things, as and when needed, regardless of age. Consider the words of Henry David Thoreau:"none are so old as those who have outlived enthusiasm". Go for it, 1974cookie!

On my last birthday my brother sent me an email saying "don't look on it as being old but as having outlived your warranty" Still not sure how to take that!

Onto baking sheets not into!

cookie one way I’m trying to preserve the pristine condition of my new cooker is by putting casserole dishes & cake tins into baking sheets before putting them in the oven.
That way any spills or boiling-overs land on the baking sheet rather than the oven itself.

1974Cookie. I suggest that you not only buy yourself a new all singing all dancing cooker, but also have it cleaned professionally when needed. It is money well spent, they do a marvellous job, leaving your cooker like new.

My Nannie used a version of that when she got older. If we bought her nightwear or nice toiletries for Christmas or birthdays she would say " I'll put those away in case I need to go into hospital" In fairness she was in hospital quite a bit! We will be needing some new sofas in the next few years (if i can persuade DH to spend the money) and given the ones we have have lasted 17 years I suppose the next ones could see me out!

Thank You Gransnetters for putting things into perspective.
I have just got some brochures, and seen some beauties.
Number 1 on my list of priorities now is an oven that cleans itself completely. I have decided that my days of kneeling on the floor, applying oven cleaner that however hard I try, splashes on my arms and burns my skin, followed by the arduous task of washing it all off, are long gone.
Either that, or having a professional clean every so often.
In the meantime, my trusty slow cooker will once more come to the fore as it did yesterday and we enjoyed the most delicious minced beef. .

Yes we got solar panels a few years ago and we are mid 70s now. We hope to live a couple more years when they will have paid for themselves. We often say things will see us out - we used to think it a huge joke. Perhaps less so now! Spend your money! We do and the children tell us to!

Alima we invested in solar panels 7 years ago - they have now paid for themselves, and anything in the future is pure profit!

Charleygirl, which makes me wonder now, will I outlast the watch! (tongue in cheek)

I am due to recieve an inheritance from my late Mother the first thing I am buying is a new sofa.
On telling my SO and 2 dear friends they all commented that as Second-hand is an "in"thing here I should look there first.
I made it very clear I was having a new sofa finishing with "if it kills me".
Maybye not the right choice of words ???¨

yes, 1974cookie, I think this way too. But there's a very good chance that it might be the new oven which keels over first, not you! You deserve this new oven, absolutely no doubt about it. And anything else you want, so go ahead.
Live for the moment.

Billybob I would be careful because mine only lasts a year!

.......besides which, the number of old people, particularly men, who have the latest car every year is huge. Cost a darn sight more than an oven to buy!

Any time I bought things for my father I would say "I've kept the receipt.....you never know at your age", and end the sentence with a wink and a grin.

I once purchased a huge sack of dog food for our elderly Labrador , as my husband hauled it out of the car for me he said “ you’re optimistic”
He did manage to finish it all but only just!

If you want to buy something new and you can afford to – whether it is a new oven, a new coat or a painting that you just love – buy it. If you die tomorrow, you have had the pleasure of today's purchase. Of course, as we get older we know that our remaining time is getting shorter. So what? We can't change that, so why worry about it? Enjoy today, enjoy our grandchildren, enjoy what we have while we have it.

I have just had a watch battery replacement. the assistant looked at my elderly face and said "this will last you a lifetime" we then both smiled at each other.

Oops, Now who's going Ga-Ga? Apologies, Hilda and 1974cookie for getting you mixed up, although I hope you'll both empathise with my comments.
Fortunately you are all still in the land of nod whilst I post this correction; now it's time for lunch and something to steady my nerves.

I have now reached the age when I finally see something as 'seeing me out'.
Hilda; Banish such thoughts! My dear Vera's philosophy was "Spend, Spend, Spend" which is why she found that flying back to England to continue her family genealogy project was done more comfortably in "Business Class". My philosophy has always been "Save, Save Save" which is why I'm a "rich widower" (and a miserly "old git" according to our 2 sons), but too old to go anywhere to spend up, other than the doctor's, chemist and our over 80's club.
There is a smart answer I read recently for all those comments about how "you can't take it with you", but I can't remember. My family will soon get rid of it on world cruises I suppose. Such was life,!

Can remember having similar conversation with my darling Grandma......she had these dreadful old pre-war arm chairs that she had made covers for every few years. Eventually she fancied a modern 'dralon' suite and asked my opinion as to whether it was a silly extravagance. Spend your money Grandma....she did....and she too lived another 20 years. It was a little sad really she was marvellous but almost spent the last 20 or so years thinking she was going to either die or go 'ga-ga'. She was sharp as a tack and pretty fit right to the end....so buy that new oven, treat yourself to the best you can afford and get a new cook book with new ideas and have fun!!

cookie just concentrate on enjoying your new cooker.
I have just had a new one too - a Neff.
It’s marvellous. It’s fantastic.
It cooks things evenly and things are cooked at the time they’re supposed to be cooked at, not burnt 10 minutes before the end of cooking time, or still soggy 10 minutes after they’re supposed to be cooked.
It’s renewed my interest and enjoyment in cooking.
Did I say I love my new cooker?
Enjoy yours and don’t dwell on the future

I remember suggesting to my late grandmother that she might like a new summer dress for her birthday in March. She declined because she said she might be dead by the Summer.

We often laugh about her saying that. Actually, I think she laughed a bit when we pointed out that you can't keep anticipating your own death.

Grandma lived another year or two.