"MOMMY BLEW UP THE OVEN!!"

It was a sunny morning like most of the other mornings we had had our first week here in San Miguel. Jessica, Jacob and Jason were playing in the front garden -- soccer, I think. Keith and I were trying to coax them into a new routine of "responsibilities" (otherwise known as chores). A lot of them are different here --- we hang the clothes on the line to dry, we wash the dishes by hand, and then have let them air-dry, we have to fill water bottles for the bathrooms for brushing teeth and drinking, etc. The kids are still excited about doing them (We give it another few days!)

Jacob's assistance is coming in handy helping me with breakfast this morning. Keith jumps in the shower, leaving me to tend to the gas stove and oven. I don't have a lot of experience in this area... and Keith has been helping out in the kitchen a lot.. so I haven't yet been on my own to handle this situation. But, I've watched him, and received a tutorial, so I'm not worried. There is no pilot light on these old stoves, so everything is hand-lit. I manage through bacon and eggs -- working with 7 year old Jacob like my father used to work with me --- turning the bacon, and scrambling the eggs. We are having some nice one-on-one time. I have some large store-bought muffins that I want to heat up -- and I go to light the oven. The main flame lights, but the rest of the burner does not. I turn off the oven. In a few minutes, the main flame goes out. I wait, then I try again. Same thing. I back up, and stare at it -- puzzled. I know I did everything right. I tell Jake to back up, and I try again. Same thing. I give up and figure Keith can light it when he comes down and close the oven door.

BOOM!!!!!!! The oven door flies open, and the stove knobs fly off of the stove.

"MOMMY BLEW UP THE OVEN!!! D-A-A-A-A-A-D-D-Y-Y-Y-Y"

My best guess is that there is a small pilot light in the deep recesses of that creepy old gas thing, and it must have still been lit, and the oven was full of gas, that lit when I closed the door. Whatever the case, Keith is now the head chef in the family.

No one was hurt in the slightest, it took us 5 minutes to located the stove knobs, Keith swears the house shook and he felt it upstairs, and Jacob and I are both afraid of the oven. Breakfast, however, was awesome!

Mary