My husband and I were invited to dinner by a work colleague and his new Russian bride. Tom and Anna wanted to show off their wedding photos and treat us to a typical Siberian dinner. As the hostess moved back and forth among the kitchen appliances, I couldn’t help but notice the refrigerator door opened away from the room, making access difficult and inefficient.
I started to quiver.
When Anna shuffled around the door for the fourth time, I said in a tightly restrained voice: "You know...you can switch the handles so the door opens into the kitchen instead of away from it."
As if on cue, my husband muttered under his breath: "Here we go."
"Real-LY?" said Anna, looking from the frig back to me.
"REAL-ly?" said Tom, looking at his wife looking at the frig.
"Really!" I said, leaping off the chair and trotting over to the doors as my husband shook his head and muttered: "...and she’s off."
"See," I said, pointing to the hinges and the extra plugs. "The design is symmetrical so you can swap the handles depending on the layout of your kitchen. You merely remove the hinge covers starting at the top, lift each door off and replace the parts on the other side in the reverse order. It makes access much more efficient."
They both turned to stare at the refrigerator as if it were suddenly an elephant capable of performing complicated vector analysis.
"And you only need a screwdriver! I once swapped a set of doors with a butter knife, although I have to admit to good luck there."
At this point, my husband turned to the couple and said, "For the sake of all that is holy, give her a screwdriver and leave the room. Come back in 15 minutes or else she’ll organize your spice drawer."
Tom looked at his wife saying, "Honey, I think we can do it this weekend" and Anna smiled with the serenity of someone who realized a grave injustice has been righted in the realm of Kitchen Efficiency.
"Anna, that almond cake is delicious," I said, peacefulness settling over me. Hands on my hips, I turned my profile toward my husband, lifted my chin and said "My work here is done. By the way, do you think a cape and deflector shields would be over-kill?"
I started to quiver.
When Anna shuffled around the door for the fourth time, I said in a tightly restrained voice: "You know...you can switch the handles so the door opens into the kitchen instead of away from it."
As if on cue, my husband muttered under his breath: "Here we go."
"Real-LY?" said Anna, looking from the frig back to me.
"REAL-ly?" said Tom, looking at his wife looking at the frig.
"Really!" I said, leaping off the chair and trotting over to the doors as my husband shook his head and muttered: "...and she’s off."
"See," I said, pointing to the hinges and the extra plugs. "The design is symmetrical so you can swap the handles depending on the layout of your kitchen. You merely remove the hinge covers starting at the top, lift each door off and replace the parts on the other side in the reverse order. It makes access much more efficient."
They both turned to stare at the refrigerator as if it were suddenly an elephant capable of performing complicated vector analysis.
"And you only need a screwdriver! I once swapped a set of doors with a butter knife, although I have to admit to good luck there."
At this point, my husband turned to the couple and said, "For the sake of all that is holy, give her a screwdriver and leave the room. Come back in 15 minutes or else she’ll organize your spice drawer."
Tom looked at his wife saying, "Honey, I think we can do it this weekend" and Anna smiled with the serenity of someone who realized a grave injustice has been righted in the realm of Kitchen Efficiency.
"Anna, that almond cake is delicious," I said, peacefulness settling over me. Hands on my hips, I turned my profile toward my husband, lifted my chin and said "My work here is done. By the way, do you think a cape and deflector shields would be over-kill?"