Hot Water

To the consternation of Sibling-the-Elder, I steadfastly cling to my tea kettle. This is a stove top model that was a gift (Sibling-the-Younger I believe?) while I was living in La Crosse and has been exceptionally functional for 10+ years.  It's purple, as it should be.

 Tea kettles for me are a measure of time, a product of my grad school days when I lived in a house with four other young women. In the morning, I would get up, do my other prep to leave for the day and then turn on the kettle to make my Nalgene of hot tea.* I then would turn around and wash dishes until the kettle boiled. This was 5-7 minutes? I've never really timed it. But it got a sink load of dishes done or at least well underway.  There were always dishes to be done. 

This has then evolved into tea-kettle time every morning. Now I'm not washing the dishes everyday --thank you dishwashing machine -- but the first chore after feeding the cats is to turn on the tea kettle as the morning starts. Other times of the day I still use it as a chore timer, usually still for dishes or unloading the dishwasher. I can unload, reload, and wipe the counters usually in the time needed.  Now I have a hot drink and a tidier kitchen. Bonus.

And then last week, for the second time ever -- and first time while I had the kettle on-- Gypsy jumped onto the stove.  She's fine, the Philosopher and I were both in the kitchen at the time, I immediately grabbed her and set her on the floor. But along one entire side of her was a streak of gray fur that had been singed ever so slightly. 

Further, I have a nasty habit of disliking the whistle on the tea kettle so I don't use it all the time. Which meant that when we were out with friends, Rafael drove me back home briefly between dinner and movie to verify that yes--I had shut off the kettle before we left. 

So for the first time I find myself seriously contemplating an electric kettle. I have one at work, everyone in my office suite does and they're all different. Come by anytime and we can make you a cup of tea, hot chocolate, and I might even have instant coffee.  But home has been traditional.  It'd be faster to have a water cooker but the safety aspect is what is appealing to me the most.  Probably glass; the one at work is plastic and I do occasionally notice the extra flavor. 

If you have an electric kettle you love, send me a link? My morning coffee, afternoon hot water (yes, plain), and evening final cuppa appreciate suggestions. And do convince me that I'm not betraying my beloved purple tea kettle.


*Yes, I use a Nalgene, yes it's a BPA free one, they last about 2-3 years before being replaced and that's with boiling water in them every day.