Luke Radford's Profile

@meelahj
Now my mother always had the plush tearoom or parlor where us boys did not dare go, as well as, the sewing room. These 2 rooms were filled with lace curtains, Victorian looking antiques, and heirlooms that a) no one was allowed to touch or sit on and b) would look so out of place with the rest of the house. This was where my mother would conk out on the Chaise lounge for hours with her romance novels and did her quilting. We had to knock and wait if we needed her. I am not trying to say this is what every woman would want out of a woman cave, but this is exactly what she wanted at the time.

My dad had the garage. All outside no air conditioning in Texas. Men have always had the garage and everyone uses it. I even remember stories of my grandfather briefly living in the garage when he and my grandmother would bicker.

It wasn't until much later when there was an addition on the back of the house, it became my dad's early man cave. Which was basically a safe oversized storage closet for his huge collection of rifles, shotguns, and John Wayne memorabilia. The dogs were also allowed to come in there during a tornado warning.

I have the 24" Avanti Range from C.A. in my studio and it is the best appliance I've ever owned. The oven preheats to 400 in 3 minutes flat! I had adjusted to my previous 50s Roper model which took an hour to get to 325. I love that it allows me to avoid having a microwave for reheating leftovers etc. One point of advice with the 24" is that not all muffin pans, or cookie sheets will fit inside they could be too wide. You need to measure the actual opening and shop around.

Keep in mind the Avanti is a bare bones model, bell-free, whistle free. You have to turn it all-the-way to broil in order ignite the oven. Which does have a gas pilot light. You may be able to light the stove the old fashioned way, with matches, in the event of a power outage, haven't considered experimenting. But way to think ahead to the apocalypse Olga! It's nice to know that when it's all fire and brimstone outside you don't have to postpone your dinner plans!