So I have discovered a previously untapped addiction...
Vintage small appliances. Last week I bought a vintage Kitchenaid mixer (from the 50's most likely). Then a hand mixer from the same era.
Today I was in a thrift store and saw an old Dormeyer stand mixer and I was instantly drawn to it. It looks just like the one that My great grandmother owned, maybe slightly newer. It was $3 and IT WORKS! It was missing a bowl, but I snagged it. I went to a thrift store down the street, and my eye catches a milk glass bowl that looked just like the bowl for my great grandmother's mixer, so I snagged it for $2.50. Take it to the car and it fits perfectly on the mixer! I took her home and gave her a good cleaning and here she is!
Last year I was heartbroken when my mom said that my great grandmother's mixer had been left in the basement and rusted, so she threw it away. When my great grandmother needed around the clock care, my siblings and I would take turns staying with her between the time that the nurse left and when my grandmother came to spend the night. I would cook her dinner, she had almost no appetite, but one thing that she would always eat was lemon meringue pie. So at least once a week while staying with her, I would make her that pie, using the old Dormeyer mixer. I'm glad to have this even if just for a display piece, it brings back good memories!