Shattered principles

Saturday mornings in my childhood were spent with Mum in the kitchen, learning to cook. We did the weekly baking together, using the Kenwood Chef which she had been given as a wedding present in 1947.

That machine is now owned and used by my brother.

All my life I have hankered after a stand mixer, but have always convinced myself it is a waste of money when a hand-held mixer can do more or less the same job. I have also moved away from buying stuff that isn’t absolutely necessary.

However, my closest family asked what I might like them to contribute towards buying for my 60th birthday: something that I would not buy on my own. The answer was suddenly obvious.

And here it is. My very own KitchenAid Artisan Mini. It arrived in the post today and so far I’ve unpacked and washed it. Tomorrow I am planning a celebratory cake.

I am ridiculously excited, but shamefaced that my principle of not buying new things and not buying non-essentials at all, has so easily crashed and burned in the face of a mixer.

But I’ll still really enjoy using it…