Pen, Spoon & Dagger

I should have known better.  I broke my own rule #5: never go to Williams Sonoma alone (we can discuss rules 1 through 4 another time).  Actually I broke #3, too : never take your credit card into a cooking store.   Williams Sonoma is, for me,   like chocolate chip cookies for others: irresistible and never enough. I went in looking for  a new Y-peeler.  That's all I needed.  Let's face it, W-S is not dumb; their merchandisers know about people like me, that's why they group all the gadgets together in enticing displays.  Reaching for a peeler, I realized I could, instead, get three for only a few dollars more:  a straight, a serrated and a julienne peeler in a set, and in bright colours.  And only $15.  Such a deal.  Why shouldn't I  treat myself?  After all it's a lousy, hot, humid day, a storm is threatening,  and I deserved something . No sooner had my hand closed on the peelers, than my eyes ze...

Is there an organization for gadget-holics?  I'm in serious need.  I love kitchen gadgets, to the point that I should be granted a special favoured-shopper badge at Williams Sonoma, Chef's Catalog and similar merchants.   When in doubt, my friends and family gift me with cookbooks, utensils and gadgets for every occasion. And I get excited about every single one of them.  At least until the first time I try to use one. A couple of weeks ago I received a new gadget -- a strawberry huller from my mother -- for Easter.  And,   even though hullers have been around for years, I've never owned one, relying instead on a small paring knife to do the deed.  Like other "holics", I hoard my gadgets.  At a meeting, I'd have to stand up and admit to having boxes, several boxes, and drawers of gadgets.  Some I love (in the drawers) and some I never use (hence the boxes). But for some reason, I never seem to be able to part with any of them.  What ...