Just like comfort food, we all have comfort things: those few things we’ve had forever that never let us down.
OK, maybe not never. My original Cuisinart broke just last week. My grandmother gave it to me for my college graduation, which I thought was odd but turned out to be prescient. It’s one of the few things I had before I knew my husband. That’s almost four decades, or basically forever. It’s been an essential helper for countless dinners, batters, purees, chops, and blends of all kinds.
To be sure, it’s sort of working if I lean on the top just right. That’s a good thing while I wait for my new one, as my kitchen does not work without it. I’m sure the new ones are much improved in the last few decades, but I’ll miss this one.
My slippers are another well made thing. I got them as a gift, cashmere Loro Piana slippers. They must be the most expensive slippers in the world, but I love them. They are softly soled so there is a lovely sense of cushion between my feet and the floor, but not so hard that it feels like a shoe. They’re warm but not too, and never claustrophobic which is how shearling slippers feel to me now. The soles are wearing thin and look a bit shredded around the edges. I’ve glued them more than once. Still, I love them. From the inside, they are as comfy as ever.
I like new things as much as anyone, but the really well made things are the ones that feel like friends. I keep them close as long as I can.