The turkey was done. The vegetables were roasted. All I had to do was make the gravy. People weren't showing up for another 40 minutes or so. So I emptied the warming drawer and poked "Warming Drawer" on the control panel. My finger slipped. Do you know what control is right under the Warming Drawer area? THE SELF CLEANING CONTROL!!!
The oven whirred and the LOC message showed up and my turkey was imprisoned in an oven that would soon heat to immense temperatures.
The ...door....would...NOT.....OPEN!
AAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
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| This is a close approximation of how I looked yesterday! |
That wild screaming you heard coming from the East - that was me! I could not breathe. I could barely speak. BUT! I could shriek and jump up and down.
I poked the touch screen wildly - The ON OFF control, the Warming Drawer, the Self Clean control, the On Off control again. The oven remained LOCKED. NOOOOOO!!!!!!
I pounded down the basement stairs to the breaker box and snapped all the kitchen circuits off. Hub calmly called down that the oven was still on and still locked.
Back to the breaker box. Of course, the range was on its own circuit. Snap!
I raced upstairs - gabbling wildly and crying "Oh! Oh! Oh no!" and other useful phrases like, "My turkey will burn up! Smoke! Help!" And the ever helpful "I AM SO STUPID!!"
Hub stood by calmly, saying. "Don't worry. It will be all right. " And he looked for the oven's manual.
Smart man! I knew where the manual was and half crying, half shrieking the entire time, I turned to the pages about the Self Cleaning cycle and read this.
"To pause or stop the Self Cleaning cycle, push the On/Off control. The oven will unlock when the temperature returns to a safe level."
Yeah.
So I ran downstairs and snapped the range circuit back on and raced back upstairs. I poked the On/Off control and waited, rocking from one foot to the other and wringing my hands. Within 3 minutes, the oven door was unlocked. The turkey was intact and a lovely brown. The vegetables were still delicious. Thanksgiving was saved!
I am thankful for my husband. His unruffled manner helped me find a solution. Still, I wish we had the event on video. The whole incident would make a good entry on America's Funniest Home Videos!
Hope your Thanksgiving was lovely and love-filled.
