Ice-Cream Machine

Today my husband decided that we would invite the extended family to lunch on Monday to celebrate the long weekend.

So planning started, I was inspired to try to create my own Indulgent ice cream and decided to visit Bing Lee to purchase a sunbeam 'Gelateria' ice-cream machine.

I was so excited I could hardly contain myself as I took the box home.

Upon opening it, disappointment struck, it appeared that the box had been opened before, the packaging wasn't perfect (but then its only the packaging). I took a closer look, the machine was dirty, slightly greasy and the inside of the ice-cream maker was slightly rusty.

I was devastated. I tried to have my husband (A) convince me that it was OK and my Mum (H) tell me that "the ice-cream won't touch the rusty part". That wasn't the point, if i am going to spend that kind of money, than at least let it be new.

So I returned it. Sadly it was the only machine they had, they tried to explain to me that this is how it arrived from the manufacturer. Well this either means that someone at sunbeam had a masterchef inspired dinner party and made ice cream and then took the machine back to work and packaged it and sent it to Bing Lee, or it had been used in the store as a demo machine or someone had bought it, indulged, changed their mind and returned it. Either way, the staff justified themselves and kept telling me that it wasn't their fault. OK, they personally weren't to blame, but their store did sell a used machine as new.  So not only do I not have a machine to make the ice cream, but I got a nasty sticker on the car window as I double parked as there was no parking outside the store.

Well, looking on the bright side, I saved some money, but I still have all the lovely ingredients to make delicious homemade vanilla and caramel ice cream.

I went to every home store in my area and called all the others Big W, Target, Myer, David Jones etc no-one has an ice-cream maker, even the ones I called, mentioned "you do realise its winter - this is a summer stock item".

Well I am terribly sorry that I seem to be the only person who would like to make ice cream in winter.

Hopefully there will be some joy tomorrow as the search for an ice cream maker continues.