easy come, easy go

Well, it finally died.  In a puff of smoke. 
When Spence and I got married, we recieved a smallish, inexpensive hand mixer as a wedding gift.  My sweet cousin gave it to us.  She had been married a few months earlier, and apparently it was given to her as a wedding gift, then re-gifted.  We know this because when we opened the box, there was a card to her and her husband.  (For the record, I am all for re-gifting if the item meets certain criteria.  1. Don't need or want it (obviously).  2. The item is new and in great shape.  3. The person it is being passed on to would likely enjoy it.  4. There is no chance the original giver would find it in the new recipient's possession.)
Anyhoo,  now we had a little hand mixer for our new tiny kitchen.  Didn't think it would last very long even then.  Over the years, it has been very reliable if not powerful.  Spence and I have often joked that it was a persistent little bugger.  For the past year or so, we've been rooting it on, vowing that it would be used to make our 50th wedding anniversary someday.  But, alas, it is not to be.  This morning while making peanut butter thumbprint cookies (with my homemade raspberry jam in the middle...yum!), it gave up the ghost.  Rest in peace, my friend.  You will be missed.