Recently I checked out the Revive-Reuse shop at the recycling centre and spotted the automatic breadmaker pictured below:



It's a bit bigger and heavier than the loads I normally carry home, but when the staff member told me the price was $5, that was sufficient motivation to give it a try.  She also told me that the OK sticker they slapped on it meant only that they had tested it as far as they could, which in the case of a bread machine means that "the paddle went around when the guys plugged it in".  So I decided to take a gamble on it ($5 is the price of a Lucky Dip Lotto ticket**) and lugged it home.  I discovered later it weighs 7.1kg.
My mother is somewhat of a bread machine expert and when I told her I'd bought a Panasonic SD 250, she said it was a very good model.  She added that I could download the original manual in PDF format from the panasonic.co.nz website.  Today I tested it by making a 100% whole wheat loaf.  To my relief, it worked great!  I've made bread by hand in the past ... they never looked this good.  Can't wait to cut into it tomorrow for breakfast, lol.



While this loaf was baking I looked at the expired listings on Trade Me for Panasonic bread machines and found one earlier this year for the same model, which sold for $222.00!  I'm glad there are people in  my district who--for whatever reason--would rather off-load their stuff at the recycling centre than put it up for sale on Trade Me. :-)

** Edited to add: My Lotto FREAK of a daughter informs me that Lucky Dip tickets have been $6 since August 2004 and I should know this already, being so closely related to someone who lives and breathes Lotto.