Some other 'traditions' are not quite as much fun. When the children were very young, we always had at least one run to the ER or pediatrician; my mother once offered this comforting thought: 'When they reach age nine, they finally seem to stop catching every germ in town.' Over time, other domestic disasters took the place of childhood illnesses. There was the Christmas blizzard that took out the electricity (and therefore the water pump) for several days; the year the hot water heater gave up the ghost on Christmas Eve; the year that the bathroom ceiling came down...and of course, quite often these little problems come up when there is a full house. This year: the dishwasher died (just past its five-year warranty period.)
Feeling tired, Dear Husband declared that we could just have the new one delivered and installed; his determination lasted just until he realized that this would tack an outrageous $192 onto the price. So, it's back to do-it-yourself; we'll go pick that sucker up on Thursday, first thing.
Last night I dreamed that I looked under the refrigerator and saw a small but growing pile of sawdust below a neat round hole; I kept watching, and out popped a wee screech owl, much to my surprise! I don't know how I'm going to break the news to my husband.
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| Santa Claus brought us this new blender (replacing the 45+-year-old avocado green Osterizer.) This was to be our big Christmas present up until the dishwasher quit working. |
Having a new blender is a true and subtle joy. That Santa Claus knows his job.
ReplyDeleteI've spent some idle moments at Target looking for a replacement for our 25-year-old Osterizer, but found the whole process overwhelming. How do you decide? If you pick out a new one, how much better will it really be than the perfectly serviceable old one? (Granted, it will be prettier)
ReplyDeleteOur old blender really was a goner--very erratic, and it quit in mid-cranberry, so to speak. I went on Amazon and read reviews; the Kitchen Aid model we got was on sale for $99 and shipping was free. When I get home I can e-mail the #. There must be a jillion brands out there, ranging from $20 to $400 (I'm not kidding.)
ReplyDeleteI want a screech owl! I put up a house for one and everything. We used to have lots of them when we first moved here, but the last few years I've heard nary a one.
ReplyDeleteOur big Christmas present this year is a new furnace. Our old one was around 20 years old (life expectancy: 15 years). We're also finally getting an alternative heat source for when the electricity goes: a ventless gas stove.
I guess I'll just stick with the old one for another 15 years. It still works well enough.
ReplyDelete