Never Again...

I hate shopping. Unless, of course, it is for fabric or yarn. There are definitely exceptions to that statement. But what I really hate shopping for is appliances. It seems that as my body is starting to age and break down, so are all of the appliances in my life. And lets not even go into the state of my furniture. But back to the original gripe...I hate shopping. And here is why...

This tale of woe begins sometime on Friday. My daughters and I decided to have a late lunch at a restaurant which was near a local outlet shopping center. After lupper (which is our lunch/supper combo) we did a bit of shopping for some upcoming birthdays in the family. As is typical for New England, as I am sure in other parts of the country as well, a summer thunderstorm came upon us, which definitely cooled us off from several days of heat and humidity. However, during this storm, the neighborhood where we live experienced a power outage. Now, because I knew that there was a possiblity of these storms affecting our area, I had the forethought to shut down the computers in the house. So thankfully, those items were unaffected. I cannot say the same thing for our poor refrigerator.

Now, before you feel too sad for this appliance and its demise, it did have a nice long life. Longer than most, I suspect. My mother purchased it shortly after my High School Graduation in 1975. She used it for many years and my husband and I inherited it about 20 years ago. So technically, the shopping trip that my husband and I made yesterday was for our first, and hopefully last, refrigerator. Thankfully, I had been doing some initial research on the internet to narrow down my choices and preferences. We knew this day was coming; the fridge was giving us definite signs that it was on it's last leg for several weeks now. But, for any couple thinking that this type of shopping experience will bring you closer together...FORGET IT!

Our choices were somewhat limited by our tiny house and its configurations. We have a small kitchen and the dimensions of the new fridge had to fit. I also had some particular features that I have been wanting and waiting for my entire life...it may seem trivial, but I wanted ice...lots and lots of ice...made automatically. No more dripping, cracked, plastic trays. No more screaming and raving because someone used all of the ice and only left one cube and forgot to fill the tray again. I will be able to take a bath in ice if I choose to..and I just might because I can! Anyway...back to the shopping nightmare. We, thankfully, live in an area where all the national chains are within 5 miles of our home..Sears, Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. So we started to make the rounds. I was armed with internet printouts and measurements galore. I had my heart set on a bottom mount, stainless steel, french door number. My husband, on the other hand, couldn't see anything wrong with our 1975 model and its less expensive replacement twins. I was not having it. Considering all of the money that he has saved by not having to buy a refrigerator EVER, and the money he will save by having a more energy efficient model, his plan for a 1975 clone was quickly shot down. Granted, this is one of the most expensive, one item purchases that we have ever made. And I am sure that it will not be lasting us another 32 years (the salesman at the store was quite impressed with that figure, especially since he wasn't even thirty himself!). And we do plan to remodel the kitchen in the not so distant future. But if I never have to appliance shop again, it will, as they say, be too soon!

The new fridge arrives tomorrow morning. I still have to finish the post mortem on the old one and finish cleaning it out before they take it away. (It really needed to be cleaned out anyway, but this was not the way I had in mind). I will be grateful for the new door racks (the old fridge had lost its racks over the years, so putting items on the door was a juggling act). The freezer door had some garment waistband elastic strung across it so I could put things on that door. I also have to wash the floor behind the old one before the new one goes in. I am sure it is nasty back there. Wish me luck..and pray that the oven doesn't die this week...I don't think my marriage or my blood pressure could stand it.

I want to knit! I need fiber therapy! Maybe tomorrow when I am bathing in ice...ahhh...