Thus Says Suzanne...

we have liftoff

 We had plenty of clean clothes to wear but not being able to wash the towels and rugs in the bathroom was irritating me.  The guys from Lowe's called shortly after 7 AM to say we would be their first stop, and they would be here at 8 AM.  Sure enough they were here at 8 AM.  They installed the new one and hauled away the old one.  I'm glad to have a working washing machine again. 

new machine

There is nothing special about this picture, but that's what you get when you shoot with your phone.  And, there is nothing particularly special about this washing machine other than the fact that it works.  I considered LG's suggestion about the duet but holy cow they are expensive, and since I actually throw rugs in the machine on a regular basis I don't want anything I feel I need to baby.  This is essentially the newer version of the same thing I've been using for the last 13 years so I'm sure it will be fine.

Because I was whining about the hassle involved in fetching the new machine, hauling it home, unloading it, swapping it out for the old machine, and hauling away the old machine, Mosker suggested I just pay for Lowe's to take care of that for me, indicating she thought it might be in the neighborhood of about $30.  Information only, it's actually $79, and they only install it if you also purchase new hoses.  Because I just wanted to cross this off the list I went ahead and paid the fee, but I have to ask myself why I kept the truck if I'm just going to pay someone else to do my hauling for me.

Oh, it's scheduled for delivery on Saturday morning.

I can predict the future

I see myself shopping for a new washing machine this afternoon.  I bought this one 13 years ago and it's had a couple repairs along the way but the last time the repairman was out he said the next time it broke I should just buy a new one.  That was at least five or six years ago.  This morning I went to take my quilt out but it was soaking wet.  When I tried to run the spin cycle to get out the water I heard an un-good sound.  She's a goner.  Looks like I'll be heading over to Sam's Club and/or Lowe's for a replacement today.

life lesson

Let's say for example that one has a child who is experienced at emptying the dishwasher.  They've done it for some period of time and except for an occasional utensil or plate that hasn't been properly cleaned ending up in the cupboard, and some whining about the task there has never been a problem.

You should make it a point to tell that child that the door of the dishwasher should never be kneeled upon.  Trust me. 

playhouse

In case you were wondering, I finally made a decision about the playhouse and got the one at Sam's Club.  Mom and Shel put it together for me and it's pretty tricked out now.

a problem with the water heater leads to an ungood surprise

Last night the youngster complained that her bath water wasn't hot enough.  I checked the heater and sure enough the pilot light was out.  Since the thing is only a couple years old and the pilot's never gone out before I made an appointment for PG&E to come out and relight it.  That part turned out good.  The pilot light is back on and the water is heating. 

Then he said their policy is that as long as they come out they inspect any gas heaters for safety (I have a wall heater).  Also good, not a problem.  He fiddled around, sprayed some stuff, lit the pilot (I turned it off about a month ago) and pronounced it safe.  He then turned off the pilot, handed me some paperwork and went off to his next appointment.

A few minutes later I walked past the wall heater I heard a sound I shouldn't be hearing so I opened up the panel.  To my dismay I discovered that he had turned off the pilot but not the gas.  That's not good.  Fortunately I was able to solve that problem without further "assistance" from PG&E. 

gas leak?

When I got back from taking the youngster to school I found a PG&E guy outside waving a beeping wand.  Turns out he's doing a spot check for gas leaks and when he got to the area in front of my house his wand started beeping.  Apparently that's not good. 

going green and digging in for a recession

I found a composter through the Sam's Club site that will work for the garden.  This way I have a place for the kitchen scraps and the grass clippings from the front yard. 

After March 7th I'll be able to start acquiring the items I need to get started on the kitchen garden so that I can get that going.

I stopped by Sam's Club last weekend and rediscovered the difference in prices between Sam's and even Wal-Mart.  For slightly more than the amount I pay for one loaf of bread at Wal-Mart I can get almost three times the amount of the same bread at Sam's Club.  And don't even get me started on cheese (big difference in price there as well).  With inflation starting to become more obvious I'm working on ways to save money. 

So, I'll be growing more of our own food, composting the leftovers, and shopping for more food items at Sam's Club.  I've already planted trees in such a way to take advantage of natural cooling.  And, I'll be getting another security screen door (for the front door this time) so that I can open the house in the early morning hours for some cross ventilation cooling compliments of mother nature.

kitchen garden (before)

Mosker said she couldn't visualize the space where I plan to use the troughs as planters for my kitchen garden, so here it is.  As I said it's narrow, paved in concrete, and a great place to collect junk.  I plan to place the planters against the fence.  I think that once I get the components in place and some plant growth this area will feel lush and inviting, rather than stark and depressing.

kitchen garden

What do watering troughs have to do with a kitchen garden?  I'm so glad you asked! 

I have a narrow section next to the house which is paved with concrete and of no use to anyone as it is now except as an area for junk to collect.  Because of the dogs a kitchen garden will need to be in raised beds (to avoid destruction, and to keep doggie "waste" away from the food).  When I was at Lowe's recently I saw these and it sparked an idea to use these in that area for a kitchen garden.  They measure two feet by two feet by six feet.  I plan to get three of them and place them end-to-end, with potted trees between them.  I'll update with pictures once the project is further along.