Shopping Therapy

Skip is having a rough day. The pressure sores -- their presence, their pain and discomfort -- have her a bit freaked out. So, we're going out for a bit of shopping therapy. And what will we buy? Why, appliances!

Our oven is about 25 years old. The pilot (or some part of it) died at the beginning of the summer. We've had this repaired before and it cost a good bit, as Skip recalls (I have a memory like a sieve for those kinds of facts). We kept vacillating between repairing it for the umpteenth time or just breaking down and buying a new one. After comparing the cost of repair vs the cost of a new one, we've finally decided that it's time to buy a new one. With the cold weather now here, we're ready for some roasted chicken so we must have an oven!

The clothes dryer is well over 20 years old. The last time we had it repaired, the repairman suggested we buy a new one when the next thing went wrong. The clothes washer is just over 20 years old. It's never been repaired as far as I can remember, but it's starting to have troubles with the spin cycle. I have read that front-load washers are more energy efficient and clean clothes cleaner; I'm having a bit of a yen for a front-loader.

I read this morning that the federal government has a program for household appliances similar to the cash for clunkers program for cars. If you replace your current appliances with items that are energy efficient, you can receive a rebate between $50 and $200 (or was it $300?) from the feds.

It sounds like a three-fer in the appliance department. I guess it's a sad story of my total domesticity that the prospect of buying a washer, dryer and oven all have me pretty excited. And, Skip loves, loves, loves to shop ... even for appliances. So, we'll all be happy. Well, except for the pups, who will be together in their crate while we're out.