We've had appliance issues lately. It all started in March 2009. The dishwasher messed up, so I ordered the part I needed and put it in. it was easy, and that should have been the end of it. But it wasn't. Evidently there was more than just the arm that sprays the water that was defective, and I began doing the dishes by hand.
In August my laptop computer died. The screen told me that no hard drive was detected. My young computer
savvy friend told me that this was "VERY BAD"; as in there's nothing salvageable. He fusses at me regularly for not staying up-to-date with my technology, but luckily I had recently backed things up.
Then the toaster quit toasting. Now, this toaster was almost 50-years-old and was living with a fourth generation of the family (5th if you count my kids), but I NEVER expected it to quit working...it's now a piece of kitchen art because I just don't have the heart to trash it.
Next the water heater went out. This one we had to fix because the kids complained about cold showers. John replaced a couple of heating elements and voila - we were as good as new.
Shortly after that the household computer which had been moving slowly for a couple of years decided it couldn't make it another day. It went the route of my laptop and said, "No hard drive detected." Well, I already knew the outcome of that scenario - so I just let it be.
Next came a big problem. Just days after the demise of the computer, the washing machine refused to spin. Water would go in, but there was no agitating or getting it out. I jumped on that one like a dog on a June bug... I've been wanting a front loading washer for years, and thanks to a bad economy, an appliance sale, a free gift card for opening an account, and some mad bargaining skills, I got the washer I really wanted for the price of a top loading washer AND free delivery and haul off of the old one. I felt VERY accomplished.
The most devastating loss for the girls came when our prized Chi flat iron would no longer heat and flatten hair. One simply can NOT go out with the least bit of wave in one's hair. I get it, so I went the next day and purchased a new one. Thankfully all curls are again under control!
As these things were being added to the list, the pool began to have algae problems. Evidently the chlorine generator is not working properly and the solutions for the problem that are recommended by the manufacturer do no good. I've tried to contact our pool builder, but they seem to be ignoring me. I'll begin a full assault on their answering machine as soon as school is out. A call every 30 minutes or so should get their attention. For now I'm adding chlorine the old fashioned way - a scoop at at time.
And most recently - John's laptop screen went blank. The repair guys said it would be about $300 to fix it. The computer isn't worth that much anymore, and it won't hold a charge anyway so it has to always be plugged in. So John hooked it up to the monitor of the broken computer. Between the two we're in business.
In addition to the appliance woes, we had some car related ones as well. JB's brake lights quit working when he hooked up his trailer lights. A piece of trim on my car came off at highway speeds (thanks to JB "fixing" it). The passenger seat in my car will no longer adjust - you just have to sit where it is. And my brakes are grinding, but we won't even count those in the appliance problems.
I won't dare say, "What else could break?", because I'm sure God would have an answer for me. Instead I'm choosing to laugh at the situation and be grateful that we are a resilient family who can live without many modern conveniences - at least for a time. We'll make it through. We'll replace the computers; get the chlorine generator fixed; the toaster, flat iron and washing machine are new; and the water heater has been mended. I may decide to leave the broken dishwasher in the cabinet and continue to wash dishes by hand. At least no one bothers me when I'm doing that chore for fear of having to help...It's nice to have a little quiet time each day. :-)
