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give some, get some
November 10, 2008
SATURDAY--
Shalom Center day. The annual big shop for Thanksgiving. I�m not going to do an itemized list this year; it�s tedious and time-consuming and who cares anyway. To sum up, however, we spent $211.19, there were 143 items on the receipt, and amongst the haul were 6 turkeys, two cases of mixed canned vegetables, half a case of canned fruit, 6 large boxes of potato flakes, 6 bottles of assorted fruit juices, and pretty much everything else you would need for a complete holiday feast. Due to cold-storage issues at the food bank, we did cake mixes & frosting this year, rather than frozen pies, and opted for the shelf-stable versions of several other items on our usual list.
Even with Nephew�s help, it�s a big job getting all the stuff together, and getting it delivered to the center. Once we were done, I was pretty worn out.
Of course, that fact that I was up at six, furiously doing laundry and cleaning the kitchen (so I could get at least some chores done before we left) had a lot to do with my exhaustion. And that kitchen business included a vigorous attack on the control panel of the oven, which was a first-class disgrace. Since my ancient oven vents right onto the glass control panel, the damn thing collects a thick film of greasy, sticky, generally nasty film.
And I will be the first to acknowledge that I am not as aggressive as I need to be in keeping it at bay. I�m not admitting exactly how neglected it was, but I was kind of surprised by the fact that the knobs are actually chrome, and not brass!
Long story short�it took half a bottle of Orange Blast degreaser, an entire Mr. Clean Miracle Eraser, and a good dose of industrial-grade elbow grease to bring it back.
After a last-minute dinner of some astoundingly good KFC, I was more than ready for my bed. And since TV reception is FUBARed till Tuesday, I didn�t have any compunction about heading there.
SUNDAY--
One of the last things I asked Spouse on Saturday, before stumbling towards bed, was if we had any plans for tomorrow. His answer was �absolutely none�.
Yeah�well�
Didn�t quite work out that way.
It started with him up and moving uncharacteristically early. He got up around 6:30, threw on sweats and a cap, ran to the bakery for pastries, and came home with croissants, cinnamon persians, raspberry danish, and the Sunday paper. So I made a pot of coffee, and we started our day in a leisurely fashion, reading the Sunday comics and the ad flyers, and enjoying our Continental breakfast.
As we read the various ads to each other, a theme emerged on his side of the room. The man was clearly shopping for a new television. A new, flat-panel, HD television.
Okay�I guess it�s the start of the Christmas season after all, because he�s decided to go buy himself everything he can possibly think of that he wants.
WHAT in the fuck is UP with that? (She asks, for the 26th Christmas in a row.)
So after finishing our coffee, and me doing some more laundry, and both of us getting cleaned up and dressed, we headed over to Kmart to take a look at their advertised TVs (him)�and a �media cabinet� (me). As soon as I saw where he was going with the TV thing, I knew we�d need a new entertainment center. If he compromised on the TV in order to fit it into our old entertainment unit, he�d just end up being unhappy. Due to the difference in shape between a CRT and an LCD, we�d have to go down in size, to a 22�, for it to fit in the TV hole. I know him. He�d hate that.
I�ve been looking at furniture a lot lately, and bemoaning the fact that my beloved oak is not in style right now. Makes it hard to find a new piece to fit in with what I already have. But the Kmart ad was showing what looked like an oak-finish, mission-style unit on sale for $129. I checked it out, and it was exactly what I wanted�the right finish, dimensions, and style. And it would enable Spouse to choose the TV he wanted.
And Kmart still has layaway! So I put $50 down on it, and told Spouse to get to work finding a TV he wanted. A project that I figured would take, oh, you know�about two weeks or so. He is, after all, a Libra.
Well, he struck out at the K, but we then took a ride to Best Buy. Holy shit�that place is TV town. They must have had 70 different models on display. And right away, he found one that he liked: 26�, $400.
But guess what I found?
37�, $475�on clearance, and in stock (Not the floor model).
Yep. I paid for the price difference, the tax, and the 4-year Geek Squad warranty, and we bought the thing on the spot for cash money.
BUT�now we need the new entertainment center immediately, not in two weeks.
So once we got the new set home and brought it in from the car, I had to hit my emergency cash stash and go back to the K, to pick up the item I�d laid away for a whole three hours. Plus, we ended up going to Ace, Target and Walgreen�s for some necessary household shopping.
And then�oh, and then.
Home. To clean out the old entertainment center. To throw away a 2-decade accumulation of old videotapes. To vacuum and wipe away a metric ton of dust from furniture, wall, and electronic components. To untangle and disconnect the forty miles of cables needed for a system with a television, wired speakers, wireless speakers, a CD player, a stereo receiver, a satellite receiver, a DVD player, and a VCR.
Ahem. Single-handed.
But while I was doing all that, where was Spouse, you ask? And why have you not called him one rude name yet, you ask?
Simple. He was engaged in making me the happiest woman in the world. He was fixing the toilet. It has had ever worsening issues for months, and he finally took the whole damn thing apart, fixed everything that needed fixing, and put it all back together.
Once the toilet was reassembled and the dismantling and cleaning complete in the living room, Spouse began building the Martha Stewart �Mission Bungalow� media center, and I went to put together a large pot of vegetable soup and advance the laundry process yet again. After I got the soup on and the laundry was back in �wait� mode, I joined him and we completed it together. Man, for cheap, flat-pack furniture, that thing is sure solid and well-built! Bolts, screws, pegs and glue, and even camlocks. Sheesh.
By the time I was mixing up the cornbread and popping it in to bake, Spouse was unwrapping his new pride and joy and hooking up the roof antenna and DVD, so we could watch something before the cable guy comes on Tuesday.
We lucked out on getting rid of the old TV and cabinet� we didn�t want anything for them, just wanted them out of the house without having to pay to have them hauled away. The TV went to a good home with one of Spouse�s co-workers, whose living room TV is dying. He was thrilled to get an excellent replacement without having to lay out a lot of money right at holiday time. And our next-door neighbor is picking up the old entertainment center on Tuesday; one of his employees has been looking for that very thing. Again, somebody thrilled to be getting it for free--especially at this time of year.
We managed to get to where we could stop just in time for a much-needed and well-deserved supper of soup and hot cornbread, and then Spouse was able to pretty much relax for what was left of the day. Me? I had laundry to finish and dishes to wash before taking two Tylenol PM and going to bed in a state of tired that made Saturday night look like nothing.
But it was the third member of our household was in by far the worst shape at the end of the day. The combination of too much crate time, strangers in the house, total disruption of his environment, and (worst of all!) stuff stacked on HIS loveseat had him totally demoralized, completely tuckered out, and fairly pissed at his people. Poor pup.
Reading: Taking a break from Jan Karon with Jasper Fforde's "The Fourth Bear". I've read a couple of the Thursday Next books, but I really think I prefer the Jack Spratt stories.
Surfing: I'm almost afraid to go online--I'm trying to maintain my True Blood vacuum, cone-of-silence thing until I can watch last night's ep. So--not really surfing today.
Listening: To Spouse bitch about how hard it was to get the Dish service cancelled. Apparently it was quite the epic adventure, but he did prevail in the end.
At Random: click here
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