Weekend Wrap Up

Our washer/dryer combo has been slowly dying for awhile now.  It’s a combo washer/dryer all in one condo unit that looks like this. The washing machine basket is tiny, and won’t hold much. And over the years, it’s been slowly pushed out of whack, until now, if you try to wash two pairs of jeans at once, it sounds like it is going to try to force its way through the laundry room door, down the hall, and out our bedroom window. Our bed is right in front of the window, so we’re against this prospect. We had someone come out a few months ago to service it, but he said it’s too far gone, and repairs would be expensive and not last very long. So, we went out on the weekend after Thanksgiving, and took advantage of the sales, and ordered a new, FULL SIZED washer and dryer. VERY exciting.

Our little condo is old (30-something) and set up for the all in one unit, so we had to hire someone to come and put in another outlet in our laundry room, so we would have a plug for the washer, as well as one for the dryer. On Friday, the people came from Sears to deliver our new set (within their window, I’ll give them props), but the cord was not long enough to reach from the back of the dryer to the 220 outlet. They suggested that we might go to Home Depot, and try to buy a longer cord.

Saturday was baking day, the day the family comes together and we each bake one or two types of yummy cookies, and then we all take home a sampler. It’s a fun day of laughter, cookies, and KFC. On our way out to baking day, we picked up the suggested items from Home Depot.

Then on Sunday morning, Sears came back, and we hoped they would be able to hook up our new, beautiful, energy and water efficient units, which look like this. They can hold jeans, blankets, comforters, and towels (perhaps not all at once, but still, one at a time would be a vast improvement over what we have now). I want to go to there. Turly. But, sadly, they said that they were not authorized to use the wiring we had bought at Home Depot, that it would cancel our warranty. Um, no. I want full warranty, especially after our stove had problems WEEKS after the one year warranty ran out. Yes, it’s true.

So, this morning, we have the handyman coming out to put in a second 220 plug, where the wire from the dryer can reach it. If he does that, and we cannot for some reason get our washer/dryer unit in there, and close the door, I will be very sad. I will cry. I might even pout and be a pain in the butt for a bit. But I’ll get over it, and go pick something else out, something that I don’t really want, something that will fit. Because real life has a way of slapping you in the face and giving you perspective over petty appliance problems, no?

On Sunday, I was supposed to go to Stockton, to take my Grandma and Great Aunt to lunch at Red Lobster (their favorite) for scampi and cheese toast. Saturday, we came home from baking day to discover that Grandma had been having chest pains and had to spend the night in the hospital, so lunch was off. Scary. My Grandma is the best Grandma EVER, and though you may think your Grandma superior, you would be wrong. I am in no way ready to lose her. So, instead of going to lunch on Sunday, I just went to visit, (thankfully she was home already by the time I got there) and it turns out that she did not have a second heart attack, as we had feared. She had high potassium levels in her blood, which they treated with medication, and sent her home. Thank God. I am so grateful that she is OK. She looked wonderful and in no way as wiped out as I expected, not like I would look if I had spent the night in the hospital, and the doctors told her she has at least another 10 years left in her (she’s 85). Whew. I don’t want to lose her in 10 years even, but I’ll deal with that when I have to. I’m not ready yet. We laughed at our own family jokes, cried a bit about my mom, and over all had a nice visit.

So that was our weekend. Sweet (cookies!), stupid (appliance drama), scary (Grandma scare), and full of thankfulness and relief.

How was your weekend?

(by the way, it’s six months today since I lost my mom. How can it have gone so swiftly, and yet have lasted forever at the same time? I’ll admit that it’s still confusing to me that she’s gone.)