Stuff

Things you own end up owning you. ~ Tyler Durden (Fight Club)

For months (probably longer in reality) I have been griping about our refrigerator. The pieces inside have been steadily breaking, limiting our ability to store all of our food (and see what needs to go before it turns a revolting shade of green). Thanks to the wonderfully salty air (which has an intoxicating, fabulous scent) there are spots of rust developing on the exterior doors. The side-by-side layout severely limits storage. Need I say more? Finally we gave in and embarked on a trek "up the beach" to purchase a new appliance. In the "real world" this would (at least I envision that it would) be a much easier process. For us living in our remote island paradise, this is somewhat of an ordeal. First we stopped at Sears. Our Sears is not a vast department store. Our Sears is smaller than most "real world" pharmacies, crammed with limited models of stoves, washers, dryers, dishwashers, lawn mowers, and tv's. There may be a few tools...can't be sure since tools confuse me....therefore, I avoid them. We checked out the models, but also wanted to check out the Home Depot. To make a long story short (if you can believe that coming from me), we liked one model there. Here was the "kicker".....delivery to our village consists only of "curb side" service. For almost $70, we could pay for someone to deliver the fridge to the yard. Perhaps this wouldn't be such an issue if the home in which we live wasn't 9-10ft off the ground to prevent flood damage. They weren't sure exactly who would service the appliance if there was a problem. Yes, we left Home Depot. On our way back to Sears we stopped off at a furniture store to look at some couches. Our present couch was purchased 13 years ago after Hurricane Emily ruined our old one (this was prior to our "house raising"). I ADORE this couch. It's long, comfy, beautiful and it was one of the first pieces of furniture I bought. The past few years (cough - since the children - cough) have not been good for our sleeper sofa. It has been stained from the illegal drinks and snacks that always find their way into the living room (despite the fact that the grown-ups in the house forbid their entry to the living room and the children NEVER take illegal items into the living room....must be the Boogie Dog or the Dryer Monster - except the Dryer Monster's diet, to my knowledge, is exclusively socks). There are tears from its use as a trampoline (although the children do not do this). I would love to have it reupholstered, but THAT is just as expensive as a new couch. I have never been a fan of leather furniture. I am constantly cold and prefer furniture that can surround me in comfort and warmth. Leather does not accomplish this for me. HOWEVER, after describing our lifestyle to the saleswoman, she convinced us that the leather sofa was the way to go. She listed several things that could be simply "wiped up".....when she mentioned sun lotion, I immediately pictured the sun lotion that is hidden on the underside of one of the cushions. I don't think she was pushing us in this direction for the commission, either. The other furniture we were eyeing would have added up to a comparable sale. Our new sofa (without a sleeper) will arrive in two weeks. I get too attached to "things". I honestly teared up when I thought about having to get rid of the couch I love. It IS a wreck. The slip cover looks awful on it. BUT I LOVE IT!!! I was the same way when we sold my green Honda (the first car I bought) because we knew we needed something bigger when Son was on the way. I literally cried when we handed the car over to its new owners. This new sofa will fit our lifestyle and will definitely improve the look of our living room, BUT I am so sentimental.....I will miss that old guy.

I know, I STILL haven't finished the fridge story. I'll get right back to it....but first I have to analyze the situation even more and divulge my freakiness. When shopping, I have no qualms about walking into Limited Too and plunking down hard-earned cash for Daughter's wardrobe. Perhaps it's because I enjoy buying for her and like seeing her in the clothes she loves (and maybe living a bit vicariously through her since I did not get to shop exclusively at the "popular stores" while growing up). In contrast, it honestly puts my stomach in knots when I am buying large ticket items for the house. All day yesterday I was on the verge of vomiting. We are paying cash for these items so it's not like we are getting into debt (further is more like it). I AM constantly complaining about how I feel we live like "trash". I guess part of it is that there are other projects I want done in addition to these new purchases and I want those done too. Our linoleum is torn in the kitchen....I want tile. The upstairs remodeling has been on hiatus for a LONG time. I want it DONE. I know that these new things will upgrade our present life, though. I WILL not curse the fridge every day. I will not pine away for a nicer looking couch when I enter the living room. I just need to accept these changes and quit worrying and stressing over things so they don't run my life!!! Easier said than done. I will, at this point return to the fridge story because I could easily sit here ALL day and perseverate on how I became so freakin' anal about things and such a worrier. Unless I totally had myself fooled in the past, I was not like this earlier in my life. This obsessive freakishness has somehow invaded and taken over the person who used to be able to sit and stare at Lifetime Television for an entire weekend whether the laundry was done or not!

Back to Sears. The fridge we liked best was a close-out model. Stainless (something else I didn't think I wanted). There are a few "dings" in the door (ok Luscious, I never claimed to be as anal as you - smiles). I can live with the dings for a few reasons. 1. $400 discount....making the price less than the "white" model 2. Son would probably ding the fridge anyway. 3. I really like the "layout" of the interior. And guess what else? Sears will service the fridge in our paradise AND for less than $10 more than Home Depot they will bring the thing INTO my house in paradise!!! The new fridge will be here next week so Hubby won't have to suffer through the "I hate this *7%4!@ fridge!" mantra anymore. I'm sure I will replace it with some other obsessive chant. At least I am aware of my quirks....I may not embrace them and am certainly not proud of them, but they are what make me the person I am. Love it or leave it.

SURPRISES OF THE DAY: selecting items that I have "opposed" for quite some time (stainless steel and leather)
NON-SURPRISES OF THE DAY: shedding tears for my couch; nausea over spending the money even though these are HOME IMPROVEMENTS that will ultimately bring me pride in my home

THE BEST PART OF THE DAY: going to Ethel's house and drowning my obsessions with the bootleg recipe for AppleBee tini's....too bad for Ethel and Mrs. Karaoke King (who came over, too) who had to hear me verbally analyze all this drivel (thanks, ladies!). Did I mention that our local liquor store does NOT carry regular apple liqueur? We had to go to the ABC store "up the beach" to find it. Don't worry you local ladies, I bought two bottles and have us covered for a bit! ALSO....the book club is a "go"! Poker be damned!