too soon....

I was going to title this post "dead too soon," but then, given the doggy health issues, I was afraid I'd scare you....


Don't you hate when something that has always worked well for you ... quits working?

When you go out to pick up after the dogs, and your feet, ensconced in your favorite yard-work boots ... get wet? And it's not from the cracks in the rubber on top, you find to your dismay, so duct taping them really doesn't help?

I've had them for over 35 years, so I suppose I shouldn't complain about their demise, but I don't think you can get these, with the felt liners!, any more, and you surely can't get them in the end of March..........





Our latest casualty is this. It has lost its mind, and never (ever) shuts off. Can you say "frozen celery"? I thought you could. And oranges, and strawberries..... (Don't you think it's interesting that the milk isn't frozen? Verrrrry cold, but not frozen.....)

As with the boots, it has lasted far longer than one could hope -- it was in my first house when I bought it in 1980..... But still.





Heading off to Big Box to look at refrigerators. You can see the new little car does a spotty job of clearing its windshield.





Did you know it's getting pretty hard to find a fridge with no ice maker? A fridge which will allow you to stick magnets on it?

It seems to be impossible to find a house-size (as opposed to apartment-size) fridge that doesn't have wide shelves in the door for gallons of milk. Never mind that milk wants to be rather cold and the door is warmer than the rest, and never mind that milk is *heavy* and wrecks the hinges.................

In addition to those reasons why this design decision is stupid, the very wide door shelves mean that the regular shelves have to be shallower, and this means that if you have a top freezer, you really can't see into the main part of the fridge unless you bend over, even if you are 5'3". I know.



Next day, heading to the fancy appliance store to check out their selection. This was last Thursday, as the snow that I blogged on Friday began.







We are going to get a bottom-freezer fridge, so that we (especially the 6'4" half of the partnership) can see into the fridge without doing deep knee bends. Most of the bottom-freezer models have an enormous honking freezer compartment compared to the amount of space above. Plenty of room for that 20-pound turkey we always have in the freezer, but forget being able to see all the boxes of frozen veggies all stacked on each other (which is what we really have in the freezer, not turkeys!).

Then, as an added stupid design element, the freezer opening is drawer-ish rather than a door. This means that you have to lean over the drawer front as you bend over to try to see what is in there. Kneel down, and you can't see past the drawer front. Good grief.

Who *makes* these decisions? Have they ever been the size of an average woman? Have they ever been the size of an average woman trying to actually USE the appliance?

We chose the only brand/model we found with a bottom freezer that's not almost as big as the regular part, with a freezer door (not drawer-front), with no ice maker. Magnets stick to all the cheaper fridges, and do stick to this one. Consumers Reports labels it a best buy. Let's hope so.

Before we move on, we'll note that "cheaper" is a relative concept, and that one can spend untold thousands on refrigerators. We wandered through the "concept kitchens" in the fancy store, and ... good grief. Fridges bigger than our half bath. Stoves fit for a nice restaurant. Nothing tempting to me at all; I was cringing......... Can't see why people want all this ... stuff.

Ah well.

At least you can buy fridges in the end of March......