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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Sunday, December 21, 2008 Home, with stove And a few other small things. One of the clerks in the stove department at Lehmans told me that she spent half her paycheck in the store, and I can believe it. If I lived close enough to drive up there regularly, I'd be in trouble. Having to pick things one at a time from the catalog or website seems to keep my spending more in check than standing in the middle of the store looking around at all the goodies at one time.Even with intentions to be good, I came home with a set of screens for my Roma food mill (to supplement the single screen that comes with it), a Christmas gift for my youngest grandson, a couple of other small kitchen items, a refrigerator magnet to remind me of my trip, and a lot of knowledge.After having seen the mechanical washer, I've decided not to buy one. Lehmans' version of it seems not to have the reported problems of the original (leaking and rusting), but it is still way too expensive for what you get. I'm also less certain now that I want the kerosene stove. I was able to examine the two-burner version of it in the store and it's smaller and much lighter than it appears in the catalog. It would have to be bolted to the floor for it to be safe to use, if nothing else. I'd worry about someone stumbling against it and turning the whole thing over, hot pans, burning kerosene and all, if it weren't secured to something. And I'm not certain it's deep enough to hold my biggest canning pot. So we're back to square one for alternatives to cooking with electricity. I may have to reconsider propane, despite the initial expense of having it installed and the potential problems with availability.The discussions about the well turned out much better than the ones about the kerosene stove and the washer. The well and water guy confirmed what I had already figured out about what I'd need and how much it would cost. So at some point in the coming months there will be another trip up there to pick up the components. I could just order them, but considering how short a trip it turned out to be, I think I have another little vacation coming.We drove back last night instead of staying over until today, because of the weather, and of course the anticipated nasty combination of snow and ice failed to move far south enough to have affected us if we had stayed. But I was ready to come back anyway. By myself, I'd have been happy to spend the whole day at Lehmans, but Clarence was in a foul mood, so I bailed out about one o'clock, called the hotel to get out of the second day's reservation, picked up the stove from the warehouse, and headed south.The stove, all 300 pounds of it, is in the trunk of the car and I guess it's going to stay there until Bill comes over to begin the installation, because I have no earthly idea how to get it out. If I didn't have much driving to do between now and next weekend, that would be fine. Unfortunately, I have to go to the Northern Neck (far eastern section of Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay) tomorrow, and various other parts of eastern Virginia Tuesday and Wednesday. Pay attention to the people who tell you not to carry any more weight in your car than you have to. I used three-quarters of a tank of gas to get to Lehmans, and a tank and a quarter to get home, just because of that extra 300 pounds in the trunk. I had wanted them to put it in the back seat rather than the trunk, because I knew I could get it out of the back seat by myself. But the warehouse guy was really reluctant to do that, citing the dangers of having 300 pounds of cast iron flying around in the passenger compartment if I had to brake suddenly. I couldn't argue with that, but now I'm not only stuck with it in the trunk, but I also have to deal with getting the wheelchair in and out of the back seat multiple times a day, much harder than getting it in and out of the trunk.Enough complaining. Time to hit the road and take advantage of the extra half day of work time that coming back early gave me. I'm going to go make a few clerks not very happy, showing up on a Sunday just before Christmas to do a government inspection. posted by Liz @ 11:17 AM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
And a few other small things. One of the clerks in the stove department at Lehmans told me that she spent half her paycheck in the store, and I can believe it. If I lived close enough to drive up there regularly, I'd be in trouble. Having to pick things one at a time from the catalog or website seems to keep my spending more in check than standing in the middle of the store looking around at all the goodies at one time.Even with intentions to be good, I came home with a set of screens for my Roma food mill (to supplement the single screen that comes with it), a Christmas gift for my youngest grandson, a couple of other small kitchen items, a refrigerator magnet to remind me of my trip, and a lot of knowledge.After having seen the mechanical washer, I've decided not to buy one. Lehmans' version of it seems not to have the reported problems of the original (leaking and rusting), but it is still way too expensive for what you get. I'm also less certain now that I want the kerosene stove. I was able to examine the two-burner version of it in the store and it's smaller and much lighter than it appears in the catalog. It would have to be bolted to the floor for it to be safe to use, if nothing else. I'd worry about someone stumbling against it and turning the whole thing over, hot pans, burning kerosene and all, if it weren't secured to something. And I'm not certain it's deep enough to hold my biggest canning pot. So we're back to square one for alternatives to cooking with electricity. I may have to reconsider propane, despite the initial expense of having it installed and the potential problems with availability.The discussions about the well turned out much better than the ones about the kerosene stove and the washer. The well and water guy confirmed what I had already figured out about what I'd need and how much it would cost. So at some point in the coming months there will be another trip up there to pick up the components. I could just order them, but considering how short a trip it turned out to be, I think I have another little vacation coming.We drove back last night instead of staying over until today, because of the weather, and of course the anticipated nasty combination of snow and ice failed to move far south enough to have affected us if we had stayed. But I was ready to come back anyway. By myself, I'd have been happy to spend the whole day at Lehmans, but Clarence was in a foul mood, so I bailed out about one o'clock, called the hotel to get out of the second day's reservation, picked up the stove from the warehouse, and headed south.The stove, all 300 pounds of it, is in the trunk of the car and I guess it's going to stay there until Bill comes over to begin the installation, because I have no earthly idea how to get it out. If I didn't have much driving to do between now and next weekend, that would be fine. Unfortunately, I have to go to the Northern Neck (far eastern section of Virginia on the Chesapeake Bay) tomorrow, and various other parts of eastern Virginia Tuesday and Wednesday. Pay attention to the people who tell you not to carry any more weight in your car than you have to. I used three-quarters of a tank of gas to get to Lehmans, and a tank and a quarter to get home, just because of that extra 300 pounds in the trunk. I had wanted them to put it in the back seat rather than the trunk, because I knew I could get it out of the back seat by myself. But the warehouse guy was really reluctant to do that, citing the dangers of having 300 pounds of cast iron flying around in the passenger compartment if I had to brake suddenly. I couldn't argue with that, but now I'm not only stuck with it in the trunk, but I also have to deal with getting the wheelchair in and out of the back seat multiple times a day, much harder than getting it in and out of the trunk.Enough complaining. Time to hit the road and take advantage of the extra half day of work time that coming back early gave me. I'm going to go make a few clerks not very happy, showing up on a Sunday just before Christmas to do a government inspection.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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