Another regular to my backyard is our resident groundhog. I’m pretty sure he is the same big boy that I caught ducking into his den under the foundation of our shed this past winter. Especially since he lumbered off in that direction again after I took his picture. I can’t tell exactly where he went because the boat is in the way. Yes, the boat still isn’t in the water. Let’s not go there.
At any rate, here’s my chubby buddy. He’s a beaut!
He’s going to be in for a rude awakening when we deconstruct the shed and have a detached garage built in its place. Not sure when that’s going to happen. We had originally thought that we would do it this year, but it looks like we may have some large, unplanned expenses coming our way soon. The sensor in the microwave seems to have died, as I found out the last time I tried to make popcorn and it got partway through the cycle and then started beeping quite loudly and angrily at me. It works for regular functions, though, so I think I’m going to go back to having to actually listen to my popcorn to determine if it’s done and just suck it up until it completely dies. The oven isn’t working correctly, either. It takes forever to get up to temperature and when it decides to fire periodically to maintain the temperature, it sounds like a blast furnace. Not good. Plus, I have all sorts of issues with the stovetop burners. But again, I’ll limp it along as long as possible. The refrigerator has not been taking very kindly to the power outages lately and the compressor is starting to sound a bit wonky. So, 3 out of 4 major appliances in my kitchen, all of which are less than 10 years old, are on their way out. I am NOT pleased. This whole disposable mentality concerning just about any products in our society really irritates me, especially as someone who is mildly environmentally conscious. So, if things really do start to bite the dust, I will have someone come in and see if they can be repaired. I had someone come in and repair the freezer portion of the refrigerator several years ago and it only cost a couple of hundred dollars. Not bad when you consider the whole appliance was about $1500 when we bought it.
And finally, the biggest ticket item of all is our riding lawnmower. Every time Terry has tried to mow the lawn this season so far, there has been something wrong with it, making it unusable. He has replaced a bunch of parts on it already and manages to get one more session of mowing out of it each time. But the next time he goes out to get it going, something else goes kaput. This is after we had a problem with it over the winter, too, during one of those big snowstorms, when we really needed to blow ourselves out (we have a snowblower attachment for the front of the mower). I’m afraid to even start looking at the prices for a replacement. The blower attachment alone cost $700, so if we can’t find another model of mower that will accept the same blower, then we’ll really be in for a world of hurt.
These are the days when I wish I was a millionaire.
Wow! This is the year for major appliance purchases. It seems another blogger was having issues earlier this year with similar items.
Your gopher is a cutie!
He’s certainly a cutey!
It sounds like you have quite a few expenses coming your way in the near future. Nothing is made to last anymore and it is so disappointing to have to replace things so soon. Ten years really isn’t that old.
Ugh! I must admit that those types of unexpected expenses are definitely one thing that I don’t miss about being a homeowner since getting divorced. There are definitely a LOT more things I hate about being an apartment dweller, but at least the maintenance is covered. Hang in there!