June to July 2011 - Our efforts to stimulate the economy
Since I retired in February of 2011, we've
been doing our part in stimulating the economy. Here are some of the
things we've been doing.
June 2011. We decided after 15 years it was time for new carpet in
our house. So our first stimulus package was $1,700.00 for new wall to
wall carpet. Since the carpet installers will only move the "big"
items (if you tip them), we had 15 years worth of "little" things to
move out of the rooms into the garage or outside. What a job that
was. I'm too old for that.
July 2011. A couple of years ago we had to replace our stove and our
dishwasher. The new units we got are stainless steel. Now our 15 year
old almond color refrigerator looks a little out of place, so off to
Sears we go and buy the biggest (31 cubic foot) stainless steel one
we could find. Or second stimulus package was a little over
$2,000.00.
July 2011. While walking out the door at Sears I noticed a new
Masterbuilt propane smoker sitting there calling my name, so our
third stimulus package was a little over $150.00 for a new smoker.
July 2011. Since
we got the new carpet, we decided the drapes in the 2 bedrooms and
the computer room don't match the carpet. So, while we're at the
mall buying the refrigerator and smoker, it's off to Penny's to purchase new
drapes. Our fourth stimulus package is a little over $300,00.
July 2011. So far 3 out of the 4 stimulus packages have been for the
inside of the house. One day while sitting on the patio smoking a
Tri Tip I noticed we had accumulated a lot of "junk" in our yard in
15 years. What to do.... I know, I'll get a Tuff Built shed to put
all our "junk" in. Our fifth stimulus package for the shed was a
little over $2000.00 (installed).
August 2011 - Antelope Valley Fair...Ugh
We decided to break our 10
year vow to never go to the Antelope Valley Fair again. So on Monday
August the 22nd (senior citizens day) we went to the fair. This was
our first visit to the new Lancaster Fairgrounds so we didn't know
what to expect. They said the fair hours were from 4:00pm to
midnight. We got there a little after 4:00pm and all the "close"
parking lots were already full. We had to park about 1/2 mile away.
Years ago before we vowed to never go to the fair one of our
favorite foods at the fair were the "Sioux Burgers". Since we were
hungry we each got a "Sioux Burger" remembering how good they were
years ago. What a disappointment. They were so greasy I think I had
grease running off my elbows.
We started walking around looking at different exhibits. Too many
people bumping into us, too rude to say excuse me. Too many foul
mouthed teenie boppers, not just the guys but the gals too. I
wouldn't have had the nerve to talk like that in public when I was
that age. The exhibit buildings are too far apart, too much walking,
so we decided we'd seen enough and went home and again vowed to
never go back to the fair.
October 2011 - More stimulating the economy
Our front bathroom toilet stopped up. Plunging it uplulgged it but
caused a leak to appear at the floor where to toilet attaches. We called
American Home Shield (our home protection company) and they sent a plumber
out to fix it. When he pulled the toilet up he found tree roots had grown
up and into the header pipe where the toilet connects. Between the
pressure of the roots and the force of me plunging the toilet the
header pipe cracked causing the leak.
Guess what.... American Home Shield won't pay for anything caused by tree
roots. So our stimulas for October was $650.00 for a new header pipe for
for the toilet.
December 2011 - More stimulating the economy
Couldn't get the kitchen sink faucet to stop dripping so we called a
Plumber to come and fix it. He installed a repair kit in the faucet but
since this was the 3rd time it had been repaired it still leaked a little, in
other words, the faucet was shot and needed to be replaced.
This is a good thing since everything else in the kitchen is Stainless
Steel now would be a good time to replace the old chrome faucet with a nice
new Stainless Steel faucet, but they ain't cheap. The Moen faucet we picked
out was $415.00 plus $100.00 for about 15 minutes of labor to install it.
So we helped the plumber by giving him work and we helped the economy by
buying a faucet made in the U.S.A.