The Year We Bought Stuff

Maybe the toaster will be next

2011 has been a year of buying stuff we didn't want to buy, but then, what else is new?  First the washing machine and dryer broke.  We replaced them with nice new machines that hum a few bars when you turn them on.  "Da da da da da da" sings the washing machine when I open it.  "Da da da da da da" sings the dryer.  I love to sing along with them.   It makes doing laundry so very festive.  Next thing we replaced: the fridge.  The nice new one doesn't sing, but it does make beep beep sounds like a truck backing up if you keep the door open longer than ten seconds.  It is so very annoying.  One day, I will figure out how to make it stop before I lose my mind and must be committed to The Institute for the Very Very Nervous.  We had a few months off from consumer spending, and then, the other night, the TV in the bedroom sang its swan song, too.  Actually, it was more like a pesky fly.  Buzz, buzz, buzz went the TV.  Off went hubby to Best Buy.  Ba-bye, hubby.  Bring back something pretty.  He did.  A nice new  flat screen that does all sorts of things, depending on the channel.  It sings and dances, talks and dramatizes, animates and shows me that everyone is getting older, even Jon Stewart.  I am deeply in love with my new TV.  It is my favorite TV ever.  It knows exactly what I want.  Three days in, and I'm already way too attached, but then, what else is new?  I will be so sad when my favorite TV ever breaks in a few years. Till then, I'll treat it with respect.  I'll enjoy our time together.  I'll relish every moment.  I'll take cute photos of us running on the beach, or just nesting at home.  As 2011 winds down, I've learned such a valuable lesson:  Appliances come and go so quickly here.  You just never know which one will go next, so be kind to them all, every single day, and maybe, just maybe, they'll be kind to you.  Until they break and the damage is irreparable and out you go, into the cold, unforgiving consumer world, to spend again.