we *finally* bought a washer and dryer yesterday.

i readily admit my excitement in this matter is at a ridiculous level. i'm just as thrilled as i was about buying our car. maybe more so.

part of the reason, i think, that i'm so happy is due to how the sale itself went.

i never thought i'd say this, but- thanks, home depot.

i worked there for two years. as you can imagine, in that time i gained quite a bit of experience with salesmen. which, as it turned out, was a valuable learning period for me.

too bad for the guy who sold us our new appliances that i didn't share this information with him. from the moment he saw us step onto the showroom floor he was working it old school- asking how long we'd been in town, do we like connecticut, where did we move here from and isn't our daughter just adorable? (a few months, it's beautiful, south carolina last, and thank you, yes she is ) he didn't try to talk us into a more expensive model than we had already decided on (hooya, online research) but that's probably because he was SO busy trying to get us both to sign up for sears credit cards. which we did in order to get the discount (because you can always pay the amount in full when the bill arrives).

then he started pushing the extended service warranty. i can see how a lot of people would get conned into these- they sound like a really good idea if you don't know too much about them. but this guy had no idea who he was dealing with. i've seen first hand how "helpful" that extra few hundred bucks isn't when it comes to getting any real service on whatever you're buying. talk about fine print. so i politely said no. and then he pushed some more. so i said no again. and God bless his little heart, he tried one more time with, "are you sure? with the baby?" (this brought an image to mind of my nearly year old daughter crawling determinedly into the laundry room with a hammer and a severe grudge to settle against my brand new washer). i looked him in the eye, smiled slightly, and said, "i'm sure. thank you. i'm sure". at that point i'm fairly certain he realized he'd lost the extra commission (and whatever reward sears gives its employees for dumping a certain number of these warranties on people every month) but he just couldn't resist adding, "ok...." in that salesman tone that sounds like they're giving up but really means, "it's your funeral, lady. just trying to help out".

i couldn't help a smug smile as we exited the building.

my house smells like laundry right now. mmm.

tune in next time for, "you're not my dad! (or, "pot, the american way, and a lay look at the constitution").

cheers!

rainy, lovely, chilly fall.

which is nice but we'd really like to be outside sometimes, too. there's an orchard down the road where you can pick all the fruit you can handle for $1.38 a pound (cheaper than any grocery store, at least around here). we were going to go get some apples, pumpkin, and pears this weekend but- as we're not the sort of troopers who stand around in freezing rain just for some cheap apple pie- that expedition will have to wait for next week when it clears up a little. i know, party poopers galore.

i've learned the great and mystical secret as to why new england falls are so famous and long lasting. and i shall share this wonderous information with you for no charge whatsoever, xanga community (just remember this when i need my back scratched, huh?). basically, it just comes down to the fact that all the different kinds of trees here (and there are a LOT) have their own little season during which their leaves change. so one tree will be changing all sorts of amazing colors and losing its leaves while the ones next to it are still green or already naked. not even half of our trees are turning yet but the ones that are look wonderful. i think connecticut is my favorite place to live so far (barring my home state, of course).

 i should probably try and get some stuff done today. i think one movie day per week is plenty and i should get the rest of this place straightened up if we're going to have sailors over for boardgame night.

cheers!

but-

the other day my husband and i were walking around downtown mystic, ct (sidenote: while we were there we ate at mystic pizza which is, in fact, the site of julia roberts' first film. end sidenote) seeing, as it were, what there is to see. we wandered into a shop and saw a book on the zodiac so for fun brian looked up his sign (scorpio, in case you were curious, a fact i find abundantly ironic because that's also the only thing i've ever been stung by). the description was eerily accurate. then we read what it had to say on mine (gemini, in the interest of full disclosure) and found it also more on target than not.

i'm not sure what to make of all that business. it was entertaining, if nothing else.

thoughts?

on a completely seperate note, i typed the bulk of this entry left-handed while holding my daughter on my lap, who was munching away on (and dropping handfulls of) cheerios. hooya, motherly multitasking. ha.

cheers!