A Death of Sorts

When you get to be our age, you are used to having to say good bye to old friends, and today we are in the throes of saying goodbye to another old and loyal friend.  When I went to get butter out of the fridge two days ago, I thought it odd that it was already a spreadable consistency, not a solid block.  Then when I went to serve Walt some ice cream for dessert it was kind of soft, but Walt had just bought it, so maybe it was a coincidence.  The next night it was softer, so I told Walt there was something wrong with the fridge, so he thoroughly cleaned all the vents and said he hoped that would fix the problem.  When I went to get a bottle of water, it was room temperature.

We have decided it's time to replace the fridge.  At our age, whenever we replace a major piece of equipment, we assume that this is the last time we will ever buy a [whatever].  Last kitchen appliance purchase was the microwave.  The fridge has lasted us 18 years and a new one may last close to that, but I hope by the time it is dying, I will either have beaten it to the grave or moved into a home!

So tomorrow is the day we will go fridge shopping.  I was off in San Ramon going to Char's book club today and Walt was busy all day, moving frozen stuff to our almost-never-used-now freezer in the garage and the most perishable refrigerator things into his mother's old fridge in our garage (she had that fridge when I MET her more than 50 years ago!  Somehow we inherited it and it has sat, plugged in, in our garage ever since she got rid of it!  Walt keeps it filled with big jugs of water, just to help keep it cold)

Anybody who has seen me post photos of our kitchen at any time knows that the refrigerator is a giant canvas on which all of the magnets I have purchased all over the world, the gift magnets, the sentimental magnets, etc. have been on display.  

So when I returned from San Ramon and walked into the kitchen it was a HUGE shock.

All the magnets are gone (well, they are in a box in the living room) and if we purchase a fridge to match the stove and microwave, which we probably will, it will not have a magnetized door and what will I do with all those magnets now?

But it is always exciting shopping for new toys and I look forward to seeing what is out there tomorrow.

My day was less strenuous than Walt's and a lot more fun.  I drove to Char's and we went to book club.  We were discussing "The Rosie Effect," and there was pretty unanimous opinion that we didn't like it nearly as much as the previous "The Rosie Project."

On the way back to Char's house and my car, we stopped off to drop a book by her daughter's house.  I opted to stay in the car, fearing that if I went to the door with her we would get to chatting and I was worried about time, since I had to review a show tonight and was facing rush hour traffic...and the show had a 7:30 p.m. curtain, not 8.

While I sat there--it was about 90 degrees outside--I decided what should be the perfect 'let the punishment fit the crime' punishment for people who leave their kids or animals in a hot car for "just a minute" while they run an errand.  They should be sentenced to sit in a car, in the sun, for half an hour--or maybe an hour, with a guard outside making sure they can't open the door or crank a window or remove their seat belt. Char was gone only 5 minutes and I cannot believe how much hotter it got in those 5 minutes  I could have opened the door to let in a bit of air, but, knowing she was coming right back, I wanted to experience what a baby would experience left, securely buckled and unable to move, in a car seat while the car got hotter and hotter.

It ain't fun!

The ride home was slow, but could have been worse.  Once I'd passed a certain point the 10 mph line of cars started to open up and it was pretty much clear sailing all the rest of way home...and I got about 2-1/2 hours of my audio book finished.

I didn't realize I had left my cane in Char's car until Walt and I got to the Music Circus later that night and I went to get it to go into the theater.  I always leave it in the car because I need it for stairs and sometimes for slopes (also for the sympathy vote when groups are waiting for the parking lot elevator!).  I texted her and she said that yes, it was there.  It will probably be a month before I pick it up (next book club meeting), but fortunately I have another cane here and that will do me all right...just not as convenient as my regular cane, which folds into 3 nice pieces to safely stow under a seat when I'm at the theater.