overcast, drizzle, 36 degrees

Stayed home from work today due to a nasty cold that struck hard yesterday. Yuck, I feel poorly. Bleh.

My mood is just as gray as the weather. On top of the cold, the washing machine just gave up the other day. I took it apart as far as I could get it, thinking maybe a sock or something had gotten stuck in the pump. Three hours, two broken bolts, three buckets of siphoned dirty water and one skinned knuckle later, I discovered that the rubber seal around the u-joint was torn. Needed a new part, at least, which is when I finally decided to call in reinforcements. In researching my washer model, (A Whirlpool Calypso) which came with the house when we bought it, I found that this is the worst washer ever made. Just a terrible design from top to bottom. No wonder that guy that sold us the house told me his wfe told him to put her old washer/dryer in this house, so she could get new ones. I bet she didn't buy a Calypso, either. They actually stopped making them.

The repair man just left. He told us to replace the parts it needed today would cost between $400-$525. Screw that. Now we need to find a new washing machine. I told Karen I'd start looking on Craigslist, but she seemed vehemently resistant to the idea. At least the repair guy gave us a $65 coupon toward the purchase of a new washer at Sears. That covered his trip charge. Seems like a big scam to me. The nice thing about buying from a dealer is the free delivery and set up.

I don't know about whether I should let them take the old one away....I've been eyeballing it as a potential smoker... hmmm. It is so full of plastic and wires, though, that I don't know if I'll ever get to get it down to bare skeleton. But it *does* have a stainless tub...