We're going to ignore the elephant in the room for a lil' bit if you don't mind, OK?

The bearded eye-roller finally convinced me to get the uber cool washer and dryer he had his eye on. We had to compromise a bit though. I just can NOT justify spending 1,000 + EACH on a washer and dryer, so we both settled on the Whirlpool Duet Sport. They're a smaller, more plain version of the ones he wanted, but they still do the job.



They look big, but it's because we bought the stands that go underneath the units to raise the machines up and also serve as storage units.

As y'all know- I'm pretty fussy about my laundry being done JUST.SO. Even with all that fussiness, I had no idea that my laundry could turn out brighter and whiter simply due to the washing machine. I pulled my whites out of the dryer today and they were almost florescent! Without bleach, even.

On top of all of that, they conserve energy and water- so I feel like it was a good investment. Especially since we got the smaller white versions, that were MUCH less expensive.

I'll never get over my miserly ways.... much to the chagrin of BER.

My old washer and dryer worked fine, except for the fact that the spin cycle didn't really work very well. My clothes were still very wet when I put them into the dryer. Since they were still in working condition, I advertised them on Craigs List- free to the first person to answer the ad (and yes, I noted that the spin cycle wasn't that great). I spiffed them up to a nice shine and we put them in front of our garage for their new owner. I even put an almost full Costco sized Tide (with fabreeze!) laundry soap on top of the washer, since our new washer requires special soap.

The gal that picked them up left the sweetest note about how beautiful the washer and dryer were and how much she really needed a washer and dryer but couldn't afford it. It made us feel really good to help someone else out.

As for the elephant- I'm OK. I think y'all will start hearing from me more in the next couple of weeks. I've finally figured out that I've been going through the stages of grief- something I'm fully aware of due to my previous Hospice experience. I do NOT equate this in ANY way with losing a loved one, but the stages are similar.

Right now, I'm in the bitter stage, but acceptance is starting to peek through occasionally.

I certainly feel loved and cared about by my friends (both cyber and 3-d) and family, and that has meant so much to me. Your email, comments, and cards have been so supportive and loving. I'm very VERY blessed.