I Am Master of My Own Domain

Well, Gentle Reader, it's been quite a day for The Faudie. If you haven't noticed yet, my happy little blog now has a new home: www.notafoodie.com. After considering a few other domain options and considering having Orble host my own domain (which would have required using its less than satisfying posting interface), this morning I sat down and bought notafoodie.com, which came to me in the middle of the night.

Now that "Transitions" has its own domain, be sure to update your bookmark, Gentle Reader, to direct your browser to www.notafoodie.com. (And I'm sure, Gentle Reader, you have my blog bookmarked because I know you don't want to miss any of my thrilling posts.)

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Suburbs....
As I've mentioned a few times now, the stove here at Chez Boeckman-Walker is ancient, and I've been wanting to replace it with something built in the 21st century for a number of years.

I think I've also complained about the refrigerator that conveyed with the house, which likes to freeze anything to stick in the back half of it. When I mentioned this little quirk to Mum some weeks ago, she said such behavior was a sign of its declining health. Hmm, replacing two major appliances on our current household budget? Yeah, not going to happen.

At one point the husband and I decided that replacing the 'fridge was top priority because, well, 'fridges are damn useful things and being able to use the entire 'fridge is a really nice thing. Thus our search for a replacement began, but (1) I wasn't excited by the prices we'd probably have to pay for a model that would work well for the human and feline residents of Chez Boeckman-Walker and (2) I wasn't excited by the trade-offs we'd have to make for a new model we could afford because, well, after almost seven years of using it, I really like its features and would like something very comparable--at a price we can afford, of course.

Today we headed out to Giant Discount Appliance in Round Rock, hoping that perhaps this location, unlike its North Lamar location, would yield some kind of real bargain on a scratched or dented but still perfectly usable refrigerator. Heh, funny thing that quest for a bargain....

We did find a bargain. Except it was of the stove variety, not the 'fridge variety.

"But you weren't looking for a stove," you say, Gentle Reader. Yes, I'm well aware of that. But we passed by some stoves on our way toward the front of the store after glancing over some of the (very few) freezer-on-top 'fridges the store carried. And I just so happened to notice a GE Profile stove for a very nice price. A very nice price.

So after much going back and forth with the husband--along with a trip back to Chez Boeckman-Walker to discuss things, look at the account balances and do some additional research (a call to Mum to confirm what a bargain I'd found also produced some useful research). And while the husband, may the FSM bless his patient heart, wanted to do the proverbial "let's sleep on it" option of decision making, me and my impatient, neurotic self didn't want to (1) for fear it would be gone (even though the salesperson we'd spoken to had told us it had been on the floor for quite a while) if we dallied and (2) because, well, the stove was exactly what I had wanted to replace our dear old Lady Kenmore with at a price was just really too good to pass up.

(Famous last words there, Gentle Reader--"too good to pass up." Look around your own humble abode and see how much clutter came to be there because they were bargains that were too good to pass up.)

So, to wrap up this little tale, I now have a new stove. It's name is Lumpy, for reasons you'll understand Monday once Lumpy's delivered and available for photographs. If you want, check out Lumpy's care-and-feeding manuals and read about how it's a great tool for observant Jews. (Really. I'm not kidding. Go to page 19 in the owner's manual and see for yourself.)