Spirit Guides

I've always been curious who my spirit guides are. Go ahead, start being judgmental now—there's more coming. So today at the psychic fair (see, I told you), I asked a psychic and she said she could see two. One is an alligator in a baseball cap with a wicked sense of humor and the other is a Tibetan monk telling me to just breath.

Well, if that doesn't just sum me up, I don't know what does.

Who even thought you could have an alligator as a spirit guide? And I get a redneck one who's sarcastic. Wow. Now I have to wonder how they are assigned. I guess that's something to ask at the next psychic fair.

Time for a New Washer

So my washer broke. After 13 years, my front loader sounded like it was going to explode when I washed a load of laundry. I had quite the adventure finding a new one. The door opening to my kitchen is 26.5" wide. All large washers are 27" wide and 30" or more deep. And my contractor made sure to get the largest unit he could that would fit in my kitchen. He found the only unit that is 26.5" wide. After buying a new set and returning it the same day (when I remembered that I had narrow doors), I finally found my 13-year old Gibson reborn as a Frigidaire. They make almost exactly my same machine. The size specs are exactly the same (the knobs have changed a bit). So that's fantastic. Except nobody sells it in the is area and nobody would special order it for me. I had to buy it from a place in NYC and have them ship it here. But they don't install or haul away.

I have somebody taking my old one away. I listed it on Craig's List as a free working dryer if they take away my broken washer. Turns out a repair man is coming to pick them up and fix the washer for a shelter. That's a nice use for my old washer. I've read that it's not hard to fix (bearings and possible spider arm replacement); that most of the money is in the labor. If I were to pay to fix it, it would cost almost as much as buying a new one. Not worth it for me, but worth it for the repair man.

You know what's strange, I'm going to miss my old machine. The kitchen remodel was my first remodel in my first home. It worked like a champ. 13-years without a single hitch. (Although it is featured in another one of my blog posts on leaking water, but that came out of the return, not the washer.) I don't know how I grew attached to a washing machine, but I did. Since my new one is almost exactly the same, maybe I won't miss it so much. The new one actually has blue accents so it will match my kitchen better, so maybe I'll like it even more.

UPDATE: Here's the new one in place. 2.5 hours to install, due to some heavy rain (they only delivered to the door) and the fact that I can't help lift a 250 lb washer. It was just too heavy, so we used a series of slides and tilts that made it go down my front steps. I guess it's nice that the plastic is as white as the painted metal. And look at the lovely blue highlights that match the blue countertop and floor. Now I'm just waiting for the guy to come take away my old ones.

Frangipani: Abigail

Last year when I got back from Key West, I order a frangipani plant. Actually, I ordered it in the hotel in Georgia on my way home. I should have stopped at a nursery, but it didn't occur to me until I was driving for 10 hours through Florida.

This year it's growing like a champ! I imagine I have at least one more year until it blooms, if not more. This one is should be small and bush-like rather than tall and tree-like. You can see where it's grafted, I imagine the bottom part is what keeps it short.

PS My mom gave me the ceramic cats in the background. They are a Baltimore tradition. I've never seen them here in Virginia. My neighbors little dogs bark at them like they are real.