T'was The Day Before The Day

They tell us we can expect 5.8 inches of snow on New Year's Day

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Marcia, thanks so much for letting me know the kids liked the book.  So far, I have had only good reviews from the kids that have it.  :-)

I always wanted a Dyson vacuum cleaner.  I got one about 6 years ago--very expensive.  Two years ago, I had to get a new clutch, belt and brushes, plus two filters put into it= $175.00.  You cannot change the belt and brush by yourself.  Lately I had noticed that it no longer seemed to be picking up the cat litter or anything else, for that matter, so yesterday, I took it to the store to get repaired.  The owner was waiting on a customer, so I looked around at some of the floor models of vacuums.  There was Oreck, Hoover, Riccar and Dyson.  I noticed over in a corner, three Dyson's just like mine--they all had repair tags on them.  I talked to the owner a bit and asked about the Dyson's.  He said, "I'd be out of business if it wasn't for Dyson repairs."

SAY WHAT??

"I thought Dyson was supposed to be the best."

"No way!  They are highly over rated and very expensive."

"Well--I have one out in my car that needs to be repaired...again."

He went out and brought it in for me.

"Yep," he said.  "Needs another clutch, a new brush and belt."

I walked over and looked at an Oreck.

 Then he said, "This machine here is a really good one and a great price, plus it is on sale until the new year."

I looked at it.  Riccar.

"I've never even heard of this brand."

"It's made in the US--Missouri.  In my opinion, it beats any other vacuum I have in this store.  It's got a belt and brush you can replace yourself and the best suction I have ever seen."

He went on to say that most carpet manufacturer's won't honor the warranty on their carpet if you use a Dyson--"The brush on a Dyson will rip out the pile and carpet fibers."

So I came home with a pretty blue Riccar vacuum cleaner and spent the rest of the afternoon vacuuming every inch of carpeting in this house and boy--he was right!!  He also gave me a 5 year maintenance warranty for free.  I can take it in every year and he will clean it and check it all over to make sure it is all right--free.

I didn't quite believe him about the carpet companies not liking Dyson, so I called the local carpet store when I got home and asked.  Sure enough.  If you use a Dyson to vacuum your new carpeting--they will not honor the warranty on the carpet, if something wears.

Then, I Googled, "5 best vacuums" and came upon this presentation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFECvZOal14   very interesting.

So--my New Year's resolution is not to use the charge card for anything in 2014--put the vacuum on it, but it was still 2013, LOL.
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As an adult, I never liked New Year's Eve.  We either had a party or went to a party or dance--I was ALWAYS the Designated Driver as I never drank. I had fun dancing and all, but everyone else got so drunk!  I never got so many "hits ons" by my friend's husband's as I did on New Years Eve.  Of course, they were drunk, so I excused them for their actions.  But, I always felt uneasy around them for a couple of months after that.  They, being drunk, could always use the excuse that they "didn't remember"--I never bought that for a minute.  Anyway--as the midnight hour drew near, there was cheering and laughing and whooping and hollering and I--just felt sad.  Another year out of my life, is the way I felt--still do.  Then I had to drive the drunks home and stop the car at any given moment so they could open the doors and heave.  At least, I got the bed all to myself that night--my hubs was curled around the porcelain throne, sleeping on the cold bathroom floor.  

I had a pretty rough 2013, so I guess I might look forward to a better year in 2014, but, being the worrier and pessimist that I naturally am--I don't put much hope in this next year.  I think it is just going to be harder then the past one--something is telling me that.

At least my Spartan's are playing in the Rose Bowl, for the first time in 25 years, so that is one good thing to look forward to on New Year's Day.
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My cross stitch is progressing.  I am now working on my Grandma's farm--the one where I raised my children from 1967 to 1988.  The house sure was hard to do.  I couldn't make the stone front look like stones--still pondering on how to do that.  Real hard to outline the squares to look like stones.

Have a Happy New Year!