Talking about refrigerators

The refrigerator in our house in Fresno is fairly new, purchased a few years ago to replace the one that previously replaced the original harvest gold model. You see, I keep appliances until they will no longer work nor can be repaired.

Our current model, which is white.

Helly, out in Atlanta, has had a problem with a new refrigerator, and so it made me think about ours. She had gotten a new one that wasn’t quite the right size for the space and had to do some comical adjusting. Well, I thought it comical; I’m sure she thought it was just plain aggravating. Refrigerators come in different sizes, both width and height. You will note, from the picture above, that ours is short enough to leave space below the cabinet. That is where Helly ran into an issue. Well, one place, there were others.

I didn’t realize how much I love this newer refrigerator with its movable shelving, until we spent 15 months in the tiny apartment in San Francisco. The refrigerator there was quite old, but still working just fine. There was no separate meat drawer, no humidity-controlled vegetable drawers, and the shelving was that metal kind. There was no light in the freezer and certainly no pull-out shelving in either freezer or refrigerator. Gosh, guess I have gotten spoiled. You can see the whole tiny apartment kitchen in this photo taken the day we signed the lease:

White fridge, with plenty of room for the cabinets above it

I could even stack cereal boxes on top of this fridge.

Another nice thing about the refrigerator at the house in Fresno: our tiny granddaughter (who loves refrigerators) can sit in it:

The end of an era

We take very good care of our possessions, and we don’t run right out and buy the newest gadget just because everyone else is getting one. That said, I do have an iPhone, but I waited a year after they came out to get it. I wanted to make sure they had the bugs out, and I didn’t feel I could afford it until the house was paid off. I don’t like to start a new financial obligation until I’ve finished with an old one. But, back to our using up and wearing out our material goods before purchasing new ones…

If you look carefully to that picture in the previous post, you will see our 20 year old television, that is sitting on a 38 year old wall unit. (The wall unit was purchased before I even knew Terry, and it has resided in three homes.) The living room itself, when the furniture is put back, is pretty much the same as it has been for 30 years. We’ve replaced very few items. If you look at any photos of our kitchen (there are some on flickr), you will see that it is the same as the day it was built, except for updated refrigerator and dishwasher. (Why do those two items tend to wear out faster than ranges and ovens?) I would prefer the original dishwasher and refrigerator because they were harvest gold, the color of the range and oven. However, the newer dishwasher is whisper quiet and the refrigerator has a light in the freezer and roll-out trays which make meal prep a lot easier. How come they quit making appliances in harvest gold?

Below is a picture of my husband’s boom box, purchased around 25 years ago. He claims I bought it for him, but I find this highly doubtful as I wouldn’t have had any idea what to buy. He must have been with me at the time of the purchase which was made at a department store that no longer exists in a location from which it moved years before it finally folded. In other words, a long time ago.

Alas, the boom box is dying. Certain features no longer work and others are being contrary. My husband uses this almost every day to listen to the radio, his CDs, or even an occasional tape while he gets ready in the mornings. I think it’s the tape player that has given up the ghost. So, my question is this: do they even make these things any more? Or, is this the end of an era?

Oh, and the dresser on which the boom box sits, it’s 33 years old. Just thought you might want to know that.

I like the power company

Because I like a warm/cool home; I like a refrigerator; I like lights that come on at a flick of the switch; I like the convenience of the microwave, dishwasher, and dryer; I like a hot shower and a plug for my hairdryer; and, lest I forget, the box where I plug this wonderful computer that I especially like.  All these things that I like take power, and I can thank Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) for providing the power, right to my house, and now to my tiny apartment.

In Fresno, at the house, we have gas and electricity as our heating and water heater are gas powered.  Everything else in the house is electric.  The tiny apartment, on the other hand, is all electric.  Two locations, but one bill that comes once a month.  Both places have smart meters, which some people have been opposed to, but not us.  We think the smart meters are the best as our old meter was not calibrated correctly.  Things wear out, people.  New technologies can do a better job.  My one complaint is that it has done away with the meter reader.  I just hope they developed another job for that person to do.

Because it’s HOT in Fresno, we get a larger electrical allowance in the summer to help with the air conditioning costs.  The baseline is 509 Kwhs per month for the next three months.  We will go over this and pay a higher fee for the usage above that amount.  This past month was very cool, though, so we only used 375 Kwhs.  Low bill.

Because it’s NOT hot in San Francisco, our electric allowance drastically dropped as of June 1.  Whereas we had a baseline of 334 Kwhs in the winter months due to electrical heating, we only have 89 as the baseline for summer months.  That will run the refrigerator.  It will still be a smaller bill than what we have in Fresno.  Every time the air conditioner kicks on, I can feel the money draining away.  But, I like my cool home, so I will gladly pay the bill. I cannot imagine life without the power company.