This month began with me getting sick. I literally spent the first day of October sick in bed. When I started to feel better, I moved into the living room, where I finished The Big Bang Theory. Bobby was away in New York City and then in Colombia, South America. The first thing to break down, if you don’t include me, was the clothes dryer. It was a case of: you don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone. I have taken for granted the value of this appliance. It works hard in our household. It was 17 years old and expected. I immediately ordered a new one. It was up and running in less than a week.

The next thing to go was the washer. I totally didn’t see that coming. And what are the chances of it breaking down at the same time as the dryer? It was our second washer in the 17 years living in this house, so not as old. I unsuccessfully tried a $2 fix I found on YouTube. Then I bought a $34 part, and I installed it after watching about two dozen YouTube videos. Success!

It was when our three week old lawnmower stopped self-propelling that I felt really frustrated. You don’t need to hear that story. It was a mixture of sickness, wet clothing, a minor injury and getting take-out. It’s behind me now. And the mower is in a shop in Holyoke.

Last weekend, I enjoyed a trip to Wadkins Glen with Bobby’s family. We stayed in a house on Seneca Lake. We went hiking and did a 2000 piece puzzle. It was beautiful there and lots of fun. When we returned home on Sunday, there was a little puddle on the floor in the kitchen. And the next day there was an error code on the dishwasher. After taking it apart and scoping out the situation, we decided to replace it. I bought a new one last night and hopefully that is the last thing that will break down for awhile.