Bad News, Good News

Bad News: On Friday morning I went to the dishwasher to get some clean dishes out. Much to my chagrin, the dishwasher hadn't been set off the night before, so I closed it and pushed the start button. Even more to my chagrin, nothing happened. I tried closing it again, but still nothing. This was not what I wanted to see with a family of 6 on Easter weekend.
Good News: I called the company that has our extended warranty (Thank God for those extended warranties).
Bad News: They told us they could schedule someone to come out on Monday. I was totally unthrilled about that prospect, but it was what I expected.
Good News: Later on I got a call from the local company and the nice lady told me that they could get someone out that day. OH JOY!! I would have my dishwasher for the weekend, or so I thought.
Bad News: We had no idea what the problem was and thought it might be that a mouse had bit through the cord. When I mentioned this to the lady from the local company, she said that wouldn't be covered by the warranty. Oh well, I didn't have a choice but to have it fixed so I told him to come over anyway.
Good News: When the tech arrived, he took apart the front of the dishwasher and found that it was a problem with the computer in the touch pad and would be covered by warranty. I was glad that it seemed like a small problem that needed a piece replaced. I am old enough to remember when a repair man would come with all the parts he needed to fix the appliance in his truck. He would figure out what piece wore out and he would fix it. With today's appliances, there are so many parts and there are so many different brands that it is impossible to carry all the parts they need, thus leading to...
Bad News: He needs to order a part and it won't be here for 7 to 10 days. UUGGHH!!!

Good News: I have 2 older kids that can clean, dry and put away dishes by hand, so it isn't all bad :-)

We all have our talents

The other night our next door neighbor's daughter was staying overnight. After dinner I told the girls to do the dishes. Our friend offered to help Big Sister. Little Sister wanted to help too.

Little Sister-"What can I do to help?"
Big Sister- "I don't know. Stand there and look cute."
Little Sister- "Oh Great!!! That's what I do best!"

This is ridiculous!

I am a born and raised New Englander and can handle snow, but this winter has been dowright ridiculous. Concord, the official measurement place for New Hampshire, has registered over 102 inches before the snowstorm we had last night. Where we are usually gets about 1.5 as much snow as they do. If they get 5 inches, we usually between 7 and 9, so I bet we have had 150 inches.

Here are some pictures to give folks an idea of what it is like around our house

Here is a picture of how high the snow is next to the driveway. The van is a 15 passenger and about 8 feet high.

This is our Jeep Wrangler which has been in the yard all winter. Yes, the snow is up to the bottom of the door windows.

This is a frame for a archery target. The target is 3 feet square so the frame is about 5 feet tall.

This is the top of a tomato plant which we planted last Spring. The plant is in a 5 gallon pail with the tomato racks around it.

This is the "Magic Garbage Box". I put bags of garbage into the box and every Wednesday it disappears :) The snow on the top is just since last Sunday. We are hoping to dig out the front since if you can't get the door open the garbage elves can't take the garbage away.

This is our mailbox. It is a white box on a black metal post. Can't see it??? Neither can I.

Can you see the big green cover it? We haven't since the middle of December when it collapsed. Under the tarp is a boat that we hope is still in good shape when the snow finally does melt.

I am very glad that no one was near the barn when the snow came crashing down. This must be a huge weight of snow.

Our kids have a tree house which is 10 feet above the sand pit. The railings are 3.5 feet high and the floor is slatted. This is how much snow has stayed up there.

I can't believe how much snow we have gotten this year and they are saying more snow is coming. Thankfully we should have a couple of days that are in the 40s and most of this should melt. I can dream can't I?????