About 2 weeks ago we finally got around to buying a new stove. Our old one that came with the house was CRACKED on both sides, along the top so badly, that when the gas company pulled it away from the wall last week, the top actually caved in!

We were all proud of ourselves, being able to replace the stove with a new one from Home Depot. The bad part was that since the new one is gas, like our old one, we had to arrange for and pay the gas company to come out and disconnect the gas from our old one, then wait for Home Depot to deliver our new one, then arrange for and pay the gas company to hook our new one up to the gas. It was a process that took days, and we alternately ate horrible microwave food and fast food while waiting for our new stove to be replaced and hooked up correctly.

Then Saturday, Sept 11 was my husband's birthday! Yes, sometimes I think we're the only Americans who celebrate on September 11, our official National Misery Day. But it really is my husband's birthday, and we spent all last week cleaning up our house trying to make it look like 2 little kids, a big shedding dog, and two slobby adults don't live here, all while trying to coordinate the stove replacement. Saturday night was great, everyone brought chili, as my husband requested, and we all sat around and ate junk food and told jokes, it was fun.

I noticed when my husband passed out the ice cream cups, you know, the kind with the little, wooden spoon in them, that the ice cream was kind of melty, but I didn't investigate it until everyone was gone, around midnight. Guess what. The refrigerator is dead!

Sears says they can't come out and see if they can repair it until Friday, 4 days from now.

Tonight we ate Chinese take-out for dinner.