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Thursday, December 4, 2025

Brand New

27°f/-2.8°C, cloudy and cold all day, high only reached 32.

Well, it was one of those that's good/that's bad days again.

My new washer and dryer were to arrive today. I ordered them online from Lowe's,  so much easier than store shopping,  and even got the Black Friday price, on Sunday.

I didn't want to unhook my old set until I was sure the new ones were coming. You know how scheduled deliveries are! And the weather was icky, still plenty of snow on the ground. But an email this morning said yep, the truck was on the way. 

So hustle, hustle to get the old set unhooked. Which wasn't easy, of course,  because such things never are, at least around here. As were we pushing and shoving the old dryer out the door, a lady with pink hair pulled up. "I'm looking for Susan Hallsten?" Well, close enough, and yes that was me. She handed me a package, something I had ordered from ebay but somehow arrived via Walmart home delivery. Weird. And sad that the lady had to drive all the way out here to deliver it.

We finally got the washer out, and immediately the phone rang. It was the Lowe's delivery guy, who could not bring his big truck down our driveway. No problem, right? Larry could just take the truck up, and the set could be loaded on our truck and brought down.

Except the truck had a very, very low tire. Larry dragged out the air compressor and pumped it up. But then the truck wouldn't start. Of course. 

Next step: unload the washer and dryer at the top of the driveway,  and call our son Derek. He could come over in a couple hours--he was helping the Hunting Heroes program with a shooting match for disabled vets. By the time he got here, Larry had got the truck going and had somehow loaded both washer and dryer alone and brought them to the house. That man of mine!

So Derek helped get them inside and hooked up and we all had fruitcake and coffee (he likes my fruitcakes!).  And of course we tested the washer and dryer before he left.

And that was pretty much today. This is my first brand new laundry set in 35 years, and it is not a fancy model, believe me, but it will do. We had good luck with used ones for years, but the newer used machines do not hold up. I doubt the new ones will hold up like the one I bought in 1991, either. But maybe I'll get 5 years out of them. Ya think? 

Anyway, it was a good day, just tiring. But a couple truck drivers around here had bad days recently.  We saw this building on the way home yesterday. Here's a link to the story.


Then there was this story.  So when I read these stories, our washer/dryer hassles were nothing at all, a wee flea bite of irritation.  I am just glad those truckers survived their very bad days.

Now there are some who may be blaming the truck wrecks on Mothman. After all, both occurred in his stomping grounds, and at the time of year he has been blamed for other disasters, like the collapse of the Silver Bridge. Of course, that all hooha...right? 

Here's hoping your day was calm, peaceful, and contained no problematic trucks, washers, or dryers, or visits from Mothman!

Copyright Susanna Holstein. All rights reserved. No Republication or Redistribution Allowed without attribution to Susanna Holstein.

17 comments:

  1. Those truck driving stories are scary. We have chilly temperatures here right now and when I just checked it is 28 degrees here in Northern Virginia. Snow expected tomorrow but not much, about an inch. A slice of fruitcake and coffee would be a real nice treat. Glad you got your washer and dryer sorted out. Have a great Friday!

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    1. Our predicted snow never arrived. The old snow is still hanging on although I think we will see a good bit of melting today.

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  2. Fortunately, you folk seem fit enough to move big items, and oyu have help when you need it.

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    1. Yes, we can move some pretty havy stuff. And it us nice to have Derek close by. But he is thinking about living in the Philippines 6 months a year, so it might be a little difficult to call him for help then!

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  3. Eventful, but awesome that you got it done. What were you gonna do with Derek :-))

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    1. We would have managed, I'm sure, Angie. We have moved many heavy, awkward things this year. But Larry was getting so aggravated, and Derek calms him down lol. They work well together.

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  4. What an annoying day, but all's well that end's well. We have an older washer and dryer, and I hope they last a long time. At our old house we got a new washer and I didn't like the new features so much. I am very thankful that I have a washer and dryer in my house.

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    1. Yes! The new features seem so unnecessary. Bells and whistles. You are right, though--- we are fortunate to have a washer and dryer. So many don't.

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  5. ...my life has been boring compared to yours!

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  6. I got a new washer and dryer a few months ago but I didn't need to go through all the stuff you went through. But your gang handled it well! Hope we both get many loads of laundry out of our new machines! ;)

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  7. It sounds like your washer and drier will be remembered not just as trusty servants, but as the ones that arrived with snow, different trucks, and finally coffee and fruitcake!

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  8. What a day!!! No snow here and even if the city clears at least the streets.

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  9. I got a new washer and dryer is April. The old dryer quit working, they were 17 years old. We didn't need to do any of what you did, Thankfully. The guys even brought the old washer down to the basement for me, as it still worked. You guys are fit. Loading those into a truck bed alone is a herculean feat!

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  10. That's great. It'll be nice to have one on site. Mine died about eight years ago and so I take my laundry down to Rick's (which is only two blocks away, no hardship). But home is better!

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  11. We just replaced our washer/dryer with a set on sale. Getting the old out/new inside was an ordeal and we didn't even have a low tire or driveway issues! Glad everything worked out well.

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  12. Nothing straightforward or simple about getting that washer/dryer into its new home. Whew!! I watched the 2 truck incidents and they were scary enough to watch let alone be involved in. Have a peaceful weekend.

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