Sour Puss

For the past few weeks now, David and I have been living sans dishwasher. Our Maytag, yes Maytag, the brand that never requires a handyman, is leaking. And my delicate hands can't take it anymore!

As a child, I would clean our entire house from top to bottom, including vacuuming, dusting, sweeping, organizing, etc. Clearly, my anal retentiveness began at an early age. My Mom would walk in and everything would be spotless. Then she'd round the corner to the kitchen and spot the sink full of dirty dishes. To this day, I absolutely detest the chore. I'd rather vacuum from dusk til dawn, just no dirty dishes!

So, these past few weeks have been sheer torture. David and I have been competing against one another in this sort of, unofficial shoot out. Neither of us has actually discussed any of this, but I know we're secretly thinking the same thing. We watch the dishes slowly gather in the sink and wait to see who will finally cave in and get to scrubbin'. So far I'm 0 and 26, and counting.

However, since his appellate brief is turned in, we decided to visit Home Depot, Sears and Lowe's today. Our first stop was Home Depot with friendly sales girl Lola. She did not disappoint the corporate sales image that is Home Depot. Nice, to the point, no kitsch. Next was Sears. Fifty dollars higher and a frumpy sales lady later, we were being offered the floor sample at a 10% discount. Me: "Little kids have probably been running around, opening and closing these dishwasher doors and banging them up, and you can't do 20% off? (At this point, I was just ready to grab one and go.) Last stop: Lowe's. After circling the dishwashers like preying hawks for 20 some odd minutes, we were finally approached by sales guy Dane. Upon asking if he could help me, I replied, "As a matter of a fact," (grumpiness setting in) "you can. We've been here for 20 minutes now and no one has even offered to help." My dad has visited Lowe's in a different location with the exact same complaint. Perhaps this explains why Home Depot is doing so well. Turns out, Home Depot was the also best bargain. I'm going to see Lola tomorrow.

Amidst this little scavenger hunt, we came across this:

It's a Meyer Lemon Tree! David eyed it at Home Depot and it was love at first sight. In the parking lot, he asked if it would be okay "riding" in the back of the truck. I volunteered to ride in the back and let Tree sit in the front, but he decided Tree would be okay roughing it in the back. I'm so excited to have this new addition. It feels as though we have brought home a new pet, though David says I can't water it. (I have a history.) I'll keep you posted on the birth of any lemons...