Measure twice, cut once

Our new refrigerator is 2.5 inches too wide and 3 inches too tall for the space. Back it goes. At door opening, I shall be there with my receipt in hand to get a refund, then there are three more stores for me to check out with a 'hold-out' Whirlpool available - at Sears, so I'd rather not, but...

The worry now is getting it delivered before we leave and somehow not interfering with our packout. Yes, there are friends who'd cheerfully sit in our house and accept the delivery for us, we're blessed with that, but I want to see it - installed and working - before we depart. Or at least, it'd relieve my mind to do so.

I worked on all my worries while hand-sewing the edges of a new wool blanket. Shilo turned me on to the fabric, a wool/silk blend, and my thoughts naturally brightened as I thought of her. The blanket is a weird weave - part herringbone and part "checked" (warp is white and black thread and the 'checked' part of the weave is a two-thread over and under) with a subtle plaid of russet, brown and light blue running through it. I can't describe it well but it looks wonderfully homey and warm. Although now that I've sat with it in my hands for a while, I've learned it is a bit scratchy - my hands itch. I've already run it through the washer so I'll just have to live with the itch.

What I learned today

Brushed/Stainless steel refrigerators cannot support magnets.

So much for that!

We bought an Amana. The Whirlpool dealer took me to look at comparable models of both brands - they looked exactly alike. Exactly. Then he told me that they are made in the same factory. So why spend 30% more on name recognition?*

Tomorrow, it comes home and the old one goes away.
My mind is at ease.

[Add: Grumpy Old Sewing Machine Man called. It's dead, Jim. I shall have to shop for a new machine after Pennsic. Hey, the good news is that I won't be doing any last-minute sewing.]




* Whirlpool owns Maytag and Amana. Our repairman suggested we buy a Whirlpool (first choice) followed by the other two as he rarely has to do repairs on them as compared to GE or "new fancy-label brands from overseas whose parts can never be obtained".