Middle of October

October 15, 2009

Happy Birthday, Zoom! I hope you have a wonderful day, week, year, and the rest of your life!

Yesterday was a jam-packed day ... too full for someone who is getting creaky!

Peter started working on the house, setting up scaffolding and replacing the Typar.

The Sears man arrived, unlocked the washer, and told me that this model is a dud ... needing far too many repairs to the electronic systems. He told me a trick not mentioned in the manual for unlocking it myself.

I went out with Tamarack in the afternoon. We saw John Benn's show at the Snapdragon Gallery in the Glebe ... wonderful ... love what he does with sunshine in the woods.

Then we stopped at The Papery and made some fun purchases.

Afterwards, we were frozen so we went to Felina's for hot spicy black bean soup. The soup was great but even more impressive were the table and chairs in the corner that had just been freshly painted in wonderful jewel colours and decorated with chameleon-like lizards. I took photos and talked to the creators. Mmmmn! A Yummy stop.

The next part is a rant ... I hope you won't stop reading, though!

Sears Canada phoned and we had a circular conversation in which I said that Sears should stand behind the products it sells especially those they sell under the Kenmore brand name, and perhaps they would consider replacing this machine with a a lower cost, simpler top loader; and she said (over and over again) that Sears policy is to repair machines covered by extended warantees; and that the manufacturer had not issued a recall on this machine so Sears policy was that it could not be replaced. Finally I said we were going in circles and getting nowhere. I said that Sears policy was not a good one and that I and my family and friends were all bloggers, and that the electronic word of mouth discussion of everything that had gone wrong with these very expensive machines in such a short time would not be good publicity for either Sears or the Kenmore line.

She said she could offer me an extended warranty ... two years of worry-free service and one inspection each year. I said I would take it ... not because I think it was fair but rather because I think I am dealing with a large corporation which doesn't give a damn about the kind of junk they are selling or about the customers they inconvenience.

We have moved away from an honest market in which the consumer could expect decent quality appliances that would last for many years, one in which the companies that sold those appliances would stand behind their products. The new reality is that appliances are just one more example of shoddy workmanship in a throw- away world. we live in a market in which insurance has to be purchased because the products are junk.

My pocket is feeling the strain of this reality, but so is our environment.

We purchase expensive green machines that conserve energy and water, but they cost the planet huge amounts of both to produce, and then, because the workmanship and materials are so shoddy, they end up in landfill far sooner than the less expensive machines they have replaced.

The Sears repairman advised me not to purchase anything but the simplest non-electronic machines from now on. His own washing machine is the simplest model available ... and it washes clothes faithfully. He likely paid $400 for his washer which is the same age as mine. I paid over $1000 with taxes. He has not had any problems. I have had almost $400 worth of problems with this one machine.

I definitely would not buy a front loading machine with electronic components again.

Would I buy from Sears again? I don't think so. The people who are on the front line ... the sales people ... the delivery personnel ... the technicians who do the repairs ... are all fine people trying to do their jobs as well as they can. I have not had a problem with any of them ... but the faceless corporation that makes the policies and never sees a customer or experiences the frustration ... the people making the really big bucks and the bad decisions ... are impossible to deal with.

The problem is that it is becoming harder and harder to find local retailers selling Canadian made products they can stand behind, but that is what I will be looking for the next time I buy anything as important as a washing machine.

Sorry for the rant ... but I think I finally understand in my deepest self now why it is so important not to buy from the places that don't care a whit about sustainability ... of the planet ... or of local industries. Before Sears bought up Robert Simpson's, we could depend on that retailer. Simpson's hired people ... lots of them ... who tried to give good service. Simpson's sold products that were most often manufactured here in Canada by people who cared about quality. Canadians had jobs and quality products. We need to begin supporting Canadian industry and retailers or we will lose what little we have left.

Giving Thanks

Playing Catch-up again ...

A busy time again ... TheOr and Ralph came out and worked for several hours moving the cedar down the hill on Thursday, and then the weekend was jam packed with friends staying and sharing meals. It culminated in a turkey dinner on Monday. We delivered dinner to Barry who is recuperating from knee replacement surgery and then feasted ourselves ... Sean, Ying and Chen Chen were lovely dinner guests. Cheng Cheng has the most infectious laugh and irrepressible sense of humour imaginable. And he thinks I am a riot, especially when I imitate Kenya. He's twelve.

During the weekend two untoward occurences: the washer broke down again on Saturday; and the power went out during Sunday night.

I had a wonderful time when the power went out ... discovered an odd little internet cafe in the village where I can have a coffee or tea, read the Globe and Mail and play with my laptop whenever I so choose.

Perhaps both problems will turn out to be providential. After all, how many times will the washer konk out before they realize it is a defective machine and replace it?

Yesterday, I was kept prisoner by an unkept Sears appointment. It meant that Sarah and I were unable to go for a walk with Lucas and the dogs, but it also allowed me the time to play with an idea I got from something Sean said after dinner. When the piece is completed I will post a photo and tell you about it ... but likely not till next week because it will have to be a secret till then.

The scaffolding arrived this morning and the actual work will begin tomorrow. It will be a messy bothersome time, but I think it will be worth it to finally see this house looking as if it is complete. Houses never are, of course; there is always something that needs doing ... but this is the last of the huge expensive tasks. And the last one that needs doing without any more delay. There are closets to complete and repairs to be made because of the water damage that occurred when the roof failed ... but these feel manageable. And projects like the garden will be fun to work on.

I hope your Thanksgiving was as pleasant as mine. This year it was easy to feel thankful that I live on a beautiful lake, that I have funky furniture to play with, and that so many good people (and dogs) make up my circle of family and friends.

Update on the Insane Washer

I left it unplugged overnight and now it is working. It did some strange thing with all its lights (sort of like a space ship checking all controls before lift-off) and then it worked. I won't cancel the appointment until the day before because one never knows what will happen next.

Erin tells us that Mercury is in retrograde and is playing tricks ... hmmn!

Too black a mood to post ... but I need to vent

I woke up in a wonderful mood despite getting almost no sleep last night because I was tending to a dog with explosive diarrhea and vomiting ... a dog who would die before she would sully the floor with such things. We were outside several times during the night. Today she is on a rice and water diet

When I got up I intended to get a whole bunch of necessary jobs done ... bills ... phone calls ... laundry ...

I got the bills in order and put the laundry in the machine and pushed the power button. Nothing. Nada. Not even a flickering light with an error message. I tried a lamp in the outlet. Fine. I tried again several times and was greeted by deathly stillness.

I broke the silence with an oath and all my plans scattered themselves as I collected all the bills and sat down at the phone to fume through extended waiting periods on hold with a faulty recording machine playing staticky canned music (must have been a Kenmore), receptionists who passed me on to other people, and finally a tough babe who agreed that two machines costing $1800 should not have caused me this much grief but said that no repair person would come inside my house if I didn't agree to pay the service call. She did tell me who manufactured the bloody machines (dryer-Frigidaire; washer- Whirlpool) and said that I would definitely get a response from Sears head office (it has been close to a month since I wrote) ... but she refused to give me a repair date before NEXT Friday ... that is the 25th. I have washed two loads of laundry in my washer since mid August!

So ... I have organized my tasks and dealt with a broken washer and wanted to commit murder today. I have not accomplished anything worthwhile.

Well ... that's not strictly true. I took a calming break to choose my colours for my next chair ... Iguana green, bright blue, bright yellow, brick red, turquoise, orange and cream ... the colours of the Algarve. I think it will be a wonky house chair ... and I think it will be a funky attempt to capture what is essentially Wakefield. A frame house with a sagging verandah in those colours will be the centrepiece and the legs etc. will be garnished with those colours and images that are quintessentially Wakefield.

And now I think I shall rest and rejuvenate myself so that tomorrow I can deal with all the things I should have done today.