No good turn in the kitchen goes unpunished.

I was so excited to have a food processor, and I wanted to make chicken vindaloo so that I could eat leftovers all week and not take the time to cook. The first week of every quarter is a nightmare of sorts at work. Every minute counts, and I have to take the first train in and the last train out every day. I'd rather use my time at home to exercise than to cook, so today I made up enough leftovers to last most of the week. This advance planning was not without its hitches. I went to the grocery store this morning, finding once again that the 24/7 Safeway was closed, and I resorted to QFC. I got home, ate breakfast, puttered around, did some housework, and started cooking. I found that I have not just one, but two food processors. One is a mini Cuisinart, the other is an attachment for my blender. A wealth of food processors, when I thought I had none just a week ago! I was almost done with the vindaloo. I peeled and sliced the potatoes and ran the skins down the garbage disposal.

And the garbage disposal fell off of the bottom of the sink. No joke. See below. What you see is the neck of the disposal, corroded all the way through the metal. You can even see the soap suds inside from my attempt to clean out the sink while the disposal ran. Now, if you look very closely above and to the right of the disposal, you can see a spot of rust under the cabinet. Wanna guess what that is? That is from the cold water intake, which was also rusted through. As a matter of fact, it was so clogged with rust, you could almost not see light through it.

I was drinking water that came through that.

Sigh...

So between the replacement disposal, the labor to install, and the new faucets and labor to install the new pipes that weren't filled with rust, I spent a fortune today, and I didn't even get anything really cool, other than a very pretty new faucet and cleaner water and a disposal that doesn't make a death rattle every time I try to use it.

Well, I suppose that's nice too, but I'd rather just not have that much debt on my credit card. Or for that kind of money, I'd rather have a new wardrobe, which would include that lovely pair of brown suede Italian ankle boots at Nordstrom. Actually, if I had that kind of cash to burn, I would have bought the rest of the lumber that I need to finish building my fence and maybe hired a guy with a pickup truck to haul away some of my yard waste. Where the hell am I going to wear Italian ankle boots? I'm practical, but a girl can occasionally dream of splurging on pretty things. Though I doubt you can reasonably deny how pretty my new shiny things are. Look! A sprayer that actually sprays water, rather than dripping it! How novel! And handles with all of the little shiny arms intact! And they turn the same direction! And no leaks! Mmm... Wolverine Brass...

So, take a guess at what my day at home cost me on my credit card. Let's just call it a whole paycheck. I think that paints a pretty clear picture.

I think plumbers must make a pretty good living.