This morning as I was pouring some honey on a piece of toast I was thinking about Dakota. I was thinking that his honey most definitely is better than the stuff my wife bought in the little plastic bear bottle.

I looked over at the toaster. (Actually I think all of this pondering went on while Ii was waiting for the toaster to finish cooking the bread.)

Any way I looked at the toast and was thinking about how it looked fairly new. Then I realized my wife would tell me that old thing, it is 5 years old or 7 years old or something like that. I realized I had no idea how old it was.

Last week her iron crapped out on her. I was glad it did because I have been telling her for months that it has been acting up only to have her tell me that is how it is suppose to act. When I showed her it was warm to the touch even though she had it turned off I finally won. Again I was thinking it was a couple of years old and said so only for her to tell me it was pretty old. It had to be 7 years old she said. It sure didn't seem that old to me.

I looked around the kitchen. I could not say within 3-4 years how old the stove, refrigerator, dish washer or kitchen table are. I'll bet she can. Where we bought them and the prices we paid. (The sale price and what they were listed as before being marked down.)

So I have been wondering. In another post Dakota mentioned how we got to have all this stuff and collect more and more of it. (Not his words, I am paraphrasing George Carlin.)





Is it just me? Do other guys know how old the toaster iron and other appliances are?
How about the big ticket durable goods like washers, drivers and refrigerators?
As I said in the other post stuff is not very important to me. I just don't think about them, what I paid for the item or how old it is.

For being the crummy kind of honey, it sure did taste good this morning. But then I have had a miserable cold for about a week so I am sure my sense of taste is off. One of the local restaurants has a bunch of bottles of honey for sell that one of the local bee wranglers brings in. Every time I am there I think about picking up a bottle. I have bought a few of them over the past couple of years.

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I'm a single parent, with an insane memory so I remember how old items are. I'm also very cheap so they don't replaced until completely unusable.

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It is funny, I got home last night and was in this mode based on Troy's comments.. look at all this "stuff" in this shop and how much of it is unnecessary and unused for most of its existence. I have totes of different collections of parts, tools, hardware, nuts, bolts, nails, cables, etc. It is fairly well organized, grouped and sorted. But it also is a reflection of my upbringing and nature that if it still is functional keep it because you never know.

I have shared I grew up on a farm, but I also grew up fairly poor and lived meagerly for most of my formative years. Long hours and short returns in the financial nature leaves an impression. Summers were not a vacation, it was when the real work began.

My parents did the best they could to splurge when they could, but for the most part, if I wanted something extra I would have to find a way to earn it. There were weeks or months in the summer if it was a light day on our farm I was working for another farm for scrap cash or a favor to be repaid at a later date.

It is how I got to many of the football camps, I would bust my ass to first afford it and second to call in some of those favors so I could attend the camps.

Different tangent.. sorry back on point.

We also collected everything with the mindset that sooner or later it might serve a purpose or get us out of a jam of some sort. And they more often did at some point or another.

But I can say, that I can walk to almost every item in the house and shop and tell you relatively when, where and why I still have it. But almost everything I have in collection is virtually financially worthless until its need is called upon. I don't have collections that are just for show or just to have. I have collections of shit that I may not use often but feel have a need just in case.

I can box up, in a single box, items that serve no purpose that I claim as mine that I collect just to admire. And almost every single one of those items are sports related.

Probably pathetic to some.. but logical to me. I give two shits about keeping up with the Jones, just don't.

And in honor of Carlin himself.. a query with his flare. ;)

Now.. the important note.. how the fuck am I the only MFer on this board that hasn't gotten a jar of honey. Color me pissed... lol.

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The honey I bought (The good stuff) was not Troy ND honey. It was from a local IL farmer.
I keep thinking I can get to finish off this jar and then get a hold of Troy for some of the good stuff only to find that my wife has another jar of the store stuff in the back of the cupboard.
Then when I am at the restaurant I mentioned every once in a while I figure heck it is cheaper/easier to pick up this bottle instead of having Troy ship it to me. Besides the magnanimous prck just may not charge me for it and then I would have to be nice to him for a week.

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LOL.. it honestly was a joke. A mild rip on Dakota.. nothing more. I went to school with a kid from a family outside of town that sell their own honey.. and I donate there a couple times a year.

I can't eat a lot of honey or true maple syrup.. just too sweet.

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Well, I can tell you how old the appliances in my house are. Only because we replaced them all in the last year. Price I could come close only because we planned the purchase our to get the most discount possible. All From Sears, during specials sales and Friends and Family nights, with an employee discount. Fridge, Stove, Microwave Hood, washer, and dryer and each was over 50% off when we finished.

Other than that, I could tell you how old the vehicles are. I could tell you roughly when I bought my tools.

I run things until they drop through, so in another 3 or 4 years, all I will remember is, we bought those when we remodeled the kitchen right. And I will have to count backwards by project between them to get close.

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You're not alone. I reckon if he did send me one, it'd be laced with an explosive. Of course he wouldn't want one of my girls to open it so he'd have a card saying "Only Daddy's can open".

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Kind of the same approach the Vikings use with their quarterbacks.[grin1]

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Our iron (we inherited it when my father in law died) is from 1968. I know that cause it's still in the original box. And the even funnier part is, he bought it refurbished from the factory!
And it still works perfectly!
Of course i only iron something maybe 2 times a year, so it doesn't get over used!

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I know what you mean. I think we should keep stuff a little longer. The iron isn't one of them. I hate it when I see the lights flicker because the iron kicks on and she isn't using it. Not only is that a fire hazard it wastes money.

All my shirts need ironing. My wife likes to buy the ones that are not all cotton since they are easier on her. I like 100% cotton since they look nicer and feel better. Guess who wins that one? Not me.

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