They're dead, Jim! [In my best Dr. McCoy voice]

I don't know what it is about new construction. Certainly nothing in the actual building of our house was this well timed. But the self destruct in two of the kitchen appliances have now gone off.

3 weeks ago it was the garbage disposal. No big deal there. All garbage disposals built in the last 50 years have a standard mount. Just pop off the old one, pop on the new, and you're in business. Right? Sure. Unless your cheap-arsed builder used a $10 knock off bought on special in Korea (probably North, where the standard mount hasn't caught on yet). Yeah. 10 minute job turned into two sweating hours under the sink cracking it off section by section praying I wasn't going to chip the sink. But I got it on. It runs great. And it's so silent I wasn't sure it was working at first. (Hint - don't check if it's working by reaching inside it!)

This weekend - it was the dishwasher. It had started to get a little temperamental. It would stop in the middle of a cycle, sit there for a while, then start back up again. Or not. Finally when it gave me a near heart attack by noisily starting back up as I reached for a glass in the cabinet above it I decided it was time. I found a nice Consumer Reports Best Buy at Sears and brought it home. I am pleased to report that there was nothing funky about the install. Electric, water in, and drain tube were all standard pieces. The total job took less than an hour. Not bad for my first time. And no leaks! So life is good.

Or is it? Kind of makes you wonder what's next. I can't imagine the stove or oven are ready to die. But what about the things you never see? The water heater? The furnace? I am not looking forward to either of those going out - though replacing both of them with larger, more efficient units does have an appeal. Something tells me it won't be long!

BTW - I have to give a shout out to the village. I wasn't at all sure they'd take it, but the garbage guys took the old dishwasher from out by the curb. Thanks, guys!