bad appliance karma

So both of our overpriced coffeemakers are currently out of commission. I've got a service call on the fancy-ass Italian espresso maker, the most beautiful piece of REALLY BAD design you've ever seen, and I'm still waiting to see if Bodum will ever respond to my e-mail asking them how in the hell I can get a replacement for their unbreakable polycarbonate carafe, which broke on Thursday morning. A few months ago, I boxed up my old French press and buried it deep in the cupboard under the stairs, and can't find it. A Monday morning without coffee is not to be contemplated, and as I am so very tired of being burned by pricey coffeemakers, so I went out to Argos -- utter madness before Christmas -- and found a very cheap and ugly drip coffeemaker for the amazing low price of £4.99. I predict this coffemaker will never, ever die or give us a moment's trouble, which is why I passed on the extended three year warranty for £1.99:

Cashier: Would you like an extended warranty for only £1.99?
Me: On a five quid coffeemaker?
Cashier: Four ninety-nine, ma'am.
Me: I think I'll just go ahead an live dangerously, thanks.

God, I'm an asshole sometimes, but I don't buy extended warranties anymore, because when I do, it seems like whatever inevitably takes down my expensively warrantied appliance is the one thing the warranty doesn't cover. I think I just have bad appliance karma. The Italian Job does actually work OK, as long as you don't mind a a completely unreliable thermostat and some leakage, and the need to turn it off immediately after making a shot of espresso, because of that completely unreliable thermostat. It cost enough that it's probably worth fixing, and having a back-up drip coffeemaker for people who, unlike my husband and me, prefer a mellower cup of coffee, instead of the heart palpitations that come with five shots of espresso before noon.

Argos was horrible. I don't really like the place at the best of times, but it was a zoo today. I actually had to queue to use the electronic catalog, and then ages to get through the payment queue, where I charmed the doubtless very tired and stressed out clerk with my snotty riposte about the warranty, and then into the queue to pick up my cheapo coffeemaker. All told, about half an hour, and every minute of it was totally sucktastic.

But then I got to come home to this:



And this:



Flash loooooooves the Christmas decorations, and spends a lot of time making me nervous by looking as if he's going to eat them, although all he actually does is rub his cheek pads against them, while making munching noises. Forunately, he doesn't seem hugely interested in the tree, although it is a stop on his patrolling route. He stops, he sniffs, he moves on, unlike Pix, who enjoys sitting under the tree, just out of reach, and batting at the ornaments on the lower branches. The cheap, plastic ornaments on the lower branches, because I am on to her. She hasn't knocked one off yet, but she will. When she's determined to be irritating, nothing will stop her. Just like her mommy.