Since I no longer go over the river and through the snow to my grandparents’ farm, I hosted a very small feast.  And yes, I was left with a mound of leftovers, even though each of my guests took home a “to-go” box.  In fact, I’m eating a turkey sandwich, as I blog.

At 4:15 AM Friday morning, my cell phone blared an emergency alert: Tornado warning. Seek shelter.  For the next hour, I watched the bizarre tornado event blow through my casa.  True limbs flew,  thunder rolled, rain pelted the skylights. Thankfully, by mid-morning, the storm abated, and I was left with broken tree limbs, a filthy patio, and a filthier pool, replete with two floating patio chairs.  My outdoor Christmas lights were askew, and I was grateful I had not put up the inflatable.

The wind remained, and this transplanted Arizonan found it far too cold to work outside.  Yet, I did manage to retrieve the floating chairs.  I slept well knowing my pool cleaning system would work its magic and deliver a pristine pool by Saturday morning.

Saturday morning.  Time to go clean up the leaves and limbs.  Oops, I’ll check the pool.  WTF?  Still trashed.  Lord, I had all new equipment installed 8 years ago.  I checked, I troubleshot, I threw breakers–all to same result: system failure.  My pool guy came within three hours, “Sue, condolences.  Both your pump and motor are dead.”

Dead?  Irreparable?  “Sorry, Sue.  This equipment has been discontinued by the manufacturer given its many problems.”

“How much will this cost?” I asked.

“$1,500 minimum.”

Hmm.  I get $44.00 a month Social Security. (Long story)

“Hopefully, I can get the new system in by Wednesday.  Certainly, before Christmas.”

“Ok. Do it.”  In the past eight years of my new life, I’ve always bought a special, Christmas present for myself; however, rarely do I splurge to $1,000+ on myself…until now.