does quilting factor into your choice of laundry equipment?

July 2, 2021

Sure did for me with my recent purchase.

“It’ll be $677.00 to repair the washer, ma’am and that’s if I can get parts,” stated the appliance repairman. “I’d just buy a new one.” With that, my top load GE impeller washing machine had been pronounced dead after only 8 years. He also advised that, based on his experience, Whirlpool and Speed Queen brands seemed to have the fewest repair calls.

The hunt for a new washing machine was on with some very specific and important quilter’s criteria:

(1) genuine soak cycle

(2) stainless steel completely smooth basket (and preferably large enough to hold a king size quilt).

The quilter’s criteria were non-negotiable. I spray baste my quilts and prefer to soak them for 20 minutes to remove any glue before washing. The basket also needs to be smooth so it won’t harm your fabric. Some stainless steel baskets resemble cheese graters on the inside. Run your hand back and forth over it to make sure the surface is smooth.

I found TWO Whirlpool/Maytag models at Home Depot/Lowes that would work. ($750-$1000 for washer)

I found ONE Speed Queen model at a local appliance store that would work. ($1000 for washer)

It all came down to quietness v. load capacity with availability (thanks COVID!) being the deciding factor.

After a two week wait, my Speed Queen TR5 washer & dryer arrived yesterday.

And yes, the washing machine is as quiet as advertised. My parents have had their Speed Queen laundry pair for nearly 15 years now. Hope mine lasts as long!

Speed Queen TR5 washer & dryer in my laundry room

what Matters Most?

June 30, 2021

What’s most important? What’s your why? First things first. What gets you out of bed in the morning?

Well, to answer the last one – a 65 pound Labradoodle named Sadie – ’cause big girl has to go outside.

You’re probably familiar with many of these questions that are used in goal setting exercises to get the you to drill down to what’s truly important to you. This is like a big picture of how you want your life to be. You generally focus on a single aspect of this “ideal vision” for a period of 6 months to a year. Many folks like to choose a word to represent their area of focus for the set period of time. I often choose a word in late December to focus on for the following year.

My word for 2021 is THRIVE. I created an acrostic to go with the word. Most everything I do meets at least one area outlined in the acronym. I think my unofficial word for 2021 must be CELEBRATE because COVID’s constant Blursday was so depressing. So, celebrate we have – seasonal decor (including table linens) is regularly refreshed and I check the National Day Calendar for the silliest celebration I can find each day.

For the past 18 months, we’ve been focused on healing from surgery and learning live with a cancer diagnosis that has no known cure. Work and maintaining a consistent schedule in the midst of COVID became very important to achieving the sense of normalcy hubby craved. There are some glimmers of hope as hubs is now willing to focus on the future and possible early retirement.

While early retirement is a consideration when it comes to developing my social network outside of school, I would venture to say that financial independence (or FI) has been the true goal for quite some time. This is why we’ve worked so hard, saved, invested and delayed gratification on many things over the years. It’ll be my choice when to transition from the day job to devote more time to my creative biz (or passion project as my financial advisor likes to call it). It also provides a sense of peace and confidence that I will be able to handle whatever life scenario A-Z that might come my way.

In the meantime, I need to focus on the T in THRIVE – transform my health – and go take big girl for a walk.