Raising Maine

... in my freezer. (Of course, it's snowing outside of my window, too, but that, at least, is melting!)

It's November, so this means that the budget is preparing for a major stretching: Heating oil; Thanksgiving dinner; Christmas travel, food, and gifts; property tax; 2-3 weeks with no adjunct work (a nice break from teaching, but not without a price) just as the Christmas credit cards come due; road association dues for plowing and sanding; sweaters and gloves and boots for the kids (much less budget friendly than the shorts, t's and flip-flops of summer)...

...and now, yes indeed, my refrigerator is doing something funky. We have snow in the freezer, and less efficient cooling in the fridge.

Did I mention that we just spent a few hundred over the summer to get this necessary darling appliance running again? I wonder how many "fixes" we can do before we have to bite the bullet and spend a few thou on a decent new refrigerator?



It's enough to make me resent the coming holiday season.

I think I should take a hint from Robby, who recently broke off of his "I-hate-writing" strike long enough to write an endearing letter to Santa about how he wanted a "Golden Retreever puppy" (oh... and in a sweet little addendum, he added the promise, "Wen I have a dog I will feed him. What wood you do? I wood do the dog POOP. I wood do the feeding. The end.")

Huh. Maybe I should compose a letter to the guy up North.

Dear Santa, Please send me a new refrigerator that works... or, in lieu of that, please send money... lots of it, if you can manage.

Or maybe I should ask for tens and twenties? I wonder if that worked for Sally Brown?

"All I what is what I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share!!"



Yep. It's all very appropriate and will go quite well with the new-and-improved meaning of the season. My "give-it-to-me-I-deserve-it" letter will go right along with the pink metal tinsel tree I saw at the Brunswick Borders the day after Halloween... or maybe with the lawn reindeer that I saw at the end of Target's Halloween aisle back in September?



For the love of money, give me a hit of Perry Como -- QUICK! --because, God help me, "It's beginning to look (and feel) a lot like Christmas."