True Love

We've been feeling the love this Valentine's Day weekend! Ry & I had a romantic date to the opera Friday night, and Tess got in some Nana & Papa love while we were away.

We studied up on Tosca before the performance, so we understood pretty well what was going on. Subtitles (the opera's in Italian) help out a lot too. Tosca is a dramatic love story that is kind of a mix between Romeo & Juliet (starcrossed lovers that meet a tragic end), Hunchback of Notre Dame (think hypocritical, lecherous religious/political figures), and Les Miserables (set with a background of revolution).

It was new experience for both of us that we'll always remember. I think we'll do it again--I hear that La Boheme and Porgy & Bess are coming in the future. (Now, Metallica, that may be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, if you know what I mean.)

We descended from high culture on Friday to the banal on Saturday, but it was still romantic, if you ask me. A lady in our ward was moving and was selling her practically brand new washer & dryer for a song. Only catch--you have to come get them yourself. Luckily the ward was helping her move, so we borrowed a friend's truck & dolly and twisted a few arms (quite literally) into helping us haul them down her two flights of stairs. Ryan was patient, longsuffering, and only cursed my can't-pass-up-a-bargain nature under his breath.

We finally get them off the truck, into the house, installed and ready to go, and then I go to plug in the dryer. And the dryer plug doesn't match the outlet in our house. Uh-oh. So, I frantically call my dad and he tells me it may not be the end of the world: you just take the dryer apart, disassemble the plug and install a new one that fits. Disassemble electrical components?!

Oh sure, we can fix that! Piece of cake!

Believe it or not, it really was that simple. We got a new plug, Ryan installed it, and I ran outside with Tess and hid under a tree while he plugged it in to see if it worked.

The washer and dryer are really nice. Now we only have one minor problem left:

Yeah, we still have the OLD washer & dryer taking up most of the kitchen. They still work, so I put them up on Freecycle but the person who wanted them never showed up to take them. Aarrgh. I'm still working on getting them out of here. In the meantime, you'll notice how they're functioning as sort of a kitchen island, perfect for storing all your kitchen essentials.

Ryan sure loves me. Who else would put up with me?