First World Decadence

We bought our last refrigerator when we moved into our last house, something like 15 years ago. It has generally held up well over that time, but it's begun to falter. Since we've been here, we've had the repair dude over twice, and replaced the gaskets on both fridge and freezer doors. We've nursed along the icemaker, jiggling the lever when it got balky. We've learned NOT to put items in the back on the bottom shelf that can't take being overchilled. In other words, we've become increasingly aware that The End Is Near.

With this in mind, we've been shopping-- hoping to find a replacement before some major component stopped working and left us wholly unrefrigerated. But appliances are pricey, and family-sized refrigerators are at the top of the "Ain't Cheap" list. So we've been biding our time.

However, we refinanced the mortgage last week at a significantly better rate, which means lower mortgage payments (and no payment at all next month!). And a local Appliance Mecca was having a serious sale. And the sales manager was willing to dicker a bit, even beyond that.

This happy combination of circumstances meant that this was delivered to our house this morning:


Ours looks just like this, except that a boatload of magnets and family pictures quickly went back up all over the front. The features that make me happiest are a) very low energy usage; b) the ice/water dispenser in the door (a feature we've never had before. It means we'll open the door less, so it's more energy efficient); and c) the bottom freezer opens like a drawer-- very easy access.

All this feels like the height of luxury to me-- and even though part of me feels a bit profligate, I am still unreasonably delighted with it.

This is way cool.