These past few months have been different than most. First our 28 year old furnace - which we knew would blow out any moment - blew out in the dead of winter. Like a dog, with good hearing and a good sense of sense smell, Paula alerted us! Rafe, she shouted, I smell gas! Lo and behold, the gas man came and seconded her opinion. He red tagged the furnace and with that he pronounced it dead. The furnace joined the hot water heater in the hell to which all dead appliances go. Two weeks earlier, the hot water heater burst flooding the basement. Thank goodness we had insurance. With the restoration funds we painted, laid new carpet, fixed the laundry room and all in all made the downstairs look much nicer than it ever had.

There is more. Once we got on a roll, we decided to go for it. We had 17 vinyl windows installed by West Coast Vinyl. It took 2 days and looks great. Between the water heater, the furnace, and the vinyl windows we replaced, Paula and I certainly did our patriotic duty to stimulate the economy. Hope OBama appreicates our contribution!