T -1

So about a month back, The Wife and I decided to host Thanksgiving this year.  'Tis a small affair, only inviting my mother, sister and brother-in-law.  For the past week or so, I have been cleaning, planning, collecting all the recipes I need, etc. i.e. getting my mise in place. ;)  Monday I did the bulk of the shopping,  Tuesday I made the eggnog and baked an experimental bread loaf, and today, ... Today ...

Today was a bit of a mess.  

Iain had the day off and I had some more shopping to do, so I got to drag the kids around all morning.  Got home at about 11.  No problem, I'm only like an hour behind schedule.  Okay, get the breads together, start the spinach dip -- make lunch.  Clean up lunch, bake the cornbread, punch down the bread (aren't they both supposed to rise?  owell...) 

And so, I, the brilliant one, declare to all the fates who happening to be listening, that I am "pretty much done for today."  Idiot.  

I think it was about half an hour later when the bearings on the motor in the blower of my furnace decided to make interesting noises.  (Note to homeowners out there:  If your furnace is making sounds similar to your two year old making a poopie, your furnace is also making a poopie.)

So I, being the do-it-yourselfer (and cheapskate) that I am, diagnosed the problem as a burnt out starter capacitor, and ran out to get a replacement (after wasting about an hour awaiting call-backs from my HVAC uncle and the parts dealer.)  

At the parts shop, I was told that yes, the cap was bad, but a burnt-out motor would burn out a cap.  So I also purchased a replacement motor (owie-ow-ow-ow in the checkbook!!)  

Long story short(ish), I blow $200, 3 hours, and a loaf of bread (over-risen? dunno.) on this stupid furnace that, oh no, couldn't have blown when it was only needed for a couple of degrees overnight, and set my T-day prep back so far that as I am typing this, I'm waiting for my brine to cool enough to put the turkey in, though it should have been soaking from about an hour ago.  Woo-hoo!  

All this to say that we need the new congress to pass a law that major appliances can not break down immediately before or during any overtime-eligible time period.  :))  

Happy Thanksgiving!