My new frugality

This weekend I knocked out a bunch of things I’d been trying to accomplish for a while now.

First, I fixed our leaky kitchen sink.  Depending on how you closed the cold water tap it would drip or outright stream water despite being "off".  For you home improvement nuts it’s a cartridge style handle.  For a new $7.99 part and my stubbornness about doing it myself, it no longer leaks.

I also have been waiting and waiting and waiting for just the right king size pillowtop mattress to go up on sale at Craigslist for Sarah’s and my bedroom.  Beds are damn expensive, and we agreed that we weren’t the kind of people that drop a grand or more for a bed, so I’ve been waiting for the right mattress from someone reputable to show up…and it did.  By ourselves we shoved it up the stairs and set it up.  After putting it into place we instinctively lay down on it and held hands….and it was good.

Finally, I found some 45 cent brass set screws that allow me to repair the antique doorknob in the house that I’m told are original to the place.  The last two truly broken things are a burner on the stove that won’t turn on and the garage door opener that doesn’t seem to have a close button, only open.  I’ve set a rule for myself that I’m only fixing broken things before I go through and start making changes to enhance the house.  I find this all weirdly satisfying, like I’m getting away with something every time I get a deal off craigslist or fix something with my new-found home improvement muscles.

On the darker side, my mom has said she’s stopping her chemo treatment soon.