SHOPPING FOR AN IRON

My comment on modular home living is that it's almost like living in a dorm room. Everything happens in the living room, which is the center of the house. The living room is home to the tv set, exercise equipment, the organ, my sewing machine and equipment, and the ironing board is just over the line in the dining area.

So, when I finish ironing, I carefully move the iron to a spot where it can cool and then store it on a shelf in the utility room. Except for that once – that once a couple of weeks ago when I forgot. Sure enough, the ironing board chose that moment to reach out and catch the toe of someone's boot and the iron landed on the floor with a thud. "Well, that's that for that iron," I said, also apologizing for having left it there. There was some comment about the resiliency of irons, but of course, today's iron with its electronic sensors and automatic shut-offs is not going to survive a fall. And it didn't. It acted very confused, heated erratically, was simply unusable. It had to be replaced and I was in no mood to wait until my birthday.

There are currently no marts in Clarkston, and I didn't feel like driving into Lewiston yesterday, so shopping for my new iron was limited to Costco and Jo-Ann's. I went to Costco first. The Rowenta "Professional" was $69.99 with one available. The Sunbeam was $29.99, a lesser model, and there must have been 35 in the stack. While I've had good luck with Sunbeam in the past, and I question that I need a really expensive iron, a friend advised against today's Sunbeam. So, I went to Jo-Ann's where a full line of Rowentas was available, including the "Professional," for which they wanted $100+. I chose a model that was advertised for "sewing and crafts" and approached the check-out. The iron rang up at $90.00. "Will you take this 40% coupon on the iron?" I asked, and they apologetically said no. Discussion ensued – mostly between the checkers, and they agreed that if I would come back to the Memorial Day sale, maybe – just maybe – they could get the 10% merchandise coupon to work, especially if I had other merchandise. "We're talking $9.00," I pointed out, "and I have to wait." And there were no guarantees.

So, it was back to Costco where the one Rowenta "Professional" was waiting for me. "Tolja!" it seemed to say as I tucked it under my arm and headed for the self check-out. When you only have one item at Costco, you just have to use the dreaded self check-out, and it went fine.

Weather watchers: We had three days of temps in the low 90s, then last night a storm came through and cooled us a bit. The sunset was just spectacular! Today we have wind and scattered showers. KW