Where's the Fridge?

After a month of living in a hotel, we finally moved into our house! It was such a relief to be out of the hotel that we moved in without any furniture.


And without a washer/dryer or a refrigerator... 


We got our keys at 5:00 pm, and by 6:30 our new mattresses were in our otherwise empty bedrooms, and a dorm room sized fridge from Best Buy was in the kitchen. 


Funny the little things that are different from region to region. In Minnesota, refrigerators and (typically) washers and dryers stay with a house. And if you rent an apartment, it already has a fridge in it. In CA, people move their refrigerators and w/d with them every time they move. Even when moving in and out of rentals. 


Every house we looked at had an empty space where the refrigerator belonged; or, if the house was occupied, it usually had a fridge that did not match the rest of the appliances. Our Realtor thought it was just common knowledge, and common practice everywhere, that people moved their refrigerators with them everywhere they go. 


As much thought as we put into buying just the right appliances when building a kitchen, I don't know that I want to go through the hassle of moving them with me everywhere I go. Having to rent a truck every time you change residences could get annoying fast. I think of all the times I moved in my college years and after we were first married, and a fridge definitely wouldn't have fit in the hatchback of our Toyota Celica. I'm surprised that I've not yet seen a car with a fridge strapped to its roof in the time we've been here. 


So, shopping we went. And it wouldn't be so bad if a person just had to buy the one appliance that's missing (the refrigerator), but when you buy a brand new, shiny fridge and get it into your kitchen, the other appliances start to look not so good! Our new refrigerator (which was accounted for in our moving budget) has turned into replacing the stove, microwave and dishwasher also (which was NOT accounted for in our moving budget). 


Now the only question is, next time we move, can I fit this in the back of my Mazda hatchback?

Californians talk about weather too!

People are always amazed at how much Minnesotans talk about the weather. It changes so often and it goes to such extremes that it always seems noteworthy to us. My husband will point out that Minnesotans are quick to say "This is really unusual weather" most every day, and that we seem to forget from week to week and year to year what the weather was like before. Every year my mom will say to my husband at least once in the summer and once in the winter "This is really unusual weather for Minnesota..." Fritz laughs now and says "Then it's normal." 

In Minnesota the weather can change by 60 degrees in a matter of 24 hours. We've seen winter days register at -30, but the temp the next day can be 30 above 0 and sunny. We sometimes have to wear long sleeves and jackets in June, and in March we might be in shorts playing Frisbee. The nights in November can put a killing frost on the plants, but by afternoon a person can go running in shorts and a t-shirt. 

Fritz has often commented that when weather is not a topic of conversation so often, then a person can think and talk about all sorts of other, much more important things. And when a person doesn't have to plan their wardrobe and their day around what the weather is going to be like, there is so much more fun to be had. 

Well, today, in California, people were talking about the weather! Its hit 100 or higher for quite a few days in a row now, and every where people are commenting on how hot it is and hopefully the heat will break by this weekend. The people in Starbucks were talking about it, the man at the gas station, the parents at school... and I couldn't help but smile every time.

It might not be every day of the year, like in Minnesota, but people in other states talk about the weather too! 

(That last comment may have been directed more at my husband than the general public...)