>>> Here it is, another day where the sun is shinning, the birds are flitting, and I'm sitting in my little studio, wondering just what went WRONG!! <<<

Not too terribly long ago, Tom & I went to our most wonderful department store, Big Lots, and bought a spiffy bright yellow and altogether good looking vacuum cleaner. Price was right in our range of Not-Too-Cheap, but Not-So-Expensive-That-We'd-Cry-And-Walk-Out-The-Door. We happily brought it home, plugged it in, and went all up and down the hallway, skimming along, watching the very sleek and modern charcoal grey dirt cannister fill up with all sorts of odds and ends that had been lurking in our carpet. Very interesting to see, but kinda creepy too..those odd things lurking under the fibers. BUT ANYWAY -- we kept using it off and on, well, 'bout every week.

But THEN ~~

It started to Act Badly. Stopping While In The Middle of Work. Beginning to Smell Horrid and Overheat.

So we did what any smart person does. NO!! ~~ We did Not bang on the side of the machine. We cleaned out the filter..washed out the Sleek Grey Dirt Cannister.

And the machine continued to Overheat. Then the START button got stuck in the ON position, giving Lady Tulip a very NEARLY HORRIBLE heart attack every time she plugged in the vacuum cleaner. Tha's because she'd plug in the sucker, and it'd IMMEDIATELY start up and make All Sorts of Terrible Noises.

So ~~ Fast Forward to This Morning ~~ Lady Tulip had washed out the filter..cleaned out the Sleek and Altogether Modern Looking Dirt Cannister. Checked out the filter brushes. Did what every good and noble person does before attacking Odd Things Lurking in the Carpet.

The ON button actually worked correctly..and with a START push...the Vacuum Cleaner absolutely and Terrbily went into OVERDRIVE...Running nearly 1,239 times faster than it's supossed to run...the little motor started smelling like burnt wires, bad metal that's seen better dayz, and Smelled Up the Front Room. And it wouldn't turn off..Leaving Lady Tulip no other choice but to yell assorted and varied Bad Words -- run over to the electric outlet and UNPLUG the vacuum cleaner. While the motor came to a slow and smelly HALT...Lady Tulip became immediately AWARE that perhaps the Great Purchase of the YEAR was not such a good idea after all...and it was also On Sale. Which should have given Lady Tulip some WARNING about the Working Order of said vacuum cleaner.

All which means, that the DAYUM THING hauled off and killed itself. And smelled up the house at the same time. DAYYYUUUMMM...

So now there are STILL little bits of those hideous Odds and Ends covering the carpet..and Who Knows What Else lurking under all those fibers..Plus all the bits of old wallpaper backing that didn't get swept up in Lady Tulips bedroom..Needless to say, Lady Tulip is Feeling Out Of Sorts now..mainly because she has to haul off and look for another stuiped vacuum cleaner. did I say DAYYUUMMM at all today??

Lady of The Tulips -- listening to Noah up on the roof cleaning off 34,605 pine needles that flung themselves on the roof during last weekends Nor'easter...an' the weather persons say we may have another one this coming weekend..