Rattle, Clunk and Smoke

So I was in Suzy Homemaker mode.  Drug out the vacuum.  Started sucking up the debris on my bedroom carpet.  And I soon smelled smoke.

Oh, crap.  Please don't anybody tell me that there is another fire in my building.  About that time I hear a noise that sounds like somebody is shaking a tin can full of marbles.  I look down and discover the smoke and noise is coming from the business end of my vacuum.

Laid the vac handle down flat on the floor so the smoking part is in the air.  Don't really want to burn a hole in the carpet.  Unplugged the offending machine.  The smoke slowly drifted out the open window.  Took a look at the bottom of the vac and found metal and plastic bits and shavings.  This is not good.

The vacuum belonged to Youngest Daughter before I got it several years ago.  It has had a workout.  It owes me nothing.  Sometimes a piece of equipment just isn't worth fixing.  This is one of those times.

On to the next project.  Grabbed the carpet cleaning machine and headed for the living room.  Wanted to give the carpet a good cleaning before I get busy with other things.  I managed to get about three square feet of carpet cleaned when there was a whine, a clunk, and then the machine just died.  Checked the belt.  OK.  Made sure I hadn't tripped a breaker.  Nope.  Plugged into a different outlet.  Nothing.  Messed with the on-off switch.  It finally came to life, only to clunk two or three more times and die again.

I am a fairly patient person.  Not completely patient, but fairly patient.  But by this time I had had enough.  Wrestled the carpet cleaner down the stairs and tossed it into the dumpster.  Came back in and made the same trip with the vacuum.  Came back inside and called my oldest daughter.  Asked her if she would go to the store, buy a vacuum cleaner and a carpet cleaner and bring them to me.  I knew that the boxes would never fit in my cart.  Trying to carry them on the bus was not an option.  She asked me if I needed them right then or would tomorrow be alright.  Tomorrow would be just fine.

The vacuum cleaner in the box and the carpet cleaner in the box are sitting in my kitchen.  Tomorrow I will put them together.  And vacuum my carpets.  And shampoo my carpets.  I've been working hard to stick to a budget, and it has paid off.  Of course, it helped that I pretty much stayed home all winter.  When you don't go anywhere, you don't spend money.  So I could replace the worn out vac and carpet cleaner without ripping my finances to shreds.

And tonight I will say a prayer, thanking the good Lord for giving me yet another daughter who is willing to come riding in on a white charger to save the day for her mother.