Wine, Wool and Whoppers: There Really Should Be a Warning!

Over the past 24 hours it has come to my attention that there needs to be more emphasis on alerting people to the various hazards that are lurking in our own homes.

Hazard #1:

Did you know that due to too much television exposure you can wind up with some really messed up dreams?
I was enjoying a deep REM sleep this morning and upon being wakened by the dog wanting her breakfast, realized that my dream included a variation of Myth Busters and Dinner Party Wars.

That can't be good; it's just weird.

Hazard #2:

I am not a fan of housework. I would rather knit. SURPRISE!!! To that end, I own a multitude of appliances to make the necessary evil, that is housework, more manageable. It is also important to note here that I own 2 cats and a dog.
This is my vacuum cleaner.

A very fine machine, indeed, that copes well with the hurdles before it on a biweekly basis.

Until last Tuesday. Last Tuesday it said, "No. I don't think so. I will turn on. I will begin to make the correct sound, but then I will make a slightly different sound that will cause you to wonder just what is going on with me? Then, while still having a significant amount of power running through my veins I will stop sucking. That's right, I will suck no more and you will be left to your own devices to ascertain just why I am making this unusual sound; why I am refusing to suck and revenge will be mine...mine, I say. All mine!" mmmmHHHHAAAA!!!

So I looked on line. I sent an email. I waited on hold...and left a message. I waited on hold another day...and left another message. I eventually called the store where I bought it to see what they could offer. My best bet? Bring it back to the store and they'll send it out. For me to seek out an authorized repair store had me going to a different town in a different county. SEVERAL days later I hear back from the phone message; too bad I wasn't home when they called. Today I heard back from the email and just because I was feeling optimistic, I guess, I gave them another call. THEY ANSWERED!! WOOHOO!!

Yes, yes, very busy after the holiday...

So they nice young man was very reassuring that I would have my machine up and running in no tim! He talked me through what we (me) were going to do.

Step 1-remove the canister. Check.

Step 2- locate the intake hole. Check

Step 3- We're going to put the hose over the intake hole to clear the blockage (he was confident there was a blockage).

"O.k. let me take the attachment off. Oh! there seems to be a collection of 'stuff' right here.
I'll just put the phone down and dig this stuff (dog hair mostly) out," and then we can go ahead with this whole turning the vacuum on itself thing.

So I dig and I pull dog hair, some small sticks, but there was something definitely caught up there; so I kept at it.

"Oh Wow. This is embarrassing," I said.