Slight Detour: Oh, Fimblefamble!

Bill chose to purchase the cheap model of Mr. Coffee.

After all, when the more expensive coffee pot lasts less than a year, why not save a few bucks and go cheap.

Plus, I happen to like the cheaper pot much better.

Yep, our latest Mr. Coffee went down yesterday with a lot of burping and groaning and no dripping.

Usually with Mr. Coffee's, I can extend the lifetime a bit by unscrewing the pump hose, taking it out and giving it a good cleaning.

Well, Mr. Coffee engineers must have figured that out.

Our latest model that went bust yesterday had no screw, preventing me from removing the hose from the pot.

I tried washing the pot thoroughly, fiddling with the pump. After I'd failed three times at getting just plain ol' water to drip into the pot, Bill decided it was time to buy a new coffee maker.

He brought home the unit above, noting that it was the cheap one.

Neither of us really cared, and the last pot made me mad every morning when I had to pull it away from the wall to pour in the water, and no matter how hard I tried to be careful, there was usually water all over the counter by the time I finished pouring.

The newer, cheaper model is so basic that it has no gremblins to make the task of pouring water into its tank anything but simple.

So, we're happy and figuring now that if this $13 model lasts six months, we'll be happy. I did notice that it, like the one before, has no screw to allow me to extend its life.

On the fix-it list, Bill has contacted a sawyer to come this afternoon to cut down at least one big pine tree.

He says that after John cuts down the tree, we'll come inside, watch a little TV, on the satellite channels, of course, so we can decide if a second tree needs to go down.

Hopefully, we can start making use of our $149 satellite bill again.

While we're waiting to watch TV, I think I'll spend some down time practicing usage of the words below. I've already used the bumfodder today and may do so again.

And, I hope I don't run into any clinchpoops today. Usually, they're on the TV so I'm safe until late afternoon.

Sometimes, when I can't think of anything more to write on my blog, I resort to a little fimblefamble, suggesting that I'm gonna jump right up from my computer chair and run out to do some hard labor.

That may be stretching it just a wee bit. but it makes a good ending.

And, if those of us who are in our golden years have one of a multitude of brain farts and can't think of a word like "fork," we can just substitute jigamaree. I'm sure our elderly brains can handle that work, right?

Anywho, I ran across an article listing a bunch of words we need to start injecting into our daily conversations. You can click the link and see the whole kittenkaboodle.

Bumfodder

Why yes, this is a 17th-century word for toilet paper. According to the OED, a second usage that popped up not long after this one is “Worthless or inferior literature; any written or printed material that is perceived as useless, tedious, or unnecessary.”

In other words, pages you could probably use as toilet paper.

Ouch.

Clinchpoop

If you get into a confrontation with a jerk, consider calling them a clinchpoop, which the OED defines as “A term of contempt for one considered wanting in gentlemanly breeding.”

The word originated in the mid-16th century and is now obsolete, but is definitely ready to make a comeback.

Fimblefamble

A 19th-century British slang term for a really lame excuse—think “I can’t go out because I have to, uh … wash my hair!”

Jigamaree

It’s time to retire thingamajig and use this word—which according to Mrs. Byrne’s Dictionary is “a word used for lack of a more specific one”—instead.