I have a friend at church who claims every couple should get a shower every ten years. Why? Because by then all the stuff they got has started to wear out. We're a little ahead of schedule, because our ninth anniversary is coming up in December and we've already replaced almost everything in the last few years.

Of course, the crystal vases are fine and we're still using some of the towels, though they've been relegated to the upstairs, less used bathroom for some time. The iced tea maker and the Black & Decker Mini-chopper are still going strong. The Good Housekeeping Cookbook I got isn't one I use heavily now, but it is still a great reference and I pull it out more often than you'd think.

Other things just haven't survived. Our crockpot lost a handle a long time ago and finally started acting up a year or two later. The toaster oven caught fire (not from any bread crumbs in it, but from a bad heating element). We've replaced all those things over time and I've briefly been a bit sad for the loss of the wedding loot as I pitched out the broken items.

The one item I both longed to have die and also dreaded dying the most was our vacuum cleaner. As one of our wedding presents, we were given what should have been (judging by the price) a very nice upright Hoover. However, ever since the first time I used it in our very first apartment and it slipped a belt causing it to emit funny odors and stop sucking stuff up, I haven't exactly been fond of it. Over the years, it has travelled the country with us and I've spent a lot of time putting the &#*@) belt back on.

When we moved into our current house, even the movers made fun of our upright vacuum in a house with no carpets, but I have continued to drag it out for all the area rugs and to sweep and dust mop everything else. But I have hated that vacuum all along and while I hated it, my husband managed to think even less of it (even if his relationship with it was less close than mine).

A year or so, I accidently (really, I didn't mean it) ran over the cord and the vacuum, thinking that it was a lawn mower started eating the cord. Although I didn't really want to spend the money on a new one, I was some what hopeful. Had I killed it? Was the day of liberation from the Hoover finally at hand. Sadly, a bit of electrical tape and the thing kept right on going -- slipping belts here and there, but never offering to spark or act dangerous.

I finally out lasted the thing though. Two weeks ago, it stopped picking much of anything up. The bag wasn't full, the belt hadn't (for once) slipped out of place, and not only had the suction ceased being up to par, it was making a huge internal racket, as if it had started canniblizing its insides.

This time, I wasn't about to pay for a repair man to look at it. I started researching canister vacuums before the corpse was even out of the closet. I found what I wanted. I found an even better price with cheaper shipping for the same thing new on eBay, and I snapped it up. It arrived in three days and while I can't say I love vacuuming, I must say that I do have a great affection for the new little Bosch in the closet. Let's hear it for the Germans (but don't mention the war)!