Last year I really went wild and bought myself a good digital camera for Christmas. I haven't spent that much money on "extras" for a long long time, but I did think I had good justification and mentally reeled off all those excellent reasons for "doing it"...
Good for the graphics and webdesign business (essential, actually).
No film and processing costs. No waiting for processing.
Well - I've earned it haven't I? The existing SLR, an Olympus OM1 - bought in the Seventies - now has vegetation growing in the viewfinder (and goodness knows where else). It's done awesome service in the High Country all over Central New Zealand. Just about the only place it hasn't been is underwater. (Me neither - I'm a Fire subject so the idea of submersing in the ocean doesn't exactly fill the bill).
Decision made. Armed with a Christmas Specials catalogue I took off for our nearest large town (80 miles) and came back with an Olympus E-500 SLR with Twin Lens Pack.
Retribution was swift to follow. On Christmas morning I had no running water.
One of the joys of living Rural is being self-sufficient in some areas that townies take for granted. The pump motor wasn't working. I didn't mention it to my neighbour when I took my elderly mom over for afternoon tea - who needs that news on Christmas Day? Boxing Day a very kind friend came and took the motor to an expert - who was busy with outboard motors and the like for stranded visitors - so in all I survived 5 days on the spring and buckets - back to pioneering days. Hmmm - thank goodness my stock tanks up the hill were reasonably full and just held out for my animals.
The outcome was a new pump motor - a cool $520 unfitted. What with that and the pump man's bill I knew it would take me a week or two to recover ............