We have had a trauma in our family this past week:  our DVD player has quit working.  It was very sudden and unexpected; on Friday we watched Catch Me If You Can, and on Saturday when I tried to watch the whole disc of special features, the DVD player was unresponsive.  (For electronic handymen, the player will say that it is trying to read the disc but it will never go to the menu)  After trying the obvious remedies of repeatedly ejecting the disc, turning the power off and on, and unplugging the whole machine, we tried running a cleaning disc, which didn’t work either.

I am a little embarrassed at how my life has come to a screeching halt without this electronic device.  When I was stuck at home by myself in the cold rain on Saturday, I had no DVD bonus materials to keep me company.  On Monday night after HIMYM came on, there was no good TV to watch until the Kit Carson documentary came on PBS.  Normally we’d have gone to Hastings to get an old disc of The Office or one of our other new favorite shows.

Tonight I am supposed to get through a stack of paragraphs about Through the Looking Glass, and I’ve decided to go out and spend part of my treasured Starbucks gift card rather than sit at home with a boring task and a silent TV.

We’re trying hard to pinch pennies around the Watson casa, but it probably won’t take long for us to splurge on a new DVD player from Wal-Mart.  Considering I can buy a cheap one for the price of a tank of gas, it might be worth it to me to ride a bike for a week in exchange.

Meanwhile, we’re stuck using the still-functional VHS side of the player.  We’re brushing up on our old standby movies like The Buttercream Gang.  (“Sorry, Margaret, I didn’t see you there.”)