The ongoing vacuum saga.

I've said before I have vacuum issues. About four years ago I bought a Hoover Windtunnel. Big mistake. I have had problem after problem with it - brush rolls don't fit, belts burn up, self-propelled function works intermittently and now not at all. It's been awful, and for $350, it shouldn't be.

So after "vacuuming" my carpets on Saturday and all but throwing my back out trying to push the thing back and forth, I decided to send it the way of all lousy machines - the dump.

That brought up a new problem; I had no vacuum.

Now, I love to shop as much as the next girl, but vacuums are not my idea of fun spending. And since the last expensive one I bought turned out to be not worth its weight in dustbunnies, I decided to buy a cheap one - you know, in the hundred dollar range. I wasn't sure what I would wind up with, but for a hundred bucks, I wasn't expecting much.

I went to Bed, Bath, and Beyond. Walmart. Lowe's. Target. I read websites. I went to epinions.com. I wound up with a Bissel for $120. Brought it home and vacuumed the 9x12 carpet in the living room that I just did on Saturday (that's 3 days) and here's what it sucked up:


I was speechless. This is what was in my "clean" carpet. Are you grossed out? I am.

Elijah came out of his room and said, "Whoa!" and it's not easy to scare a teenage boy.

I don't know if it will last four years, but that first cleaning was worth the $120.

Be thankful ~

Karen