Fridge

After the building contractor gave us the all-clear to go ahead and install a refrigerator in the kitchen (because he won't have to tear out the floor to repair the damaged underfloor joist and because the joist isn't near where the 'fridge will be installed), Lisa and I went to Lowe's in Fernley to shop for a relatively simple, no-frills refrigerator. Lisa was attracted to the Frigidaire Model LFHT1713LW, a simple top-freezer, no-icemaker model that will fit into the space we have for it and wasn't particularly expensive. It was the last one they had in stock, and because it had a small dent in it, they gave us a discount on the price even before applying a 10% discount coupon we had. But the one thing that concerned Lisa was where it was built. As some of you know, we've been attempting to avoid Chinese-built goods whenever possible on principle. This 'fridge didn't have anything on it that clearly stated where it was built. Some of the smaller Frigidaire models were clearly made in China. I sent an e-mail inquiry to Frigidaire, and their customer service parents at Electrolux just sent me a message saying that the model in question was built in Anderson, South Carolina. Good news! Anywhere in North America would have been okay, but being able to buy American here is a bonus.

Because our house is in the city limits and it's a relatively simple job, Lowe's could schedule delivery relatively quickly, although nominally they were backed up through the end of this week. They should have it to the house on Tuesday afternoon. Now we won't be limited by the relatively small capacity of the unit in the trailer, which will be helpful.

American Chopsticks

As something of a follow-up to my previous entry, and for Lisa's benefit because I'd mentioned it to her this past weekend, here's the story about Chinese Chopsticks Made in America.

Purely from a logistical point of view, it makes more sense to me for the USA, with lots of wood of the right type, to make chopsticks for export to China than for China, with a wood shortage, to import raw logs. Besides, I bet the shipping rates are really good, due to the huge imbalance of trade: most of those containers heading west across the Pacific are empty, so shippers are likely happy to have something other than air to transport. (Despite what I do for a living, I don't have any particular special knowledge of trans-Pacific shipping.)

I also think it's foolish that most or all toothpicks here are made in China, considering that it's likely that much of the wood was shipped to China from the USA or Canada.