Dear Friends,
Woke up this morning in a pretty good mood. Yesterday was somewhat productive and I feel good about the work I did. We also got a new washer and dryer.
I have to let that one sink in a bit.
I like doing laundry. I don’t remember if I have written about this before, but there is something about doing laundry that gives me a certain sense of fulfillment, I guess. I’ve never really dissected my affinity for the practice of cleaning and maintaining clothes.
Come to think of it, I might be more excited about our new washer and dryer than I would be if I had a new car. Truly. I mean, new cars are cool and all, but what could be better than a bigger, more energy efficient washer and dryer? They’re even kinda cool looking, too. Rhondi did a good job of picking the color.
As I was working on writing yesterday afternoon, I was doing four or five glorious loads of laundry.
Wait, I should backtrack a bit. We didn’t just go out and buy new stuff because we’re rich like that. It was a necessity. As much as I like, no, love doing laundry, I also appreciate using a piece of machinery for as long as I can. I don’t need the latest and greatest of anything.
Our old dryer belonged to Gramma Val. When she died, we got her dryer as it was a huge upgrade over the one we had. It wasn’t new or anything, but Gramma took good care of it and no one else in the family needed one. It made me feel good to take it because I’m sentimental like that and it’s still working to this day.
It was our washer that took a dump.
About six months or so ago, it started leaking a bit between washes. There would be an inch of standing water in the bottom of the tub (basin/basket/cave..whatever you call the part you put your clothes in) quite often when I would go to do a new load. I probably do about three loads of laundry a week, I’m guessing, and the kids should each be doing a load or two, but they don’t. We are a big family who like a variety of clothes.
Anyway, I digress.
I looked up the cause of the leak on the intertube, diagnosed the washer, and ordered a part that would fix it. When I got the part, I looked at it and thought, “Okay, I’ll do this over the weekend.” I put the part on the shelf in the laundry/storage room, and never looked at it again.
Over the last six months, that leak led to things getting rusty under the control panel and where the water came into the tub. While we were in Maine, Ash did a load of clothes and said there was some stuff that fell into the basin. I ran a load when I got home ten days ago and a huge chunk of what seemed to be useful pieces fell into the tub.
The washer was dead.
I’ve been trying to remember where that washer came from. We might have bought it new. I can’t remember, which is odd to me, because of my love for laundry. It didn’t just appear one day. I know it came from somewhere, but it was probably over a decade old, at least. It blows me away we have been living in this house since 2007.
Rhondi found our new set on sale at the Home Depot. It was a very good sale (another thing I love) and I pulled the trigger. Two nice young men delivered and installed them around 1:30PM yesterday and I was able to find my happy laundry place again. The good feeling spilled over into the motivational part of my brain and I got some writing done, then Liam and I had a celebratory pizza and wings dinner.
It was also really nice to see Hayden. He came to town as his grandmother on his dad’s side was having a pretty serious surgery. We didn’t get to chat yet, but I look forward to hearing about how life in New York is going for him and the other things he has going on in his life.
Today is kind of a busy day, so it’s time to get on it. Interview this morning then some tribe time at the J’s this afternoon and early evening. Can’t wait.
Remember, though:
In laundry, I trust.
Except when it rusts.
or:
There once was a man who loved laundry
and when his washer broke he was ornery (pronounced the Southern way: Onnery).
It started to rust,
so he fussed and fussed,
and cussed it out like Sean Connery.
or:
Broken Washer man
Searching for truth in the spin
cycle of his life
uggh. That's terrible.
See you tomorrow.
The manuals are even still on top.
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