Happy Father's Day to my dear husband who allows me to include him in my blogs, exaggerate a great deal, and doesn't bat an eye when I buy a cool dishwasher. I love you!I told Dh he should accompany me to buy a dishwasher, but he played golf.
"It will cost you," I warned. To be fair, he did offer to cancel his tee time, but I declined. I had been good to the dishwasher, used three times a day, it was now fourteen years old and showing it. Only the bottom rack got clean and this is how it looks (to the left). Above you see the utensil basket. Yes, it has two jars in it upside down. These are to prevent anyone from using those spots because the forks and knives fall through. It is truly time. But I wanted to pick the new appliance out myself and stay true to my word.
I first wrote about my appliances back in 2004. This dishwasher was still a young'un. But tomorrow, it is GONE. Having for a month done dishes by hand, my daughter asks if I am replacing her. My reply? It doesn't load itself.
First published: Friday, December 10, 2004 and aired on public radio.
Tools of the Trade
"Harry* thinks we need to buy a backhoe now," commented my husband's cousin at the wedding reception table. We were catching up with family news, having not seen each other since August. Harry and Shawna* had moved into their own "money pit" this past year, escaping suburbia for rural New Jersey. As is often the case, there were a few little surprises in store for them in their new residence, including the state of the septic system, hence, the backhoe. Having enjoyed his experience with the borrowed machinery, Harry felt they should own their very own backhoe, in the event of another ditch-digging emergency.
We laughed at the preposterous idea, while at the same time commiserating that there were costly machines and tools in our very houses that our men had purchased so that they could be prepared for just about anything. "Yet," Shawna said, "if I pull out both racks of my dishwasher at the same time, the whole kitchen tilts." Appliances used daily, more than the saw and special drill bits that gather dust in my garage, limp along in my life. My mother-in-law fares no better. While visiting recently, I could not get her dishwasher to start. "Oh, you have to lean against the door with your hip and jab the start button hard with the handle of a knife, " she instructed.
We have a special implement that attaches to our tractor (yes, tractor, not lawn mower) that is called a hay fork. This little item is used three times a year to move a roll of hay from our hay trailer, also used but three times a year, to the ground. In contrast, our fifteen year old refrigerator, opened about a zillion times a day, is held together with packing tape. The interior is a cave without illumination, since the lights long stopped working. I hate to even think what lurks in the dark corners. And while I'm on the refrigerator, why is it that the little plastic shelves, which break off like saltine crackers, aren't better made but cost almost as much as the refrigerator costs to replace?
My washing machine, which runs continuously, lasted fifteen years with several replacements of the agitator spline. It was a good machine, if you did not mind the sound of a jet engine just off your kitchen. It finally died from an overload of sheets and towels, and I stood agonizing over the models in the showroom. After much soul searching, I thought of Harry's backhoe, and bought the most expensive one I could afford.
*names changed to protect the guilty
We laughed at the preposterous idea, while at the same time commiserating that there were costly machines and tools in our very houses that our men had purchased so that they could be prepared for just about anything. "Yet," Shawna said, "if I pull out both racks of my dishwasher at the same time, the whole kitchen tilts." Appliances used daily, more than the saw and special drill bits that gather dust in my garage, limp along in my life. My mother-in-law fares no better. While visiting recently, I could not get her dishwasher to start. "Oh, you have to lean against the door with your hip and jab the start button hard with the handle of a knife, " she instructed.
We have a special implement that attaches to our tractor (yes, tractor, not lawn mower) that is called a hay fork. This little item is used three times a year to move a roll of hay from our hay trailer, also used but three times a year, to the ground. In contrast, our fifteen year old refrigerator, opened about a zillion times a day, is held together with packing tape. The interior is a cave without illumination, since the lights long stopped working. I hate to even think what lurks in the dark corners. And while I'm on the refrigerator, why is it that the little plastic shelves, which break off like saltine crackers, aren't better made but cost almost as much as the refrigerator costs to replace?
My washing machine, which runs continuously, lasted fifteen years with several replacements of the agitator spline. It was a good machine, if you did not mind the sound of a jet engine just off your kitchen. It finally died from an overload of sheets and towels, and I stood agonizing over the models in the showroom. After much soul searching, I thought of Harry's backhoe, and bought the most expensive one I could afford.
*names changed to protect the guilty
2 comments:
I remember laughing when I first read this in your archives.
Bully on you for your new tools.
We do the dishwashing here in Hong Kong because the space is too small for even the smallest counter-mounted models.
Regina and I both miss our dishwashers of days of yore.
Maybe it IS time to have kids.
(I was always good for something...)
Tschuess,
Chris
Must be the week for dishwashers to croak... my neighbor's broke & she had to replace it. We got to salvage her bottom rack and replace ours which had broken tines that left rusty marks on some of the dishes.
Wow!, you use it 3 times a day? I'm not sure I use mine 3 times a week, but then, I guess there are more of you dirtying up dishes. ;)
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