Three's

Dear Little Family,

Ok, ok I know...."where is my weekly letter?" I have been remiss. I am under the delusion that I need to keep all of the postings in chronological order. Since so much happened in such a short time, then the days passed, that I am behind. Erin suggested that I ‘go back’ when I can, but in the meantime, post what’s new.

There is an old adage that says “Bad things happen in three’s”, if that is the case, then all of my appliances will last forever!! I am hanging up my tool belt, cuz Baby, I’ve fixed them all.

We knew that the washing machine was on it’s last legs. I had a repair man come and give me it’s last rights. The noise it was making echoed around the house. Finally one day it would no longer agitate, everything just went around and around and around, tangling up into one knotted rope. I went to Craig’s List to see what was out there in the used department. I found an Energy Star Front Load washer for $10. The belt was slipping but I thought I could fix that. Ian and I checked it out, bought it, loaded it into the balloon van and drove straight to Idler’s to get a new belt. None were in stock, so I ordered it. As I was cleaning it, I found some wear marks that were suspicious, Rick was here (that is another post), he confirmed that the machine needed more than a belt. I looked on line and found the part I needed was around $200. Forget that.

We decided against buying someone else’s headache. Then started the search for a new washer. After consulting with the internet and my friendly repairman, who was so patient in answering all of my questions, it was determined that the new front loading washers (LG to be specific) are the best, but not for us. They require concrete, when they start to spin if not on a firm surface, tend to flex the floor and start walking, shaking and banging into the washer and walls. Uh, no. The search was narrowed down to three top loaders. I called Idlers to see what they had in their scratch and dent selection. We ended up getting a great deal on a Fisher Paykel. This is a New Zealand manufacturer who has some great new innovations that Whirpool has adopted. It was delivered and they took away both of the overly large doorstops that used to clean clothes. It is so cool, there are lots of neat buttons to push and multiple options for each load. Dad says that the clothes are looking cleaner. For the two weeks we were without a washer; once I went to the Laundromat- are you aware that each load cost two bucks!!! And that is washing only; I came home and used my own dryer. Continued use of that option would have been a $40 outlay each week. (that is what helped us in the decision to buy a new one) My good friend Patty Stewart let me use her washer the rest of the time. I discovered not having a washer is like loosing one of your limbs.

About that same time, my kitchen faucet started leaking. I disassembled it several times thinking that a small rock or something was stuck in it. Finally I called the manufacturer. They quickly sent me replacement parts. I was talking to Katie as I was putting it all back together. I got under the sink and turned the water back on. She can attest to the noise of the top of the faucet being blown off, hitting the ceiling and the sound of gushing water. She giggled and laughed as I described all the places in the kitchen that I had to dry off. That fix only lasted a short time. I even went to the big box store and got another replacement part. This time it was only Grandma and I home. I had decided to turn on the water so I could run the dishwasher. Fortunately, I was still in the kitchen when the geyser sprung. I quickly put my hand over the fountain and Grandma came shuffling across the floor with a towel to help. So here I am in a dilemma. I cannot uncover the faucet to get under the sink to shut off the water, there would be gallons of water all over the place, so I take G’ma’s offer to help. Mind you, during all of this calculating and gurgling of fluid, she is still shuffling across the kitchen. Very slowly she is reaching her hand over the sink, I had to grab it and move it over the water, then dive under the sink to shut off the flow. We got the mess all mopped up. It was funny, as G’ma was helping, the first thing she did was dry the sink! I decided I would manually fill the dishwasher by carrying buckets of water from the tub so we could have some clean dishes. To my delight I learned that the hot water shut off is above the inlet for the dishwasher! That was a saving grace. We did not have water in the kitchen for over a week, but with the dishwasher working, it was only a minor inconvenience. Price Pfister sent me a new faucet. Now we are all up town and have returned to the modern world.

I was feeling that our home was all put back together, when the belt on the dryer snapped. Drat. G’ma and I took a drive into town and got a replacement. It took longer than I thought to fix it. That is because I had trouble finding the right tools and as I was disassembling it I pulled a couple of wires out of their connectors for the door switch. I searched all over to see if we had any on hand. I called dad and he said he would stop on his way home and buy me some new ones. He also gave me a new set of wrenches. As he came in he presented them to me and announced, “Wrenches for the wench!”, all with a big smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye.

I love you all up to the sky, past Heavenly Father's house, to China and back into my heart.
Your Momma Somma
with promises to write more- soon!