it all started yesterday...

I just got back from a "girls' night out" tonight.... and from doing laundry. Yes, I did both at the same time! I did my laundry at a friend's house during our "get together". All this because my washer quit today mid-load... so I had to wring out a whole batch of clothes by hand, and then load it into a hefty bag, drive 8 minutes, run it through the spin cycle, and then dry it. What a process, right? (if you can't tell, I'm mocking myself)

but to be completely honest, it was pretty inconvenient. But the washer breaking is only the straw that broke my back, because yesterday the garbage disposal gave out. But unlike the washer, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve when it comes to the disposal. Google and You Tube have lovely little sites about what to do in case your disposal clogs or jams. And rest assured, I've already tried all the quick-fix-it tips that are suggested. Afterall, a garbage disposal is a very simple machine, so they say, consisting of a basic motor and blades used to chop everything up. I used the allen wrench to "un-jam it trick", I pushed the red reset button many, many times, all with different combinations of "holding it down for 5 seconds" vs. "the rapid pressing method"... I proceeded to do the ole' "jiggle it a little trick", followed by the "hit it violently until your hand hurts method" .... not to mention, "stick your hand down there and fish out any foreign objects procedure" (although I think "they" suggested using a broom handle)... I even COMMANDED it to start working.... but nothing.

Now, I have to explain a bit... if you don't have a disposal, this may all seem very trivial. But having a non-working disposal is so much worse then not having a disposal at all, because nothing drains right. You can't use that sink at all. And if you do, it just fills up with nasty, gray water with a floaties, until you can scoop out the water 1/4 cup at a time, until the water recedes from the sink and back down the drain hole. It's really a gross process.

But luckily, after all this, I have some clarity about our little misfortunes.... I think our house likes to keep us humble by simultaneously sabotaging various mechanical machines within it's walls to force us to reflect on how lucky we are to have such modern conveniences at our finger-tips. (We've had quite a few in our recent past... the dishwasher, storm door, and garage door, just to name a few.) For instance, if my washer had NOT broken down today, I would have never reminisced about the pioneer women, and how freakishly strong their fore arms must have been. (Seriously, my hands were cramping up after wringing out 2 pairs of jeans.)... And how grateful I am that I don't have to have a bucket under my sink specifically for "wet garbage that won't burn" like we had growing up.

So really, I should be thanking my lucky potato peels (that's what clogged up the disposal in the first place), for this opportunity to be appreciative for what I have... and that all it takes is a phone call to our home-warranty repair guy to come out and fix it! it really is THAT easy! (I hope!)