Monday, September 29, 2014

Redundancy

Normally I shy away from redundant appliances.  However, I recently bought a second slow cooker at a thrift store. My big slow cooker is fabulous for big batches of food that can be properly stored afterwards,but when we go camping, we can't store a ton of leftovers. In addition,  the larger cooker gets really hot, even on low, and easily overcooks smaller quantities.  I'm thankful to have found this second cooker second hand,too. Tonight the big cooker has a whole chicken cooking, and the small one has potatoes baking. Hopefully breaking my redundancy rule won't stress my limited kitchen storage!

Monday, September 22, 2014

Almost Fall

Tomorrow is the first full day of fall, my favorite season of the year! Today is laundry day, and it's a glorious day when you can line dry sheets. We took a lovely bike ride before lessons this morning. It's a simple pleasure to be out in the cool of the mornings, and still enjoy warmth in the afternoons,  just perfect! Tonight I'm making meatloaf and baked potatoes in the oven. No longer am I worried about heating up the house. It is time for baking, making soups,  and lots of family celebrations with fall birthdays and anniversaries.  Fall is awesome! 

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Well, There You Have It


Our dishwasher died.  I knew it was only a matter of time. It always seemed to be working hard and making odd sounds.  I am really surprised that it lasted almost a whole year, since we use the dishwasher every day, always more than one load a day, too. When we bought the house, we knew the old dishwasher was going to get a workout, and it might not be up to the challenge given that it was not a top of the line model.

So now begins our journey into hand washing dishes.  The kids have never had to do such a thing.  My husband never had a dishwasher growing up. I had 3 years without one as a young girl who was old enough to wash dishes, which made quite an impression, as in I did not enjoy the chore!

A working dishwasher is certainly a luxury, and eventually we will get it either fixed or replaced, but not for awhile.  We have other goals at the moment.  Until then, I will relive my girlhood, one dish at a time!  Perhaps I will daydream that I am washing up in my old farmhouse, as surely it will not have such a modern convenience.  And, my kids will get a chance to try a new chore while having a happy heart, like their mom.

UPDATE:  Jeff got it to work, but it is on light duty. Not sure it is 100%.