Cellar Scribblings

[Jeff Wrangler]

I think I'll use some of my bonus money to get the counter top dishwasher I've been thinking about.

I've never heard of those, but it sounds useful if you've got a small apartment.

[CellarDweller]

I've never heard of those, but it sounds useful if you've got a small apartment.

The Midea six-place setting countertop dishwasher fits under most kitchen cabinets and provides the same set functions as a standard dishwasher. The stainless steel chamber dishwasher can be connected immediately to any kitchen tap. The dishwasher includes six washing cycles and a one- to 24-hour delay start function. This dishwasher is an excellent choice for singles, couples and families. Midea is proud of their Energy Star appliances and you will be too! With Midea's countertop dishwasher you'll get a great clean, sparkling look to your dishes and be saving energy while you do it! Save space and time in your kitchen with Midea's six-place setting countertop dishwasher in an elegant stainless steel finish. The countertop dishwasher works just like any other dishwasher, so no worries about having to wash your dishes over and over again! With its 6 washing cycle options, you can get them sparkling clean just the like the day you bought them! Washing the dishes never looked this good before!



Truth be told, I live alone and should just wash the dishes manually, but it's one chore I hate doing.  LOL

[Front-Ranger]

Sounds like a great idea; you deserve it!

While you're at it, buy the pictured kitchen too!

[brianr]

When I bought my 2nd home, first house, I moved from an apartment, in 1981 there was an upmarket dishwasher in the kitchen. I sold it and bought a small freezer to fit in the space. Actually most of the year, I did not turn the freezer on although the freezer in my refrigerator was not very large. When I moved to NZ and bought my 3rd home in 2010 there was a dishwasher in the kitchen. I had the kitchen remodelled and actually the dishwasher is the only thing that remains from the original kitchen. I use the dishwasher about once per month as I have been told it can deteriorate if not used. I only wash up once per day after breakfast and sometimes, if I am going out, it seems easier to use the dishwasher. But rinsing, stacking etc is almost as time consuming as actually washing. I do use it when I have a visitor staying but that is no more than 10 days per year, mainly my sister. The only entertaining I do is for morning or afternoon tea.
The new refrigerator I bought when I moved to NZ does have a separate larger freezer.
From when I bought my first home in 1976, I am on my 2nd refrigerator, 3rd stove, 3rd clothes washer, never owned a clothes drier. The white goods industry would not survive long if everyone was like me. 

[CellarDweller]

From when I bought my first home in 1976, I am on my 2nd refrigerator, 3rd stove, 3rd clothes washer, never owned a clothes drier. The white goods industry would not survive long if everyone was like me. 

My parents kept their appliances for a long time as well.  The first refrigerator I remember them having they got as a wedding gift from a family member.  They had gotten themselves a new refrigerator, and offered their old one to mom and dad, as it wasn't very old, and was still in great near-new shape.  They had that fridge until I was about 20, so it lasted almost 25 years or so.

As for your 'no drier' comment, you made me  laugh out loud at a memory of a conversation between me and Matthew.

When we first started talking, we would joke about America having all modern conveniences, while New Zealand was one big country/farm.   (I know that's not true, but it was fun to tease Matthew that way).

Anyway, as I was driving him and Rich around NJ, showing them various neighborhoods, we passed a house that had what I call a "clothes umbrella" in their yard.   Looked like this:






Matthew had asked why he only saw one house with this, as all over New Zealand, people hang their clothes outside to dry, and in fact, if you didn't have something like this on your property in NZ, a realtor may tell you to add one before you sell, as people expect to have one.

I turned to Matthew and said:



"Uh huh.   Well....here in America we have this thing called "electricity", and we can use it to power a machine that dries our clothes for us."

The look on Matthew's face was priceless.  I laughed so hard!   I think the picture below is the closest I could get to how Matthew was looking at me.

[serious crayons]

Well, Matthew does have reason to look that way, if not Scarlett. Drying clothes outside is obviously better for the planet. And some say it's good for the clothes!

[brianr]

My next door neighbour, to whom I have not spoken in over 6 years but that is a long story, puts her washing out on the line and leaves it there for days. I know she goes to work but I also wonder if she ever looks at the weather forecast.  It can have been a hot day and I am sure they are all dry then it rains overnight. My sister suggests she does not actually wash them just lets the rain do it, 
My mother always taught me never to leave clothes on the line overnight. In winter I usually bring them in before the sun goes off the line and hang them in front of the heat pump overnight. Bed clothes are the biggest problem in winter. I look for a day with a very good forecast.

When I first visited London in 1974, I went to the laundromat and was just reading the signs to find what coins I needed and an elderly lady came up and asked me if I knew how to wash clothes. I felt like saying "even the Aborigines have to wash their lap laps sometime" 

I have never liked Rotary clothes hoists even though they are an Aussie invention. However we had one when I was young and liked to swing on it until Mum caught us.

[CellarDweller]

Well, Matthew does have reason to look that way, if not Scarlett. Drying clothes outside is obviously better for the planet. And some say it's good for the clothes!

Oh, trust me, I know.

Mom has a line in the back yard, and when I wash clothes in the late spring through early autumn, I hang them out to dry.

[ZK]

OMG Chuck I do remember that exact conversation and yup that picture sums it all up, ya know a picture  is worth a thousand words LOL,  too funny and good times to remember as well. I agree however its far better for the earth to use the suns rays. We have a series of lines rather than a rotary clothes line, and I confess not to bring the clothes every night, though mostly I do. Thanks for reminding me Chuck, such great times and the very best of company 

[brianr]

Hi Matt
Hope you have some cool breezes on Waiheke.
For everyone else NZ is having a heat wave. Some places in the 30s'C which, as an Aussie by birth, I should laugh at calling a heatwave but I have become acclimatised. I moved from Sydney to escape the heat and they have had record temps over 45'C this summer. Even down here in the south we have forecast 27'C again today and 33' for Wednesday, which if it happens will be a record.
My sister asks when I am moving to Antarctica.