Smile-breaks
Appliances conspire to save me
Staying at home gets boring. Huge understatement, but true, so I’ve tossed out my habit of getting things done efficiently. Used to be I’d take the clothes out of the dryer and put the clothes from the washer into the dryer in one trip. Not any more. Now I make two trips out of it. Empty the dryer; come back, move the washed clothes into the dryer. Two minutes instead of one filled up. Less time for boredom.
I always prided myself on figuring out the most efficient way to do things. Now I figure out the longest way; the way with the most moving about. Good for the exercise and helps to fill the boring minutes of stay-at-home days.
Seems my shiny appliances noticed the too-frequently bored expression on my face and, out of desperation, conspired to rouse me out of my stupor. It started with the dishwasher sticking out its gasket at me—the gasket that is usually tucked into place on the right side of the tub. I shoved it back in and told it to "Stay!" but of course it didn’t. And then it did. But I knew. The dishwasher has served me well for eight years and it was still functioning properly, but the gasket would have to be replaced.
Being that the pandemic has shut off all reasonable courses of action—like haircuts and the sort—the appliance repair company I depend on for all things appliance-related, was—of course—"temporarily closed."
Now what? For me, it’s go to Yelp and look for a highly-rated appliance repair company that’s open, hoping I’d find one. And I did. JM Appliance had enough stars in its ratings and it wasn’t "temporarily closed," so I called and, being a Sunday, left a message. JM called me right back! Yay! And came out the next day and replaced the gasket and that was that with the dishwasher.
But that wasn’t the end of the plan to relieve me of my boredom. No way. The very next day, the garbage disposal piped up with a low growl, "My turn!" I recognized the hum of an appliance that is not going to kick in and do its job. Back to the phone. The plumber arrived two days later with a new disposal, which he quickly installed and that was the end of that.
Everything happens in threes, right? Aware of this, I was hardly surprised when two days later, the washing machine began whistling quietly as it scrubbed and sloshed the clothes. The washer, a bit older than the dishwasher, had served me faithfully for well over ten years. I’m not telling you that I bragged about it to JM the day he replaced the gasket in the dishwasher.
So I called JM once more, because you know and I know that the last thing on earth anyone would want is for a washing machine to stop dead in the midst of tossing clothes around in a full-of-water tub. I said I thought it was the belt. He came, he conquered. Well, actually he didn’t have to conquer. His thorough inspection told him what he’d suspected: the washing machine was in good condition. "By the way," he said with a smile, "there are no belts on this machine. The whistling you heard was probably the sound of the water as it filled the tub."
So the conspiracy of the appliances achieved its purpose—saved me from boredom.For a few days at least. Not the way I would have chosen, but still. . .
*As a footnote, I have to say I would welcome a little boredom after the events of early January.
