4 Days Before Closing (The time that remains before we walk away from the old house never to see it again)

My new washer and dryer work just fine. I hate doing laundry but it is a necessary part of life. Having a functioning washer and dryer beats the heck out of going down to the river and finding the best set of rocks with the rest of the women in town.

A person becomes complacent about modern conveniences. What about the dishwasher? I remember when the only dishwashing "machine" that we owned were the five members of our family when we were growing up. Hot water and dishsoap (don't use too much...you only need 1/2 tsp.) in one sink and clean hotter water for rinsing and a drainer. Those who didn't actually wash the dishes were manning dish towels to dry and put away the dishes. Of the two chores, I must say that I would have preferred washing to drying. When we were at the cabin in Wisconsin, we had to boil the water for washing on the top of the stove.

The stove is a modern convenience that we take for granted as well. Thankfully I never had to cook over a wood-burning stove. I try to avoid ironing clothes (I religiously check fabric labels...if it needs ironing, I don't buy it) but I appreciate the fact that I have a 'modern' iron, not one of those old irons that needed to be heated on the top of a wood-burning stove or even earlier by the fireplace. Can you imagine ironing clothes back then in the summer by an open fireplace?

I could go on and on about those items that we take for granted. The vacuum cleaner, the refrigerator, the microwave oven, the gas grill, the air-conditioner, the toaster, electricity even. We've come a long way. And yet we still complain. I'm not fond of loading and unloading the dishwasher but it sure beats the way I had to do this chore when I was young. I'm not fond of doing the laundry but it sure beats the way my great-grandmother had to do this little chore. I'm telling you right now that there is no way that I'd be living here in Arizona if there wasn't any air-conditioning. Right now I'm bemoaning the fact that I have to wait until tomorrow for the installation of my ceiling fans despite the air-conditioning.

Yes, we still all have to have something to complain about. That minute it takes to reheat my coffee in the microwave sure seems to take forever not to mention the four whole minutes it takes to bake a potato! I remember when it took an hour to bake a potato and you sure as heck better remember to stick them into the oven one hour before you knew that the roast was going to be ready to serve or you may as well get out the pressure cooker (another modern convenience of the time which periodically tries to make a comeback) to cook up the potatoes to mashed potatoes (8 minutes at 15# pressure...or was that 10#?).

I'm doing the laundry today. I'm blogging while the washing machine and the dryer help me with this chore. I've got a computer. I've got a T.V. I'm not complaining....much. My husband still doesn't help much with the housework. Somethings just don't change.

Today's Little Bit of Trivia

"According to Greek legend, the god Apollo's earliest adventure was the single-handed slaying of Python, a flame-breathing dragon who blocked his way to Pytho (now Delphi), the site he had chosen for an oracle. From the name of this monster derives the name of the large snake of Asia, Africa, and Australia, the python." (From Thou Improper, Thou Uncommon Noun, by Willard R. Espy)