Tag Archives: washing machine

Saturday!

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This morning we were up and “at em'” at 3:30 a.m., to begin our very first weekend together here at Mist Cottage. That is the time Attila needs to get up for the next two weeks, to accommodate the shift he will be working. Since we retired to bed at 8:30 p.m. last night, we had no trouble waking up so early in the morning.

Today the washing machine will be installed in the basement, in theory. This house has given shelter to people who must have had next to no resources. The renovations that were done here used bits of lumber, and particle board pieces, all patched together to make studs and walls in the basement. This has come to light this morning during the attempt to move the washing machine into the area with plumbing. The last wall of a former mouldy bedroom is being removed, as this entry is being typed. The wall removal includes relocating a light switch and an electrical outlet. Not your usual prep work for installing a washing machine.

Yesterday the plumbing was redone, to accommodate the installation of a washing machine. Of course, one thing leads to another, and the old original kitchen tap began to leak when the water was turned back on. Another project, fix the leaking tap in the kitchen.

Attila has been enjoying himself. The extra preparation work for the washing machine install isn’t bothering him one bit. It is slowing down the project, but there is no hurry to get that done.

Yesterday I reduced the number of food canisters by two, by using the flour and the raisins in the canisters brought here from the country house. I baked raisin scones, a personal favourite of mine. There are more duplicates in the kitchen to merge, which means I will be doing a lot of baking for the next little while.

Terra dropped by yesterday for a chat, just in time for try my fresh baked raisin scones. She mentioned that she was thinking of buying a computer to do graphics. My old G4 desktop has a legal full version of Photoshop and Illustrator, so I offered the computer to her, and she carted away the computer, monitor, keyboard, and two boxes of software. None of the software will run on my newer computers, and I seldom, almost never, use it for anything else, so I am very happy that it is going to a good home.

This morning I gathered together the bits of dishes, and cutlery, and pots, and other kitchen items, all to go to the local women’s shelter. I considered having a lawn sale this morning, but really, for the $20 or so that I would make selling the items, it just doesn’t make sense. A yard sale is a lot of work, and I don’t like doing it. It is more important to me that the items make someone else’s life a little easier.

We filled three big boxes, and headed over to the local women’s shelter with them. They did not want the dishes, as they already had too many, but they were grateful for the other items, and there were a lot of other items. We were grateful that the items will be useful to someone. The dishes will go to a large corporate donation store in the nearby city, the next time I visit. We didn’t get everything into the boxes though, so another box is sitting in a corner ready to receive more duplicate items to pass along.

By mid-morning Attila had the washing machine installed. The first load was his work clothes. Wow, the machine is loud! It makes lots of incredible noises, but I know that soon I will be accustomed to them, and I will no longer notice them. The top loading machine is a little different than the front loading machine, and the clothes seem to be just as clean, and just as wrung out as with the front loader. We can conveniently leave the lid open when the machine is not in use, so that we shouldn’t have the issues with mould that were so persistent with the front loading machine.

I followed up with two loads of linens, and a load of my own clothes. Now the clotheslines are swaying in the breeze with our fresh, clean laundry.

Worldly Distractions

Weather

22°C
Date: 1:00 PM EDT Thursday 24 September 2015
Condition: Partly Cloudy
Pressure: 102.9 kPa
Tendency: rising
Visibility: 24 km
Temperature: 21.9°C
Dewpoint: 14.4°C
Humidity: 62%
Wind: NE 18 km/h
Humidex: 26

Quote

“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.”
Carl Jung
1875 – 1961

Coming Home

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On Sunday Attila brought in more boxes of kitchen “stuff” from Tank, and he says there is still more lurking in the rented storage locker.

We decided that doing laundry is a priority. Attila, since he works outdoors, is very physically active, and works with dirty materials, needs to wash clothing at least three times a week. The cost adds up quickly at the laundromat. The solution was to invest in a new washer/dryer. So off we went to Home Depot, a mere 30 minute drive from Mist Cottage. Oh, the luxury! We found a floor model that was selling for $500 off the listed price, and it had all the features on my list. So we bought the set, and it will be delivered next week. Looking up the product later, we found over 100 reviews of the set that rated it at five out of five. Good luck on our part, we were in the right place at the right time. We paid the same price as the cheapest washer/dryer set sold at Home Depot.

The features I wanted were: top loading washer, High Efficiency units, large capacity, simple controls, and made in North America if at all possible. The Maytag set we bought had all of these features, and more that were not as important for us. We purchased the extended warranty as well, very costly, but if for the first five years we hope we can rely on the set to work. This washer/dryer set will pay for itself in about 3 1/2 years.

We learned the hard way the problem with many front-loading high-efficiency washing machines, odours. The people who bought the country house wanted the appliances, and we were glad to include them with the house, for two reasons. The washing machine had odour problems, which are no longer our problem, and we didn’t have to move appliances. When our house was being shown, we printed out a fact sheet about the front loading washing machine, the odour, and the class action suit in the US against Sears for selling such an inadequate unit. So the odour should come as no surprise to the new owners, we were very upfront about the issue.

After we returned from the store, Attila left again for the laundromat to do one load of laundry. He spent the rest of the evening clearing a place in the basement for the washer and dryer to be left by the delivery people. A path through the garage to the basement door also needed clearing, so they could get in!

The washer will not be hooked up right away, that project will have to wait until Attila returns from the North, probably next Saturday.

Attila and I went to bed early on Monday night, arising at 2 a.m. so that Attila could make the five hour commute to start work the next morning. There was no “weme” sadness with this parting. I guess that is because Attila was leaving HOME, and would be returning HOME; our sense of place was no longer divided. We waved goodbye, and I lay awake, waiting for his I-arrived-safely text message, which came in at 7 a.m.

My day was spent changing my address with Canada Revenue, and a few other government entities. The address changing isn’t all done yet, but it is off to a very good start.

News Flash:7:25 p.m.

Attila just received a call offering him a temporary job near home. He took it. His first shift is the midnight shift. He starts his orientation tomorrow morning at 11:00 a.m. and starts his first shift at 11:00 p.m. tomorrow night.

Attila will have Tank loaded with stuff from the storage locker by 8:00 p.m. tonight, and be headed into his five hour trip back home, arriving home at about 1 a.m. tomorrow morning. I will be waiting for him to arrive home, as he only had 4 hours sleep last night, then drove for 4 1/2 hours to work, worked an 11 hour workday, and is now driving the five hours back home again. Then he needs to sleep, so that he can begin his orientation at 11:00 a.m., then nap again before starting the midnight shift. Hopefully his schedule will settle down a bit within a week or so, so that he can catch up with his sleep.

His income will decrease drastically, but we will be living together, and so we have decided to take a chance on his getting a permanent living-wage job sometime soon. Also, soon it will be too cold for Attila to sleep in Tank at night, and by taking this temporary job, he can sleep at home, in his own bed; we will avoid the expense of renting suitable accommodation for him in the North. He will be living here, so it will be much easier to continue to look for a permanent job. We hope that with only one house to support, we will manage on the much lower income for as long as we need to. It seems like a few steps back, and maybe it is in a financial sense, but it is a big leap forward for our personal happiness.

We are both very excited and hopeful!

Worldly Distractions

Weather

13°C
Date: 9:00 PM EDT Tuesday 22 September 2015
Condition: Clear
Pressure: 102.5 kPa
Tendency: rising
Visibility: 24 km
Temperature: 13.2°C
Dewpoint: 11.9°C
Humidity: 92%
Wind: NNW 8 km/h

Quote

“I am not young enough to know everything.”
Oscar Wilde
1854 – 1900