Meal Monday
I'm not sure what delectable meal to write about today, because over the past three weeks -- yes, THREE WEEKS -- we have been without a working dishwasher. Doesn't that seem like a long time to be without a mid-century modern convenience? I certainly think so, and I think so every time my sink is piled high with dishes, as it seems to be all the time these days. I will write about my inconvenience and share a recipe again next week.
I never realized before how much a dishwasher helps control clutter and the messiness of a sink. Now we know.
So, I am doing many, many more dishes than I usually do. And I am even one of those people who basically washes the dishes before putting them in the machine. But I am still doing more washing than ever. I have thrown caution to the wind and even use the dishes that are not dishwasher-safe. Whoo-hoo, let's live a little!
I am also being, admittedly so, very un-green and using paper plates, although I have not purchased any new ones. Therefore, we are using various old birthday party paper goods (see exhibit A, top right) and are down to the cake plates (dinner size plates are all gone). I must say, I've really missed Scooby Doo (my son outgrew him years ago). Star Wars? Not so much. At least I'm using up what we have, right?
The story behind all this washing is a classic home appliance fable. The dishwasher pump stopped working about three weeks ago, leaving a machine full of water after a cycle. I called the highly recommended "Same Day Service" company which was not available for three days to come look at my broken dishwasher (you can be sure I pointed out the company's misnomer, but alas, it was for naught).
When the repairman finally did arrive, he duly noted the pump model and ordered a new one. That would cost $360 and take four days. Okay...we waited and Mr. Repairman # 2 showed up a week later (I had to race out of workout class across town-- prancing around ab-crunching suburban ladies in a completely graceless fashion -- to meet the guy). He spends about ten minutes looking at my dishwasher and then declared the pump is the wrong pump. Not only is it the wrong pump, but the correct pump will cost almost $600 and take another week to arrive.
Needless to say, I felt compelled to put an end to this madness, demand my deposit back and tell them to change the company name. Which they did (well, I got my deposit back. I think the name remains). The manager was actually quite reasonable on the phone and agreed I was making the right decision.
However, where does all this righteousness leave us? Without a dishwasher of course. The new one is on order. It cost 30% more than the pump (but presumably will last longer, along with all its new parts) and should be here -- within a week.
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