Wonderful Friends!

Many months ago, probably almost a year, I put a very large load of towels in our washing machine. They all fit, so I thought it would be okay. As the washing machine starts to wash I notice that it is not working as it normally does. I try to move some of the towels around and realize how heavy the soaking wet towels are, especially if you have a lot of them. So I ended up taking half the towels out and putting them in the bathtub. I wash the half that was left in the washer and then washed the other half later.

Ever since that day, our washer has not worked right. The top agitator will not turn, or doesn't turn very well. If you put in a small load it works great. But if you put in a medium load, it does not work very well. So, I have just been washing small loads ever since I discovered this. Now that I have a 8 month old, who is going through clothes, bibs, burp clothes, sheets, socks, etc. each day, if I don't wash clothes every few days, then the loads get to large for the current functioning ability of our washer. This is getting every frustrating. I either have to wash clothes every few days or wash many small loads in one day. This is much more time consuming then if I could just wash one large load.

Daniel and I have been discussing whether we should pay someone to fix it or just buy a new washing machine. If it was going to cost us a couple hundred dollars anyway to pay someone to fix it, we were thinking about just buying a new washer.

Then a friend of ours, Mike, said he would look at it. Within only a few minutes he had discovered what the problem was, looked up online the part we needed, showed us a website where we can order the part and showed us how to fix it once we receive the part. The part ended up costing us about $20 (including shipping). $20 is so much better than buying a new washer and I am so excited that I am going to be able to wash a regular load of clothes.

THANKS MIKE!

Blender Blunder

So I have decided to start making homemade baby food. It is cheaper and healthier because you control exactly what goes into it. I decided to start simple by making green bean baby food. I bought fresh green beans (actually Jackie bought them for me at the Farmer's Market, thanks Jackie!), cut them up, steamed them and then put them in the blender. The first two batches (did I mention that I got a LOT of green beans) everything went very smoothly. With the third batch I was blending them and the blender kept getting stuck with an air bubble. So I was moving the blender around and pushing down a little (and I do mean just a little) on the hard plastic that is in the middle of the blender lid. Suddenly the hard plastic piece falls through the blender lid and into the blender (I didn't even think it was possible for that piece to go through the lid.) Of course then the blender starts chopping up the hard plastic. I start pushing the off button and the blender is not turning off. Little did I know that the off button is also the pulse button (we don't use the blender very often), so the whole time I was continuously pushing the off button I was actually making the blender pulse and therefore chopping up the hard plastic even more. This whole time I am holding my hand over the lid to keep it on and to keep everything from coming out of the hole in the top. I finally let go of the lid and reach for the plug. I don't make it to the plug before the lid explodes off the blender, sending green bean mush EVERYWHERE and then the blender stops on its own without me having to un-plug it. Covered in green slime is: the wall, the cabinets, the counter top, the floor, the toaster, a basket, and some hand towels. Also there are small pieces of hard plastic everywhere.

The good news is that the blender still works. Though there is now a hole in the top of the lid. I am hoping we can buy another hard plastic piece for the top or find something else that will work.

Believe it or not, this has not deterred me from wanting to continue making baby food.