...compliments of the helpful Ace Hardware Man

Okay, lately, my washing machine has been giving me fits, and it's been getting progressively worse. Mothers with many small children understand that a non-functioning washing machine is a trouble ranked right up there with, say, no electricity. Because we know, that in a matter of two days, we wil be buried under the laundry.

At first it would just not spin out the clothes on the first try, and I would have to re-spin the load at least twice. Then it started not only not spinning out on the first try, but then stopping itself every time in transitioned to the next phase in the washing cycle. It finally was completely worthless as of Saturday, when it simply would not drain at all. Anna's birthday party was Saturday, and I wanted her to wear one of her new dresses from Grandma and Grandpa. I was up at 6:30 to get her laundry started, and at 10:45 a.m., it still was not done. (Which is why I have pictures of Anna in nothing but a diaper, her camo hat on backwards, and her rubber boots, to greet her guests while waiting for her dress to dry. I was resonsible for the diaper part...the rest was her doing. I'll post pics, I promise).

At any rate, Mark planned on taking the washing machine apart after doing paperwork with me (romantic, huh?), to see if there was some remote way for some laundry to have worked it's way into the drain hose or something. We didn't really see how it was possible, in a front loading machine, but it was the first place to start.

Well, compliments of my handy, live-in Ace Hardware man (I realize most of you don't have a live-in model, but actually have to go to the hardware store for this kind of help), we have not-so-proudly reclaimed 3 socks, 1 baby washcloth, and a hairball from washing Abby's bed. How it all got worked in there, we'll never know, but it's definitely been a progression of adding to the collection. Result: Perfectly functioning washing machine!
















So how do you like that? I have some great pics from Anna's birthday party, and I'm giving you pictures of slimy socks from the hose of my washing machine. What can I say...this was a quick post, and I don't have to fix up the picture. Hang in there.