Nothin' says lovin' like somethin' from the dishwasher

Andrew is ensconced at Altus Air Force Base in Altus, Oklahoma, for the next four months.

You may recall he is training to be a boom operator. Which involves in-flight refueling of fighter jets.

Anyway he drove to Altus from San Antonio a few weeks ago and there was a lag between his arrival and the actual start of classes.

Which was a good thing because he was dreadful sick with a truly awful cold.

We texted back and forth -- he likes to send me pictures of the food he prepares for himself in his kitchen -- and I advised him to slather Vicks Vapo-Rub on his chest.

But in due time he got well and the day came for him to be outfitted for his upcoming training.

So it was that I got a text earlier this week.

"Christmas has come to Altus!" my son exulted.

Which meant, he'd been issued a fancy headset and a brand-new iPad (his class was the first to get them, he said) dedicated to his checklists and whatnot for his time of learning in the simulators.

The text was accompanied by photos of said wondrous gear.

Then I got a picture of the simulators themselves, which look like ginormous marshmallows held aloft by industrial-strength scissor lifts housed in hangars the size of small cities.

And during the time all that was going on, lo and behold, Christmas came to Columbia. In the form of appliances for me.

No, I didn't get early Christmas presents consisting of devices of domestic drudgery.

I'll still receive romantic gifts like jewelry and perfume and books of poetry on December twenty-fifth.

But you may remember I have been without a working oven for several years.

That's because my oven is a wall unit and when it broke, we assumed it was a thousand-dollar fix and we didn't want to spend that kind of money on an oven.

Crock pots work very well for just about anything, including baking your Thanksgiving turkey and even making cakes.

You just have to think outside the box. I hate that expression and I cannot believe I just used it. But I digress.

So I was sitting up on the porch a few weeks ago, reading one of those texts from Andrew, when our mailman chugged up and stopped the truck and got out and commenced to walk across our lawn and up the steps to the porch to hand me some mail that would not fit inside the box.

He's like an old friend so we got to chatting and in due course he reminded me that he thoroughly enjoyed the banana-nut bread I gave him one Christmas some years back.

"It took me back to my grandmother's when I was a kid," he claimed. 

"Oh, I'd almost forgotten that," I said.

Then he said, reminiscing further, or maybe just playing me for more banana bread: "You were so nice."

Meaning me. I who am known much more for being ornery than for being nice. Booyah.

"Well my friend," said I. "I don't have a working oven and have not had for some time, but I promise you that this year, I shall make you some more banana bread. I'll figure out a way to make it happen."

He was so happy, he trotted down the steps and floated away in his little truck.

So I told TG about it and we chuckled and that was the end of that, leaving me wondering how I'd keep my word.

Until about a week later when TG asked if I'd like to take a ride with him to a certain home improvement store.

"They have ovens displayed in the front and they're all on clearance," he explained.

So I got my tape measure and determined the size of my oven and away we went.

We approached the area TG had mentioned and there were several ovens needing homes. I immediately drew a bead on the one I wanted.

It was shiny black and it would fit. Everything added up.

Only, it was marked several hundred dollars more than we wanted to pay.

A salesman approached. Really nice guy, not ornery in the least. Probably likes banana bread. Name of Tony.

"I will not refuse any reasonable offer for that oven," Tony said.

I thought for a moment and then I mentioned a figure, and asked if he considered it reasonable.

"Very reasonable," he said. "Sold, if you want it."

I wanted it.

"But you need to walk back to the back and take a look at a few more clearance ovens," he counseled.

So we did, and that turned out to be a waste of time.

Except, on the way I met a dishwasher. Sitting out in an aisle to better attract attention, and also on clearance.

Now, I already had a dishwasher, and it worked. As in, you could load up your dishes and put soap in and spin the dial and slam it shut, and it cleaned everything.

However.

There was the issue of occasional water leakage -- a recent development -- resulting in my sometimes finding a puddle on my kitchen floor.

Hence the rolled-up towel kept shoved along its base. So attractive.

And then there was the fact that a few months ago, the door became extra-heavy and began crashing to the floor when you pulled out the bottom rack.

We had taken to putting a canister of whey protein under the door to support its weight.

Which worked fine. But still. I'm not particularly possession-proud but that was a trifle too hillbilly for my domestic sensibilities.

I may not be ultra-refined but I do have my standards.

We flagged Tony down and asked if he could knock any more off the price of the already-reduced dishwasher.

He said he just couldn't.

So I said, well, if we take the dishwasher, can we have the oven for $_____ (a lower price than the one on which we'd agreed)?

"Yes," Tony said. Then, three beats later: "No."

And before we could react, he mentioned an even lower price than the lower price I had mentioned. For the oven, I mean. If we took the dishwasher too.

I looked at TG, who has a tendency to indulge me, and from his expression I knew I had a new dishwasher.

So I did a touchdown-type thing with my arms. Tony and TG went up front to settle up.

I know you don't really beat the house but hey. We got both a new oven and a new dishwasher for less than we originally thought we'd have to spend on an oven alone.

That should be the end of it, but it isn't. Get you some more popcorn.

When I got home, I looked up both my new oven and my new dishwasher on the store's website.

I wanted to read reviews of their performance by folks who'd bought and used them.

And I was less than thrilled with what consumers had to say about my new dishwasher.

According to several reviewers, the soap cup won't open if silverware is too near it.

Several more claimed that while the dishes get clean, no matter what you do or how long you wait, they'll be sopping wet.

Still more said your silverware will never be dry again. Also the cycle is too long.

Blah, whine, blah, complain, blah, gripe, blah.

But I was terrified. To the point that I was convinced we should renege on the purchase of the dishwasher.

And that made me feel guilty because the reduced price of our oven had been contingent on our buying the dishwasher too.

But the devil you know beats the devil you don't; right? Whey protein canister and rolled-up towel notwithstanding, I had a working dishwasher.

However I reckon because I'm greedy, in the end I decided to keep the shiny new dishwasher. With a stainless steel interior.

A few nights ago, TG and a friend installed my new appliances.

Erica baked a pizza for the maiden voyage of the bakey-thing. Success.

And with great trepidation I loaded in my first haul of dishes for the trial run of the poorly-reviewed dishwasher.

And I found, the soap cup slides up flush with the door, rather than popping out, and the silverware does not interfere with it at all.

The cycle is not too long. When I start the dishwasher and walk away, I don't really care how long the cycle is anyway.

The dishes come out not only sparkling clean, but bone dry as well.

I guess I'm lucky because when it comes to kitchen appliances, I do not require bells and whistles.

I only demand bells and whistles when it comes to cars, computers, and cameras. That however is another blog for another day.

But if the oven heats up and cooks stuff, I'm happy.

And if the dishwasher splashes hot water and soap onto my dishes and then rinses and dries them, I'm ecstatic.

They don't have to sing and dance for me too, or do origami, or quote Shakespeare.

And I think my mailman, his belly soon to be full of delicious home-baked banana-nut bread, would agree.

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Happy Weekend ~ Happy November

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Comments

[Mari]

Happy Day! You did great with the bargaining and I'm happy you are enjoying both purchases. I always check reviews too, but I think crabby people are quicker to say something. :)

[irene]

Woo Hoo, good for you. I had a dishwasher like that once, needing support and all that. I could never be without my stove. you know how I love to bake.

[Sue the Hobbit]

I am in my third oven in this house. I think I may have told you that my last oven died early in the week of Thanksgiving one year. Very inconsiderate of it, if you ask me! I am all for simple appliances too. The more bells and whistles, the more there is to go wrong.
My clothes dryer lost the little switch that makes the drum stop rotating when you open the door. Nearly broke my arm a couple of weeks ago when I tried to snatch some clothes out while it was still spinning. Jeff says I should get it fixed, but it seems pointless somehow.
Kudos on the spectacular deals. I recently discovered home improvement clearance deals on appliances after the big fridge disaster out at Vista House.

[Donna M.]

Glad to hear that the new dishwasher and over are working out well for you! Gosh, I can't imagine doing without an oven for a long period of time.

[Donna (Texas)]

'Gotta have an oven! Glad you are now back in business in that department AND can also make the oven dishes come out clean!
Fun story Miss Jenny!
hughugs

[Jan Brtolini]

All i can say to that is i always, always thought of you as ultra- refined. I am just the opposite - give me home stuff and keep that jewelry. .. which makes it very difficult for the husband but i do have a new herringbone pattern hickory hardwood floor being installed in my foyer.
it's the (not so) little things that make us happy.
Disclaimer - i have a killer rock on my hand