Adventures in Dishwasher Installation
Posted
Thursday, October 04, 2007 8:09 PM
YAY! Our new dishwasher arrived Mon.! I’ve never been so excited about the delivery of a brand-spanking new appliance like I am now!
Let me take you back a few days: counter-tops-full and 2 sink-fulls and stove-top-full mountains of dirty dishes. We hosted a lovely autumn-themed birthday party for my brother’s fiancée on Sat. It was very charming and cozy. We actually cleaned up the bottom, outdoor, covered area of the barn in front of our fire pit, but actually not quite a fire pit area (just a pile of burnable brush and tree parts and stuff). It was very tiring---a lot of heavy lifting. It didn’t seem as if there was so much to move and throw away, but I guess there was more to it than visible to the naked eye because I was sore and exhausted just from that part! Anyway…I decorated with leaf swags and pumpkins and candles and spider web mesh stuff. I gathered chairs in friendly little circles and made a table from some old wooden something or other from the barn pile of junk. It was all very festive with my buckets of black and orange Jones sodas on ice and lanterns and all that rustic and autumn decor. BUT WHO WANTED old hot dogs and hamburgers AGAIN? I didn’t. So I made a tasty/hearty Chicken Fiesta soup and breadsticks and biscuits. DH made his secret-family-recipe halupkies which he insists are called gawumpkies instead, but who am I to argue? I just called them pigs in a blanket or cabbage rolls anyway!). We had carrot cake and apple cider with shots of Hot Damn. All so yummy and festive and perfect for the cooler temps in the evening. Except – I just couldn’t bring myself to serve the soup in Styrofoam bowls. It just didn’t feel right, so we all enjoyed our soup in ceramic mugs and used real spoons and the evening went well and everyone seemed to have fun and enjoy the social autumn atmosphere.
Problem: DIRTY DISHES! And who really has real dish soap anymore? I mean, we do…but upon squeezing the ancient plastic bottle, there was just air and a few bubbles sputtering out (how do empty soap bottles make their way to back underneath the sink?).
So, finally on Sunday after getting a brand new bottle of dish soap I set about mastering the art of dishpan hands for the next few hours while DH hooted and hollered and created more dirty dishes during the Steeler game! But, wasn’t it nice that I had 2 whole dishwasher racks to use as a dish-strainer (or is it dish-drainer)?
So…dishwasher came Mon. (figures) and DH easily un-installed the old one to put out for the garbage man, but he didn’t get home until after 8 p.m., so it was a little too late to begin brand new installation. Sniff sniff. Nitey-nite brand new dishwasher in box in middle of kitchen floor.
Then Tues….hmmm – another late work night, so…still no dishwasher installation. HEY – dinner on paper plates, all real-live dishes are in dirty heap! Nitey-nite dishwasher in middle of the kitchen floor – looks cozy in your insulation blankie.
Wed. – finally. DH home in time to work on it! YAY! Okay…maybe not so “YAY”. 4 trips to Trader Horn for part. And a LOT of swearing. And a LOT of negative commentary on Kitchenaid accountants and a $2 part that should have been included with the purchase. It seems that no matter what direction he screws on an “elbow” (did you know plumbing had elbows?) – it is always facing the wrong direction! The water connection and the “elbow” just aren’t lining up. So….after hours of watching him tantrum on the kitchen floor last night, he finally called it quits and ate some dinner around 9:30 p.m. Poor DH…looked sleepy this morning. Must’ve tossed and turned and nightmare’d over dishwasher elbows all night or maybe he just ate dinner too late. lol
Tonight is another night and I’m wondering if the dishwasher will finally be installed giving our ½ way remodeled kitchen the last shiny stainless steel appliance addition we’ve been waiting for? Poor DH…he’s installed a dishwasher before with absolutely NO issues. I’d gladly give up an elbow if it meant preventing dishpan hands and another cold and lonely night for dear dishwasher to be left out in the middle of the floor or for DH’s dishwasher elbow nightmares to go away!