My Washing Drama

amalio watches novelas. he loves them. he also likes to watch these funny court shows that i can get more into (because who doesn't love some jerry springer-style drama?) but novelas i just can't handle.

we get enough drama in these parts to not have to really watch more on tv.

in january, my washing machine broke. it's a nice, automatic top-load that i love. see, the dominican washers are a little bit different - not automatic by any stretch of the imagination - and when you wash you spend all day doing so. if you'd seen my facebook statuses over the past few months, you'd understand. i feel like i've spent the last five months washing.

about three months in, the "dryer" on our little dominican model broke. so not only did i have to pull clothes from side, wring them out and throw them in the "rinse" bucket (in the bathtub), i now had to wring them out by hand and carry the heavy basket to the roof. wa-wa, i know. i just don't have time for all that.



the left "compartment" is for washing. you fill it (manually - like, from a bucket) with water, it swishes back and forth, then you wring the water out - and in an effort to not have to fill the thing up so much, you have another tub filled with rinse water - put the wrung clothes in their. rinse. then put them in ANOTHEr bucket with softener. then, replace to the right side compartment to "dry"



and then! the neighbor who lives below us came upstairs to let us know that his ceiling was leaking. not really leaking... pouring water was more like it. they had to move everything from their bedroom, and would be getting a plumber asap. i'd have to empty the washing machine into a bucket and flush it down the toilet instead of just letting it inundate their home.

i have spent the last 6 months with piles of clothes waiting to be washed. and just when i thought we'd gotten through the pile, we'd end up with more. thank god the kids have sufficient clothing to clothe an army.

amalio finally got tired of not having any clean socks (or underwear). the drama was over. he called the repair man. in 2 hours the lovely top-loader was fixed, and in a day, all of the dirty clothes were gone. i feel so free! i don't have to worry about the laundry - i throw the clothes in with my little downy ball right before i go to work, and the kids and their babysitter take it to the roof to dry, collect it before i even get home - and if it's an extra long day, i don't even need to fold.

#firstworldproblem mixed with some #whitegirldrama, i know, but now i can get so much more done... and maybe even update this place a little more often!