Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
I still can hardly believe this myself, but in the last two days the Robinson household has suffered the extinction of its washing machine, which the repairman told us yesterday was beyond salvaging, its dishwasher, ditto, and the icemaker in its fridge, in re which a spare part has now been back ordered.
The rest of you may just have entered the thirteenth year of the twenty-first century, but with all five kids here for the week our household is regressing about a century an hour.
Happy New Year!
Update 9:30AM Pacific on New Year's Day: The new washing machine will arrive tomorrow, and thank goodness. (The children have been under instructions for two days now to change no clothes but their undies, which is not the way you want to live when your family includes three teenaged boys who spent yesterday afternoon playing touch football. Yuck.) The new dishwasher, alas, will take ten days to reach us. And thanks for the sympathy, Gaby. The boiler is about the only piece of equipment in the house that hasn't blown. I'm holding my breath.
- Comment (22)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (4)
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
- Pages:
- 1
- 2
Comments :
Aug '10
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
Please Peter, go someplace other than Sears to get your replacements. I'll never shop with them again.
Jan '11
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
Are you sure that's not just another raft of new California-state environmental regulations kicking in?
Jun '10
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
We lost an icemaker and an oven all in one week a couple of months ago. I feel your pain.
But as long as the hot water heater is working, you're still in the 20th century.
Sep '11
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
A few years ago we returned from spending Christmas Day with family to a freezing cold house. The boiler had died. So you have my sympathy! Happy new year anyway.
Nov '11
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
The best washing machine story I know about is the one Richard Brookhiser told.
He was advised to take possession of his mother-in-law's Ohio washing machine which dated back to the Kennedy administration when machines were made out of metal. Plastic machines are more energy-efficient, but they also break down and fall apart more quickly. It lasted for another 7 or 8 years past the presidencies of Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter Reagan, Bush, Clinton, and another Bush. When the machine quit agitating properly and started leaking water, he decided to buy a new one. However, the repairman told him that the new machines by this same company, known for its reliability, aren't as good.
The repairman explained that he had already repaired Brookhiser's new dryer once and that if he repairs the washer that it should last for another 40 years all for the cost of $10 for new pipe, $90 for a new timer, $85 for labor costs in New York, and the advice to avoid the gentle cycle which stresses the motor.
Jan '11
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
Gaby's anecdote above reminded me of a similar circumstance - a couple of years ago we got home from 2 weeks holiday, to find that a short power outage on the 3rd day of our holiday had tripped the circuit on our two fridges - given it was a summer holiday, and we were living in subtropical Queensland, the result was .... nasty. One fridge was beyond salvage, the other had the door hinge damaged during cleaning and subsequently fell off, onto my wife, on Good Friday, resulting in a dash to a neighboring town to buy a new one!
I'm currently reading The Rational Optomist, so I'm taking it as another salutary reminder of the benefits of civilization - the seemingly simple things that make our lives so much more livable.
Jul '11
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
How blessed you are to have all five there. Keep going Amish, it helps bonding.
Mar '11
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
You lot go ahead and have fun in the thirteenth year of the twenty-first century, I'm just embarking on the twelfth.
Yeah, I'm one of those -- the Year Zero Deniers. I'd bet you thought you wouldn't be hearing from us again until 2099. BwhahahahaHAH!
I mean, come on -- given the choice between being like everyone else, and being right, what other course would you expect from a individualistic conservative?
Happy New Year, everyone!
Oct '10
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
Look on the bright side, you're starting 2012 with all (okay, some) things new. Happy New Year.
May '10
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
As a mom, I send my best regards to Mrs. Robinson as she manages five children with no washing machine. I suggest Dad take an adventure trip to the laundromat with the kids (and the laundry), to help her out. The two Dartmouth students should be able to help,as they SHOULD know how to do their own laundry. :)
Happy new year, Peter!
May '11
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
Who needs a washing machine if you have a washboard, soap and a body of water near by. Stay strong Peter and Happy New Year.
Dec '11
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
We built our house new in 2000 (moved in for the Florida debacle!). And we've replaced every appliance we own since then.
Long talks with the very good appliance repairman (lots of opportunities). New appliances really are c***.
Wish I had some advice for you. The days of well-built appliances which last for decade(s) are over.
Tim W.
Edited on Jan 1 at 7:11amMar '11
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
We've got a 3.5 yr old and a 5 mo. old. If that happened at our house I'd just leave the place to the wolves and start over.
Nov '10
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
This may be appropriate for your poor wife...
And here's to you, Mrs. Robinson
Jesus loves you more than you will know.
God bless you please, Mrs. Robinson
Heaven holds a place for those who pray.
Oct '11
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
The "five kids" part is all that really matters. Happy New Year.
May '10
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson,
A lonely repairman turns his eyes to you....
May '10
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
All 5 are there, why would a dishwasher be needed? Many hands..... paper plates....
Feb '11
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
The repairman explained that he had already repaired Brookhiser's new dryer once and that if he repairs the washer that it should last for another 40 years all for the cost of $10 for new pipe, $90 for a new timer, $85 for labor costs in New York, and the advice to avoid the gentle cycle which stresses the motor. · Jan 1 at 2:00am
This is my repairman. (Yes, truly, Brookhiser and I share the same repairman.) He has instructed us to never buy a new washer/dryer. He can repair them from now until the end of time, although they rarely have problems. When we bought this house nearly 11 years ago, these Maytags were at least 10 years old. We have had to replace the solenoid valve once. And we had to have him fix a propane leak in the dryer. We have 6 children and do at least one load of wash every day (I used to do diapers too but am past that stage).
My advice: find and purchase an old Maytag from St. Vincent de Paul.
Feb '11
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
When I was a child we had no dishwasher for many years. Then we had one, for about six months, then we had a broken one for many more years. My mother would smile beatifically at her friends who might rag her on her dishwasherless state. "I have six dishwashers," she would reply warmly, kindly, thinking of her six beautiful children...
May '10
Re: Happy New Year...From Those of Us in the Bronze Age
Dishwashers are useless. You have to scrub the dishes by hand first anyway, so why not just do it all that way? Somehow, our grandparents survived without putting dishes through volcanic heat to kill germs.
I hope y'all find a good, cheap washing machine, though.
When my sister was shopping for a dryer years ago, she found an ad somewhere for a nice discount on a GE model. She found a model at a retail store that looked exactly like the one in the ad, but she was told they were not the same. What was the difference? The store's model beeps a couple times more when the clothes are dry. For that, they would not give her the discount.