We lived in the tiny little mobile home ( less than 900 sq feet) for 7 years... and in all that time we did not own a mechanical dishwasher..... and.... we survived...
HOWEVER - since we built our house that we live in now - we did include a dishwasher. And in the way of all things mechanical - ours has died. And my Natural Born dishwashers - are sadly enough - in hiding at the end of a meal.
Yesterday morning I was washing all the dishes *by hand* *sigh* , Little bit sauntered out, recklessly into the kitchen and says - Gosh Mom - you sure can do a lot of dishes with just a little bit of water.... and it made me remember the olden days.
My Grand Mother in Law came to visit us, and she was even better at water conservation than I - the ranch she lived on as a young mother ( with 3 children in CLOTH diapers) had NO water, and she had to haul all that they needed, daily, from a neighboring ranch. Made my life look a lot easier!
Do you remember those people who would say - Oh I wish I lived 100 years ago? Hmmm... I don't think I am one of them.... ( by the way - see the plant in the picture? That is THE FIRST plant I have EVER kept alive for more than a month... impressive right?)
We've come a long way baby. (My grandfather was an ice man and used to deliver blocks of ice for refrigerators up and down stairs in Philadelphia using a horse-drawn wagon.)
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I know for a fact that dishwashing does not stunt the growth of boys. In fact, it provides an outlet of excessive energy and prepares them for a time when they are married . . . after age 40 of course. LOL
I appreciate modern technology and all it's marvels!
ReplyDeleteA 100 yrs ago, not only did we not have handy dandy household gadgets, we didn't have stuff like antibiotics... and a lot of other stuff to which I am fond!
ReplyDeleteAs a quilter I tended to romanticize the old days but no I love all my modern conveniences. Especialy climate control & quilting by machine & computers to find out anything I want to know about my passion.
ReplyDeleteDuring this yearlong "honeymoon" in Vermont while Kevin goes to a fine woodworking school and I quilt and carve, we are living in an apartment without a dishwasher or garbage disposal. No disposal was a big issue at first, but now I am ready for our move that will have a garden and compost. The dishwasher situation is a little more complicated. I am debating whether I want one again. Dishes get done 2x a day because I like a clean counter. After dinner we do the dishes together and share some of our best moments of the whole day. Did not happen when we had the dishwasher. Is it the situation or the fact that we have had more time together? Still I like that we have computers and antibiotics, so.....
ReplyDeleteNo dishwasher here...well, at least not the mechanical kind. I am the dishwasher, but when the kids were home, they pitched in. I figured they ate, so they could wash some dishes. This old ranch house's counters are too low for a dishwasher and around here cattle come before house fixing. I can live without a dishwasher. Now a washing machine...that's another story. Hope you're back in business soon. Less time washing dishes means more time to sew!
ReplyDeleteOn the homestead in MT where I was raised, we had no electricity until the early 1950s, but...we did have a hand pump in the kitchen. Saturday night was bath night and the water was heated on the wood burning cook stove. We had an oblong galvenized tub that we brought into the kitchen...it was warm there because of heating the water....and my brother and I were to 1st to bathe...then our grandmother, then our grandfather (they raised us). We rode horsed, did chores, had a nice big ranch to play anywhere we were allowed to go and my memories of that time are wondereful. After we had out 2 oldest, we moved to a ranch with no running water, so I hauled water from my dad's a few miles away. It didn't take long to get a well drilled and a bathroom built! I definately love our modern conveniences but I really miss ranch life, as well.
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