The Saga of the Broken Dryer

Our dryer broke in June (so my wife reminded me this week). Yes. It is the end of October now.

Before you say anything. I had a plan. I followed that plan. Now, it's time to fix the dryer...and thanks to my wife for (usually) being understanding and (mostly) supporting my plan. After all, not having a functioning dryer with a houseful of kids in the middle of summer vacation is like a reality TV show in the making:

It's the middle of summer in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Average temperatures hover above 100 degrees. Here is a family: father, mother, four girls, one boy, and a puppy that still needs potty training. Their dryer just broke down. Roll camera...

When it broke, I thought it was an opportunity to turn back the clock. How did my grandmother dry clothes? She hung them on the clothesline out back.

I drove to Home Depot and bought clothesline, pulleys, and clothespins. Spent around $15. Then I put up a clothesline in the back yard using a post that was already set up next to the house and a tree near the back fence.

I was pretty proud of myself. I'm not the handy man type, but I don't like to spend a lot of money paying someone else to fix things. So, I usually do the research and come up with a solution on my own. Granted that hasn't always worked too well. In our first home we decided to install a ceiling fan in the living room. Three to four hours later I finally got it done. That was my first project many years ago. I just couldn't figure out the wiring. It didn't help that the wiring was the original wiring from when the house was built in the 1930s.

Back to the dryer. I think that we have saved money using a clothesline. It hasn't been a great alternative when we had a week of rainy weather. My wife doesn't like how the towels feel when they dry on the clothesline. And, yes, it is more of a chore to take wet clothes outside and hang each item, then go back and take them off the line when they are dry.

Despite her initial reservations and some grumbling when clothes on the line were caught in the rain, my wife has been understanding.

"We've made it work," she said.

But I know that winter is coming. So thank you Luv for bearing with my project. My next one will be to open up the dryer and figure out how to fix it.

Consumer Product Safety Recall Widget Added

When I was a journalist working as a news blogger, I often kept tabs on the latest product and food recalls issued by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

It was a simple service to the community, I thought, to let parents know if they possessed any potentially dangerous products in their homes.

So, I figured I would offer a CPSC Recall Widget here on my latest blogging adventure. The widget, which I have placed on the right side of this blog is a good resource to check every day. 

For example, listed today are recalls of riding mowers, Honda recreational vehicles, TV wall mounts, a toy toaster set from Toys R Us, folding tables from Michaels, cafe sets from Costco, as well as, recalls of kids clothing.

You can't be too safe, especially if you have little children or pets in the house.

If you know of any more great resources for recall announcements, share them in the comments on this post. 

It's Too Quiet Down There

It was football Sunday. I'm upstairs watching a game. During a commercial I notice that it is very quiet downstairs. With four kids in the house, sometimes that silence is scary.

The boy was upstairs with me watching football.

I looked down into the living room and what do I see two of my daughters doing? Reading. That's why it was so quiet. The older one was relaxing on the couch with a book. My youngest built herself a makeshift cubicle out of cushions and was reading a collection of the books from my shelves.

I'm always puzzled by her selections. For whatever reason, one book she always seems to go to is a small edition of "Democracy in America," by Alexis de Tocqueville. If I move it from its position on my shelves, she comes to me asking, "Daddy, where's your blue book?"

The other book was Thomas Hardy's "The Mayor of Casterbridge." That one had previously been annotated by our oldest daughter.

"I can just read the annotations," my youngest said. It's a little weird hearing your second grader talk about annotations.

Content that they were up to good, I went back to the football game.

Kid's Book Review: "Tides Of War"

My kids are always reading. It's something I made sure became a habit with all five of my kids - even the boy. When they are bored, they pick up a book. Yes, they still play video games and watch TV from time to time, but only on the weekends.

The rules in our house, no TV or video games on school nights. For real. I'm not kidding. So when they are done with their homework, they read.

Here's the latest the boy is reading, in his own words.

"Tides of War: Blood In The Water" by C. Alexander London, Scholastic.

Cory McNab always wanted to be a Navy Seal. He had made it to "Hell Week" when he learned his limits. After he gave up, he was recruited for a dolphin search and rescue team. Cory was assigned to Kaj, a bottlenose. Kaj and Cory worked for months.
Finally, Cory got some action. He and Kaj went to the USS Stokes where Cory and Kaj face challenges that neither were ready for.
It is very interesting to see what will happen. I recommend it to readers that enjoy adventure and suspense.

Thank God It's Thursday

Forget TGIF. It's time for TGITH!

I don't even remember Monday anymore. I know the kids made it to school. I went to work. Then I know I went home. We ate something for dinner. For the life of me, I don't know what now. Suddenly it's Thursday.

This hazy daze is caused by juggling work and living in a household with five other people: my wife, three daughters and the boy. Our fourth daughter went off to college this August.

"Things should slow down a little bit with one off to college," my wife said.
"Yep," I agreed.

The assessment two months later: Nope.

Still crazy. And two birthdays are coming up. So is Halloween. Don't even start with Thanksgiving and Christmas - although the kids are talking about those holidays already.

Papi needs a break. That is why I am counting down the hours - three to be exact - until it's time to go home for the week. Papi is taking Friday off. Theoretically.

There is always something that needs to be done - some chore or task - when you live in a house with four kids.