After some weeks of unsatisfactory performance, our dishwasher gave up the ghost entirely about a month ago. We called out a repairman, and he ascertained fairly quickly that it was the electronics card that had gone out. As luck would have it, the machine is still under warranty so we won’t be responsible for the steep replacement price, but we’ve paid a pretty hefty price in waiting for the repair. It’s been at least three weeks since the part was ordered, and the fix has finally been scheduled for Wednesday of this week. That’s a whole lot of dishes we’ve washed by hand.

Actually, I haven’t been complaining too much. I mentioned to Olof this afternoon that, surprisingly, we’re doing a better job keeping up with the dishes now than when we have the dishwasher to rely on. I think it’s probably because we know that the dirty-dish count will rapidly reach critical mass if we don’t wash up after every meal and snack. Also, I’ve remembered that I sometimes rather enjoy washing by hand if I let myself get a little zen while doing it. Also, there’s something satisfying about a stack of clean dishes sitting next to a clean, empty sink.

Too bad getting the rest of this house tidied up isn’t as quick and pleasant. I’d gladly forgo a dishwasher if there were an automated house-cleaner to be had.