Just Call Me Washboard Mamma

The washing machine quit working Monday. Luckily I had finished all but the towels. Amanda took the towels to Pat's house since she had some stuff to wash. At least the dryer works, wet towels aren't light. I am wondering how long the dryer will last cause it seems to take longer and longer to dry things. My electric bill is high enough. So we pondered what to do. Pat suggested that something was caught in the washer, not allowing it to agitate or spin. Maybe, or it could just be wearing out. Jimmy doesnt really want to have to pull it out and take it apart. And I certainly do not plan on paying someone to come fix it. The washer and dryer came with the house, so we gave ours to Amanda when she had her house. Now that she is staying with us, we thought we'd just get hers out of storage. Naturally, it is way in the back of the unit. This would require taking nearly everythng out just to get to it. So a friend of hers at work said she was getting rid of her 11 year old washer cause she was getting another one that matched her dryer and no longer needed the old one. So we have two free optiions- get the one out of storage or take this lady's old one. Both washers are about the same age, so I don't know which is better. I know that Amanda is not relishing the idea of digging it out of storage. So, we decided it would be easier to take her friend's one on Saturday before Amanda went out of town. Well Amanda ended up leaving earlier than she planned so we wont be able to get it this weekend. Since there is not a laundromat near here, decided to wash a small load of underware and socks by hand. I forgot how much "fun" it is to wash clothes by hand. Not fun at all. The light clothes are now in the dryer. Since I dont have a whole lot of hand strength, they are a little wetter than normal. Cant help it though. Next I'll tackle the three dark work shirts of Jimmy's. I refuse to wash the bath towels by hand. That just ain't gonna happen! I was reminded of stories I've seen showing women at the river pounding the wash with rocks. Or the old washbuckets in which the women scrubbed the clothes on a washboard. That must have been tough on a manicure. Oh wait, they didn't get manicures then! Oh well, could be worse...