Appliance Upheaval

Although I don't think there is anything wrong with it, I don't really enjoy the term "homemaker".  It kind of makes me cringe, just like in college when someone would hear that I could sew or that I made something they would often say, "you're so domesticated".  I think that word was referring to being house wife like and not like an animal, which is what I think of.  And in college I was barely domesticated, let me tell you.  And at the doctors office, when you report for your first appointment after finding out you are pregnant, they ask you a huge list of questions including your job.  Last time they asked and I said I didn't have one and the nurse said, "OK, homemaker then," and of course I had to blurt out what I used to do and what my education was and of course she didn't care and said, "OK, homemaker."  This conflict makes me think of the movie "Mona Lisa Smile", which deals with some college ladies at a prestigious institution in 1953, and how, although they were getting the best education they all were still bound by tradition and aspired for marriage and homemaking.

 

In this amusing scene, "Wellesley Girl" Betty, who gets married in the movie to the affluent young professional of her hearts desire (who turns out to be a dirtbag) is posing for a recruiting magazine spread showcasing how a Wellesley girl can study and still maintain her husband by cooking and cleaning and ironing his shirts.  There is a funnier one of her vacuuming in heels and reading the book while he sits in a chair and relaxes but the link didn't work. 

But, although no one wants to admit it, this homemaker thing is a very important job.  And I don't think it is reserved for only women anymore or women who don't have other jobs.  Someone has to do all this crap regardless of what else they do during they day.  And anyone who wears clothes and does laundry would be excited about this:
 

 

Check it! A new washing machine and dryer!  There was nothing wrong with our old ones but my parents got new ones and their old ones were nicer and fancier than what we had so now they live here.  Look at the high capacity drum on that front loader!  And the dryer has a light inside of it!

Look at all those settings and combinations!  The old one just had three temperatures and regular or permanent press (which, by the way, I don't really know what that means.  I gather that it is gentler than regular but not exactly delicate?)  Now if I could only learn to properly iron a man's dress shirt, which I actually never learned how to do.  Justin asks my help with that sometimes and I have to explain every time that modern education, even in family and consumer science class, doesn't involve maintaining a man anymore.

The old ones are in the garage until we decide what to do with them.   

 

Haha, did that startle you?  It's the season of severed deer heads!  Severed deer heads on cardboard on top of the old washer and dryer!  I got together with some women in my moms group that I attend at a church last night and this is a very common occurrence this time of year.  One woman had a whole deer hanging in her garage and another had two heads in their deep freezer. 

 

And the laundry room isn't the only place with new excitement: 

 

 

We got a new TV in the living room (it has the Internet...yeaaaah Netflix!) so the old one is in our room now.  I have never had a TV in my bedroom in my life except for one year in my college dorm room and the summer I lived at AGR.   So now I can sneak away from "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" and watch the news in the morning while pretending I am "putting stuff away".  It was hard to lose the clutter catching surface of that dresser but that's OK I guess.  And it can still hold smaller clutter, which of course I moved for the picture! 

It's Thanksgiving tomorrow, and hopefully at this time tomorrow morning I am enjoying a morning sugar soda (I make an exception to my rules and enjoy drinking full calorie pop on holidays) and watching the Macy's parade until someone gets annoyed with all the bland commentary and show tunes and takes over the TV to watch sports.   I saw this cute vintage photo on the Internet and thought I would share it in honor of Thanksgiving:

 

If Allan was around a turkey being prepared he would be doing the same thing.