My Favorite Holiday Decoration

Although there are many, many things I love about Christmas, this year one thing has really announced to me that Christmas is here. Can you guess what it is?



Isn't it pretty? Yes, the dishwasher sitting on my front porch is really making the season bright.You see, this dishwasher (may it rest in pieces) sitting on my front porch signifies that there is another dishwasher inside the house, filling its spot.

A dishwasher that works.

You may remember that a few months ago I took my old dishwasher apart piece by piece, meticulously cleaned it for hours, and then put it back together. It worked better for a little while, but then things went downhill again, and we knew it's time on earth was coming to an end. Around that same time my Grammy offered her portable dishwasher to us, so we took it to use until I could research which dishwasher we should get, and until we could afford it. The portable did a really good job (I had almost forgotten what clean dishes looked like) but it took up a lot of space and I was inconvenienced by not being able to use my sink for 90 minutes every time I ran it.

I started looking for a dishwasher in earnest, and finally narrowed it down to a Kenmore and a Whirlpool that were rated well in Consumer Reports. I was just about to buy the Kenmore when I realized (by reading dozens of reviews) that the dishwasher now cost around $200 more than what most people had paid for it. My only guess was that when the Consumer Report came out and rated it so well, the company jacked the price. Boo! I had to really wrestle with myself, since I can't stand to buy something when I feel I'm being cheated. But the facts remained that 1) it was a really good dishwasher, 2) it was still competitively priced with comparable dishwashers, and 3) we needed one now! I decided to get it, so I bought it through MyPoints (a site that gives me points for clicking through their site first--I can redeem points for gift cards) and also found a coupon code at www.retailmenot.com for $5 off a $50 purchase. (Too bad they didn't have something for $50 off a $500 purchase!) I had it shipped to the Sears store so we could pick it up and avoid the $65 shipping charge. Then my wonderful parents and their wonderful truck picked it up yesterday, and my wonderful Dad and wonderful brother started installing it!

So why does this make me feel like it's Christmas?
It brings family together.



The night was full of surprises.
(This is my dad's face after I snapped the first picture. He had been fiddling with the electrical under the dishwasher, and when the flash went off he jerked up suddenly, thinking he was going to be electrocuted! Surprise!)



For a while it looked like How the Grinch Stole Christmas. (He left nothing but hooks and some wire . . . for my little Cindy Lou Who!)

We witnessed a few miracles.

Miracle #1
Men reading directions.

Miracle #2
Sandi calmly walking away from this scene: my brother is chiseling out part of my countertop, and putting the pieces of junk on my silver serving platter!


But when I came home, the dishwasher was installed, my Christmas hand towel was hanging so merrily on the handle, and the chisel job was mostly straight.

Now, my dishes can be clean, and we all know cleanliness is next to godliness, and Christmas is all about godliness, so Merry Christmas to me!
(Oh, I also like Christmas lights and wreaths.)