Because I Can't Stop Talking About How Great Having a Washer/Dryer Is

(And Because It's Basically the Only Thing Worth Chronicling In My Life At Present)

We brought our new washer and dryer home last night and set them up in the pantry. We've only had a few setbacks so far.

1. First of all, there was the matter of payment. The people we bought them from requested payment in the form of a money order I guess because of bad experiences they've had with personal checks in the past. We were okay with this...all it meant was a quick stop by the credit union on our way home from work yesterday. Unfortunately, the credit union's network or something was completely shut down and they could not give us a money order. Blast, we thought. But this problem was manageable. All we now had to do was drive over to Marsh (the grocery store) and get one there. Unfortunately at Marsh they only accept cash as a form of payment for a money order. And unfortunately, neither Blake or I thought about this when we were at the credit union the first time. So, back to the credit union we went to withdrawl the money, and then back again to Marsh to get the money order. A 10 minute errand ended up taking 45 minutes, but in the end, we got what we needed.
2. The evening schedule was supposed to run like this: our pick-up truck help was supposed to come by around 8:00 to help us bring the w/d over; my visiting teachers were supposed to come by at 6:30 (and be gone in plenty of time for me to get the pantry cleared out to make space for the w/d). What actually happened was this: the pick up truck arrived at 7:05, and my visiting teachers arrived at 7:30. We scrambled a bit, and I was a bit flustered (and not to mention sweaty because it's hot and humid outside and even more hot and humid inside our pantry -- which I still, luckily, had time to clean), but in the end everything worked out just fine.
3. We needed to buy a 4"x8' aluminum airduct for the dryer. Unfortunately the ones Lowe's said they had in stock were nowhere to be found (this is why I love you, Home Depot!). So we had to go to another store (Menards...because the good people of Muncie apparently don't believe in Home Depot) to find our needed airduct. This actually ended up being a happy turn of events because the airduct at Menards was $5 cheaper than the airduct at Lowe's.
4. Upon closer inspection, both the washing machine and the dryer were quite dirty. Especially the washing machine. You know that little catch-all in the center of the wash basin? Well, it was full of the slimy, soap-scummy leftovers of fabric softener and liquid detergent. We weren't about to wash our clothes in that! So we dug out some old toothbrushes and sponges and scrubbed it clean. We also wiped down the surface of both machines, seeing as they were both pretty dusty. They both look much better now.
5. Blake hooked up the hoses to the washing machine, then, according to the precise instructions we were given, he clamped them on tight with a wrench, then turned the faucets all the way on, with a quarter turn to the right at the end to protect the seals. Maybe the last person to use our hookups didn't follow the quarter turn advice because the cold water faucet is leaky. It's probably just a broken rubber seal, but because we're renting and don't have access to the main water line, we can't fix it ourselves. We are currently hunting down management to get them to come fix it (in a timely manner, too), but they are proving themselves to be difficult to get ahold of. Luckily, though, we can still wash our clothes tonight...the leak isn't so bad and it doesn't threaten to flood our home; the leaking water drains where it's supposed to and we're pretty safe washing our clothes so long as we're home when we do it and we shut off the water when the machine's not running. I'm crossing my fingers, though, that we can get maintenance over asap to fix the problem.
6. Because several decisions in the layout of our apartment complex were made in poor judgment, the washer and dryer don't fit quite right in the pantry. The airduct vent is in the wrong place and consequently the dryer can't be set against the wall and must be positioned at an angle. Also, the outlet for the dryer plug was installed upside-down. But I am okay with all this. A crooked dryer is all right with me so long as I can use it in my own house.
   

But all setbacks aside, life is pretty great because I can do laundry at my house tonight.

(And I promise that, unless something drastic happens, this will be the last time I go on and on and on about the blessedness of these major appliances.)