Hey y'all. Sorry for the radio silence last week. All is well at the ranch - it just turns out that the days are really short and busy these days. Between family visitors, one ladies' night, one sleep in ('til 11!) and trying to shower, I just didn't have time to sand and refinish a kitchen island and then blog about it.

I know. It's shocking.

As we move into the summer, I predict a bit more fluidity in the blog posting schedule (though I hope it won't be sporadically). I'll share more on our summer plans, but if I miss a post, please forgive me and check back in (or sign up for the email list - I might actually send out alerts when new posts are up).

So. See that little machine? It is, as discussed previously, a wee washer. That's not so wee. Per a loyal reader's suggestion, I checked out the online classifieds and saw this for sale on Park Slope Parents - the self-explanatory list serve to which I subscribe and on which I spend untold amounts of time. We scooped it up at the same time as we purchased the island it sits next to. Then we shoved it back next to the bathroom and ignored it for weeks. It needed some parts, and we were still dropping our laundry off at a service across the street, which I think did a mediocre job at best, but which was so ridiculously convenient that we just kept using it. Weeks later, we hadn't gotten around to testing the new guy out. But when our laundry came back it's usual dingy and several shades pinker than normal last week, I decided I'd had enough with the current service.

We had a ton of laundry built up, and we likely will, going forward, so we'll need a hybrid of solutions. My mom and I tried out the laundromat on Saturday. It is cheaper than drop-off, but only marginally. Its real selling point is that it allows us to do a better job on actually washing the clothes (sorting, adding hydrogen peroxide where needed, folding clothes well, etc.). But even still, it is not a long term solution. Unlike our last laundromat, which was huge, with huge washers, and used a debit card system to operate, the tiny laundromat near us is a competitive mad house that still uses quarters. At this point in my life, I don't feel like throwing elbows while wearing one child and wrangling another, all so I can beat another exhausted parent out at snagging a $4.50 washer.

So, I did some research into a new service, one that is farther away but offers pickup. Step 2: we moved the little washer, which I'm hereby naming Norm, out to the kitchen. I had really hoped we could keep Norm hidden back by the bathroom, but there was no way to really make it functional; it would block the bathroom door and just be a hot mess back there. So, to the kitchen Norm comes! We'll attach it to the kitchen sink at wash time, and put the drying rack...somewhere.

For now, I envision baby clothes and underthings being the most common use for this guy, but we'll see! I still have to get some parts, so Wes and I are going on a field trip and I plan to make my inaugural wash today. At that point, we'll figure out drying and all the rest. Oh, and the box. I'm trying so hard to not just throw it out and do something cool for it for Lou. Suggestions welcome!

This is probably the most exciting laundry blog post you've ever read. I know. But hey - I share the good, the bad, and the boring of life in our little Brooklyn abode. Thanks for reading and we'll really, really do our best to see you Wednesday!