Continuing on the topic of appliances. When I moved in, the dishwasher was not working, but it could be repaired, so I didn’t shop for a new one. I made a couple of interesting discoveries after it was repaired, such as finding pieces of broken glass on the bottom, and way later, I found the cap of the rinsing liquid dispenser. The dishwasher door would not stay in the intermediate position and would always fall all the way horizontally, but the job of cleaning was performed fine, so I could live with it.

I really liked the dishwasher which Anna had in her house. The things I especially liked:

• After the cycle is over, the door opens a small gap, so some air gets inside and helps the plastic surfaces to dry. I wash a lot of plastic containers, and I like the idea you do not need to additionally dry them when you unload a dishwasher.
• I love the third rack! It has space for all of those “not fitting into” things, like cutlery, small lead, blender parts, etc.
• I love that it operates so quietly that you can barely hear it

When I finally decided to get a new dishwasher a couple of months ago, I texted Anna to ask about her dishwasher brand. She didn’t reply right away, and I was already deeply in the process. Also, wanted to make sure that it would be delivered when Boris was in town and could be at home for delivery. Long story short, I went through several dozen models available in Lowes, looking for all of the above criteria. After I placed the order, Anna finally got back to me, and it turned out that I purchased the same one as she had :). It’s sad that only Samsung could check all the squares!

Later, I discovered one more exciting feature: the cycle auto-selection. This thing can actually figure out how dirty your dishes are and select the washing cycle accordingly!

I moved to Rogers Park three years and two months ago, and some of my friends might remember that there was not a single thing in this house that would work properly then. Since I didn’t have money to fix everything, I resorted to the bare minimum, and one thing which was a must, was a washer/dryer combo, because there was none. I do not know what the previous owners did with their machine, but the niche designated for the washer/dryer was empty.

I purchased a new one from Home Depot (because at that point, I didn’t realize it’s evilness). Since the day I bought it, it had a problem with the dryer handle – it was getting off easily, just when you pull the door with above-average force. Fortunately, it was equally easy to put it back.

This thing (the handle getting off) happened periodically, and there was no problem until about a month ago, when, out of blue, I could not put this handle back! After several unsuccessful attempts, I finally realized what the problem was: the little hooks which would get inside the door and secure that handle, were gone; just broke off.

As one would expect, that happened exactly after the warranty was over :), and I was unsure how I could possibly get it fixed (BTW, opening this door without a handle required two screwdrivers). Then, I decide to ask Grandfather Google, and discovered the website where I could find spare parts for pretty much anything. There, I found the replacement handle.

The price was completely unreasonable, but when you need something – you need it! So I ordered an paid $80 for the part and delivery. However, since it would arrive several days later, I decided to “temporarily” fix it with Gourilla Gue – and if worked!

Nov, even though the part arrived long time ago, I am reluctant to tear off this “DIY” fix…🤣

It took me a while to replace the toilet in the smaller bathroom, even after a plumber told me it was time to stop fixing it and get a new one. A new one required at least some thinking and planning, and I had enough going on. Finally, I went to Lowes, ordered a new one, and the installers came and installed it. Right after that, I went on my European trip.

Then I returned, and after a while, I was sure that something was not right: it was not flushing enough water. Boris told me that he would be able to fix it. I just needed to wait until he came next time, but I decided to call the installers because I thought they messed up and should fix it. As always, it took me a while to make a call, and while Lena visited me, she checked and said that she was not sure why the tank did not fill to the maximum. Finally, I called the installers and scheduled them to come back and take a look. Now, the funny part: when they returned and checked, it appeared that everything was working normally. I simply forgot that in some models, you need to hold the flush to keep the water running. And I completely forgot that this could be the case – I didn’t have such models for a while! So there was no need to suffer for two months. Just a user error 🙂

A couple of weeks ago, when I had to change a light bulb in the hallway ceiling light fixture, I realized that even my tallest ladder was not tall enough for that. I give myself credit for not pushing this task to “sometime later” but making myself do it “now.” Still, it as a stunt. I had to move the ladder closer to the wall and touch the wall with one hand while standing on the ladder landing. And to be honest, I needed both hands because I had to unscrew this thing in order to change the light bulb.

I have a very lightweight ladder which Boris and I bought in ACE Hardware shortly after we moved to Rogers Park, and I love it. But having the ceilings as high as mine, this ladder is not high enough. When last time an electrician came to fix my ceiling fan remote, I asked him to let me measure his ladder, and it turned out I needed two more steps (or two more feet).

First, I tasked Boris with finding a ladder that would be comparable to what we have now, just taller. The ladder I have now weights 6 lb., which is a record light, and I was hoping to find something around 10-12 lb. Boris researched it for a while but didn’t find anything. Then I researched and I couldn’t find it either. Then, I looked at “best recommendations,” and the vote came for a ladder that was 18 lb. Boris said: no way, and then took another look at Amazon and found the ladder, which was said to be either 9.5 lb (in the description) or 14.5 lb (in the product specs). I ordered that one, and it arrived, and… it weights 17.7 lb!!!!

Two conclusions:

1 – The “best recommendation” looks reasonable

2 – Never trust Amazon. With anything!

Since we were in IKEA on Sunday, I could not leave it empty-handed. The best thing was that after two years of searching for Enthusiasm cups with holders, I finally found one.

Boris didn’t like that they were too big. I can’t disagree with that:), but I love how they perfectly match the ones we already have:

(I was working from home today because it was the last day for Boris to be here; that’s why breakfast at home for a change. I ended up spending almost all of the workday in meetings, so the fact that I was at home didn’t change much, but still).

This was a small thing, but I am very proud of it.

Sometimes, things break, or you lose a part, and then it appears to be very difficult to find this one small part that you need to replace, and it is very tempting to replace the whole thing.

Recently, I accidentally threw a percolator tube into the garbage. And I didn’t realize I did it until it was too late, and the garbage was already in the dumpster. I started to look for a part on Amazon, and I couldn’t find it. A couple of years ago, I had to buy a new percolator for Milwaukee when the lid of the coffee basket went missing, and I could not find a replacement for such a simple thing and ended up ordering a new percolator.

This time, I was almost ready to do the same, but when I checked the percolator’s price on Amazon, I saw that it had gone up almost twice since I purchased it last time. Most likely, that won’t stop me because I wanted the problem to be solved ASAP, but then I thought about the conservation efforts and what a waste it would be to throw away the whole percolator with only this tube missing!

I made an effort :). I found the company website and ordered the replacement perk tubes. Two of them :). Because it’s not the last time I need one. And it was not as fast as Amazon delivery. And two tubes plus shipping cost only a little bit less than a new percolator. But I was so happy I did the right thing 🙂

Did you ever think that a small rolling desk would be so useful in the kitchen?! Boris was hesitant to get this one (he uses it for work when he needs peace and quiet and the house is occupied by our granddaughters, but I told him if he gets it, I know very well how I am going to use it!

Yes, I know that people these days do everything from their phones, but I still prefer to consult my recipes using a bigger screen!