Laundry

So here we are halfway through our trip that already seems way too short. We received an invitation to visit in the bush (in a tribal work) that we had to decline due to lack of time. Very disappointing but it has us already thinking about when we can come again.

Something that takes 5 times as long here as in the U.S. is laundry. In case any of you are new to our travels or have forgotten my previous lesson, here is the low down on the twin tub washer. It has two tubs. One is for filling with wash or rinse water, depending on your stage of washing, the other, you spin your clothes in. The bummer is that the wash does not go by itself into the spinner and get new water to rinse in by itself. Here's a step by step view:
1. Manually turn on the spicket that runs the 10 pounds of water pressure into the wash tub
2. Go upstairs and do something else until it fills up (about 7-8 minutes)
3. Remember 15 minutes later that you are filling up the tub, run downstairs and see that it is now leaking out the top drains
4. Turn off water and add soap
5. Add your cleanest of the dirty clothes since you will use this wash water for at least two loads, maybe three
6. Turn on tub #1 for 15 minutes (the max on the timer) and go back upstairs to do something else
7. Remember 20 minutes later that you have laundry going, run downstairs and put the stuff in the spinner
8. Add another load to the wash tub and go back upstairs to do something else
9. This time, you actually remember you have stuff downstairs and head down to take care of it. The wash water is looking pretty bad so you decide to drain it and rinse the two washed loads
10. Put the washed load in the spinner and turn the dial to drain.
11. The water proceeds to drain out on the sidewalk into the grass where all kinds of little creatures love to bathe...as long as they do it on the sidewalk and not in my laundry room, they don't get the size 10 shoe
12. Fill tub number one with rinse water and proceed to rinse the previously washed and spun loads
13. After rinsing and spinning, put the clothes on the clothesline and start over, this time adding a little soap to the rinse water to make it wash water for loads 3 and 4.
Mind you, this is in the midst of school and dishes and sweeping and heat and power going out.

Thanks for reading and hopefully laughing with me. If that didn't bring a smile to your face, maybe these pictures will. We saw this beautiful big root ball and Betty, a gal here on the base, said, Tracie, you get up there and I'll take your picture. Well, I think she did that just to laugh at me getting down! It was quite a sight!
Love,
Tracie