The Dryer is Dying

My dryer is 30 years old—produced back in the day when planned obsolescence wasn’t a thing and appliances lasted more than five years. It’s an Amana. The washer from that set has long since gone to appliance heaven, because washers are no match for the husband’s dirt- and concrete-encrusted clothing. (We’ve had two more washers since that first one.)

The dryer has been repaired twice, both times by the husband. The timer broke, so he fixed it with one he poached off a dishwasher at the green box site. That was back when dumpster diving was still legal in Flathead County. Believe me, he mourns the fact that he can no longer scrounge things at the trash sites. The second time, the dryer stopped heating and drying the clothes. He replaced another part, but he had to order that one.

The dryer is now making a funny noise and the clothes aren’t always dry at the end of the cycle. I asked him yesterday if it was possible that a bearing was going bad, because it sounds like a problem with the drum.

I know this man. He will take it as a personal challenge to keep this dryer working as long as possible. However, this literally is his busiest time of the year. (He left at 5 am today for a 7 am concrete pour.) I will use the dryer as long as it works, but there may come a time when I make an executive decision to purchase a new one. A non-functional dryer will affect him more than me, because I dry all of my clothing on the line. I have enough trouble with clothes being too short without shrinking them in the dryer.

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I have not had a chance to finish the blueberry top. I was going to do it yesterday morning before leaving for a 9 am appointment, but the 880 decided to be a diva and demanded to be thoroughly cleaned and oiled. I ran errands in town and was home by noon but needed to record this week’s podcast episode. When I finished that, I had to retrieve the husband from the equipment dealer. He consigned his 2022 Dodge Ram 5500 work truck with them.

In a few weeks, the podcast will have its second anniversary. I am having great fun with it and plan to continue. I haven’t yet run out of topics, as I feared. My biggest problem, which happens more in the summer than the winter, is finding the time each week to record. Interview episodes require time to record the interview as well as time to edit. The episodes where I pontificate for 30 minutes still require an hour or two to prepare and record.

This is today’s activity:

We start at 9 am. The forecast high for today is around 90F, so I may be looking for a nice patch of shade in which to paint.