bells and whistles
We went shopping for a dishwasher this morning. As our refrigerator once did, our poor current machine been getting louder and louder each time we run it; additionally, it dumps a considerable puddle of water onto the kitchen floor at the end of each cycle. We'd be happy to live with the noise and the towels on the floor if we thought the situation was stabilized, but it clearly is not. So a new dishwasher, graciously offered as an early Hannukah present by Leah's parents.
The only problem is, dishwashers these days are pretty complicated. Stainless steel or plastic basin, two spray arms or four, Energy Star rating, decibels... what do we know about any of that?! The worst is the escalation of functionality: why does a dishwasher need five different cycles and a delayed start of up to nine hours? I truly cannot imagine. The one we ordered has some of that stuff, but I'm not sure what: we mostly chose on price, and on the fact that one model had the buttons up top where Harvey won't be able to get to them. Now that's an important feature!