Doing the dishes . . .

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A view of my kitchen window. A vase of flowers picked from the yard, a pretty plate and pillow tuck. My solar powered wind chime and three little sheep given to me by a dear friend peeking out from under my burlap curtain. Looking at things I love helps make a chore more pleasant!

Does anybody besides me still do all their dishes by hand? I have never owned a dishwasher.  Growing up dad always said my sister and I were the dishwashers.  (Although Mom almost always did them and we dried – she didn’t want us splashing water on the windowsill)  I’ve lived in my home for 25 years now and there just is no place to install a dishwasher.  I have a small kitchen with limited cupboard space and I am just not willing to give up any of the space I do have for a dishwasher.  There have been times when I would have appreciated having one.  Especially when I had three kids at home who were very active in numerous different activities and I was working 40 hours a week.  Now, I don’t mind doing the dishes by hand. It gives me a time to slow down, think about my day, reflect on things.  Doing the dishes by hand is kind of like hanging the laundry out on the line – both chores connect me to my mom, my grandmothers and great-grandmothers.  These chores of mine are the exact same chores they had to do.  I love thinking that way. It makes me feel connected to the women in my life – the ones I still have with me and those that are gone.  I love that I have a window in front of my sink.  I can look outside and watch the kids play and see if Joe is coming down the road.  I watch the weather and the kittens play.  I’ve spent many hours standing in front of this window dreaming away!

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