Driving in Style

This is how it should be. Wish I had a snuggle pillow :)

I'm A Genius

...and I also fixed my own washing machine. Woo woo! 

The other day my washing machine started beeping at me and flashing error messages on the little screen. I didn't even know my machine could flash anything but the infernal "16" minutes remaining there always seems to be when I'm trying to wash clothes in a hurry.

The water wasn't draining (read: HUGE sloppy puddle in my machine),  so at first I had to hand-wring my heaviest clothes to get the water out which of course were towels, jeans and sweaters... I was out of a washing machine. I was sad.

Then, Google to the rescue! Others had seen this failure message and most had an easy fix: clean out the filter! Apparently your washing machine has a filter that lies somewhere between the the drain hose for the drum (where the water and clothes are) and the pump that sucks the water through the hose and out the back of your machine through another hose. Now that I think about it, it makes sense to have a filter, but I had no idea there was one.

I popped off the front panel of the washer with the fancy screwdriver that looks like an asterisk. Behold, the innards of the washing machine:

I jammed a towel underneath the frame of the machine as people had suggested on "the google". Turned the filter cap and nasty smelling water streamed out, soaking my beach towel. Soaked. *Good tip Google people!* 

You can see the gross inside, but it wasn't anything so spectacular as I was expecting. Some slime, a few sewing pins (oops), and oh yeah, a GIANT rigid metal piece the size of my hand! I have no idea where that piece came from and I only hope it wasn't from the machine itself...

So I cleaned out the gunk, took the pump off and made sure the impeller still turned properly (which it did) to ensure it wasn't an obvious pump problem, returned the pump to its rightful place, and then did a test wash. No leaks, full drain capability, I'm awesome! 

Shenanigans

When I left with Kirby on a walk to get the mail, Sammie was barking in the backyard. When I came home, Sammie was inside the house wagging her tail and staring at me through the front screen door. No wonder she was so proud... Click here to see.

Feeling Guilty

The "Village Ten" pizza...all for me!!!

New Girl

If you aren't into this show, you should be. New Girl is my new favorite show and oh-em-jee it rules. I almost pee my pants every time I watch it. You can catch up online at fox.com/new-girl. DO IT! You just might pee yourself too... :D