New Addition

Well, we fought the good fight, I think.  We came, we embraced, we sat idly by with infinite patience.  But, after 10 months, we have decided to expand our family...we are, once again, with dryer.  And is it pure heaven.

The new addition :)  She lives outside with her sister the washing machine, and brother the freezer. 

During the summer, I had no problems with drying our clothes hanging outside.  We got direct sun in the back yard starting in May, so a load of clothes would dry in the hot 90+ degree sun in the time it took for the next wash load to be done -- almost faster than an actual dryer would dry them.  I loved how the sun bleached the whites naturally, and the way the clothes smelled drying outside.  It really wasn't an issue...then October hit. 

The sun in back dissapeared, and I was left outside beside our perpetually sad, damp laundry, staring longingly up at the neighboring building behind us as their laundry flapped in wind and direct sun, almost mocking me with its vigor ...it's funny the things you start to envy.  It used to be nicely decorated houses with fancy seasonal hurricane glass displays.... now all I really want is sunlight and a stiff breeze.   For the past two months it has taken a solid 3 days to dry our clothes after they are washed.  And I use the term "dry" loosely, because they are never really dry.  Slightly damp at best.  And when I was having to plan my outfit 5 days in advance, and blow drying my children's pants in the morning while the laundry piled up to the ceiling, I finally had to pull the plug..or plug in the plug as it may be.  We bought an electric dryer.

Purchase day was actually kind of humorous.  We were like starving beasts in a room full of fresh meat.  As the very nice saleswoman tried to explain which of the units were the most energy efficient (clearly the top priority, as it should be for everyone, here in Spain) we couldn't be bothered.  After close to a year of living the earth friendly "no dryer" life, we really only cared about getting our clothes good and dry as fast as possible...

"Yeah yeah...energy efficient, we get it.  Which unit will scorch the living daylights out of our clothes in record time?" 

I kid. :)

That first load was like Christmas morning.  I held the hot, DRY clothes close, marveling that in just two hours, the clothes went from dirty to clean and dry.  Modern day miracle. 

I shall never take my dryer for granted again.  And while I will enjoy me some energy sucking laundering this winter, come May, I know we will resume our Earth friendly metal rack drying.  Until then, I am happily folding clean dry clothes inside, looking out the window at as it rains.  Ah, it is a good day indeed.