Being the oldest child and a girl, I have done my fair share of dishes. As a teenager I would wait not so patiently for my parents and siblings to finish with their plates so I could get done with the dishes. Often times I would grab my Dad’s plate when he was just about ready to dish up a second helping. Standing behind him waiting to snatch the plate as soon as he was done did not make him eat any faster either.
In the early years our water had to be heated up. The kettle was on the stove. Years later we got a hot water heater and had both hot and cold running water.
I imagine some of you remember when Motels and Resorts would advertise their hot running water. Hot running water was a luxury.
Remember the old dishpans? They had to be dumped outside when you were finished with the dishes, Most people had two pans one for washing and one for rinsing.
Far Guy and I do not have an automatic dishwasher. We didn’t want to give up space in our kitchen for something we would rarely use. With just the two of us we don’t use that many dishes anyway.
Jen and Andy don’t have a dishwasher. Jen hates the icky feeling she gets from touching glasses or plates that have been in a dishwasher. The boys wash and dry dishes.
The grandgirls are in for a big shock. Their new place has no dishwasher..
I remember talking with my Dad as I washed and he dried dishes, Far Guy and I talk whilst washing and drying our few dishes…perhaps dishwashers have taken away from some of our family conversation time:)
We have a dishwasher. We rarely use it. In fact, we had to have the repair guy out for our microwave. He was shocked that he hadn't been out for the dishwasher, as evidently they are notorious for breaking down. He did say he'd see us later as he left, though!
ReplyDeleteIt really takes so little time to do the dishes - especially if you keep on top of them.
I really like the picture of your pump.
No dishwasher here either! I remember beggin for one when the girls were young, and because this is a mobile home, Steve kept saying the water pipes coming to the sink weren't big enough to handle the dishwasher, etc. etc. Spose that could be so, as this house was built in 1969, and not everyone had dishwashers back then! Like you said, time for conversation (when there is two of you working on them!). Have a great day!
ReplyDeleteI do remember the pump on my grandmothers back porch and throwing out the dish water.
ReplyDeleteAt our house sister washed and I dryed I hated to dry the knife and forks, they had to be put up in order and I would just dump them in the holder and would get in trouble when mother saw it.
I washed a lot of dishes while growing up, too. Some meals there were piles and piles of dishes. My least favorite part was the pans, especially if someone forgot to pour water in them to allow the crude to soak a bit. One of the "rules" was whatever the dishwasher missed, the dryer had to get off of the dishes. Plenty of dishtowel popping occurred when my older sisters were home for the holidays. Invariably when it was time to begin the dishes, Marilyn would say it was time for her daughter's nap. She wouldn't return until the dishes were finished. Marilyn was really a sly one. ;oD
ReplyDeleteI remember dishtowel popping and lots of good conversation over the bubbles. Would I give up my dishwasher now? Nahhhh.
ReplyDeleteBut I admire so much that you and your guy are happy to do without it!
No dishwasher here either. You are right with just two people doing dishes gives us a chance to catch up with each other. I have fond memories of all us girls doing dishes together at Holidays. Boy, would the gossip fly. I miss those days.
ReplyDeleteWe didn't have a dishwasher growing up either. With three kids we rotated the wash, dry, and put away chores. We never needed to write it on a chart on the frig like I saw some kids do at their houses because none of us really liked to wash the dishes and none of us would ever forget whose turn it was to wash--LOL! I didn't have a dishwasher until quite a while after I left home (an apartment I rented) and I was glad to have it as I really didn't have anyone to converse with anyways. But honestly, the cheap apartment dishwashers were so bad they couldn't take the ring out of a coffee cup so I always thought of them as a sterilizer. To this day. My son and DIL tease me about how I basically scrub everything clean BEFORE it ever goes in the dishwasher--LOL! ;)
ReplyDeleteThere was an old dishwasher in this place when we moved in. It was pretty much useless, and we only used it when we had a big family dinner. The seal eventually went, so it got taken out and I used the hole it left to store my canning jars and other canning stuff. Eventually my canning supplies outgrew the hole, and so to make the kitchen look a bit better, a few years ago we bought a dishwasher off Craigslist for $75. It's been great, but I could easily live without it, especially if there was just the two of us. No dishwasher at Oliver, no room for one, and no plans for one either. It's so easy to quickly wash up the dishes after each meal and leave them to dry in the dish rack. No dish drying done here:)
ReplyDeleteAs a kid I remember drying dishes, and reading a book while I did it. I used to take every opportunity to read:)
That sure does bring back the memories! We had a wonderful lady that lived next to my grandparents that I can remember going over and she would be washing the dishes from the pump. Those were some of my favorite memories.
ReplyDeleteSounds familiar. I was the oldest boy among three....
ReplyDeleteLove the picture, I am the baby of the family, I had to dry the silverware, yuk......still have dish pans though.........Blessings Francine.
ReplyDeleteYour photo brings back many memories. We had the pump which brought water from a cistern. We also had the dishpan. No girls survived in our family so boys got to wash dishes.
ReplyDeleteWe have a dishwasher but it's a pain.
I do relate to this post. Brings back memories!
ReplyDeleteWhisking away the plate, before your dad finished....... we need you at our house. I'll bet I'd loose a few pounds. I absolutely hate dishes and have had dishwashers all my married life. My brother didn't have to do dishes, because he helped with the wood for the furnace, so I was stuck doing dishes at home every night. My mom was a messy cook, and the cupboards were stacked mile high with dishes. No conversations!! Just me and my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI remember when I first visited my then fiance's parents. They still had a cistern like that in the kitchen.
ReplyDeleteNever had a dishwasher - other than my brothers and I - when I was growing up either.
Our house in NC had one, but the last couple years I switched to washing by hand.
And when we were picking cabinets for the farm house, I told hubby I did not want to waste space for a dishwasher, even though we have a nice large kitchen and his parents had one.
Like you, it's just the two of us, now; and if we get company, I will just ask them to help. ;o)
Have a blessed week!
We have a dishwasher and LOVE it! There are just two of us but I do a lot of cooking and we fill the dishwasher twice in a day on the weekends sometimes. But I know you cook a lot, too. I like it because everything gets super clean and sanitized. I don't use a rinse agent because I think it makes a smell inside the glasses. However, I put clear vinegar in its place and it removes any kind of film on everything.
ReplyDeleteWe do to ! Even though there is just the two of us . I had to wash , dry and put the dishes away when I was a kid with my mum and dad it would be like an assembly line one wash , one dry and the other put them away, we would have a lot of fun and laughs whilst doing the dishes. Even though most of my family have dishwashers we still all clear up and do the dishes after a holiday dinner when there isn't any room in the dishwasher or one of them doesn't want certain dishes in it ! I spent so much time washing and drying dishes and that was when the kids were little . We fill it and run it every two days . But there are times I will do the dishes cause it is relaxing , ok I am weird but I have the option to do either if I please ! Have a good day !
ReplyDeleteOur dishwasher is the kind of near-obsolete model that requires hand rinsing before loading, so we, too, have plenty of opportunities for family conversation :)
ReplyDeleteHello! I'm here via Living a Dream. I saw your comment in her Over the River and Through the Woods blog post and I was intrigued by your blog title: Far Side of Fifty. I love it! Sounds like me!
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a little girl my two BIG sisters (14 and 16 years older than me!)washed and dried the dishes every night after supper. They always talked and laughed and sang songs they harmonized to. My favorite was Side by Side. I loved every minute of it and I guess they let me help put away a few things.(I was between the ages of 4 and 6.)
One other note: a few years ago our dishwasher finally conked out and we didn't replace it for a year or more. I told my husband I didn't want one because I enjoyed doing the dishes while I looked out the kitchen window, seeing rabbits, birds, or squirrels doing their antics. And also I enjoyed being in my own little quiet world, able to just think about things.
I've just completed my memoir, titled: "From Pigtails to Chin Hairs; A Memoir & More" I bet you would like it! :)
We were four kids and, of course,had no dishwasher. We used to complain about doing the dishes, but oh, what fun we had! And, as you say, we talked and talked.
ReplyDeleteMy partner and I live in a rented apartment. It has a dishwasher, but since there are only the two of us, we use it as a place to store the few dishes we use after washing them and placing them there. Each dish now has its own place inside the dishwasher, and I can reach for it when I need it. We run it every once in awhile just to keep it in working order.
ReplyDeleteI love using my dishwasher, but now the racks are rusty. But you are right about the conversation: my friend made her kids do dishes every evening, even though she had a dishwasher. She supervised. She saw the value of the togetherness the three kids gained. My kids didn't get that.
ReplyDeleteI don't ever remember not having running water but then I grew up in Chicago but even summers with my Aunt and Uncle we had running water and hot. You were a real pioneer. I have a dishwasher and would not be with out one. I live alone so I have no one to talk to and I cook a lot and dirty a lot of dishes! I wash all the cans for recycling in it and there are 4 of us now eating....me and the 3 girls! LOL!
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