Each day that ends, I have the hope that I have impacted the people I love in some small way or another. I am part of a small family, so it should be easy to do.

Today I did laundry. If you know anything about doing laundry in the Dominican Republic, it is NOTHING like doing laundry in North America. For one, our washing machine does not really qualify as a washing machine.

The time it takes to do laundry here is ridiculous. There is no actual “washing” process. It is more like clothing sitting in soap and water and moving in a circle for 25-30 minutes at a time. The best part of it all is that only 10 articles of clothing is allowed in the washer if you want the spinner to actually spin. If you put 11 in, the spinner will get stuck.

Today I experimented with putting in a couple of rocks so that I could actually hear whether my washer was spinning or not. Turns out, the rocks were too heavy and kept the washer from oscilating. So i took the rocks out and sat super close to the washing machine.

The machine is sort of in the shape of a box. The box contains 2 compartments with 3 “switches”. The switches make the machine look official. But I can’t be fooled, and if you are smart, neither can you. There is the timer, the switch the marks whether you want it delicate or regular/drain, and the dryer.

The dryer makes me laugh. It is actually the only thing on this piece of shit that makes a bit of sense. But keep in mind, the dryer is really a wringer-outer. And it does the job. It wrings your clothing to the point of being able to wear it in that very moment. But if you are a good laundry woman, you will go through all 9 steps detailed in the next blog.

So i finished doing laundry and proceeded to make a few asthetic changes to the home front.

For the past few months my daughter has been begging for her own “space”. She has her own room, and our house is big enough that she can roam freely and yet still be safe, but what she wanted was her own little spot.

She noticed that my moped got its own little home, and Lilly, my sorta border collie has her own space…she wanted hers.

So today I went on a quest to figure out how I would create a little space for her out of blue tarp.

First, I moved my moped and to a place that would be essentially better protected than it was, and replaced the tarp on it. Then, I went ahead and cut up some more tarp and placed it in a real quiet and secretive area. I covered the place with nice blue tarp and made it into a mini house. I then created a sign that hopefully will keep all intruders out.

As 3:50 approached (the time she gets home from school) I laid on my bed reading David Sadaris’ new book “Let’s talk about Diabetes with Owls”. She walked into the house and went around the back. All of a sudden i heard a high-pitched screech followed by a “Yippeeee”

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The look on her face for something that was so simple, yet fun. The little things we do for our family can go a long way. Now my daughter has her little private get away house. And no one is allowed in it but her….too bad Lilly can’t read!