Connected

Among all the other things going on around here this summer, my washing machine’s bearings went bad. It’s a 10yo machine and my service guy didn’t think it was worth replacing — he said that it’s a common occurrence with front-loading machines & their lifespan is right around 10 years. He also said that I didn’t have to replace it right away… it wasn’t a fire hazard & I could run the machine as-is until it died.

So, for most of the summer, every time the washer went into the final spin cycle, it sounded like an airplane was landing in the laundry room. So loud!! Thank goodness there’s a door on that room. Recently, I was also hearing some extra clicks & clacks when the drum was rotating. Having previously hauled baskets of sopping wet laundry to the laundromat (dripping all the way) on more than one occasion, I knew it wasn’t something I ever wanted to do again… no matter what my husband thought.

On Sunday morning, I did the deed, the kicker being that my new washer could be delivered on Wednesday (yesterday), which just happened to be my day off this week!

The delivery people installed it, ran a cycle, and hauled my old one away (I’d have to wait until April to put it on the curb, and… well, no.) Then I did a load & thought that the water temp was a bit higher than desired (judging by the temp of the clothes when I went to put them in the dryer), so I jiggled the water valves… and I guess I jiggled them all the way closed, at least according to the error code that I kept getting, and it took me a while to remember Lefty-Loosey, Righty-Tighty.

There’s a lot going on… my brain’s a little jumbled. haha.

Anyway, it was while troubleshooting that I decided, OK, I’ll scan the QR Code & CONNECT! You may recall that I had to buy a new range a few months ago, too, which is also “connectable,” but I had/have so far resisted. Now that I’m connected to my washing machine, we’ll see if I can continue resisting. It really seems like WHY??? but I have to say that I didn’t mind getting a notification on my phone when the washer was done.

I also have some lightbulbs that I can control with an app — color temp, dimming, schedules & routines. The ones I use most regularly are in a lamp by my chair in the living room and for the back porch. I also have one that I put into my bedside lamp when we’re away because I like it to go on/off while we’re gone. I can get notifications of events, too.

My car has a remote start feature that I love to use in the winter, but I’d risk asphyxiation in the (detached) garage because we don’t have a garage door opener button in the house. Thanks to one of the guys I work with, I learned about a garage door app (which required some hardware, of course), but it was a breeze & now I can open the garage door with my phone when I start the car. And, I can’t see the actual garage door from any vantage point in my house, so now it’s set to automatically close every night at 9 or 10 pm. No more leaving the garage door open all night! Naturally, I can get notifications of those events, too.

So far, I think those are all the THINGS that I’m connected to in my house. I had a Google dot thing for a while that I could talk to, but that was weird. And I’ve pondered a video doorbell (long story, but we don’t have a functioning doorbell anymore & it would be a big PITA to wire a new one)… I really wouldn’t mind seeing what happens outside in the middle of the night. I’ve pondered a camera for the back yard, too, for the same reason. Oh, and a Bird Buddy is still on my wish list. Oh wait… there’s all the Bluetooth stuff, too; a couple of soundbars, a turntable/speaker (at my house & at Ann’s), my fitbit, earbuds, hearing aids!

I know I’m not even as connected as some people… or as connected as I could be. How about you??

And now, randomly, because I don’t have a photo of my new washing machine… a screenshot of part of a chat with my sister Ann last night:

Well… that’ll get you thinking about the future!! Holy moly.