We have a very old dishwasher. My husband Milt has to finesse it to get it to produce tolerably clean dishes each day. He's developed a number of strategies to accomplish this and none of them involve me. I'm supposed to "stay away from the dishwasher, Patricia!"
So, this morning, when I returned from the gym and discovered a freshly-washed batch of dishes in the machine awaiting dispersal to their appropriate shelves and drawers, along with a sinkful of dirty plates and cups, I foolishly took it upon myself to empty and load the aforesaid machine. Big mistake.
Milt was soon upon me, pushing me aside and re-aligning the items I had just placed in the dishwasher.
"No! No!" he scowled, "That goes over there!" He carefully placed a short glass on the left top side. (I had mistakenly posited it on the top right.)
"What difference does it make?" I asked his royal cleanliness.
"It has to go at a certain angle to get clean," he explained. I rolled my eyes behind his back as he bent over to adjust the funny device he keeps in the middle of the top deck of the washer.
"What's that?" I questioned, pointing as he adjusted a red knob on the little round thing.
"Just go away!" he said, shooing me behind him. "This is the filter. I'm setting it."
"The one you buy in bulk from Amazon?"
"Yes," he replied, pulling out the bottom drawer, examining it carefully. "Did you check that big pan before you put it away?"
"Check it for what? Fleas?"
"To see if it was clean!" He was noticeably annoyed with me.
"It was clean enough," I said, "It's been through two dishwasher cycles!"
"That's not enough sometimes!"
"So, how many cycles do you think it needs? Why don't I just wash it by hand?"
"That defeats the purpose!" he yelled.
"What purpose?" I countered.
"Of the filters. They're supposed to improve the dishwasher's function."
"Maybe," I suggested, "they don't work if you have to run a pan through THREE times!"
"Patricia!" he sputtered, "Go away! Just leave the dishwashing to me!"
Yes, dear. I'm always glad to leave any portion of the housework to you. Now, would you like to take up cooking our meals? Maybe Amazon has some little device that will aid you with that chore.
Tomorrow is the big launch of best-selling author Melissa Foster's third novel COME BACK TO ME. As part of this launch promotion, Melissa has gathered together a group of indie authors in a fabulous cross-promotion. Readers who purchase COME BACK TO ME also have the opportunity to buy books from these 36 authors for only 99 cents during the three-day promotion (Nov. 1- Nov. 3). I'm delighted to be part of this group. 
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