<p>^^^^Oh well. Guess you’ll have to hire a maid. ;)</p>
<p>VH, we can’t figure out how to load our dishwasher. It comes with all these special little baskets and racks, and sections of it fold down, and we’re cramming everything in there but obviously not using the space as its intended. We can’t figure out what to do with most of the “special” features.</p>
<p>I also panicked last night when my “quick heat” stove burner made my pot of water start steaming up almost instantly. I thought for sure BF had forgotten to rinse the pot and soap residue was burning off of it, it couldn’t POSSIBLY just be that hot already. Apparently I don’t know how to use NICE appliances. :P</p>
<p>^ Google the make and model, you should be able to find the owner’s manual online.</p>
<p>It should/will have instructions on how to load it and run it.</p>
<p>Ema, I’ve never met a dishwasher I liked to load. They all feel funky to me, as if I’m wasting huge amounts of space that are specifically devoted to, for example, a fondue pot. As if that ever gets used, much less washed.</p>
<p>The neighbors just came over to introduce themselves. Attractive, young, child-less, renovating their house in a major way. Brought a bottle of wine as a housewarming gift. How lovely!!!</p>
<p>Hmmm…wonder if the dishwasher was easier to use when it was connected to a hose going out of the house :)</p>
<p>Figured out the DW. There is a switch on the wall that (logically) turns on the garbage disposal. That only works when the stopper is in the drain. Apparently the switch operates the power to the DW, which only works when the stopper is not in the drain.</p>
<p>You can’t make this stuff up.</p>
<p>At least it all works.</p>
<p>My husband can fix that electrical thing, I would think:) did you get a new dishwasher or did they just fix the “drainage” issue?</p>
<p>Sounds like this house is quickly becoming a home!</p>
<p>They fixed it, thumper. Yes, things are beginning to make sense. I think I unpacked all the kitchen boxes – not an easy task! Now it’s just a matter of fiddling until things live in the right places, at least in the kitchen.</p>
<p>So, VH, do you have a generator? At least you are on public water. That makes a huge difference.</p>
<p>No, no generator. We are on city water and city sewer, and since we are less rural than we were last week, I’m hoping that if we lose power, it’s only for a brief time. We’ll see, we’ll see. I did unpack today my “emergency” boxes of candles and matches.</p>
<p>Good luck, VH! I hope the storm doesn’t cause too many problems.</p>
<p>It really sounds like you are making excellent progress, VH. I personally think the kitchen is the hardest room to unpack. I sure wish we were on city services! Maybe our next house will have that!</p>
<p>So I did a silly thing.</p>
<p>Six lady friends meet the first Saturday morning of every month for breakfast. Our children are generally the same age, which is how this started about three years ago. Last night, at the Halloween party of one of them, I announced that next week’s get-together should be at my house, so they can see it.</p>
<p>Am I nuts?? The house will be far from perfect, and of course they all know I just moved in, but still – I don’t even know where we’ll sit!!!</p>
<p>Truth be told, I think I decided to invite them because it will give me a great incentive to keep unpacking and sorting out!!</p>
<p>I think you’re a bit nuts, yes! I invited my sister over, probably not using my best judgment because we had no food or glasses for water or chairs or anything yet, but I figured what the hell, she’s my sister, we can eat pizza on the kitchen floor and I am excited to show off the house. Then she invited her new boyfriend and I think I nearly had a stroke. I think your friends will understand though and I am sure they are excited to see it even in the state it’s in. And the visit will help you focus your unpacking-- first, you need a place to sit! 
If you’re coming up on right before and you’re losing your mind, you can always go on a walkthrough through the house and then go OUT for breakfast if it’s too messy to stay there. That is what we’ll be doing with our work friends anyway just because I don’t want to try and serve a meal to that many people.</p>
<p>Our unpacking still seems to be going nowhere. I unpacked just about all of the kitchen, and I think rather than unpacking anything else BF has been re-organizing the kitchen repeatedly. Nothing else is done yet, I am just managing to keep up with the daily messes we’re making on weeknights and all the unpacking is going to have to happen on weekends until we’re done. However, we did buy a kitchen table to be delivered next weekend, ordered paint samples for the master bedroom/hallway/sun room, got a temporary shade for the window-treatmentless window, and picked out a new light fixture for the kitchen. We also got a quote for our fence and it was $11,000 and I am hoping to god we can find a cheaper one or we will be learning how to install fences ourselves. So, maybe two steps forward one step back. Not bad. Still need the recessed lighting done, need light fixtures for the hallway, then of course the floors and furniture. It’s less daunting than it was a few days ago.</p>
<p>I think your friends will be “very happy” to see your new house regardless of the state of unpacking! Have fun hosting your friends…sounds like a lot of fun!</p>
<p>Ema, you are making great progress! Rome wasn’t built in a day, and just remember that there is no timetable. Take your time and do it right.</p>
<p>Inviting 6 friends over to your new house = 6 housewarming gifts! Doesn’t sound silly at all!</p>
<p>Tell them each bring a chair for housewarming and you will buy the table from the store of your choice. ^^</p>
<p>Actually, that could probably motivate you to get things unpacked, organized and cleaned a little faster. Nothing like people coming over, and a deadline to get things going faster. Honestly, inviting people over is really the only thing that gets me to clean my house 
I hate cleaning. But I like socializing. Maybe I should guilt our friends into having US over, so they can do the cleaning and cooking. Everybody I know is a great cook.</p>