leaving on a jet plane...again

Okay, so I've only been home for a week, but it's time to be gone for another week. This morning (after I take out the trash, finish packing, play with the kitties, and wonder what I forgot) I'm headed to Washington DC for a lovely conference with loads of awesome young clergywomen. I think someone (or possibly several someones) is (are) blogging the conference at the website. Depending on time, I may even blog here--who knows!

So of course, since I've only been home a week and I have needy kitties clinging all over me, naturally last night as I was doing laundry to have clothes to pack I had a washing machine disaster. As I may have mentioned before, I have a Miele washer/dryer, stacked/frontloading. Last night on the last load, the washer refused to drain. I should perhaps mention that all the instruction manuals and various writings on the machines are in German. I don't know any German at all beyond understanding "do you speak German" and saying "no."

Well, I looked up how to manually drain and open the door. But when I went to do that, I accidentally just opened the door and of course water went everywhere. I thought most of it was out but apparently not because when I pulled the filter out (clogged filter was most likely reason for non-drainage) a couple more gallons went on the floor. Perhaps now is the time to point out that the litter box is in the utility room where the laundry is, and I'd already used all my not-my-regular-bath-towels in the first cleanup. And also that it was 12.30 at night and I had planned to go to bed at 10.

After much sopping, swearing, and saying "ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod" over and over, I finally cleaned up the last of the wet kitty litter, cleaned the filter for the machine, tested it with no clothes inside, rinsed my pants that had been trapped in the machine in the bathtub and got them into the dryer, and put the yucky towels in the machine, hoping it would drain and spin properly when I woke up to advance the cycle (since it doesn't do that itself for some reason). I then went to bed, but not to sleep as I was busy panicking about whether water had lead through to my downstairs neighbor's house and how much that would cost if it had.

And that was my evening drama that led to me being very tired this morning. So I'll sleep on the plane, I hope!

see you in Washington!