Airing My Dirty Laundry

I have to admit that I have fun inventing these titles. It doesn’t take long since they’re based on my life, but you must know by now that I’m not going to “air my dirty laundry” in a public space. And yet, I did literally air my dirty laundry in a public space!

The washing machine issues continue and now I’m resigned to hand-washing my clothes, except for when I house-sit for friends. I just tried using the washing machine at the park for the last time. It runs, but it malfunctions. It doesn’t fill with water, ever, and it doesn’t drain all the dirty water either. So I consider it a machine-assisted hand-washing job. You have to fill the machine with water yourself and then babysit it throughout the cycle so that your clothes actually get somewhat clean. And since it doesn’t drain all the water from the wash cycle anymore, they really don’t get all that clean. So after my last attempt at using that machine I was…well, as the title states, airing my dirty laundry.

Now here’s where the “I’m in Africa” part comes in. I went to Reception to report the malfunctioning machine. They know about it. They’ve had repairmen come to fix it. The repairmen have reported that it doesn’t fill with water and they don’t know how to fix it. Ok, not getting fixed then. So the receptionists know that users are stuck filling it themselves and babysitting the machine. But, they still charge the same amount to use it. No, it’s not coin operated. It’s token operated, so the value can instantly be changed. But has it been? No.

Who knew a broken washing machine could be so interesting!

Ok, maybe not. So here is something more interesting. In my December photos (and featured below), I included a very well camouflaged, and well named, bark spider blending in on a twig. I didn’t just happen to see it there. I saw it one morning, neatly collecting its web from the night before. Once it was all wadded up I’m not sure if it ate it, dropped it, or tucked it underneath itself. But then the spider proceeded to hunker down on the branch. It stayed there motionless for 3 days! It must’ve had a good meal the night before I found it. I took its picture on the 3^rd day and only then did it later disappear. Maybe because I was “giving it away” or maybe it was sheer coincidence.

I was really taken with this spider. How considerate to gather up its web so unsuspecting bipeds, like myself, don’t crash through it and then try to extricate it from their face and hair while wearing a shocked and grossed-out expression. Plus, it had very hairy legs, almost furry looking, which automatically makes it look kinda cute. Yes, furry = cute, even for spiders.