Holidays for most people are about memories and photographs,for us its all that and more.Every time we come back from a holiday in Europe,we marvel at how self sufficient people are.The absence of maids and drivers and many helpers is what fascinates us.We then come back and try and replicate as much as we can here.
When i was working the house was run by a maid and a cook.My meals and general housework was dictated by them.A few months later I was sick of eating the same food and having to put up with a not so neat house but the freedom to sack anyone was not mine so i grit my teeth and continued.
Then I did the smart thing and got out of the rat race.My cook,not happy with the new member in the kitchen and uncomfortable with the competition (me being a rather good cook myself) decided to call it a day.He was a nice chap and told me that he didn't think I needed him and he needed to work for someone who actually didn't know how to cook.So we parted ways
The maid continued to stay but started grumbling soon enough at my demanding standards,the fact that I was constantly entertaining and the amount of vessels she had to wash.When her tantrums got the better of me I asked her to leave and took over her job too.
We were on our own now very much like our friends abroad except that we had not too many of the gadgets.
For years now I have hated housekeeping....cooking and gardening i can do but washing dishes and clothes is just not something I like doing.The washing machine does the clothes but for two years I felt tethered to the sink and its pile of dirty dishes.My kitchen was always full of vessels and my dining table was full of china kept out to dry.I kept harping about getting us a dishwasher but the husband was convinced it was a useless gadget.We discussed it at length for years but all feedback from friends and family in India who actually had one,wasn't encouraging.I was convinced but not the husband.
Then we went to Germany and stayed with friends and watched as dishes disappeared into the machine and the kitchen stayed clean and our friends had plenty of time to sit and chat with us.Our friends convinced the husband that the machine was one of the many must haves and it looked like we had a convert on our hands.
We came back and for some reason (like it always happens) there were ads advertising dishwashers (first time in our city),not too many but it looked like it may be the next big thing this Diwali.In the meanwhile I got proactive,called the store,did some research and checked prices and the reluctant convert was a full convert.
The machine arrived and like all new converts the husband is fanatical about it.He read the manual from cover to cover,he asked a hundred questions ,he showed it off to all the neighbours and he extolled its virtues like never before.Me I am happy that the dishes disappear,I have time on my hands to read (didn't realise how much time i spent washing dishes) and my kitchen is clean,neat and had loads more space.
If anyone in India says the machine cant handle washing Indian dishes then they are talking through their hat.Not the cheapest of gadgets but apart from my microwave oven this is by far the best gadget in the house.
Thank you German holiday and thank you German technology
When i was working the house was run by a maid and a cook.My meals and general housework was dictated by them.A few months later I was sick of eating the same food and having to put up with a not so neat house but the freedom to sack anyone was not mine so i grit my teeth and continued.
Then I did the smart thing and got out of the rat race.My cook,not happy with the new member in the kitchen and uncomfortable with the competition (me being a rather good cook myself) decided to call it a day.He was a nice chap and told me that he didn't think I needed him and he needed to work for someone who actually didn't know how to cook.So we parted ways
The maid continued to stay but started grumbling soon enough at my demanding standards,the fact that I was constantly entertaining and the amount of vessels she had to wash.When her tantrums got the better of me I asked her to leave and took over her job too.
We were on our own now very much like our friends abroad except that we had not too many of the gadgets.
For years now I have hated housekeeping....cooking and gardening i can do but washing dishes and clothes is just not something I like doing.The washing machine does the clothes but for two years I felt tethered to the sink and its pile of dirty dishes.My kitchen was always full of vessels and my dining table was full of china kept out to dry.I kept harping about getting us a dishwasher but the husband was convinced it was a useless gadget.We discussed it at length for years but all feedback from friends and family in India who actually had one,wasn't encouraging.I was convinced but not the husband.
Then we went to Germany and stayed with friends and watched as dishes disappeared into the machine and the kitchen stayed clean and our friends had plenty of time to sit and chat with us.Our friends convinced the husband that the machine was one of the many must haves and it looked like we had a convert on our hands.
We came back and for some reason (like it always happens) there were ads advertising dishwashers (first time in our city),not too many but it looked like it may be the next big thing this Diwali.In the meanwhile I got proactive,called the store,did some research and checked prices and the reluctant convert was a full convert.
The machine arrived and like all new converts the husband is fanatical about it.He read the manual from cover to cover,he asked a hundred questions ,he showed it off to all the neighbours and he extolled its virtues like never before.Me I am happy that the dishes disappear,I have time on my hands to read (didn't realise how much time i spent washing dishes) and my kitchen is clean,neat and had loads more space.
If anyone in India says the machine cant handle washing Indian dishes then they are talking through their hat.Not the cheapest of gadgets but apart from my microwave oven this is by far the best gadget in the house.
Thank you German holiday and thank you German technology
