Saturday, December 27, 2008

The Mexican Dishwasher/clothes washer


No, I am not referring to Molly but the cement cistern sort-of-thing you see here. Every home sports one of these in a patio or courtyard. It is filled with water in the middle. We scoop water out of there into wash and rinse pans. The dishes are washed and dried out of doors. The water dispenses underneath. Most people use the cistern to wash their clothes as well. See the other end? Women's courtyards serve more as their kitchens a being equipped with these and wood-burning stoves. It is refreshing to wash dishes in the heat of the day.
*Notice the kitchen window behind Molly. All the "windows" are like this with netting. It's a joke though since it obviously doesn't keep any critters out. Dishes have to be washed after and before use since lizards crawl around in the cupboards.
The Knutz's have many new chores:
1. Washing Dishes
2. Hanging clothes on the clothes line
3. Making home-made salsa daily
4. Making refried beans often
5. Pressing wrinkled clothes
6. Shopping in the market place daily
7. Burning garbage and recycling plastic, glass, and metal.
8. Doing scorpion checks before bedtime
9. Keeping tile floors clean! (A big job with all the dusty roads!)
10. Tanning in the hammock daily

2 comments:

Kathi said...

Wow, I am so happy and excited for you Tammy, that you are enjoying this new experience with you family. Interesting about how they do dishes and about the scopions. Oh my, how scary. That's how I feel about spiders.

I'm praying for you and will keep on praying that God will protect all of you and that your whole family will have an even deeper closeness with the Lord. Love ya, Kathi

The Knutz Family said...

Thank you Kathi! You are a sweet dear friend. I appreciate your prayers for protection and growth in the Lord. Both are very needed.