халат/halat dogs laundry and more

Milya lives all alone in a village. In her 70's and suffering from arthritis, fall work is harder for her every year. We'd wanted to go up to help her a bit but our schedule was just too full. And then we had a free day... only the balcony repairmen came at the last minute, so I went up by myself and S stayed to make sure they didn't walk off with the secret documents or the crown jewels... or something. Probably just to bring them coffee and tea at regular intervals but anyway- I went alone.

Puffa- part of the welcoming committee. She has a fast wag on her tail, lots of wiggle in the rest of her... but must have a history (she's a recent addition)- she won't often let you get much closer than this.

Rex- the other member of the welcoming committee. He has lots of wiggle and a fast wag, too... but he loves to be scratched and petted and loved on. 

Rex is busy teaching Puffa all his tricks... like sneaking into the kitchen. He also taught her where to find the hole that is just the size of a small dog... so as to explore the street in spite of Milya's wishes...

Ahh- but playing with dogs was not priority number 1. Laundry was. M has an old washer- the kind that you fill yourself (in this case with water from the well). I hauled water, M lit the stove and heated it and then poured it into the washer. There's an agitator in the drum that turns in one direction only... laundry doesn't come out just as clean as you might like but it sure beats scrubbing by hand on a scrub board!

In honor of the occasion, M got a халат (halat) for me- I suppose we'd call it a housedress. It's what you wear when you don't want to get your real clothes dirty... which means it's what homemakers wear nearly all the time...

And this? This is a string with clothes pins attached... just the thing! ;)

My work station. Fill the tubs with water (this time from a hose that comes out of the 2nd well). The fun part? Every time the water got too soapy you got to dump it onto the cement and splash. I told M it was a child's paradise and she laughed and said I must have been born in a village! ;)

The result. 

Lots of laundry. 

Looking out from the kitchen during lunch... which never tasted so good!

Ha- who have we here?! Miss Priss soon got chased out and was sternly reminded that- no matter what King of the Yard Rex has said, Dogs Do Not Belong In This Kitchen!