Things taken for granted...

Not having my washing machine working for just 2-3 days got me thinking that there are so many things that are taken for granted.

My grandmother on mom's side almost always had washing machines in her married life. She was born in 1920, graduated College in 1942. She was a very frugal lady but, she loved technology and so did her husband, my grandpa. They always had a car which was a very big deal at the time in Turkey. She always had a couple of pressure cookers, a fridge, an oven and a washing machine when most people in her generation didn't. She loved her appliances and took great care of them. When they got their first washing machine, a lot of people never knew such a thing even existed. Unfortunately, I do not have the info as to what that machine was but, her second was very similar to this, but bigger:

I do not know why she kept that machine but, she did, all her life. I do not remember her using anything but, an automatic Bosch front loader. She bought that machine in 1967 when I was born and back then, automatic front loading machines were unheard of in Turkey. Nor were they sold. My grandpa was an Air Force Officer so, he bought that machine from Germany directly.

When I was very little, I remember that, mom had a washing lady coming home every week but that probably lasted only a couple of years. Then she got this machine:

She would hook up a hose to fill the machine. It is rather simple or rather primitive and far from being practical but, beats hand washing any day.

Mom didn't have a dishwasher till I was 23. She used to soap up and scrub the dishes and I would run them under water after every dinner. When I went to the US back in 1990, my company furnished apartment came with a dishwasher which I fell in love with so, I sent money back home to dad to buy her a dishwasher from me on Mother's Day. Dad had a kid in private school and was paying for an apartment so, it was not in their budget at the time.

The only person in our family with a dryer is my SIS. Mom and I could certainly afford one but, our apartments did not have the space and wiring for it. Mine still doesn't.  Even today, dryers are still not as popular as they are in the US mostly due to lack of space.  I have a drying rack and when I wash my sheets, I put a line in the corridor to the back rooms. 

Today, as I was making a list of detergents I am running out of, these thoughts occupied my mind and I wanted to share them.

There is so much we take for granted. If you look back in history, those kings and queens were very poor when compared to us. They lacked electricity and lacked everything that comes with it. They did not have proper heating in those glorious castles and palaces. Heck, they didn't even have toilets! This went on for centuries. Our comfort levels made a Quantum Leap in the last 100 years. 

What appliances do you remember from your childhoods? Do you remember the excitement the family experienced when a big purchase was made?