you can learn a great deal living with boys. one of the things you learn is that they don't do dishes. in a placidly domestic mood the other night, and after i'd been invited to join their barbecue, i took it upon myself to wash those dinner dishes, as well the sinkful of pots and pans that were lying in the sink from goodness knows how long ago, and then i did all the dishes that were cramped up in the dishwasher too. i don't mind dishwashing at all, so it was no problem, but the boys kept sauntering into the kitchen to see the miracle that was happening. didn't somebody say that it's important to wash dishes before the organisms growing on it have invented the wheel?