No, really — don’t they look like some kind of extraterrestrials?
[WE HAVE COME FOR YOUR TUNGSTEN! YOUR SUPERIOR INTELLECT IS NO MATCH FOR OUR PUNY WEAPONS! TUNGSTENNNN!]
Brian’s parents — who are among the angels walking here on earth — made us an offer: since they co-own our house with us, they would pay for half of the new appliances. This was a godsend: there was no way we could have afforded these on our own. With their help, we were even able to get front-loading machines, which have twice the capacity as top-loaders, but use only one-third the amount of water. This is important here in the desert; we estimate that this will save us $150 a year in water bills alone.
Not to mention that my kids find them fascinating. On laundry day, Jeffrey parks himself in front of the machines and watches them for up to an hour, usually creating some kind of outer-space narrative to go along with it. Eleanor sometimes joins him, gets bored, then leaves — only to have Jeffrey call her back: “Ella! Come back! You’re missing the best part! It’s going faster now!!”
I’m just happy that I no longer have to take 90+ minutes to dry a load of clothes. The old machines were from 1979, and mustard-colored. The legs kept breaking off the washer, so it always appeared to be either a bit higher or a bit lower than the dryer. When the installation guys came to deliver the new machines, they saw the old ones, stopped in their tracks, and just said, “Whoa.”
I still can’t shake the feeling that the new ones consider themselves just a bit to superior to their new home. So shiny.
Casa Camisas 
Oh man, I’m with your Jeffery. That is a show I would watch – beats Dancing with the Stars.
Although I would sleep with one eye open. That diabolical duo does give the appearance that given enough leeway they could turn on you and make you wash their outfits.
Turn on me, indeed! When both machines are running, it looks like they are perpetrually rolling their terrible silver eyes at me.