Living Like Pioneers

I recently read a post on BoufMom9's site about how her new house doesn't have a dishwasher. She captured some great shots of all her children (all 9 of them) pitching in to wash dishes. I commented on her blog something along the lines of "I can't imagine not having a dishwasher." I jinxed myself because I spent Sunday afternoon handwashing our dishes.
Oh, don't worry. My dishwasher is fine. It's the water heater that has crapped out. When I left for work at 6 a.m Saturday I had a nice, hot, steamy shower. When I returned that afternoon all I wanted was a hot soak because it was freezing all day (think snow and maybe 20 degrees). I cranked up the hot water and prepared for a scalding bath (my favorite... the bath is not hot enough unless my skin turns red). It wasn't that hot. So as I soaked I grumbled a little thinking either a) Hubby took a shower right before I came home or b) one of the cats managed to move the temperature gauge on the water heater (it has happened at least twice). A little later Hubby asked if I had hot water during my bath. Turns out he didn't have hot water when he tried to take a shower.
Sooooo... after numerous phone calls to my father-in-law that night, he and Hubby figured out the problem. My in-laws came over first thing Sunday morning and Hubby and his dad set out to quickly fix it. First, the moron at Home Depot gave them the exact opposite of what they asked for. Instead of a left-threading thermal cup he sold them a right threading thermal cup. (I know, I know. I sound so handy. I'm just repeating what Hubby told me). Then a trip to ACE Hardware resulted in our typical luck. The part we needed can only be purchased at a plumbing store... and those stores aren't open on Sundays.
So... I boiled hot water to wash our dishes. I boiled water so my daughters could have a warm bath. I washed my hair in ice cold water in the kitchen sink. I feel clean... but still a little cold. My father-in-law, bless his heart, is expected back here any minute with the proper parts to fix the water heater so we don't have to buy a new one. Did I just jinx myself again????
UPDATE: Oh, it's just my luck. My father-in-law spent the morning trying to track down the part we need. A friend of his who is a plumber made some calls and found out our water heater is currently part of a class action lawsuit. All the parts have been pulled off the shelves. Now we have to call the manufacturer and make them overnight the part to us. And so, our luck continues.