Clothes Line!
Today my Show and Tell is my clothes line!
It is all the fault of Mrs Miles, who had an online conversation with me yesterday. The plan was to reveal the completed made-over kitchen, but due to my husband being a bit pre-occupied, understandably finishing the kitchen has not been a priority.
I was wondering what else to share, and apparently Mrs Miles thought it would be interesting to find out how I dried my clothes! She even sent me a poem to go with it!
THE CLOTHES LINE
A clothes line was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by.
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.
It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.
For then you’d see the ‘fancy sheets’
And towels upon the line;
You’d see the ‘company table cloths’
With intricate design.
The line announced a baby’s birth
To folks who lived inside
As brand new infant clothes were hung
So carefully with pride.
The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed
You’d know how much they’d grown.
It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.
It said, ‘Gone on vacation now’
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, ‘We’re back!’ when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare.
New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way.
But clotheslines now are of the past
For dryers make work less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody’s guess.
I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line!
So here it is – my drying laundry in all it’s glory.
I love seeing clean cotton school summer dresses on the line – not sure why!
You can see the kids playhouse behind the clothes line.
For my international visitors, on dry days in spring and summer I dry as much as possible on the clothes line. In the autumn and winter (and on wet spring/summer days) I use my tumble drier or dry them over the radiators if the central heating is on. So…….how do you dry your clothes?
Last week I blogged about my new washing up bowl, today the clothes line……can you contain your excitement to see what next week will be about?!
For some much more interesting Show and Tell’s visit There’s No Place Like Home.
Tomorrow night we are going to a 40th birthday dinner party, and here is the card I created for her using digital scrapbooking.
I also made her this bracelet. Exciting news for janmary designs – I received an order for a bracelet and earrings from PARIS today!
We are also looking forward to having some english friends to stay tonight, and then tomorrow they head up to our cottage for a holiday. This weekend is also the Sunday School service at church, followed by the church picnic. For a change the forecast is favourable!
Take care, and enjoy your weekend.
I had my husband put up a clothes line for me last summer. The first time in YEARS I had used one. I love it and I still am happy that I have the choice of using my dryer when the weather is bad or I’m in a really big hurry :o)
Susan
But!!!
Is it a whirly bird or a rotary airer:)
building a clothesline is tops on my list for this summer — love looking at yours!
I dried our laundry on a clothesline when I lived in Mexico, but here I just tumble them dry! We have so many trees in our backyard that the clothes would never see the sun.
We’ve been talking about putting up a clothes line. It’s rainy a lot here in the NW, but there are still enough days in the summer to get some good use out of it. Thanks for the inspiration to go ahead w/ it!
I always dry them on the line! and your card is awesome! I know she will be super happy!
funny pictures! and beautiful pages!
what a wonderful birthday present – a handmade bracelet and earrings from you – and the card is also fantastic!!
Love your laundry post!! I have a line in the cellar – sometimes when the weather is good I dry the laundry outside!!
Oh what joy to have a clothesline to hang your clothes…sigh!
I don’t have one, yet 🙂 I dry my clothes in drying racks that fold up when not in use and get stored in the garage in the meantime.
The card is lovely and the bracelet is so pretty! Thank you for visiting the cottage…
You are from Ireland, the country that is in my 5 places to visit before I die 🙂
blessings,
lady m
I remember my mom drying the sheets and towels on outside on the line! I loved the smell but they were stiff as a board!
Psssst: Just for you, JanMary:
Last Christmas, I gave you my heart
But the very next day, you gave it away
This year, to save me from tears
I’ll give it to someone special …
Sorry! I’m sure I’m a little pitchy!
(and now everyone will wonder who the whacko is that’s singing Christmas tunes in June)
I love a good clothes line… nothing can come close!
God bless-
Amanda
I am a clothes line girl as well. I do the same thing and dry as much as possible on the line for as long as possible. Although winter I tend to get a bit lazier. My house looks like a Chinese laundry all the time as it is. So the drier gets a work out in the colder months.
That poem reminds me of a story I heard. A new family had moved in next door to this couple and the wife was very disdainful the when the family hung up their wash. She couldn’t believe that any family could hang up such dirty stained clothes. After complaining a few weeks, she was surprised one day to seek beautifully clean laundry on their line. She mentioned the difference to her husband and wondered what they had done different. He said “I cleaned our window.”
Great shots! Love them all.
I think that air drying cloths is a lot better for the cloths and you save money too by using less electricity.
-Mike of ontario honey