Mom's Clothesline

Well, hi, folks. Sorry I'm not blogging much these days, but hope all is well with my old friends. Got this email a few days ago, and yesterday my clothesline fell down, so it seemed appropriate to post this while my dear hubby right now tries to hook it to a different tree.

Love this one and yes, there were people who really did all the correct things in hanging clothes.

I remember my grandmother and mother doing all of these things.

Of course you washed the whites first, then the medium colored and last was the dark dirty work clothes. I've seen this done in during a drought, you used the wash water to wash the floor, then it was dumped on the few dried veggies you had growing. The rinse water you washed the kids feet and it also got dumped on the veggie patches.

Remembering Mom's Clothesline

There is one thing that's left out. We had a long wooden pole (clothes pole) that was used to push the clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the ground and get dirty.

You have to be a "certain age" to appreciate this one....

(But you YOUNGER ones can read about "The GOOD ol' days"!!)

I can hear my mother now.....

THE BASIC RULES FOR CLOTHESLINES:

(If you don't even know what clotheslines are, better skip this.)

1. You had to hang the socks by the toes... NOT the top.

2. You hung pants by the BOTTOM/cuffs... NOT the waistbands.

3. You had to WASH the clothesline(s) before hanging any clothes - walk the entire length of each line with a damp cloth around the lines.

4. You had to hang the clothes in a certain order, and always hang "whites" with "whites," and hang them first.

5. You NEVER hung a shirt by the shoulders - always by the tail! What would the neighbors think?

6. Wash day on a Monday! NEVER hang clothes on the weekend, or on Sunday, for Heaven's sake!

7. Hang the sheets and towels on the OUTSIDE lines so you could hide your "unmentionables" in the middle (perverts & busybodies, y'know!)

8. It didn't matter if it was sub-zero weather... clothes would "freeze-dry."

9. ALWAYS gather the clothes pins when taking down dry clothes! Pins left on the lines were "tacky"!

10. If you were efficient, you would line the clothes up so that each item did not need two clothes pins, but shared one of the clothes pins with the next washed item.

11. Clothes off of the line before dinner time, neatly folded in the clothes basket, and ready to be ironed.

12. IRONED???!! Well, that's a whole OTHER subject!



And now a POEM ...


A clothesline was a news forecast, To neighbours passing by,

There were no secrets you could keep, When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link, For neighbours 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 designs.

The line announced a baby's birth, From 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 also said, "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 and gray,

As neighbours' carefully raised their brows, And looked the other way.

But clotheslines now are of the past, For dryers make work much 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 out on that line.

Older Than Dirt

I got one of those nostalgic forwards from an "older" friend and took the quiz. Well, I guess I'm older than dirt, as there were only two on the list that I didn't remember. Wow. Here are a couple of excerpts from the email as well as the quiz. Take it and let me know how you make out. Don't be afraid to tell!

MEMORIES from a friend :
"My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it.. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am old."

How many do you remember?
Head lights dimmer switches on the floor.
Ignition switches on the dashboard.
Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.
Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.
Using hand signals for cars without turn signals.



OLDER THAN DIRT QUIZ
Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about.
Ratings at the bottom.

1.Candy cigarettes
2.Coffee shops with tableside juke boxes
3.Home milk delivery in glass bottles
4. Party lines on the telephone
5.Newsreels before the movie
6.TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3 channels [if you were fortunate])
7.Peashooters
8. Howdy Doody
9. 45 RPM records
10.Hi-fi's
11. Metal ice trays with lever
12. Blue flashbulb
13.Cork popguns
14. Studebakers
15. Wash tub wringers

If you remembered 0-3 = You're still young
If you remembered 3-6 = You are getting older
If you remembered 7-10 = Don't tell your age,
If you remembered 11-15 =You're older than dirt!

The Return of the Enemy

"The other day, while walking about my home, attending to the normal duties of a housewife, minding my own business and causing no hurt or harm to a single soul, I was attacked by a vicious assailant. This assailant had no mercy, but deliberately and cruelly ambushed me. I made an attempt to retaliate, but to no avail. The culprit was gone. As quick as had been the attack, just as quick was the retreat. My enemy was a flea. And, unfortunately for me and my household, he was not alone."

The above words are a direct quote from one of the first blog entries that I made almost exactly three years ago. When I wrote these words, I was in the midst of a fierce battle with one of the Lord's tiniest creatures, and I am sorry to say, he is back. He is indeed a tiny foe, but one of the most difficult to defeat due to his best weapon: the power of numbers. His strategy could be envied by the best military operatives in the world--he sneaks in by hiding in the woolly coats of our most beloved family pets. After causing them hours of misery if you don't catch him in time, lo and behold, he (or should I be saying she) can leave behind a growing army in your carpet and you don't even know they are there. That is, until they attack!


Get the picture? That's what greeted us on our return from vacation, and this weary housewife has added to the many duties needing finishing up upon our return, warfare against this dreaded enemy. I'm getting there. Three days ago I resorted to lethal weaponry in our home and on our poor Frodo, who returned from his visit to the kennel to become the victim of a savage and brutal attempt on his well being.

We're beginning to relax again. I'm starting to taste victory. I think I see signs of retreat on the part of the enemy. I'm still constantly using what is considered to be the most effective piece of artillery--the vacuum cleaner--hoping with all my might that things are getting back to normal.

So, I'm finally getting to make a blog post. Thanks for all your little notes of concern. I hope to post a few pictures of our vacation soon. I didn't get too many good ones, so I may have to steal a couple from one or both of my daughters. My neck is tons better, but I cannot say that it's gone, as I still can feel signs that this is a chronic problem that will probably always be with me. I only hope it's nothing too serious, but if it gets painful again, I may have to go to see about it. For now, though, the new pillow has been a blessing.

One more thing: Sometimes as I'm vacuuming around my house, I've been thinking about how the flea reminds me of sin. You see, this was all my fault--I was not diligent. I didn't treat my dog soon enough in the spring and I was so busy with neck problems and vacation preps that I wasn't looking for the enemy as I usually do. So he got a stronghold on us, which makes him much more difficult to do away with. Sin is like that in our lives and hearts. If we're not diligent, it will bunker down, get a good strong hold on us, and be much more difficult to eradicate. Our best weapons are the Word of God and prayer. It's so easy to become busy with our daily lives, that we begin to neglect our relationship with our Jesus. It's best not to let sin sneak in because of our lack of diligence, like the almighty flea did in the furry abode of our Fro.

Tuesday Tips #6 - Save Your Back!

I just finished ordering something from Amazon and I'm very excited about it! I have been struggling with my vacuum cleaner for a while now, because lugging it around has not been good for my back, shoulders, and various other areas of my anatomy. Lately, getting up dog hair has been a never ending chore around here, at least until I can get my doggy to the groomer. Well, Bev told me about this neat little vc she just got and she's really loving it. She made a post about it yesterday at our business blog. I really encourage you to go read what she has to say. You may end up getting one too. You'll love the price ($20.00) and it qualifies for free shipping at Amazon! I just added one of those neat little devotional books by Elizabeth George ($7.99) and it took me over the $25 for free shipping. Go check it out at The SG Notebook. You also might want to leave a comment about any neat gadgets you have around your house.

Tuesday Tips #4 - Coffee Filters

Hi everybody! Doing okay here--how about you? Hope I can get by to see some of my friends when I get through my home school and housework duties of the day. It's snowy here where I live. What's your weather today? Here it's a great day for a cup of soup or a cup of COFFEE. Almost every household has coffee around; even if you don't drink it yourself, it certainly is hospitable to offer it to your guests, so I'm assuming that most households have coffee filters somewhere. So here's some info from an email I received just a couple of days ago.

I haven't tried any of these suggestions yet; it never occurred to me that this little item could be used for anything but coffee. Have any of you tried any of these and if so, which ones? If not, which do you think you'd like to try?


COFFEE FILTERS

Coffee filters ..who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for almost nothing.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave.
Coffee filters make excellent covers.


2. Clean windows and mirrors. Coffee filters are lint-free so they'll leave windows sparkling.


3. Protect China. Separate your good dishes by putting a coffee filter between each dish.


4. Filter broken cork from wine. If you break the cork when opening a wine bottle, filter the wine through a coffee filter.


5. Protect a cast-iron skillet. Place a coffee filter in the skillet to absorb moisture and prevent rust.


6. Apply shoe polish. Ball up a lint-free coffee filter.


7. Recycle frying oil. After frying, strain oil through a sieve lined with a coffee filter.


8. Weigh chopped foods. Place chopped ingredients in a coffee filter on a kitchen scale.


9. Hold tacos. Coffee filters make convenient wrappers for messy foods.


10. Stop the soil from leaking out of a plant pot. Line a plant pot with a coffee filter to prevent the soil from going through the drainage holes.


11. Prevent a Popsicle from dripping. Poke one or two holes as needed in a coffee filter.


12. Do you think we used expensive strips to wax eyebrows? Use strips of coffee filters.


13. Put a few in a plate and put your fried bacon, French fries, chicken fingers, etc on them. Soaks out all the grease.


14. Keep in the bathroom. They make great "razor nick fixers."

OH YEAH THEY ARE GREAT TO USE IN YOUR COFFEE MAKERS

Tuesday Tips

I don't know why I'm having so much trouble of late getting to making blog posts. There seems to be one "pressing need" after another that needs my attention. For instance, the gift I ordered for my granddaughter coming in with half of it missing, whereupon when I call the vendor I find out that they don't automatically send in the missing part but you have to return the whole thing, wait for them to issue the return slip, or whatever it is, before you send it back for credit, etc.etc. After bragging about how I do most of my shopping online, this doesn't say too much for me as to how well I checked out the return policy at this place. So now I've been online trying to find it somewhere else because I'm afraid to order from this place again. Whew!

Next, I've had a health insurance situation needing attention, and you know how it is to get on the phone with automated systems and the like, and that took forever.

Now, I've somehow (only me) lost the map activity book and key which was supposedly included in our curriculum materials which came in July, but I can't for the life of me remember where I put it. So Neesie's been assigned map activities by the video teacher, but this scatterbrained home teacher can't find the materials she needs!

I wanted to make this post this morning, but every time I want to make a post, these are the type of things that happen. These mixed in, of course, with the normal duties. Then, I have to confess that lately I've gotten distracted with some things that perhaps I shouldn't let take up my time, but being one of those curious types, I've been keeping up with certain happenings which I really have found intriguing, and that too has kept me from blogging as much.

I got this bright idea. I thought about passing on some of the helpful info I get from some friends who send me forwards, many containing humorous tidbits or helpful hints. So that's what this post is really all about. I'm starting a new category and calling it "Tuesday Tips" ( I don't know if anyone else is doing anything like this, but if so, please forgive me as I'm not being a copycat on purpose). Not always, but on some Tuesdays I'll pass along some of the information or even lighthearted nuggets I get from my friends. I'm thinking most of it will be helpful to folks who come here, even if just to give them a chuckle in their day. So here's the first one. It's a note that may be copied by all of my pet owning blog friends.

To be posted VERY LOW on the refrigerator door - pet nose height:


Dear Dogs and Cats:

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain your food.
The other dishes are mine and contain my food.
Please note, placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a claim for it becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically pleasing in the slightest.
The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack.
Beating me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because I fall faster than you can run.
I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your comfort.
Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they sleep.
It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other stretched out to the fullest extent possible.
I also know that sticking tails straight out and having tongues hanging out the other end to maximize space is nothing but sarcasm.
For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom.
If by some miracle I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not necessary to claw, whine, meow, and try to turn the knob or get your paw under the edge and try to pull the door open.
I must exit through the same door I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years -- canine or feline attendance is not required.
The proper order is kiss me, then go smell the other dog or cat's back parts. I cannot stress this enough!

Baking Soda: Count the Ways

Hey there. A happy new week to everybody. For some reason, I have the urge to talk about baking soda today. This chemical compound has the official name of sodium bicarbonate with the formula NaHCO3. Chemistry is something I know very little about, I'm sorry to say, so what this formula means is something I can't tell you. But what I can tell you is that this compound can be found in this house in large quantities and is used by this family in immeasurable ways. As far as I know, it is safe to use, especially compared to many of the harsh products which are on the market today. And, very importantly, in keeping with the post I recently read by Susan of Penless Thoughts on frugality, it can save you money.

Some years ago, I made a purchase of a little book which was then priced at $6.95, published by The Book Peddlers. I think the one I have is the first edition, and I see that it's still on the market today, though the current edition pictured above has a different look than mine. This was one of the most valuable investments I've every made. The author, Vicki Lansky, not only has come up with over 500 uses for this favorite product, but the opening chapter is a helpful discussion of just what baking soda is, where it's found naturally, and how it works. Very interesting reading! You can find this book many places on the web and it's still an inexpensive purchase when you think about all the benefits you'll derive from it. This is a hearty recommendation of the book!

But this is also a hearty recommendation of baking soda in general. Most of us know about its odor-fighting qualities, but every time I turn around I think of another way to make use of it. We get the huge boxes at BJ's and we go through them in not too long a period of time! Here's a quick survey of a few of its uses around here, but as I said, we keep finding new benefits:

1. Cooking: Of course we all add some to various baking projects, but did you know you can put a little in certain veggies while cooking, to offset bitter taste or to control odors while cooking?

2. Kitchen: What would our garbage disposal be like if we didn't frequently sprinkle in a little of it to sit overnight? Mixing some with water is invaluable for wiping inside the microwave and fridge. Sprinkle it in a pan that has stubborn residue, add water and let it simmer a bit. Same with crock pot. It has worked for me time and again to make that hard stuff easier to come off.

3. Cleaning: Great mixed with water to clean toys that get grimy, rinsing afterward. We have a dog--sprinkling some on carpet before vacuuming helps prevent house from smelling too doggy. I just saw that giving him a "dry bath" with baking soda and a good brushing helps him to be a more pleasant to be around. I'll try that soon.

4. Hygiene: When I was little, we used baking soda to brush our teeth more than we used toothpaste. From what I understand, it's just as good for the teeth, if not better. Can be sprinkled on various areas of the body and in the bath water. I just read you can use it to clean your eyeglasses! I want to try that. Nice mouthwash, especially after eating onions or garlic. I need to get back to sprinkling it in my sneakers and hope to try it as a foot bath.

5. Home Remedy: They say you should check with your doctor first with any home remedy, but I've been using it as an antacid for years. Soaking in bathtub with water and baking soda helps certain types of infections, as well as chicken pox and poison ivy. Making a paste from it helps on insect bites (diluted vinegar best for wasp stings, they say).

6. Babies: Good soak for bottles and nipples. I hear that sprinkling some in warm water is good for cleaning baby bottoms to help prevent rash. (I forgot about this--forgot to tell Bev!) I'm sure many of you sprinkle some in bottom of diaper pail. The recommended book has lots of tips in baby care, btw.

7. Laundry: I always sprinkle some in my load of towels. Sometimes we rub a paste on the underarm area of shirts and tops. I hear if you wet a blood stain and rub it on, the stain will be drawn out. Got to get it early, I'm sure. Presoak clothes in a water and baking soda for a few hours to get out certain smells, such as cigarette smoke.

8. Arts and Crafts: In the old days, my favorite craft clay was made with baking soda as a principal ingredient; we would cut out shapes and bake it and paint it. Such fun: hope I can do some projects with my granddaughters when they get old enough. Of course, some play dough recipes call for baking soda. Also, remember that there's the classic "volcano" experiment with baking soda and vinegar. That's always fun.

I could go on and on, but I think it would be a good idea if I got back to DOING some household chores around here rather than talking about it. Have fun with your baking soda and if you have any tips to pass on to the rest of us--bring them on!