I feel like I'm doing a cross between Patty's Counting Blessings and Mama Tea's Sunday Scribbles with my post tonight. Just some unrelated things I've been thinking about today and thought I'd share.
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I'm thankful for my iron. (Go head, you funny people who don't even own an iron, scoff as much as you like.) Yes, I iron a basket of our clothes every week after the laundry is done, and I just don't see how any of you manage to have clothes that look decent without ironing. I must have missed that class somewhere along the line that taught one how to take clothes off the line or out of the dryer at just the right time so they don't look so wrinkled. Also, I couldn't quilt or sew without an iron by my side.
Having said that, I have the WORST luck with irons of anybody else in the world. I have had really good irons including the most expensive Rowenta irons and all of them either leak water or have temper tantrums shooting their temperature gauges into the stratosphere or refuse to heat up at all on alternating days of the week. If I had saved all the irons I've had to give up on, our house would sink into the soil it's built on from the weight of the irons.
This past spring hubby and I were in a store in the big city and I mentioned that (once again) I needed a new iron. He picked out one for me that cost $9.99 reasoning that no matter how much I spent on an iron, it never lasted for more than a couple of months anyway so I might as well get a cheap one. Guess what iron has worked perfectly for me for the last several months? Right. I really should pick up another one just like it the next time we're in that store. That way when this one finally conks out in 20-25 years, I'll have a replacement.
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I love my quilt studio. I feel so fortunate to have a whole room that is mine, mine, mine. No one else goes in there to do anything. I can shut the door and have complete privacy to . . . well, do all those secret things like make quilts and wall hangings and sew the suspender buttons on my husband's pants. (Those same buttons that he manages to lose one of at least every other week.)
The only problem is I have spent so little time in my sanctuary in the last year that I sometimes feel like throwing a genuine conniption fit. (Either that or renting out the efficiently designed space and getting some income off it.) Any empty floor or table space in there is currently used for storage of household goods and/or furniture that is in the way of our remodeling. Also miscellaneous supplies for same remodeling seem to find their way in there regularly.
I can't even bring myself to read my quilting magazines as new issues come. It makes me down and depressed thinking about my wonderful (neglected) quilting studio and knowing I just don't have the time to spend in it right now. I know the room is lonely without my presence. I can feel it.
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We have tons (literally) of dry wood under cover for this heating season. And a couple more tons stacked in 8' lengths in the back yard that we hope to work on this winter so we'll be ahead in refilling the wood sheds come next spring. Also, we're so fortunate to live on our own land that provides us with acres of wood that we could use to heat our home. It's a good feeling to know that no matter how high in price heating fuel rises, we don't have to buy it.
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Being able to go for a hike in our own woods and harvest our Christmas tree is a nifty option. That's what we did this afternoon. I wrote a day or so ago about not being very enthused about putting up a tree this year because in the midst of our remodeling, the only place we can fit one is on the end of a storage cabinet in the kitchen. And it would have to be a very small tree. Very small.
Well, between hubby really wanting a tree and you dear readers encouraging me to (stop my whining and) put one up, I gave in. Wait until you see this Charlie Brown Christmas tree. It will give you a laugh if nothing else. I promise to post pictures when we find some time in the next couple of days to get it set up.
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That's it for tonight, folks. I drank a beer with our pizza for dinner and it tasted so good I just finished another one. And now I'm finished. In more ways than one. *Hick.*
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18 comments:
Thanks for your post. I love reading your thoughts... and I agree with you, I am so grateful for our lil' acreage (5 acres) that provides us with all the wood we need for our woodstove. Set yourself a day soon to get into your studio and not leaving it until you are ready. You deserve it. Can't wait to see the tree pictures.
Well, you know my feelings on irons LOL...but I will admit that I bought a new one when I started quilting, AND I use it, but only for quilting and sewing! You still can't believe we are a military uniform wearing family that doesn't iron, do you? LOL and I even received a few awards in my day for looking "sharp", it really must be dryer timing because I refuse to iron clothes hahahaha!
I can't wait to see the tree!
Thank you for sharing.
Glad you found an inexpensive iron that works. Which reminds me I need a new iron too. I could iron lots of things but don't. The ironing board is too hard to get out of the closet. I really need to figure out a better place to put it so I can use it.
I wish we had a wood burning fireplace. Our gas one doesn't really cut it with only two little blue/yellow flames. I even bought one of those dvd's of a fire so I can pretend I have a fire around Christmas. LOL!
I can't wait to see your tiny Christmas tree.
Glad you found a decent iron. The trick to good looking clothes line-dried is to dry on WINDY days--I'm talking 20 MPH+ days. And not to be so neat and tidy-LOL!
As for the dryer-BAH! I hate having to use one and NOTHING looks good (or smells good either!) out of one. But, alas, I don't have a ton of racks like Jane or the space, for that matter so the dryer it is in the winter.
BAH!
And I so love random posts! And I sure hope you find the time to get into YOUR ROOM more often. I have my "library" and that is where I hang out with my books and painting and you're so right--you shut that door and it's YOURS. I think we NEED that.
I own and iron, but didn't use it for almost 2 yrs, until middle son recently joined ROTC at the high school, and needs his uniform ironed every week. I detest ironing lol.
Can't wait to see your Charlie Brown tree, those are the best kind!
You're so darn cute, I can't stand it!
I can't wait to see the tree.
And I couldn't live without my iron either. I am still using the one we got from our wedding 11 years ago. Know what is on my Christmas list? A new ironing board cover. Because the one we have somehow got this crease in it (through the actual foam - no clue how it happened) and now....well, it bumps up when you're ironing and its just about enough to make me through a two year old fit.
Gotta love the iron. :)
THANK YOU FOR SHARING ALL YOUR LOVEY THOUGHTS---[ MY NEXT LIFE ,I'M GONNA BE AS QUILT HANGING IN THAT SO PEACEFUL ROOM YOU HAVE.[ STUPID,I KNOW,BUT WHO CARES] MY SECRET TO NOT IRONING [ CUS I DON'T SEW ANYMORE [NOW ] IS TO WHIP EVERYTHING OUT OF THE DRYER FAST OR THE THINGS I HANG DRY [A LOT ] IS TO SHACK OUT ALL THE WRINKLES ,YOU WOULD THINK YOU'D BURN CALORIES DOING-NOT].I'M HEAR SINGING"GONNA WASH WASH THAT MAN RIGHT OUT OF MY....." FROM "SOUTH PACIFIC " [ LOVED THAT MOVIE]
Ironing is an increasingly lost art and I commend you for still ironing. My husband asked me to iron his dress pants and I panicked because I didn't know how! Thanks to trusty Martha Stewart's book, "Homekeeping Handbook", I taught myself how to perfectly iron a pair of pants. Martha taught me more than a few things out of that book. Did anyone tell you, Mama Pea, that you outdo Martha Stewart? Thank God that there are still women out there who are skilled in those very important and vital domestic arts. Men and Women: We need to reclaim our homes and Occupy our lives!!! What a revolution that would be!
Yeah, whats wrong with a couple wrinkles? I feel that it is a real fashion statement when I wear a wrinkled garment right off the line and I coordinate with a few wrinkles on my face. The horses compliment me on it all the time ;)
Iron? What's an iron? I only have two, maybe three shirts that have to be ironed. Everything else is either some sort of magic material that doesn't require ironing (sweatshirts, sweatpants, cotton t-shirts). Either that, or I must just be "ignoring" those wrinkles and nobody has the heart to tell me that I'm dressing like a slob!
Ruth - You're welcome! Wouldn't that be loverly to go into my "cave" and not come out until I'm ready. Truth to tell, I don't see it happening any time soon, but one can always hope!
Erin - See, maybe that's my problem. I enjoy ironing! If I didn't, perhaps I would learn about getting clothes off the line or out of the dryer looking decent. ;o]
dikvipreal - You're welcome!
Sparkless - You bought a DVD of a fire? Girl, you NEED a wood burning stove or fireplace!!
Sue - Oh, just thinking about your "library" gives me warm fuzzy feelings! Hope there's a really comfy chair and a handmade quilt in there, too. Would you ever consider showing us some of your paintings? Pretty please??
Stephanie - You must feel about ironing as I do about dishes! But how the heck do I avoid dishes?? Didn't get the tree up today . . . maybe tomorrow. Construction today and to the lumber yard for more supplies. (How can one spend 1-1/2 hours picking out and loading lumber into the truck?)
Mama Tea - A soul sister who likes to iron!! My ironing board covers get pretty bad looking. Not from ironing clothes, but from quilting . . . not that I've done much of THAT lately. :o(
judy - Ha! I was just thinking the other day of ordering "South Pacific" from Netflix. I first saw it when it came out in the theaters when I was a teenager and I, too, absolutely loved it!
Anonymous - Who are you and will you keep commenting to help me stay encouraged and on the straight and narrow?? I so believe in the same things you expressed. I think the American family started to fall apart when women left the home to work outside jobs. That left no one home to do the job of raising children and homemaking. We have lost so much in so many ways.
Jane - Oh, hush up, you faceless wonder! I'm betting you don't have one single wrinkle on your beautiful face! So there.
Carolyn Renee - You reminded me of a joke: Two old gals are sitting together in the nursing home. All of a sudden, a 95-year old gentlemen missing a few of his marbles comes streaking through the room naked. One gal turns to the other and says, "WHO was that?!" Her friend replies, "I don't know, but he sure needed to be ironed."
About irons ... I have finally figured out that you should never put water in an iron. That seems to be a sure way to kill it. I use a spray bottle but then I usually only have to iron fabric for quilting. Hardly ever have to iron clothes. I rush to the dryer when it has been beeping for a bit that it is into the cool down mode and yank out clothes, shake them out, and fold them. Even the husband's flannel shirts come out great ... although sometimes still slightly damp but if I hang them right away, they are fine. And yes, we all need our quilt studios even if we cannot get there at the moment. Once you get your house in order, you will be back at it. Hang in there!!! I had a spell like that once too.
Karen L. - All wise words, my friend. I have learned NOT to leave water in my iron between uses. As soon as I'm finished ironing, I unplug it and drain all the water from the "tank." My iron before this one would never leak as long as I was using it, but when I walked away (after turning it off AND unplugging it) all the water in it would drain out . . . soaking the ironing board, floor, whatever. Learned my lesson from that one.
Charlie Brown trees are the most memorable! love this post. my mom, who's also a quilter, has Rowentas, etc., but her favorite is a $1.00 used iron bought at a yard sale. Looks ancient but works great, she says.
Dmarie - I hate to admit it, but doesn't it seem that the "old stuff" was made so much better than anything new these days??!
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