Tuesday, August 07, 2007

I Must Confess . . .

. . . that I dislike ironing - intensely. When I was a young SAHM, I even hated it then. I would put it off as long as possible. My best friend in those days was the opposite - she even ironed her little boys' underwear (she and Barb would get along famously!) We finally compromised our habits - I ironed more and she ironed less.

If I did "Tackle It Tuesday", this would be a perfect "before" picture.


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I have been hiding this pile of ironing-to-do in my spare bedroom. When a friend came to spend the night, I realized how far behind I had gotten. I decided to tackle it last night, as the cooler night air came in my bedroom window and I watched "The Closer." (This is my new favorite show on TNT, starring Kyra Sedgwick - she is such a good actress!)

I had finished 6 pieces already and had them properly hung up when all of a sudden, out of the blue,without warning, without provocation of any sort, in the middle of the shirt you see hanging down over the board, my iron died. Now this iron is not old. It has definitely not been overworked. Evidently, it's just a piece of modern-made junk.

The large pile of blue that you see on top is a lovely linen tablecloth that I received from my MIL when she moved to an apartment and also gave me her beautiful cherry wood dining room set, which opens into a very large table for company. She didn't have room for the table, nor need for the tablecloth (and 12 matching napkins) when she downsized. I love using this heirloom for special occasions, but it takes me from one special occasion to the next to iron it - it's huge and not polyester! Nor are the napkins.

I can remember ironing for Mom when I was a kid - it was a weekly task for us. She started us out with handkerchiefs (remember those?) and pillow cases. It was a hot, sweaty job in the summertime in Arkansas.

So now I can't do an "after" picture showing my accomplishments. Instead I have to stop at Wal-Mart on my home from work today and pick up a new iron.

Martha Stewart I will never be. Nobody will ever accuse me of being like Martha of "Martha and Mary," Jesus' good friends and Lazarus' sisters. I will never be scolded for being compulsive with my housework. I am hoping, however, that with my not-too-distant retirement plans, I will go back to being a bit more diligent, as I was when I was younger. My house was much cleaner when I had little kids (of my own) than it is now. I can always blame the grandkids now - for the mess and for my depleted energy! But that's not kind. True, but not kind!

So hopefully I'll get a spurt of energy again after I get a new iron and get this job done. DC is probably wondering where in the world that blue and red plaid shirt is. I just hope this next iron lasts me the rest of my ironing life.

Now for another picture of the hibiscus - it is going crazy with beauty and notice all the future beauty!


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And on a final note....if you would like to read some interesting, surprising news, go HERE.

18 comments:

Barb said...

When I was growing up, absolutely everything had to be ironed. We were a family of eight and every aspect of the laundry was my job, including the ironing. I ironed literally all day long on weekends, including my dad's postal uniforms which were awful because the fabric stuck to the the iron.

I hate ironing with a passion. In my opinion, the only reason to even own an iron is to iron your sheets and for crafts. I never, seriously, never, iron anything else.

I'm glad she's back! I'm off to put her back into my bloglines.

Did Aaron tell you Mandy's car kicked the bucket? So he's running her back and forth to work this week.

Barb said...

Congratulations, Grandma! She and Krissy are due within days of each other. I had no idea - you never said a word. I'll bet you're hoping for a boy and here I am hoping for a girl. LOL

What wonderful news!

Susie said...

Ironing is not my favorite thing either. I also learned on all the flat stuff, as my Mom ironed almost everything. I iron as little as possible and put it off way too long.
I can see from Barb's comment that congratulations are in order. More babies for blogland! You are going to be one busy Grammy!!
xo

Carole Burant said...

I've got a huge smile on my face after clicking on that link you left!! hehe Such wonderful news and glad she's back! Congratulations to all of you:-) I don't iron unless I absolutely have to! lol My mom use to iron everything but I didn't take after her for that. Your hibiscus is glorious!!! xox

Michelle-ozark crafter said...

Call me weird but I love to iron! I will come do your ironing although I have never mastered ironing britches so sorry about that!

Linda said...

A new grandbaby. Congratulations Grandma Dawn!!! I'm so glad Kristen is back again. I was getting a little concerned (something I seem to do far too well).
Sorry to hear about the demise of your iron. I must confess there is a wicked part of me that thinks communal living wouldn't be all that bad. I could iron (because I actually like that), someone else could cook, someone could garden - just think how much free time we'd all have. It was just a thought :)
The flowers are gorgeous.
Thanks for your sweet comment.
Happy ironing (I'm going to tackle that today too).

Nancy said...

OH, what great news you are sharing today... and how exciting for Kristen. I had been worried about her and now she is at the top of my prayer list along with the "new grandbaby on the way"! Congrats, Grandma Dawn.

Now about that ironing. I hate it... I mean really hate it and I run to my dryer the minute that the timer dings to try to prevent ironing at all cost. I admire yu for staying on top of that pile...!

Kristen said...

You want my iron? Cuz I never use it.

Midlife Mom said...

Congratulations Grandma of almost four! That was certainly a nice surprise when I clicked on that link!

We used to sprinkle our clothes with water and then roll them up and keep them in the refrigerator until we were ready to iron them. Boy am I dating myself or what?!!!

Midlife Mom said...

Forgot to tell you how our jury system works. We have to go in the first day and then after that we call in the night before to see if we are on the list. I'm off now until Aug. 22 as I didn't get picked for this particular trial. I'm on until the 29th so still could possibly get picked.

Glad to hear someone else sprinkled their ironing!

Rita Loca said...

I dont like to iron either. I loved not having to while living in the jungle.

Tammy said...

First of all, just hopped over and sent my congratulations! :) How exciting!

And I'm glad to hear that I am not the only one who doesn't like ironing! Actually, I pretty much never iron, with the newer fabrics I rarely have a need. But once in awhile I just have to...like when something comes out of the dryer all wrong, as in the case of my daughter's dress this past week. But have I ironed it yet? Um...no. ;)

staceyhoff said...

congrats, grandma dawn!I can hear you thinking, wow! I am going to have yet another grandchild?! lol God is so good. He is blessing our descendents. Your flowers look lovely. I wish I had time to wor on the outside of my house.I think the inside looks better than the outside, but that's not saying much around here, what with the sheer amount of toys and books and furniture and...sigh...*stuff* we have accumulated. lol. ( But that's my own whole post, right!) I try to do my best with what time and energy I have,but that doesn't always allow for time for planting or weeding or even having perfectly neat cabinets and oh nooo, I don't iron- unless there's a wedding or a funeral. lol. If I have a wrinkly something in the house
(which I often do, because I don't mind washing or folding but I detest actually putting away clothing for some hateful reason,) I use that Downy Wrinkle-Release Spray. I love that stuff. I should buy stock in it. Seriously. Ha ha ha! Have a great day, Dawn :)
xoxox's

Maine Mom said...

Congratulations grandma-to-be again! I'm glad Kristen is back in blogland.

Now about that ironing...I was happy to marry a man who did his own ironing...and still does :-) Good luck with your new iron!

My mother cleans less these days, too. She recruited me to help her clean on Friday for company that is coming...I'm sure we'll be super productive with 5 kids under foot!

Unknown said...

Hi Dawn, you came to visit me and so I came to see you. I love your hibiscus. I thought we in Florida were the only ones who grew such lush tropical plants. Yours is a lovely shade. Mine are bright red.

I also enjoyed reading of your vacation and visits with old friends. I had one like that last June/July which was so much fun.

Old friends are great, and new ones are fun to meet. Glad to meet you.

nancygrayce said...

Well, I actually do like ironing! When I was a little girl with 6 siblings, mama would have us take turn ironing and pay us 5 cents a piece. I loved making the money and just never found ironing that bad. I just finished up ironing about 8 things...mostly because I need to wear one of them tomorrow and so just ironed them all! :)

Chris said...

Nice pictures of the flowers, good camera. I want a new one but that won't be for a few months.
I still don't like to iron, but do so 'cause I have to sometimes.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. There is so much I'd like to ask you, and talk about. Just reading your stories helps me know that God is in control.
You asked where I live, I am in California. I have an older daughter who lives in Broomfield, CO. I just returned from a week long visit with her family.

Anonymous said...

I'm just the opposite of you with ironing - I LOVE to do this housekeeping chore. And my momma started me out on pillowcases, too! In fact, I've probably had at least 10 irons in the 26 years we've been married because I wear them out! No kidding!
I plan to blog about ironing sometime in the future - it will just be a different direction than your post.
Now, cleaning toilets... that's a chore I despise! AND mopping floors!
Congratulations on your daughter's pregnancy - I will be praying for them as they see a specialist today concerning this second opinion. Our God is bigger than we can even imagine and He already has this child in the palm of His hand!
P.S. I found your blog about a month ago and read through your son's and daughter's stories. What testimonies for the Lord's goodness! In reading through your archives I suspect that we are part of the same church demonination. And you've been to my city!