6,800 kits were sold by the provincial government at local malls all over Nova Scotia in an effort to cut down on electricity. Brilliant. Saw it on The National this evening. Even the famous "Peter M" was enthralled. Guess celebrity wife, Cynthia, relies on the dryer in whatever tony neighbourhood they must live. I mean, can you imagine a clothesline in Rosedale, Forrest Hill or Bridle Path??!!. Je pense que...I don't think so.
That the humble clothesline has become such a celebrity is a magnificent tribute to its illustrious simplicity and skilful endurance. The CBC piece featured a folksy Nova Scotian woman, hanging out her sheets, while the 12-year-old male reporter -- who has probably never seen a clothesline in his entire life -- interviewed her about..."what it was like hanging out your laundry"...??? He acted as if it were some kind of hardship-throwback to the 'dirty thirties'! She disabused him of this and the camera panned to her beautiful sheets and towels flapping away.
There is an art to hanging laundry. Some items must go together. Longest sheets out first, then towels (with matching pairs abutting) and everything else following in descending order. You can't just hang anything up willy-nilly as it appears in the basket. It has to have order. As a devotee of laundry lines, trust me, there is a splendour in the exercise.
I blogged my love of outdoor drying lines around this time last year, when I hauled mine up from the basement and began to air my laundry. This week, Calgary went from winter snow to summer heat (p.s. We don't have Spring and Fall) and out came my racks. Without the appropriate real estate to accommodate an actual line with wheels and pulleys, I have to use foldable racks.
But make-do I do. In the end, it all smells breathtakingly the same. Pillow cases invite you to sink into them, sheets lure you into lethargy, towels afford you that rough rub, napkins have that crisp snap, shirts smell like the sky and bleach themselves, duvets sparkle, tablecloths miraculously emerge without stains.....it's all a wonder and a delight!
What would I do without my beautiful clotheslines?
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My most vivid Olde Tyme memories of clothesline drying are from Timmins, in Northern Ontario, where the mis-matched towels from Duz boxes came off the line, frozen.
ReplyDeleteAnd flannel sheets. Scratchy, but indeed, smelling wonderful.
I tried to leave a comment on your blog about Canadian/versus American language, but there does not seem to be a way to do that?? I wanted to add "soft drink" versus "soda", "tea" versus "hot tea" and the fact that you can't buy Kraft PB in the US.
DeletePerhaps it took some gentle nudging from a woman but I took the time to figure out why I was having difficulty re-instating the 'comments' portion of my blog. Today's post tells the story of the healing process and celebrates the return of the "comments" section.
ReplyDeleteI did not know that about Kraft PB - interesting - though neither am I a consumer.