Weekends

Well, here it is Sunday, and MSW & I are doing what we often do on Sunday – he is playing his computer game (taking over various universes – it is some space thing, not an on-line thing) and I am surfing, answering e-mail, sending e-mail, IMing w/G2, radio surfing (yes, children, plain old-over-the-public-airwaves-analog radio) and when I tire of regular radio, hotting up the iTunes and surfing the dance mix channels, reading my friends blogs, posting comments occasionally to same, and doing laundry. I have a jones to hear the new Pink tune (U & Ur Hand) but is anyone playing it – noooooooooooo! I have to make do with Infernal and Keen on Disco – cool tune, but I like Paris to Berlin better!!!

The laundry thing may need a bit of explaining. We got up early today cause MSW was out of shirts and britches. No prob, you say. A couple of loads & voila – clean clothes. Yes, Virginia, if you have a dryer – which we at present, do not. The washing part is easy – we do have our own washer back, after it was shamefully abandoned for 6 years in the storage unit – but no dryer yet. See, MSW bought the washer when he moved in with me (Bill’s house on Academy in B) and we didn’t need a dryer, because he fixed me up the dearest, cutest, neato-frito-ist clothesline you have ever seen on the deck. Then we moved, to an apartment with doors so small it is amazing some of the RESIDENTS could go through them, not to mention our washer, so we had to use the on-site laundry room, which was a drag, but we had the balcony of the folks above us for my beloved clothesline. At this point, you, dear reader, are wondering “Why this thing with clotheslines???” To which I answer, THE SMELL. I love the way clothes that have been air dried SMELL. Like spring, like summer, like fall, like winter (with the occasional hints of pollen, mown grass, mouldering leaves, and wood smoke associated with said seasons as added spice) and always fresh – without that nasty fake fresh smell that I associate with fabric softeners and dryer sheets. I just can’t stand most of those smells, and when MSW told me he loathes them, well that was music to my ears.

In addition, there is the fact that I dress like a large person – by this, I mean the caftans. Yes, the caftans. Now, as you all know, I am not exactly baby Huey, but I am not exactly sylph-like either – sort of in between most of the time – zaftig, cushy- call it what you will. So, I like to be comfy, and since it is almost always summer here, and hot, I like caftans because they don’t bind, and they let air circulate!!! I am ALL about air circulation in the summertime!!! Plus, for those of us who are somewhat plus size, we can at least PRETEND to be willowy and graceful!!! We can even manage it betimes, if the wind is not sirocco style! This is but one reason why I prefer air-drying my clothes – the caftans come out much nicer than if tumble-dried. The wrinkles drop out, they look almost pressed, and they smell wonderful! Better, the same applies to MSW’s shirts – since he wears mostly Hawaiian flowery shirts, which are 100% cotton, they dry very nicely outside! Works pretty good on dress shirts too – if you are among those who do not have either the funds or the patience to do the commercial laundry thing. (MSW was cured of THAT by the military – he developed a marked dislike of starch, and while he learned how to do his own ironing to those strict specifications [again, lack of the vital l’argent] it is not an experience he is eager to repeat on a weekly basis – EVER again!! He only irons if he is going to a formal function, where wrinkles would be remarked upon!! Moreover, that only if the remarkee will be his Mother!)

However, to address today’s laundry conundrum: it is winter. While we all know that cold air carries less moisture than warm, and therefore that one can actually dry clothes out-of-doors, even in the winter. My friends up north will pooh-pooh Texas winters and rightly so. Nevertheless, when it is below 70 , well folks, it is cold!!! While I love the privacy provided by our enclosed patio, I realize that this seriously compromises the airflow – thus making it more difficult to dry clothes outside – summer and winter! Summer should be easier, since the heat alone is usually enough to do the trick, but you have to be careful in high humidity – not to leave them out too long or they can start to take up moisture, especially if you leave them out as the sun sets and the temperature drops. Since it is winter, however, and only getting up into the 60’s, the lack of airflow presents serious problems – which have to be overcome by the use of a fan – thus defeating the other advantage of air drying: low cost!! I mean, for those of us in warmer climes, I have never understood why everyone acts as if clotheslines never existed!! Yes, it can be a pain, but outdoor drying saves energy, uses energy otherwise going to waste, and if you’re a fitness minded person, well, my children, fewer exercises are more efficient for toning upper arms than hanging up on a clothesline-and then taking them down! And sheets!! Such a pain to fold, except when dried on a clothesline!! Already matched at the corners, straight and easy to fold while standing in the yard, into the basket ready to go into the linen closet! Now, I will admit that I prefer towels dried in the dryer, all fluffy and soft – but if the towel themselves are all cotton, air drying them means they are only a bit squashed – but they fit in the linen closet better! So, while it was a nice day to wash, I could only do 2 loads, cause that is all the room we have on our clothesline, and plus, I had to have the fan running so that the would actually stand a chance of drying by nightfall, since there was a bit of a breeze, but it has to be WINDY to be felt inside our enclosure!! *Sigh.*

And that has been our day. So far!