I didn't knit at all this weekend. Instead, I have been gardening and doing laundry. Like several commentators said, we hang our clothes inside out on the line. We also wash them inside out to minimize fading and wear on the clothes. Shirts are tumbled in the dryer for a few minutes and then hung up damp.
In Boulder, we lived in a house wired for electricity circa WWI. Plugging in an iron without tripping the circuit breaker involved unplugging everything else in the house except the refrigerator first. I figured, if ironing ate up that many watts, then not ironing would be the patriotic and green thing to do. I thought of this 15 years before Thomas Friedman wrote about it.We smooth the plackets, collars and hems down by hand while the shirts are damp and look slightly rumpled most of the time. We are scientists after all; people find us more credible when we look rumpled. We iron only when attending special functions and, of course, when I am sewing.
Isn't the clothespin bag in the shape of a dress and apron adorable? I bought it from an elderly lady near Chama, New Mexico. I spotted a sign in her front yard that said, "Quilts For Sale" and made Mark stop. The quilts were polyester doubleknit, her handmade dolls were exquisite and priced accordingly, but the clothespin bags were the perfect souvenir.
The Siberian irises are abloom in the front yard. A friend and neighbor gave me the irises when she divided her corms. I like it when neighbors share plants and seeds. It makes a neighborhood a neighborhood. I have a bunch of flower and vegetable seeds to give away if you drop by the house. If you bring a bucket, you can dig up some anemones, too.
Peonies are abloom in the bedroom. Mark is really a good sport. He sleeps on pink sheets and our bed faces pink (really, plum blossom) curtains, and he has never complained. Come to think of it, he might not have noticed yet.Iris got the butterflies set with a matching blue and green lava lamp. Iris put the green heart up for Valentine's day. We like it too much to take it down.
Orchids are abloom in the bathroom. I would like to turn the bathtub we rarely use into a greenhouse so that I can collect more orchids.
Thanks for the link to the Thomas Friedman article. I am behind on reading, but I read this today.
ReplyDeleteI know I am not green enough and am trying, but ironing is hard to give up. I like crisp cottons and ironed things, although I do not iron as many things as I did when young, when I think I ironed my slips as well.
I try to justify it by saying that I save up ironing until I have a big load, as most of the energy goes in the heating up of the iron. I don't sew in 15 minutes bursts either, as it takes longer to warm up the iron than I am likely to spend using it.
I am probably just deceiving myself.