About Me

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I have been married to my childhood sweetheart for 42 wonderful years. I have been blessed with one daughter who is grown and gone! She and her hubby have blessed us with a precious grandchild, Darbee Rae. She is eight years old and the sunshine in our days. I have always been a stay at home maid, cook, doctor, babysitter, taxi, wife, mother, and grandmother. I enjoy crafting. My interests include primitives, vintage and colonial styles. I love decorating my home. I enjoy traveling with my hubby and friends, reading, and trying different recipes. I am a Christian and enjoy activities within my church. I hope you enjoy reading about my daily adventures in crafting, shopping, and enjoying life thru the eyes of my darling grand daughter.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Hanging Out To Dry

Good Sunday evening friends.  Hope you have all had a great weekend. Was quite a busy one here at the homeplace. Do you ever accomplish on the weekend as much as you had hoped to?  We did a little work and had a little fun so guess we can't complain. 

After church services today I rushed home so that I could give my Santa Suits a good grunge bath.  This was the last sewing project before putting the machine to rest earlier in the week.  But waiting on a sunny day to grunge they have been laying upstairs on the craft table. 


As I was hanging them on the fence to dry in the sun, my old clothesline came to mind.  I know so many of you still have a clothesline and I miss mine terribly at times.  Most of my craft objects get hung on the fence or from a chain on the carport to dry.  I couldn't help but smile as I hung these little red suits outside for all the neighbors to see as they drove by. We don't know our neightbors as they come and go pretty quickly around here, even tho we have lived here for over 32 years.   I'm sure they are not aware that we do crafts and with all the cheesecloth and other items I give a grunge bath , I am sure they wonder what is going on.  This brought to mind a poem I copied a few years back and did a stitchery from it.  Thought I would share it with you today.

THE CLOTHES LINE POEM
 
Clothes line was a news forecast to dry.


It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company had stopped on by
To spend a night or two.
For then you'd see the 'fancy sheets'
And towels upon the line;
You'd see the 'company table cloths'
With intricate design.
The line announced a baby's birth
To folks who lived inside
As brand new infant clothes were hung
So carefully with pride.
The ages of the children could
So readily be known
By watching how the sizes changed
You'd know how much they'd grown.
It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.
It said, 'Gone on vacation now'
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told, 'We're back!' when full lines sagged
With not an inch to spare.
New folks in town were scorned upon
If wash was dingy gray,
As neighbors carefully raised their brows,
And looked the other way.
But clotheslines now are of the past
For dryers make work less.
Now what goes on inside a home
Is anybody's guess.
I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line!
~Marilyn K. Walker ~
                                                                           

Yes today I realized just how much I miss my clothesline.  Memories of all the baby clothes that smelled so good when I would bring them inside some 28 years ago, sheets that smelled like the sunshine on a cool autumn day, quilts airing in the breeze waiting to comfort and keep us warm on a cold winter's night.  Do I really care what my neighbors see or think??  Maybe not.  Wonder if I can persuade Mr. P. to put me up a clothesline as a weekend project in the near future.  Hmmmmm, will let you guys know. 

But for today, my fence served the purpose.  All the little suits are dry and waiting for their buttons and to be priced.   And as for the neighbors, I'll just let them wonder.

Have a good evening.  Until next time.....

22 comments:

  1. That is an adorable photo! Also the poem too! I love my clothesline! I sometimes think I spend as much time with it, as with my family! Everything from the laundry to painted picture frames, to baskets gets hung on mine, it is a workhorse around here! Great post, yes, you need a line, hinting Mr. P!

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  2. What a sweet poem! Thanks for sharing it! And the photo of the Santa suits hanging along the fence was priceless ... lol! You are probably the talk of the neighborhood tonight : ) I too miss clotheslines ... along with many other things from the past. Blessings, Shirlee

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  3. What cute santa suits and what a touching poem. Thanks for taking the time to share with us Angela! ~*~Lisa

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  4. I remember helping you hang and bring in clothes from our clothes line. I too remember that good clean smell. Wish I had one here. Would love that smell again. Love you!

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  5. What cute Santa suits hanging on your fence!! I haven't had a clothes-line in over 17 years and I miss it sometimes too.

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  6. Your Santa suits hanging on the fence are so dang cute, Angela!! I'm surprised you don't have neighbors stopping by to say - hey, what the heck are you up to?!! But, then again, you said prim isn't big around your parts....so sad. And sadder still you have no clothesline!! No clothesline!!! Really??!!! My heart aches for you!! Ahhhh....the smell of sheets hung out on the line - there is no better night's sleep! Wouldn't trade mine for even a dishwasher....(Well, maybe?? But, don't test me!!) ;o) Smiles & Hugs ~ Robin

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  7. I LOVE THAT POEM! Your Santa suits looked adorable hanging on the fence. I have SOOO much work to do this week, but I can't hardly wait to get at it. Have a great week, Dawn

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  8. Hi Angela, Your santa suits are adorable. And yes, I have a clothesline!!! And I'm surprised by the 7 responses, that they have one too. I thought they were a thing of the past!!!! lol I cringe if I have to run the dryer in the summertime!!!! I've read that poem before and ....so true!!!! My mother hangs the clothes from smallest to longest. You don't just hang clothes up hap-hazardly. There was an order to it!!!! Towels went from lightest to darkest!!!!

    Lois

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  9. Love the Santa suits and cute poem. I sure wish I had a clothesline too!

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  10. Oh my goodness! I would love to drive by a house and see those Santa suits all hung out like that! Too cute. :) I am lucky enough to have a clothes line - I love using it so much better than the dryer.
    I love the clothesline poem and I am going to use it with my 4th graders. I think it would be a great tool for thinking about the past and how things change, and it has some great vocabulary in it, too! Do you mind if I show them your Santa suits picture? I think they would get a real kick out of that.
    Have a great week :)
    Melissa

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  11. I love your sweet santa suits. Such a great photo too. I love my clothes line ..especially when my sheets and quilts are hanging on them. I missed you friend.
    Have a great day!
    Hugs Trace
    www.grannytracescrapsandsquares.com

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  12. Such a sweet poem. I don't have a clothesline anymore either, but I'm fortunate enough to live in a neighborhood where everyone knows one another . . . a borrowed ladder from one of my neighbors is in my garage and tomatoes from another neighbor's garden are on my windowsill. They don't understand prim either, but still enjoy seeing what I'm up to.

    Love the Santa suits!

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  13. Cute,I remember hanging clothes on the clothesline, as a girl. Give me my clothes dryer any time. Hope you have a great week!

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  14. I used to hang clothes out on the line at every home we lived at. My mom and grandmother used to hang clothes out and that is where I got it from. Since we moved here I decided that I didn't have the time anymore. Sometimes I miss the smell of clean sheets that have been line dried. Cute poem.
    Tamera
    Country at heart

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  15. I love those little santa suits! Too cute? Are you selling them? I miss my clothes line too, nothing like the smell of freshly dried clothes from the sun. You brought a little nostalgia into a lot of lives today!

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  16. Love your santa suits! Cute poem, thanks for sharing! There is nothing like hanging laundry outdoors. I Love the fresh clean smell. have a wonderful week!

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  17. Angela
    That is it~ Get a clothesline~ You will sleep better with sheets & the clothes smell so good!!!
    Who cares what the neighbors think~giggles~ I love seeing clothes hanging out~plus saves money!!!Present all the this to Hubby!!
    Love your Santa suits!!
    smiles
    Teresa

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  18. Angela
    your Santa suits are so cute! I bet they were alot of work to make.
    I love the clothesline poem. It is so true what we could learn from a person' family by just "reading" their clothesline. I sure love mine!

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  19. Hi Angela!! Love the santa suits, how adorable... I have never had a clothesline but I remember my gramma hanging clothes on hers, them blowing in the wind and just looking so clean.. What a great post!! Hugs, Tina

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  20. Love Love Love the poem and it is so true. Nowadays people just do not neighbor like they used to!!

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  21. Hi Angela, thank you so much for sharing the clotheline poem, love it and like you would love to make it into a stitchery. I have a clothesline and would not trade it for the world. Nothing better, than crawling into bed in between those crisp and fresh smelling sheets.Ahhhh My nana always hung her laundry outside, I can rembere her even in winter, she would beat the ice off of them and then bringing them in and iron them to finish up drying. She would never hear of owning a dryer. Your Sanata suits look so cute hanging on the fence. What a sweet picture they make! Wishing you a wonderful week! Big Hugs Mary

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  22. I LOVE that poem and I miss my clothes line too!

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