Chores - Ironing
People hardly ever comment on what I wear. However the other day when I was wearing this T-shirt, two people asked me if I had been to Antigua. I haven't been there, but then couldn't remember who gave me this t-shirt in the first place. It had kept preying on my mind, but I didn't have a clue and couldn't even think of anyone I ever knew that went there. Finally after it went through the washer and dryer and I was about through ironing it, I noticed that it was a promotional shirt from the Goldsmith Seed Company advertising their Antiqua African Marigold seeds. It was one of many t-shirts I got over the years working at Park Seed Company. As was most often the case, I usually ended up with the large size. For years they were tucked away in an obscure place because I always considered myself a little guy and surely didn't need to be wearing anything larger than medium. It's funny with t-shirts. The amount of material that goes into making the two sizes is so disparate. They are so much larger in every respect. I figured I would never know what to do with all that extra material.
As my clothing supply has diminished over the years of my retirement and I have done little to replenish it, I have come to start using the large size t-shirts I had stashed away. Now that I have gotten used to them, everytime I go in my dresser draw I look for these plus size t-shirts as I have come to find out how comfortable they are and who cares about looks anymore at my age.
When I was on vacation some years ago and we were in a souveneir shop in Hollywood, my sister-in-law, could not believe that I was picking out medium size t-shirts. Was she trying to tell me something? Most of the time at work, I didn't wear t-shirts, but we did dress casually. When I started working on Saturdays, what we wore was real casual as only our Dept. would be working so usually just wore t-shirt then. I remember one gal commenting that I just wore tight t-shirts because I liked to show off my nipples. I thought that was a pretty funny comment at the time, but still I had no clue that anyone seriously would think I was wearing t-shirts a size too small.
The big drawback is that they take so much longer to iron. I know a lot of people don't bother doing that anymore, and it is one of the least favorite of my chores. I am so used to having ironed clothing that it just doesn't 'feel' right not doing it.
All this ironing got me to remembering when I was a kid growing up in a three story, six family apartment building. We had something that I bet few places have nowadays and probably even few at that time. In our large kitchen was a narrow door that when opened revealed an ironing board folded up and came out of the wall like a murphy bed. It wasn't just one ironing board, but a little miniaturized one that folded out on top of the standard ironing board. It was used to iron the sleeves.
I'm not sure now whether my Mom used it, but i must have thought it was something else. I can even remember getting joy in folding everthing back up and closing the little closet door at the end of the chore.
I sometimes think I could not manage without a steam iron. When the water starts to run out, it doesn't seem to matter how hot I set the iron, it won't get the wrinkles out. Mom didn't have a steam iron at first. She always used a moistened kitchen towel, layed that on what she was ironing and then ironed on top of that and you could see the steam being released from the towel. Even after she got a steam iron, I don't remember her ever using that feature, if it was something that needed the steaming , out would come the damp towel.
I must have really been impressed by the whole process. I don't remember it, but the lady who lived across the hall asked me 'what I wanted for Christmas' and I replied, 'an iron.' I guess she was a little surprised by the response and she told my Mom and then she bought me that as a present. I don't remember it or remember using it.
As my clothing supply has diminished over the years of my retirement and I have done little to replenish it, I have come to start using the large size t-shirts I had stashed away. Now that I have gotten used to them, everytime I go in my dresser draw I look for these plus size t-shirts as I have come to find out how comfortable they are and who cares about looks anymore at my age.
When I was on vacation some years ago and we were in a souveneir shop in Hollywood, my sister-in-law, could not believe that I was picking out medium size t-shirts. Was she trying to tell me something? Most of the time at work, I didn't wear t-shirts, but we did dress casually. When I started working on Saturdays, what we wore was real casual as only our Dept. would be working so usually just wore t-shirt then. I remember one gal commenting that I just wore tight t-shirts because I liked to show off my nipples. I thought that was a pretty funny comment at the time, but still I had no clue that anyone seriously would think I was wearing t-shirts a size too small.
The big drawback is that they take so much longer to iron. I know a lot of people don't bother doing that anymore, and it is one of the least favorite of my chores. I am so used to having ironed clothing that it just doesn't 'feel' right not doing it.
All this ironing got me to remembering when I was a kid growing up in a three story, six family apartment building. We had something that I bet few places have nowadays and probably even few at that time. In our large kitchen was a narrow door that when opened revealed an ironing board folded up and came out of the wall like a murphy bed. It wasn't just one ironing board, but a little miniaturized one that folded out on top of the standard ironing board. It was used to iron the sleeves.
I'm not sure now whether my Mom used it, but i must have thought it was something else. I can even remember getting joy in folding everthing back up and closing the little closet door at the end of the chore.
I sometimes think I could not manage without a steam iron. When the water starts to run out, it doesn't seem to matter how hot I set the iron, it won't get the wrinkles out. Mom didn't have a steam iron at first. She always used a moistened kitchen towel, layed that on what she was ironing and then ironed on top of that and you could see the steam being released from the towel. Even after she got a steam iron, I don't remember her ever using that feature, if it was something that needed the steaming , out would come the damp towel.
I must have really been impressed by the whole process. I don't remember it, but the lady who lived across the hall asked me 'what I wanted for Christmas' and I replied, 'an iron.' I guess she was a little surprised by the response and she told my Mom and then she bought me that as a present. I don't remember it or remember using it.
posted by Dave at 6:48 PM
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