WORKING ON MAINTAINING & FIXING THINGS

 


Me, mowing the lawn in 1942-43


Here I’m doing a little watering - 1942-43

One of my sisters is watering a neighbor’s yard.  Summer watering jobs were one way to earn a few extra bucks!  I did my share.

Me, digging what would become a flower bed in 1952.  I planted stock & snapdragons because they stood up tall and I could pretend they made a jungle.  I watered them to the point where little troughs of water formed between the rows of flowers and I'd sail toy boats on the 'river' through the 'jungle'.

An old wringer washing machine similar to the one my Mom used to wash our clothes when I was young.  When the washing was done, Mom would wring out the items through the electric wringer, hand them to me, and I’d hang them out on the line from our back stoop.  Then I’d help her take them down from the line when they were dry, fold them up, and put them away.  And all too soon, it was time to start all over again.

I was 4 years old, here, having fun pretending to iron.  Little did I know, back then, that ironing for real was not ‘fun’!  I did my fair share until (thank heaven!) no-ironing-needed fabrics came on the scene. I don’t iron anything anymore – except in an absolute dire emergency!

My husband splitting wood for our wood stove to keep the house heated in cold weather.

Replacing a cracked section of our cement driveway.

My son’s poor truck stripped down in the process of being rebuilt.

:->

La Nightingail


Comments

  1. Barbara RogersMarch 10, 2024 at 9:39 AM

    You have been an industrious worker, especially outdoors as seen in these photos. Same old washer and wringer for clothes was my first experience as a child...do not put your fingers in the wringer! Yes I enjoyed learning how to iron my dad's shirts...which had a precise order to follow. Now I seldom get out the iron, so many napkins have a ruffled air about them when folded. I rely on the "press" method of them sitting in a pile to maybe make them flat!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. La NightingailMarch 10, 2024 at 12:50 PM

      I'm not sure how old I was when Mom allowed me to iron my Dad's shirts - maybe around 12 or so. And I did a credible job and was happy to be able to do it. But when I was married with children and so much other stuff to do & take care of, ironing my husband's shirts did not evoke the same feeling. I was never so glad & happy to see the no-iron fabrics come into fashion! Hallelujah!!!

      Delete
  2. Mike BrubakerMarch 10, 2024 at 12:29 PM

    Household work, especially with laundry, has dramatically changed in our lifetime. My grandmother thought her wringer washing machine and electric iron were true modern wonders over the old ways of a washboard and tub and a cast-iron iron heated on the wood stove which she used when growing up on a farm. Into her 80s she still hung out her laundry and ironed everything including bed sheets and towels. She used to hum songs as she worked that I can still hear in my memory now.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. La NightingailMarch 10, 2024 at 12:58 PM

      There are times when I wish I could hang a few items on an outdoor line to dry like sheets & pillow cases.. They smell so wonderful when they've dried outdoors. Unfortunately most subdivisions these days do not allow wash to be hung outside - even in one's own backyard because neighbors on either side of you can see. What a shame, but oh well.

      Delete
  3. Monica T.March 11, 2024 at 3:05 AM

    I'm gaping at that wood-splitting photo... :o

    ReplyDelete
  4. RÔ - MEU DIÁRIOMarch 23, 2024 at 6:31 AM

    Oi, tudo bem? Gostei do blog, vou seguir.
    Beijos.

    ReplyDelete

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