Let it all hang out...

I've spoken before of my love of a good clothesline. I love the look of a well-hung line and the smell of the clothes, once dry, is incomparable. That said, I have no patience for subdivisions and neighbourhoods that outlaw the good old-fashioned clothesline.

In this day and age of environmental awareness, and when the importance of recycling can be explained by even the youngest child, why is this still allowed to happen?? There are some who feel a clothesline looks common, even tacky. These folks are often the same group that want everyone to have the same driveways, landscaping... even houses. Cookie cutter living where individual clotheslines just don't fit into their idea of a classy suburban neighbourhood. Yuck!!

I know I sound quite passionate about this, and I am. How can we support the environment we are handing over to our children and at the same time condemn the poor, old clothesline?? We can't, and I say it's time to bring the clothesline back! Our municipal governments need to amend these restrictive covenants and get back to the basics!

I know some of you might argue that you don't want to see your neighbour's undergarments while relaxing on your back deck. Of course there could be restrictions about that...even I'd agree with banning thongs and supersize brassieres from the average line!! But to put an outright ban on the whole clothesline movement because of a fear of unmentionables seems a bit prudish, don't you think??

I thought I'd leave you with a sweet poem I found in an insert from my local newspaper. The author is unknown, but I'm willing to bet that it was written by an older lady, passionate about clotheslines too!! A kindred spirit of sorts...

The Clothesline Said So Much

A clothesline was a news forecast

To neighbors passing by.

There were no secrets you could keep

When clothes were hung 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 on the line;

You'd see the company table cloths

With intricate design.

The line announced a baby'sbirth

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 raised their brows,

And looked disgustedly away.

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!

Ice cream... in all its glory!!

photo: Matthew Mead Style

Well, this post is just for the fun of it. Ice cream is such a huge part of summer...a rite of passage of sorts...that it deserves its very own tribute! My kids love ice cream, as every child does, and they practically demand (in a fairly nice way) its presence in our freezer. They are quite put out when there's none, and they will wail, "But it's summer...we NEED ice cream!!" I like ice-cream too, but not to the extent my children do. My favourite is mint chocolate-chip (and it has to be green) but, because the local manufacturers of our ice-cream changed it by adding chocolate swirls, I now find it too sweet and often don't bother getting it. This, however, was not the case last weekend on our camping trip. We went into the lovely town of Lunenburg and I was immediately drawn in to the prettiest ice-cream shop ever when I saw their beautifully painted signs that they had (are you ready for this?) GLITTERED!!! I immediately thought of Laurie the Glitter Fairy and how tickled she'd be to see these works of art!

They had all of the commercial brand flavours and the most delicious home-made ice-cream. Lo and behold, they even had mint-chip ice-cream. It turned out to be the tastiest ice-cream I had ever had the pleasure to eat. It had a minty flavour that made my breath catch and the dark chocolate flakes were heavenly. They even serve all their ice-cream in waffle cones, with no "up charge." My husband would argue this, of course, as he just had to remind us of how many tubs of ice-cream we could buy for the price of the ice-cream cones we got. Poor hubby...he just doesn't get it...I guess he didn't appreciate the glitter, the minty-ness, the atmosphere, or the waffle cones like I did. It's all about the memories!! Sheesh...there's enough guilt associated with eating ice-cream...!!!

Now go get some ice-cream!!... I know you want to!!

Love it 'cause it's yours...

I've spoken before on the importance of being happy with what you have and tweaking what needs fixing. Well, it can apply to all areas of your life. It's kind of like the Serenity Prayer, which when you think of it, can be good advice in all areas in our lives. Hubby and I always sit in the living room before bed, and rehash the day and basically reconnect. When the kids were all little, we'd talk about all the funny and cute things they had done, and somehow, what seemed like the negative stuff (teething, whining, sibling rivalry), would be forgotten. Sort of a "putting on the blinders" time of day for us. We still do it today, but our stories are not limited to the antics of small children. We talk about the importance of appreciating what we have in our lives TODAY and the importance of not coveting what we perceive others to have going for them. WE know that a lot of our happiness comes from both us and outside sources. We needn't pine for bigger and better, because along with that comes obstacles. Our eldest son recently asked me if I wished we were rich. I explained to him that we are all rich in different ways and in relative terms, depending on how you look at things. I told him that if he meant it in the financial sense, then no. Everyone, of course, wants to have a life where money does not cause stress in their lives and we, as a family, have worked very hard to avoid that as best as possible. But as for being rich, well no. I don't want to hang out with people who are obsessed with money and don't value just how hard it is for some people to come by it. I don't like pretention or obsess about fancy food, wine, or people. I can't stand name droppers and I think keeping up with the Joneses is for those with too much time on their hands. I believe you should do for your family what you want to do , not what you think you should do. As a child growing up in a family with six children, we had our share of financial struggles. But I feel they have made me stronger and more intent on working for what I need or want. I think society and especially the children we are raising are in danger of losing sight of that. There is an immediacy that scares me in our society. Nobody wants to wait until they can pay for things with cash. There is a sense of entitlement that I think we are passing on to our children that will do them absolutely no good.

As much as my blog focuses on decorating as a passion and a hobby and a career, I hope I still have my head on straight and realize that, to many, the struggle is just keeping a roof over their heads. Ultimately, it's as plain and simple as that. Family, health, security...keep them in your radar in the way that they should be .

...And that's my soapbox for the day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!