Tag: Domestic Admin

#1289 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn chores, Serendipity1 Comment

Funny that yesterday’s blog talked about distraction.

#1286 theoldmortuary ponders.

The early distractions of yesterday, a misplaced work i.d and fob, a jumper delivered to a friend and the purchase of some dull, but essential art stuff all fitted quite easily into the early part of the day while the domestic goddesses, Madams Dishwasher and Washing machine did the hard graft.

All should have been set for late morning artiness but fate had other plans.

Yesterday  was planned to be an art day with a side serving of domestica turned out to be quite a different type of day. Starting with a scene of domestic bliss, pale linens blowing in sunlight.

Our Springtime Yard

Moments later the springtime yard was draped in pale linens as the high (20 foot) washing line broke.

My Dad (born 1931) and my grandad ( born 1888) were very practical men and regularly mended high washing lines so I knew it wasn’t a job beyond me. I had even bought a spare washing line, when we moved into this house, for just such a moment. Planned , preventative maintenance was my thought at the time but I procrastinated and found myself in an ‘ emergency’ situation.

Nothing in my recall of stringing a high washing line involved the macrame nightmare that I created yesterday. Two hours later the washing was once again drying in the sun.  All the colours of a domestic victory dancing in my mind, projected onto the twice washed linens.

Linens in the style of Tamara de Lempicka

Would I have been better off using YouTube for instruction rather than relying on intergenerational knowledge?

I don’t think so, and I am a big user of YouTube to fix things. But those ‘How to’ videos are so slick.

Learning from my dad and grandad taught me the art and tolerance of non-slick but effective repairing. My Grandad dealt with washing-line macrame by deep puffing on his pipe and a quiet walk around his garden with his arms held behind his back. My dad would retreat into his shed emerging with the macrame tamed into calm coils of new washing line ready to be strung up.

I have neither a shed or a pipe habit but I have tolerance and tenacity which in my own way beat the macrame.

Fantasy Drying

#438 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn FilmLeave a comment

We have used the New Year wisely so far. The kitchen has piles of clean bed linen and towels following our Christmas of friends and family.

We’ve also used these last few days to catch-up with all the TV we missed while we were eating, walking and playing games .

One catch up was more than 75 years old. It’s a Wonderful Life, voted the best Christmas Movie often and until yesterday completely unknown to us. Christmas Movies is not a genre that has a huge amount of quality to compete with. Quantity certainly, but Hollywood producers scrape the bottom of many barrels to assemble their teams for festive film making. Then throw in some snow and romance and hope nobody notices the shortcomings. It’s a Wonderful Life is an accidental success having been a commercial failure when it was made. The copyright lapsed in 1974 and was able to be shown on TV with no fees needing to be paid. Broadcasters all over the Western world showed it multiple times each Christmas after that and it became ‘the’ classic, black and white movie to watch at Christmas. Using similar magic realism and fantasy to Charles Dickens novel A Christmas Carol it sets a tale of personal/human woe in the heart of the festive season. At 75 years old it becomes a history lesson too.

There is comfort in doing the same things every Christmas. Watching or reading a Christmas Carol makes me glad to not be poor in Victorian England. It’s a Wonderful Life makes me super-grateful not to be a woman in a pre-war U.S.A. I will probably watch the film every year from now on just to irritate myself. The irony is not lost on me that this pondering started with the sense of pleasure at having clean laundry!

#422 theoldmortuary ponders

On By theoldmortuary.designIn Advent+2022, Home, Hugo and Lola, SerendipityLeave a comment

The sunset on my evening dog walk.

For someone born 60 miles inland, I have spent an extraordinary amount of time living on the coast. Yesterday I had a great day by the sea. In the morning I went to a post-Covid, reunion,social gathering of women in the majestic buildings of the Royal William Yard. Quite cheeky really as the word reunion did not apply to me. I had never met many of these people before. The cafe we met in has several massive sofas that can fairly comfortably sit ten people. I was not the only cheeky one. Lola and Hugo came with me because there is nothing they love more than a walk that terminates in a cafe. Lola is always a sociable soul, Hugo more reticent. By the time I left Lola had cuddled and been cuddled by everyone on the large sofa. I realise that makes non dog lovers recoil but there was no recoiling from her warm curly cuddles yesterday. Hugo noticed the attention she was getting and made slower progress along the row of laps. After a brief interlude of domestic admin* I was back for a small afternoon gathering of friends, mulled wine and rats.

We met in old Stonehouse pub that has recently reopened. A bar that also sells coffee and cake, a game changer for me. I am fairly certain I have never paired coffee cake with mulled wine before. It works. Hidden in the pub are four small rats. I plan to only ever find three, that way there is always a reason to return.

Did you say Quiche?
Do you have any Coffee Cake?
Yes, I am the Bass player, who’s asking?
Toilet paper that builds toilets

* Who gives a crap about my domestic admin? There was a small order error when I ordered the festive toilet rolls. The error was quickly rectified, rather generously, by the company. Yesterday’s most pressing domestic admin task was to find homes for 100 toilet rolls.

42 rolls on each shelf.

Suddenly I have become the sort of person who over-caters for Christmas.