Yesterday we discovered that the dryer in the food lab at work had failed to dry the kitchen linens that were placed in it at the end of last week. A colleague rewashed them and put them back in the dryer, which is when we discovered it didn't dry things. Someone else hung them on the cupboard doors and open drawers in the lab to air dry. I went to check them at the end of the day and many were still damp, so I volunteered to take them home to rewash and dry. As I gathered them up, they seemed to multiply, appearing around every corner on yet another set of doors or drawers. I had to use a large garbage bag to carry them all to the car -- which involved carrying the bag in both arms. It was far more than I'd ever seen in one place before -- even in the lab. There were about 60 tea towels and at least 25 dish cloths! It filled the washer -- thank goodness for large capacity machines. <smile> Lesson learned -- be careful what you volunteer to do <grin>.
I'll admit that I kidded about my heritage noting that I'd finally become the mythical Irish washer woman -- a stereotype that had been used as a derogatory term even when I was in public school. When I showed the bag to a friend, I noted that it had finally come to this -- I was forced to take in washing. While I was able to laugh, there are others for which this has been a way of making ends meet. We see it less often now that laundry facilities are more common in homes and coin-operated laundromats (which still seem to be around).
I felt a song from this group from Newfoundland would fit the way my mind had taken this task. I enjoy the traditional folk feel of many of their recordings and their harmonies are wonderful. I've seen them in person a couple of times and they have great energy. Enjoy!
Walking in the Irish Rain -- The Irish Descendants
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