REMEMBER WHEN ??

Now that we've just come through the hectic holidays and just had time to catch a breath, I think it's time to "set back" and relax and reminisce about somethin' relaxin'..

Now I know none of you will admitt to this ... but... remember when....

Monday's was just naturally " wash day", and there was no gettin' around it.. No easy job either.. No water heaters in the house to jest turn a little knob and get scaldin' hot water for your white clothes... first...

No sir, you had this big old # 3 black iron kettle out in the back yard and you got you kindlin' all ready and put up where it wouldn't get wet if'n it happened to come a shower in the night.. next you put your first buckets of water in the iron kettle and put your wood under it and lit your fire for heatin' the washin water. You pumped up your water from a iron pump with a ..handle that gave you water ... if you had the strength to "pump it". now sometimes the "leather" in the pump would get dried out and you'd have to " prime" it with a little water..

What... you don't know what " prime" is??? Lawdee me, girl.. Ok it was ... you pour a little water down in the pump to soak the leather until it would swell up and then you'd begin to get water.. mind you the first was sorta nasty tastin' .. yep, I've had a drink or two of that stuff... spit it out...fast !!

Reason I know all this is I was one of the kids who had to pump the wash water... not only one tub for washin' in but two more for the rinsing and for white clothes you had a third tub where Mama would take a little blue ball and tie it in the corner of a piece of muslin or an old worn out bedsheet...and that was your " ball-bluing" and you'd rinse it up and down a few times in the third tub of rinse water till the water turned a pretty bright blue.. this was for rinsin' your white clothes in to make them real white and when you hung 'em on the clothesline, the sun did the bleachin' for ya'.

I know, I know you can't wait to jump in on this fascinatin' story but it's the actual truth.. and it was a hard days work.. Then Mama would take the washin' tub of water and pour on the wooden back porch and scrub it tersely with a broom.. Clean back porch was Mama's pride and joy...

This was what you looked forward to ever' Monday morning bright and early.. The woman who had her clothes on the line first was the most respected woman down in the country.. My Mama was most always the first... We were a proud family down on the farm..

Next time it'll be "TUESDAY" ironing day !!! Flat irons heated on wood cook stove..!!