Gardenmama's Wash Wednesday inspires us to view this timeless and endless chore as an inspiration to really see the beauty in hanging laundry. How old might the tune "The Irish Washerwoman" be? (We also like to dance to "The Boogie Woogie Washerwoman" by the Funky Mamas). Did anyone out there ever do that song where you choose who's It by singing "My-mother-and-your-mother-were-hang-ing-out-the-clothes....my-mother-punched-your-mother-right-in-the-nose..." while thumping your playmates' outstretched fists? What could have inspired such a song? Battling over the last clothespin?

Yesterday I was inspired to look not so much at what was on my line, but at what my line IS...a study in good invention, simple machinery, energy, and force. In our technological age, we're so used to "new inventions" becoming obsolete within a few years or even months. Imagine the reduction on the landfill burden if we created present-day items with such care and durability! With no need to upgrade or update, little maintenance, and the ability to use the free energy of wind and sun, it's no wonder they're still available CHEAP at your local hardware store. No big corporation will buy into this household wonder; my clothesline pully can attest to the fact that they're built to last, and there's no money to made off of that...

P.S. Are all children curious to know if pinching clothespins onto their fingertips, ears, noses, and lips hurts?