The Fabric Of Our Lives

Here's an old commercial you may recognize:

A few days ago, I unwapped my new ironing board and decided to iron some clothes.  Yes, you read that correctly. *I* was ironing my clothes.  This is a rarity for me.

I think that the worst aspect of summer is that it is such a cotton dependent season. Since this 'season' lasts 7 months in southern Arizona, there is a whole lot of cotton dependency going on here. And for most of these cotton clothes to look decent, they really need to be ironed. The reason I am doing mine now is to get started with packing for my summer trip north. I figure I could look good for at least one wearing, right?

I *hate* ironing. Every one of my brothers/sister had to learn the basics of ironing, but it was my sister and me who shouldered most of the burden. The price of being female, yet again. We spent many summer days in the basement with piles of clothes fresh from the freezer, ironing while watching old TV shows like Jack Lalanne, Let's Make A Deal or I Love Lucy reruns. We actually lived a lot in the basement in the summers because we had no air conditioning.  Once in awhile it actually panned out that there would be a tornado warning on TV which directed us to head to our basements. Hey-  we were already there, so why not go UPSTAIRS and run outside to LOOK for the tornado! Better yet, if you're my oldest brother, grab your camera and head outside for the best shot of the funnel cloud bearing down on our neighborhood!  It was a time of dangerous living, alright.

The ironing ordeal seemed never ending. Those damned patches on my dad's fireman uniform shirts and from his part time job at the fire equipment company were the worst. Our mom made me do a lot of them over.  No button placket or shoulder seam could be hung up with unsightly wrinkles. Even our own clothes which may have been enjoyable to wear, were cursed when having to make them look good enough to wear again on Sunday.

I remember those times as I am ironing my cotton rich fabric shirts for summer.  As I go carefully around each button with just the point of my Sunbeam steam iron, I can almost hear the theme song to Dark Shadows and the admonition of my mom's voice saying, "Don't worry about burning your fingers. Put more water in the steamer, and do that collar over again, too."
I will never like ironing.

                            "HEY DARALYNN!! DARK SHADOWS IS STARTING!!!"  :)

Footnote: As of today, I have been on my weight loss quest for 10 weeks. Not long in the grand scheme of time, but long enough to have twinges of wistfulness that there would be an end in sight.

I am happy with my progress, I just eeked out 30 pounds total loss from my beginning weight 10 weeks ago. But there are no signs yet of anyone even noticing that I have lost this weight. I am down 1 size in clothing and I do notice that some of the very shirts I'm ironing are loose on me, but I won't run out and buy more smaller clothes yet for the sake of my budget. I am holding out until next month when I go to Minnesota to take advantage of tax free clothes shopping in my usual sub par haunts like Fleet Farm(mmmm, love the smell of rubber scented jeans!).
I have such a long way to go to my goal of losing another 55 pounds. It will be a long slog yet and I'm guessing I won't get there until December.  I will not deviate from my plan though. It has served me well. I eat tons of protein, including beans and flax.  I am so used to this now that I have no gastric distress. I also eat veggies until I am stuffed, but very limited fruits, no grains or breads or starches and NO SUGAR in any form.  My diet pills have allowed me to never yet experience hunger at any time.  This is working and I am willing to keep at it for as long as it takes.