I AM IRONING

Yes, for the last three days, I have been ironing, steaming, and pressing. Sounds terrible, doesn't it? But you know what? I have thoroughly enjoyed myself. I may continue doing this until everything is sleek and shiny and in the closet. (As opposed to being in a pile beside the ironing board or in a chair or at the foot of my bed.)

At least, they aren't still in the refrigerator. Back in the olden days, when people did things like sprinkle clothing and let them sit until they were damp throughout each garment so that when hit with the hot iron, they would smooth nicely, if one didn't get all of the ironing completed, the damp clothes had to be put somewhere so they wouldn't grow sour. The fridge was my favorite place. Those days are long gone.

Along with sprinkling, I no longer starch my white shirts, dry them outside on a line, and bring them in to be sprinkled and ironed with a hot iron. No longer do we have to have uniformly damp clothing to be ironed smooth. With the wonderful fabrics that we have these days and the terrific appliances we own, ironing is really a very enjoyable time.

I have in all of those piles are cotton and cotton/poly tees as well as cotton and cotton/poly shirts, and jeans and silk blouses and polyester blouses and all kinds of other lovely fabrics that come from the laundry looking fresh and almost ready to wear.

And I have the most wonderful appliance for taking out the few remaining wrinkles and leaving my garments with a lovely finish. I have a Rowenta 1800 watt professional iron with 100 steam holes. That thing breezes through garments like the trite old hot knife through butter. It is lots of hot steam right through those wrinkles. And I love it. I can make a tee or a pair of jeans look brand new in less than a minute and a silky poly blouse in not much more. Creases are sharp with just one pass and most things can be ironed while doubled and the steam goes right through and does its job. I do love it.

And why do I steam those tees? Those $12 tees from Wal*Mart look brand new each time I steam them; and the steamed ones that have had a little sizing sprayed on them first don't pick up stains and the short fiber cotton lies down and so that the tee looks as if it were made from long staple cotton! If I didn't get bleach on then while cleaning the kitchen, they might last forever.

I have completed a stack of ironing and I may well be half finished. Have no idea what tomorrow may bring other than rain; but I do inten d to complete this job this year!