season of the drying rack

When I went out to buy a drying rack, the first winter of living here, G said buy a good strong one and I did. It also rattles and shakes and bangs around as you put it out and apparently after three years some of the screws have come a bit loose. Nonetheless it is a pretty good drying rack. Our house is so tiny that there is really only one place that it can sit. Next to my chair in the lounge room and in prime position for visitors to inspect as they come through the front door. I do also hang a lot of washing of the shower curtain rail in the bathroom now we have central heating and things dry pretty quickly there. So quickly that I think a dryer is really unnecessary.

Washing on the rack takes about a day and half to dry - unless we have the heating on all day. I must admit that I'm pretty lazy and hang it straight to the rack even on days when it might mostly dry on the line. Who can be bothered hanging out washing twice!

Oh Pinterest, you have a lot to answer for

I've just discovered a whole cache of laundry photos on Pinterest and Tumblr. Leading to more sources on google images. Down the rabbit warren I went. Some of my discoveries now seem pretty obvious. Like these pinups, because well, ironing in high heels is just so hot. And I imagine any sort of housework being done by a woman is just a natural pinup prop, has been for ages and will be for ages I suspect. No matter that most woman don't find doing housework sexy at all. It's the male view of things here. Nonetheless I love the power point. Even that is sexy. And she is standing there all bossy and pointy in her bra and shorts with the iron hot plate down on her shimmery white frock. That's going to burn for sure.

I don't think the next one is by the same artist as the previous one - Gil Elvgren. The style is similar but the signature looks a bit different. Again we have a scantily clad lass, obviously ironing her frock before she goes out and playfully flicking the iron to test its temperature. She looks a lot happier I think than the first, but still it is all about the male gaze and housework as a prop. 

The Morning Toilet in Camp.

The flickr caption reads, "scanned from The Universal Book of Hobbies and Handicrafts. 1935." I love these old caravans and somehow now they seem impossibly glamorous and cute. Especially in nice weather. Of course there is a line of washing, with real camping - as opposed to glamping - there always is. With our camping we often have damp washing from one site to the next but if not there are always towels and tea towels and in summer, bathers too. 

Brrr, brr it's cold out there

While surfing the pinterest/tumblr rabbit warren, I found this picture of what looks to my drunken mind to be a santa suit hanging inside a modernist house while it snows outside. Being the antipodes we don't have a cold christmas but the drying inside resonates nonetheless.

from here