Smell of fresh clothes.... Happy Saturday!

Saturday is the day for fun but also can be a day for getting some things done around our home.    I do not work outside the home and do most of my housekeeping during the week so that I can enjoy time on the weekend with my husband.  But, some weekends, my husband and I spend time doing projects around the house that we would like to work on.   This weekend, I am hoping that my husband and I can get a light installed on one of my oil paintings in the den.  If all goes well, I will have a couple of photos to show you this next week.  For many people that work, the weekend is a time to catch up on things like laundry.  I was looking through some photos my son and his fiance took on a recent trip to Italy and noticed this photo of laundry drying in the breeze.   It immediately brought back memories of being a little girl and seeing the freshly washed laundry hanging on the clothesline in the back yard of my childhood home in Florida.   I especially remember the sheets blowing to and fro in the wind....clothes moving to the rhythm of the wind....almost like a dance.   If I close my eyes....I am back there again.

It seems funny now to think of everyone's "unmentionables" hanging out in the backyard.  But, as you can see from these recent photos taken in Italy, this is still a common image in many places...

I can also picture my grandfather in a big straw hat with a clothespin bag. "Papa" always wore a big straw hat when he was outside in the sun to protect his skin.  He would wear this hat if he was outside gardening, too.   He loved growing papayas and flowers in his yard.   He was older than my grandmother who still worked at a Citrus packing house in Florida.   When we were young, my sister and I would go over to stay with my grandparents in Winter Haven, Florida, for a week during the summer.  We would see my grandfather in his hat hanging up the laundry to dry for my grandmother.  These images will stay in my mind forever.   I can still smell the freshness of the clothes as we unpinned them from the line and placed them into a basket to bring inside.

Thinking of these memories today makes me wonder how many of the little chores that we do everyday.....the little ordinary things we do...like laundry, cooking, and cleaning....that will later become little memories that will surface one day for our children.   Funny....we want to do all kinds of fun things with our children so that they will have things later to recall us doing together.   But, in the end, it is the little ordinary things in life that we do each day that they will remember the most.   

Before I leave you today, I would like to share this beautiful platter that seems to really go with my blog posting today.  Hope you love it as much as I do.  It was created by my new blogging friend, Julie Whitmore.  

Another photo of Italy...

Whether you are enjoying your weekend or getting some chores done, I hope you have a wonderful day! xoxo Kim

Comments

[Red Rose Alley]

Kim,
I absolutely LOVE these Italy pictures. My Mother- in-law used to hang some of her clothes to dry in her back yard, and she raised many kids. I have so much respect for her. I know it's alot easier to just use the washer and dryer nowadays, but when I see how women used to do their laundry, I have much admiration for them. Thank you for sharing those photos with us, and please tell your son and his fiance that they took some fabulous pictures.
~Sheri at Red Rose Alley

[lori]

You are so right about remembering the ordinary, day to day things. I remember my mom and my grandma hanging clothes and linens out on the clothes line. To me, there is nothing better than sleeping on fresh linens that were hung outside.....i can "almost" smell the fresh scent!

I also remember food that my mother and grandmother made. I could make the same thing now, but, it doesn't taste the same as when they would make it.

Your story also reminded me of a plaque/sign I just purchased that reads, "Life is anot measured by the number of breaths that you take, but by the moments that take our breath away."

Hope you have a great Sunday!

Love you.

[Bluebirds and Butterflies]

Hi Lori,
Thanks for sharing your wonderful memories, too! I love the saying you posted. I love sleeping on fresh air-dried sheets, too! I think the old ways were the best ways! I was glad that I got to help you have a nice memory when you came to visit recently....by taking you to the Norwegian bakery. Hope you are enjoying your Norwegian lights! Love ya, Kim

[Bluebirds and Butterflies]

Hi Sheri,
I am glad I brought back some memories for you, too. I will definitely give Brandon and Amy your warm wishes! Thank you so much. Have a happy day! xoxo Kim

[SizzleandZoom]

Beautiful photos. Iespecially liked the last one of the Italian arch.

[Lavender Dreams]

I love the images of Italy! It's my dream to visit there some day...I know I've told you that! And it's nice to have good memories to share! Hugs! ♥