Saturday, July 18, 2009

The Percussion in my Laundry

I thought you might miss me while I'm gone, so I just thought I'd schedule a weekend post so that you don't go into withdrawal.

I'm probably sitting in a meeting hall discussing the church's constitution and hoping that the reading that I started doing a month ago has not entirely slipped out of my head while I was trying to finish the rest of it.

So I'm probably more in need of the escape than you are. But I don't have access to the net, therefore I will have to maintain my concentration on weighty subjects. So I'll post about something that I would normally be doing on a Saturday, right?

And I probably should proof-read this with care, because although I'm planning a Saturday post, I'm actually writing this on Tuesday. So my past, present and future tense could be fatally confused. So you're officially warned.

I'm currently, I mean last Tuesday I was sitting at my computer and listening for the end of the washing cycle.

The machine is one we inherited when my Nan got a new front-loading one, and I was only too glad to retire our twin-tub because you have to stand there the whole time and swap the washing from the washer to the spinner to the laundry tub, rinse it out, back to the spinner and hang it out before next load of washing is ready for its first spin. It's a high pressure job because every minute that the washing sits waiting for its turn in the spinner is another minute the operator is chained to the laundry.

Boy, I'd forgotten the pain of it all until I was just writing that all out. Gee, I'm glad that I now use an automatic.

But the sad thing is that our new second-hand automatic had a bit of an issue a few months ago, where it decided that it wouldn't drain. And although my Beloved got it going again, it's been making some interesting noises when it's spinning. And I'm going to miss it when it's gone.

But for the meantime, I'm just trying to enjoy the percussive rhythm (which is a word that should have more vowels - or actually some vowels) and wondering which dance would fit to the odd repetition of clunking, slapping and creaks that are coming from the general direction of the laundry. I'm guessing Samba.

It's probably a bit fast for a geriatric ward, but the type of noises would fit nicely.

The chance that this music would ever make it to "Dancing with the Stars"?

... Approximately None!

5 comments:

Allegro ma non troppo said...

Samba the Washing Machine. Excllent name.

Givinya De Elba said...

Oh, that takes me back to the days of the ole twin tub. Shudder.

Rhythm. All it's got is the /i/ in the first syllable (orthographically represented by a letter that is usually a consonant, but certainly isn't one in this context) and the sonorance in the 'thm' at the end, giving a hint as to a second syllable.

The second syllable of "bottle" doesn't really have a spoken vowel in it either - although you may think you do, you don't actually say, "bottul". Instead it's the sonorance between the 't' and the 'l' that makes you think there's a vowel, hence a syllable.

Worthless information.

Swift Jan said...

We had a twin tub when we first got married! What a way to waste your day!! I am so thankful for our automatic!!

Femina said...

I have nothing to say about twin-tubs because I've never had one, although there have been several periods of my life where I've had no washing machine at all and have had to go to the laundromat. Sigh. Not a fun way to spend the evening.

And in other news... are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet? Are you back yet?

Aleta said...

Never had a twin tub like that, but it sounds absolutely horrible. I don't mind doing the laundry - everything is automatic and I like folding and putting away cloths. What I can't stand is seeing a heap of dirty cloths. Lol.

Hope everything is going well for you and thanks for doing a post for us ahead of time!