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*Wash Day* 4/8/02 ___________________________ If you enjoy this free daily email service, I encourage you to spread the word to family and friends that we may bring inspiration into the lives of many! If you are not on the list and this has been passed along to you, join the thousands of HeartTouchers.com readers around the world by sending an e-mail with the word "Subscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@aol.com Visit our inspirational web site and read all the past stories in our archives at: http://www.HeartTouchers.com ____________________________________________ Can't get enough inspirational stories in your life? Would you like to send a unique gift to your friends and family? Then order a personalized autographed copy of the inspirational book: Straight From the Heart "A Celebration of Life" by Michael T. Powers for only $13.95. And best of all, we'll pay the shipping! Michael is an award winning writer whose stories have appeared in numerous newspapers and magazines around the world and in the following books: Chicken Soup for the Sports Fan's Soul, Chicken Soup for the Grandparent's Soul, Stories For the Extreme Teen's Heart, Stories For the Extreme Teen's Heart 2, Stories for the Teen's Heart 2, Heartwarmers, God Allows U-Turns Volumes 1, 3, and 4, Creating Emotionally Safe Schools, and in the upcoming books: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff Story Collection and Miracle of Boys. He has signed several contracts for future Chicken Soup and other inspirational books. Still not convinced? You can preview his book by visiting: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/michael_powers AOL Users click here! To order your autographed copy have a check or money order for $13.95 for each book made out to Michael T. Powers, and then send it to: Michael T. Powers 1918 Liberty Lane Janesville, WI 53545 (Please allow about 2 weeks for delivery.) _________________________________________ I wanted to wish a very happy birthday (April 7) to my best friend and lovely bride Kristi. She and our two boys have been in Florida and Georgia the past couple of weeks -- eighteen days to be exact! Boy do I miss them! They will be coming back tonight. My wife would be so proud of me -- The dog, three cats, guinea pig, and frog are still alive, and the house is clean! It has been some time since I was able to share a story with you by our friend Pamela R. Blaine. Be sure to write and encourage her after reading her wonderfully nostalgic story about Wash Day! From my family to yours, Michael _________________________________________ Wash Day By Pamela R. Blaine A friend of mine recently sent me an article on how to wash clothes. Yes, I do know how to wash clothes but this wasn't just about throwing in a load of clothes, adding detergent, and pushing a button. It was advice from years ago from a Grandmother to a new bride. It went something like this: How To Wash Clothes 1. Build a fire in the back yard 2. Fill a kettle with rain water from the rain barrel 3. Set up tubs so the smoke won't blow in your eyes 4. Shave one whole cake of soap in bilin' water 5. Sort into 3 piles: whites, colored, work britches, and rags 6. Make starch by stirring flour in cool water to smooth, then with bilin' water. 7. Take whites and rub dirty spots on washboard, scrub hard, then bile 8. Rub colored, don't bile, just rinch and starch 9. Take things out of kettle with broomstick handle, then rinch 10. Spread tea towels on grass, hang old rags on fence 11. Pour rinse water on flower bed 12. Scrub porch with hot soapy water 13. Turn tubs upside down 14. Go put on clean dress, smooth hair with combs, brew a cup of tea 15. Sit and rock a spell and count your blessings. Maybe we should place a copy of this above our automatic washers and read it when we get discouraged and count our blessings! As I thought about it, my mind went back to when I was a little girl and we had an electric Maytag wringer washing machine. She was a white enameled beauty! I remember how glad Mom was to have that washing machine. I loved washday as a child because that meant I got to finger-paint. Mom would cook up a batch of starch on the stove and then let it cool. The starch was a lovely translucent blue and smelled much like a fresh breeze after a spring rain. I would be given a piece of paper and a little bowl of the starch. The creative juices would flow as I made trees, houses, and little stick people with my gooey fingers. The pictures would be put aside to dry and then I would be allowed to help with whatever tasks Mama would give me according to my age ability. I knew that I was surely grown up when Mama let me run clothes through the wringer because using the wringer could be dangerous. Sometimes accidents did occur because a child would climb up unnoticed and get an arm in the wringer. Mama taught me early on to hit the safety release if needed. By the time I was eleven years old, I could do most of the washing by myself, and sometimes I would go down the road to Grandma's house and help her do her washing. It was from her that I learned how to hang clothes properly. You didn't just throw up a pillowcase and stick a clothespin in it. At least that wasn't Grandma's way. She showed me how to hang them so the breeze would blow inside of the pillowcase so it would dry more quickly. Also, you would just NEVER hang things all mixed up. For instance, all the towels were hung in a row together, as well as washcloths all together, shirts and so on. She also showed me how to hang your unmentionables inside of the sheets so they couldn't be seen if someone happened by. If you didn't have much clothesline, you had to take the dry things down and hang up more wet ones, and sometimes we used the fence for extra space. Monday really was usually designated as washday; however, the weather was the main factor. Ideally, Grandma liked to wash on a sunny day when there was a good breeze. The winter was sometimes a different story, when you brought in overalls frozen so stiff you could just stand them in a corner until they thawed out and the house looked kind of spooky with clothes just standing around. Although washday is much easier with an automatic machine, I still like to hang clothes outside. I remember Grandma as I hang out the pillowcases. They smell so fresh and look so nice flapping in the breeze. I still follow the last item on that list I hang out those clothes, sit and rock a spell, and count my blessings. Pamela R. Blaine, © 2002 Pamyblaine@aol.com Write Pamela and let her know your thoughts on her story! _______________________________________ My husband and I live in Missouri. We have 4 children and 4 grandchildren. I enjoy writing, music, and country living. I write "Pam's Corner" for the local newspaper and contribute to several e-zines. I have loved music and writing ever since I can remember. One of my goals is to be able to write for my children and grandchildren so special memories will not be forgotten. You can see some things I have written on my Web Page. PamyPlace http://members.aol.com/pamyblaine/PamyPlace.html _________________________________________ Thought For The Day: "The past should be a springboard, not a hammock." --Ivern Ball Verse for the Day: "Though your beginning was insignificant, yet your end will increase greatly." --Job 8:7 Kid's Thought For The Day: "It can't hurt to ask for a fourth wish." Parent's Thought For The Day "When the phone rings, it's for your teenager. When the phone bill arrives, it's for you." --Bruce Lansky Coach's Thought For The Day "A decade after graduation, almost everyone will have forgotten when and where and what they played. But every time they speak, everyone will know whether they are educated." --Theodore Hesburgh Writer's Thought For The Day: "The writer is an explorer. Every step is an advance into new land." --Ralph Waldo Emerson Deep Thought For The Day: "Artificial intelligence is no match for natural stupidity." ___________________________________________ _ /_/\/\ MICHAEL T. POWERS \_\ / HeartTouchers@aol.com /_/ \ "For I have been crucified with Christ and I no \_\/\ \ longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I \_\/ live in the body I live for the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20 ___________________________________________ The copyrights to the stories that appear in HeartTouchers.com are owned by the authors and are used with their permission. We refuse to run stories without the author's permission and contact info listed after the story. We also refuse to publish stories listed as "author unknown." (All of which violates Copyright Law and the rights of the authors.) This e-mail may be forwarded in its entirety, but please do not cut and paste the stories to be used elsewhere unless you have contacted and been given permission by the individual writer. Thank you so much for honoring the rights of those writers who graciously share their stories with us! __________________________________________ Video Imagery --Michael's Video Production Business "I thought of you first after my family sat down to watch the video we gave them. They loved it, to say the least! Within thirty seconds my mom was crying and my dad did too. They said it was the best Christmas gift we could have given them!! You did such a beautiful job! They were so surprised and so touched--they really, really, really loved it. Thanks for helping to make it so special to us all. My mom mentioned how the songs were perfect for the video too! Thanks again!" Kelli-- College Station, TX Let me make you a video from your photos! Check out my video production business by visiting: http://www.hearttouchers.com/video_imagery/ AOL Users click here: Video Imagery ___________________________________________ Would you like to see your story in HeartTouchers.com? Writer's guidelines can be found on our Web site here: http://www.HeartTouchers.com/guidelines/ AOL Users click here: Writer's Guidelines ___________________________________________ SUBSCRIBE: "I need a daily source of inspiration and encouragement in my life!" To become a HeartTouchers.com Member send an e-mail with "Subscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@AOL.COM Then get ready to laugh, cry, and be deeply touched by some of the best stories on the Internet! __________________________________________ UNSUBSCRIBE: All you have to do is send an e-mail with the word "Unsubscribe" in the subject line to: HeartTouchers@aol.com Give it a day or two to be processed... __________________________________________ Do you feel as if life has no meaning for you? http://www.greatcom.org/english/four.htm AOL Users click here: The Four Spiritual Laws _______________________________________ |
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Touching Lives - One E-mail at a Time! Author Michael T. Powers - HeartTouchers @ aol.com
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