Wringer washers

We saw these at a store in Shipshewana in 2015....I would have sworn that I posted them.  But have looked and looked and cannot find them.  I wish I had taken note of the price of these.  They were used and the price was high...or at least I thought so.  I think one of them was a bit over $1600 and the other was even higher.

Someone posted a pic of one on Facebook the other day, a bit different to these.  When I grew up we used one most of the time.  I was in school before mom ever got an automatic washer and dryer.  and even after she got them, we almost always used the wringer and hung the clothes outside.

Ours had the red release...like the one on the left.  If you were to catch your hand in the wringer, the idea was the push the red release....but I never knew anyone to get caught.  But many is the times my mom told me to be careful when she let me feed the clothes through.  Every now and then for some reason, I can remember having to press the release to get something 'untangled.'

We had a pantry, I guess you would call it....we didn't call that though.  It had shelves at one end for the jellies mom made and for canned goods, and under the bottom shelf was this big tin can that mom kept sugar in.  A big chest stood on the other side...and in the middle we kept the wringer washer.  We didn't have a clothes hamper...we just threw our dirty clothes on top of the washer.  We never threw anything wet on the clothes...if it was wet, we hung it on a line to dry rather than pile it with the others and get them damp.

We never had a certain day to wash that I remember.  When we washed, we just rolled the washer over to the sink.  We had a short hose that we could screw on to the faucet...and then ran it over to the washer and filled it with hot water.  Then add the detergent.  Mom placed a regular dining chair on the back side...behind the wringers.

We didn't have clothes baskets.  We had metal dishpans...similar to the following.

At least one was sort of shiny like this and one was a bit deeper and was aluminum.  I know we had two, and maybe a third one.  And I  know when we first washed clothes they were piled in them..rounded up.  But I still can't see three being enough, but for the life of me I cannot remember using anything else. We would always have to run the clothes through the wringer and guide them down and make sure they go in the pan.  (When I was real young, that was my job.)

We started out washing sheets and towels, followed by underwear....next came shirts and dresses, and that was followed by jeans.  I don't remember how we did if we had a quilts or blankets to wash.  They would have been either before or after the jeans.

Mom always had a different pan with bleach water in it,  had lye soap on hand, and a washboard and used it for tough stains.  I can only remember having to use it a time or two.  But mom always used it on some things.

After everything was washed, we ran that water out into the sink, and rinsed the tub out.  We re-filled the tub and proceeded to run the clothes through the rinse water.  Now this time, soon as we got a load ran through and put the next load in, we took the clothes we just ran through outside and hung on the line.  When little, my job was to hand the clothes up to mom.  In the order that she wanted them.

By the time we were done with a load, it was about time to run the next load through the wringers and put in another load and start the process over.

I remember gathering the end of the sheets in my hands to start them through the wringers, and I remember trying to fold the shirts or anything with buttons till the buttons were to the inside.  But I don't know if mom did that or if that was just something I did.  I enjoyed laundry then, and I do now.

Though I am thankful that I don't have to use a wringer washer all the time,  I sure wish I had one.  They would save so much water. 

Pumpkins, get your pumpkins!

I am thinking I best get these photos posted while it is still the time to enjoy them.

These were all taken at Shipshewana the first week of October.

I just happen to love the color orange...

I also love all the textures

I wonder if all of these are just for decoration or are they edible?  Or both?

I don't like pumpkin pie, do you?  I think they smell simply delicious and I used to make them for Roger.

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I was cruising along through the day, doing this and that, a couple loads of laundry, messing with sewing, etc and thinking that wow, I was getting a lot done.  I looked at the clock and it was alread 4:30! And there I was thinking it was about 2:00 or 2:30.  But Roger had fixed fried rice, so I had to do no cooking...

How about you...does your day sometimes slip through your hands without you even realizing it is passing?

Not your typical phone booth

This 'Amish phone booth' was actually leaning....I wondered had it been hit by a car or just what had happened.  I have wondered how they work...is it a typical pay phone, or does the Amish family pay for it, or, does the community pay for it?

EDited to add:  Read Tom's Comment about how the phone bill is paid.

And I did know they are not really phone booths, but was trying to be funny.  They are called phone shacks.

A bit of fun for Today's flowers...

First a bit of fun for Today's Flower...

Recently we were in Shipshewana and one morh we walked all around this one shopping place.  It was not a building center but had all kinds of stuff for the yard and patios.  I just have to include some of their 'flowers.'

I don't think they equal the beauty of real flowers, but I do think they are cute.

I am not sure I would ever want any...maybe if I lived someplace flowers didn't grow or where I couldn't plant any.

Now, for some shots of real flowers:

We passed though some little town that had this hanging baskets,

and at ever corner a mound of the same petunias.  Aren't they glorious!

Linking to:

Thanks to Denise for hosting this meme.

A little randomness I hope...

I am hoping to think of at least 5 things to share for Tanya's Willy Nilly Friday 5. So here we go....

1.  We took Lorelei fishing for the first time this year.  She had a blast.  We could not take her for the longest time because the creeks were all up.  I don't know why we didn't think of taking here here.  But she does love going to the creek cause she can fish and/or wade and play.

2.  Can there ever be too many fall shots.  I think not!  I was looking at this part of the time while we were fishing.  I just could sit and look at this forever.

3.  Here's a Jack-o-lantern that will last for years!  I really do like it, but did not even look at the price.

4.  How about one more pic of Spidy...this is one of the last photos taken right before she laid her eggs.  After she laid them, she was like a deflated balloon almost.  I seriously doubt if she was half this size.  And she has been MIA for the last 3 or 4 days.  We miss her.  If I knew where her egg sac was and knew how to make sure they survived till next year, I would get them and take care of them.  I hope to have her offspring here next year. (By the way, look closely at her back...it is almost as if it has a design on it besides the stripes.)

5.  I love a photo where the road is inviting....there are always so many roads I want to travel down.  I can remember as a child always wondering what was down this or that road or around the bend.

I showed one of these leaf potholders last time I joined WNF5, but it was not finished...so here is what they look like.

That's it from this little corner of the world....

Something to do with sticks...

While we were in Shipshewana, one day we did a lot of window shopping.  I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw this...

of course it led my eyes down to see this...

and right beside me was this.  Who would ever have thought of doing this.  And do people actually buy them?  I cannot help but wonder how would a person keep them dusted.

And this....imagine how much time it took to make any of them.  But the bonus part....I bet they come by the sticks free of charge.
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I don't know why I attempted to start blogging again...Lorelei is on fall break and we have her this week.  I probably won't get to visit much but will get in a few along.  So bare with me....