Hanging Out

Growing up in Germany we always dried our laundry on the line. The attic of our apartment building was a huge space where each family had an assigned area where we put up the clotheslines and hang our clothes to dry. On hot summer days it took only two hours for the laundry to dry; on cold and humid winter days it took at least a day.

As a child I loved to go up to the attic with my mom. I usually handed her the colorful clothespins while she was hanging one piece of clothes after the other. We always talked while doing this and I felt quite important as her helper.

Later, when clothes dryer were introduced they didn't find the popularity as here in the States. One reason was that our clothes weren't designed for dryers; the other was that clothes kept longer in good shape when they dried on the line. Apartment buildings usually have special laundry rooms where you can hang your wash on the line - either in the attic or in the basement. When Kaefer was born we had the laundry room in the basement and it worked out beautifully. Whenever possible I dried our clothes on a special clothesline rack on my balcony.

So when we moved to the States I was introduced to a dryer and I hated it from the very first moment. While I do see its convenience it lacks the fragrance and the freshness of clothes dried on a line. Lucky for me, our landlord came from China and there was a clothesline in the backyard. The only time I used the dryer was during the winter.

Then we moved to our home and had to leave the clothesline behind. I reluctantly threw my laundry in the dryer or I used the clothesline rack that I had brought from Germany (the one that I used on the balcony). Unfortunately that rack had become rather old and wasn't very stable anymore - it toppled over whenever there was a bit of wind, and it's quite windy where I live! It was frustrating but still better than using the dryer.

But finally I had enough! I asked the Geek whether he would built a clothesline for me. I had found some beautiful idea on Pinterest and showed him what exactly I was dreaming about.

This wonderful guy built it for me.

This is anything but a flimsy clothesline. This one is made of solid redwood (the same wood we built our fence with) and it has a height which is comfortable for me (I am not the tallest person). The Geek put clothesline tighteners up as well so that the lines are always tight. There is nothing loose here!

On one side he built a huge planting box with a trellis - those are leftovers he still had from building the rose trellis two years ago. By now there is a beautiful clematis in the box as well as a stunning rose. It looks wonderful (no photos yet).

On the other side he built a "seat" for the laundry basket (no more bending over!) that is strong enough for a person to sit on.

In this Etsy shop I found a hand sewn clothespin bag that now hangs on the line and holds almost all of my clothespins. This was the finishing touch to perfection!

I can't tell you how happy and thankful I am! Now I enjoy laundry again. Hanging the wash on the line is almost meditating. I can listen to the birds, feel the wind in my hair, smell the freshly mowed grass in my neighborhood. I am so very happy.

I do think I have the best husband in the world.

Sunday Gratitude

Today, our spring break comes to an end. It's back to school and work tomorrow.

It's been a beautiful week and there is a lot to be grateful for.

We all slept in, almost every day. I usually get up at 5:45 during the week, 7:30 on weekends. However, this week, with just a very few exceptions, I slept later than 8:00. This just shows me how much we all needed some rest and really good sleep. Today I feel so much more rested than a week ago.

I enjoyed going to the Swedish bakery in our neighborhood in the morning with the Geek. It was lovely when we met friends there and walked back together, stopping at their garden, chatting and talking about the new gardening season. They had loads of oranges and gave us a few from which we made fresh squeezed juice we had for breakfast. What a treat!

I did a lot of gardening, planting some more peonies and clematis. My French lilac is already blooming and I enjoy its beautiful fragrance. My freesias got knocked down during a brief rain, so I cut them and brought them inside where they filled the house with their lovely scent. They still do, and I enjoy it. The first poppies have opened their beautiful blooms, however, the deer had their share as well. Happy deer...

The Geek built a clothesline for me - out of redwood again, our favorite wood. He added a huge planting box and a trellis on one side and there will be a little "seat" on the other side where I can put the laundry basket while hanging the clothes on the line to dry. I am so happy. Pictures will follow when it will be complete.

It was wonderful just to spend time with my family. Having time to talk during dinner, watching movies afterwards. My daughter loves the British series "Mr Selfridge" and we watched the two seasons together before the third season starts tonight. At the beginning I wasn't too enthusiastic, but then the characters grew on me and I quite like the series now. It is not as good as "Downton Abbey" though.

On Friday we went to the South Bay to go to the German bakery in Los Altos. We had German pretzels, raspberry cheesecake and great coffee. Across from the bakery is a German grocery store and we just loved it - it's wonderful when you find food that you're missing. We also went to IKEA which I always find inspirational, and returned home via Highway 1 up the coast which was lovely and so much more beautiful than boring and crowded 101.

Yesterday Kaefer and I went prom dress shopping. She had some ideas about her prom dress and honestly, they were all a bit on the expensive side. Both my husband and I are very conservative when it comes to spending money, so I offered Kaefer to go with her and see whether we can find something in our stores here instead of doing our shopping online. Guess what? We found quite a lot of affordable AND beautiful dresses and she finally decided to buy a stunning red dress that suits her so well. I'm very proud of her that she didn't mope but went with our suggestions and was a very reasonable girl.

And now it's your turn - what are you grateful for on this Sunday?

Building a Trellis

Roses are not my favorite flowers. I like a few in my garden, but not too many. However, I do love climbing roses. So a couple weeks ago I bought a climbing rose which I envisioned climbing up our house right beside the door to my studio. I already have a raised bed there, and last year I grew some of my tomatoes here.

Now in the last weeks of winter it looked pretty plain - but that was going to change very soon.

I needed a trellis for my rose. We looked at Home Depot, but only found rather flimsy ones that we didn't like at all. This rose - "Westerland" in peach colors - is supposed to climb up several feet, and we wanted a sturdy trellis that wouldn't fall over in a storm.

So the Geek offered to build one. He hadn't done something like that before, he is not a wood worker. He watched videos and learned a lot about building a trellis and then he went out and set to work.

Living in Northern California we of course opted for redwood - this we did get at Home Depot, and the Geek cut it to the size we needed. There was a lot of noise and he produced quite an amount of sawdust - and some perfect long stakes for the trellis.

We laid it out on the ground to see how it would work and how much space we wanted in between.

Then the Geek screwed all the parts together and it was ready to put up where I was going to plant the rose. The Geek fastened it to the house - and it was done.

Doesn't it look fabulous? I can't wait for the rose to grow up along the beautiful redwood and hopefully give us many pretty flowers.