Walking is the perfect way of moving if you want to see into the life of things. It is the one way of freedom. If you go to a place on anything but your own feet you are taken there too fast, and miss a thousand delicate joys that were waiting for you by the wayside. Elizabeth von Arnim

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Monday, November 28, 2011

My Clothesline

Giving Thanks Challenge Day Number 28
I am Thankful for my Clothesline.
I enjoy hanging my clothes outside.
I love to see them blowing gently in the breeze.
And you just can't bottle that smell. : )
I am also Thankful and Happy that
we have won the Clothesline Battle.
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A pretty mild morning for my walk today.  It was 47 degrees when i started out and already 55 when i got back home.  No wind at all and it was cloudy.  The sunrise was beautiful today.  It is amazing how fast the color comes and goes in the sky, changing from one minute to the next.
A nice walk around the lake this morning.  More than the usual amount of people out walking and running for a Monday.  Maybe they were trying to take off those few extra pounds from Thanksgiving!
I saw three deer, all males.  One had only one antler.  I wonder if it broke off or he was shedding his a bit early, but wonder also if they shed them both together or one at a time.  I'll have to do a little research.  Anyone know anything  about deer and their antlers?
I was amused to see this on a tree trunk this morning.  
The turkey that got away! : )
I also saw a couple of Blue Birds.  They didn't sit still long enough for me to get a picture.
Great to be out early this morning and walking.
I walked 6.6 miles.
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Did i get you to wondering at the beginning of this post about the Clothesline Battle?  

Those of you who have been reading my blog know i like hanging my clothes outside.  I live in a townhouse with no back yard and the only place i can hang my clothes is on our deck.  It is off the kitchen up on the second floor.  I live on an end unit and there are sections of privacy fence on both sides of the deck.  Ken has taken blocks of wood and put big hooks in the ends and attached clothes line rope to the other ends.  The hooks fit perfectly over the top of the fence sections.  I have three of these lines.  I only put them up when clothes are out on the line.  When the clothes are dry i take them in right away and then take down the lines.  It works perfectly for me.  I have been doing this the whole time we've lived here (almost three years).

A lot of neighborhood associations have rules about clotheslines being prohibited.  I didn't think we had such a rule in our small townhouse complex, but apparently i was wrong even though no one has said anything for the years i've been doing it.  

A few weeks ago we got a letter saying we were in violation of the clothes line rule which really pissed me off!!!  
Now comes the good part!!! : )
Last year Maryland passed a law in October of 2010 stating that neighborhood associations CAN'T PROHIBIT the use of clotheslines.  YAY!!  So Ken wrote a very nice, calm, logical letter telling them this and enclosed a copy of the law that we found on line.

Then we waited.  In the meantime i kept hanging my clothes out as usual.
Then last week another letter arrived for us stating that he was not aware of the that law!!  So there is nothing that the association can do to stop us from having a clothesline.  They can enforce restrictions but i can't think of any that i am not doing already.  I take it up and down as needed and i always take in the clothes as soon as they are dried.  I'm really glad that this worked out because there was no way i was NOT going to hang my clothes outside.  So i guess you won't be seeing the crazy lady and her clothesline on the news!!!

I really just don't understand what some people find so offensive about clothes drying out on a line!!   I even hang my underwear on the inside line so no one can't see it!! : )
So anyway, I am extremely happy to have my clothesline!!
I can't help but wonder who complained.
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I'll be at home all day today getting some much needed housework done.  Hopefully i'll get some fun time in at the end of the day too.

Hope your day is a good one.
A smile from me to you.
Happyone : )
The Clothesline Poem
~ Author Unknown
A clothesline was a news forecast
To neighbors passing by.
There were no secrets you could keep
When clothes were hung to dry.

It also was a friendly link
For neighbors always knew
If company has stopped on by
To spend a night or two.

For then you'd see the "fancy sheets"
And towels upon the lines;
You'd see the "company table cloths"
With intricate designs.

The line announced a baby's birth
From folks who live inside
As brand new infant clothes were hung,
So carefully with pride.

The ages of the children could
So readily be known.
By watching how the sizes changed,
You'd know how much they'd grown!

It also told when illness struck,
As extra sheets were hung;
Then nightclothes, and a bathrobe, too,
Haphazardly were strung.

It also said, "Gone on vacation now."
When lines hung limp and bare.
It told,
"We're back!" when full lines sagged,
With not an inch to spare!

But
Clotheslines now are of the past,
For dryers make work much less.
Now what goes on inside a home 
Is anybody's guess!
I really miss that way of life.
It was a friendly sign.
When neighbors knew each other best
By what hung on the line.

12 comments:

Happy@Home said...

That is a beautiful photo of the sunrise. I'm of no help with the deer antlers, but it would be interesting to know more about it.
So glad you won the clothesline battle. I like the way Ken handled the letter. Very effective.
The poem is so cute. To me clotheslines are a happy thing to see. Our neighborhood has a multitude of rules and regulations and the clotheslines are one of them. Bah humbug :(.

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

Cute poem! And I'm glad you *got 'em* on the no-clothes-line-issue. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa. :-)

So warm! The weather. Unseasonal, I'd say. Keep wanting to look at tv weather and see what's going on, as it were. Has to be some jet stream stuck in an unusual direction or some such.

I tried to take pic of sunrise, out my bedroom window, in the tiny hole-between-tree-branches, but it didn't show well. Then I didn't take my cam up with me last night, and it was magnificent this morning.

Well a "teen little hole" of magnificent red sunrise. -grin-

Gentle hugs,
"There are so many good shops here. ... One can step out of doors and get a thing in five minutes."
"Northanger Abbey," by Jane Austin

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Hi There, We are home from our trip. Hope you had a great Thanksgiving.

We have a rule in our community saying no clothes hanging outside. Wonder if TN has that same law as MD???? Like you said, what is so offensive about hanging clothes outside to dry????? Geeeshhhh.

Hugs,
Bets

George said...

I really like your clothesline poem. Thinking back to the days when my parents had a clothes line, it is right on. Our community association does have a rule against clothes lines and so far the state hasn't come to our rescue, so I guess we'll just have to vicariously enjoy yours.

Tami AKA My Kid's Mom said...

Thank goodness I live in a small town without those kinds of rules. I would definitely fight for my clothesline! What on earth is wrong with these people - don't they believe in saving energy?

And the deer - they often get them broken during fights with other deer - usually during the rut. We used to drive around on 4 wheelers and pick them up wherever we found them.

Vee said...

Maryland has a good sense law and I'm glad that you prevailed. Glad that Ken kept a cool head. Hahahahahaha...

I wish my neighbors (two doors up) would move so that they would stop burning their garbage. I'd love to put up my little line again.

Marti said...

I love clothes dried outside. It's like you can smell the sunshine.

Cheryl said...

So glad the clothesline issue worked out in your favor. I thought you were going to say you'd be moving because of it. We used to have a no-clothesline rule here, but it changed. It's good to know reason can prevail.

I saw the sunrise from my window. And the sunset while I was outside. What fabulous weather we've had. I walked again today. It felt so good to move my arms and legs with purpose. I hope I keep it up.

Auntie sezzzzzz... said...

Concerning "Once Upon A Time," oh I bet you'd like this show. But please, find it on the Net and watch the beginning and next shows. Not just hop in next Sun. night. I think one needs to see them in order, to have any idea of what's going on.

Because even when we watch them all, we don't always know exactly what's going on. :-) And that's the fun of it.

As I said, it's delightful to have a show, where there are no modern crimes to be solved. And no modern car chases and explosions. Just pretty people, in "the now" and in "the then". :-)

Gentle hugs,
"There are so many good shops here. ... One can step out of doors and get a thing in five minutes."
"Northanger Abbey," by Jane Austin

Noofy said...

When we were house hunting, we walked away from every house that was part of a Home Owners Association (HOA). Those people thrive on nit-picking. I'm thankful I live where I can hang a clothesline in my driveway - if I want to. Glad it worked out for you, that's the best part of it all!

Indian Fashion said...

Awesome this post

Retired Knitter said...

I am so glad that this clothes line problem was resolved without a fight.