Whoever would have thought…

Life is full of surprises. And the best surprises are those that one gives oneself, taking decisions one would never have thought oneself able to. Or doing things one would never have thought possible. When I was a student in Freiburg way back I wouldn’t have believed I would end up in Bavaria. Now I know that it’s not at all a bad place to live. Not to mention some slightly more private matters I don’t want to talk about here.

So here is the newest surprise in my life: ironing is fun!

Excuse me? Yes, ironing is fun. I am a regular at the dry cleaner’s with my husband’s shirts because I hate ironing, and for my own clothes I usually choose to hang them up dripping wet, taking no offense at a few wrinkles, just to avoid ironing, and now this? Of course pressing seams when sewing a new quilt – fine, that’s ok. Ironing newly hand-dyed fabrics in order to give them their final shape, yes, that’s ok, too, But fun?

Well – I have a ‘new’ rotary iron. Of course, it is old, because I have inherited it from an elderly lady preparing to move to a retirement home. But it is just about wide enough for my fabrics.

I had been asking virtually everybody whether they knew of somebody who would be willing to part with their rotary iron. But nobody wants to give up theirs. But finally, in April, my friend Nina gave a positive answer, she knew somebody who would want to give up hers in the fall. I made it very clear that I would be very interested – and a few days later she called back I could have it now, all we had to do was organize the transport.

Kindly enough Nina engaged her nephew to help, and my husband was also willing. Little did we know what we had got ourselves into!

These things are HEAVY! And we had to take it down one flight of stairs first, put it into the car, and then down into the cellar.

on the way down

When they were half-way down the stairs I was ready to give up, pull it back up and put it somewhere in the living room on the ground floor, I was so afraid that thing would fall off the cart and crush the two persons holding it from below. But they did manage to get it down safe and sound in the end. My husband complained about an aching shoulder for a few days and threatened to divorce me if I ever wanted another transport of a rotary iron done by him. But it’s there.

The 'new' machine...

And I have used it.

And it is fun…