Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Leftovers from Storm IDA

Dear Miss Mermaid is currently in South Carolina

Brrrr! I'm up here in South Carolina, freezing my tail off. Mon, it is c-c-c-cold! Whether it's 40 or 60, I am feeling frigid. I've had to beg, borrow and buy warm clothing. I've learned to dress in layers upon layers, some days with comical results!

I sure wouldn't want to be seen in public the way I am dressed this moment, but it's warm and toasty. I am sure others would find it funny. Currently, I am working in the basement of my friend's house since it's too cold for the back porch, where I normally type away the day, while watching the leaves change color.

I am wearing men's house moccasins that are lined in fleece and intended for home use only. I bought these one day when my feet were cold, and the socks I bought just weren't warm enough indoors. (Mermaids grow feet and legs when they are too far from the ocean!)

I couldn't find any women's house shoes that appealed to me. I must have a warped taste in house shoes. All the ones I liked, came in kid sizes only such as the green dragons and the mermaid slippers. The female ones that fit me, were ugly, other than the fur lined flip flops, even the thong part was fur, I liked those alot, but they weren't very warm. The warm furry booties appealed to me but alas, they were too skinny for my short wide feet. I saw some fur lined moccasins, and even though they were in the male department, they fit and were cozy, so I bought them to wear indoors and on trips to and from the basement, which requires going outside in the c-c-c-cold.

My friend bought me the ubiquitous sweat suit he saw on sale really cheap. He generously over estimated my size, which of course is better than too small. I've got a string holding the pants up, as without it, I could put two of me in here. They are a miles too long, so I look hip hop, with the ruching at the ankles. But they are warm since they are sweat pants. I am wearing a bright red long sleeved shirt, but it's so cold, I've added another layer, a big red T-shirt, that is so big, it comes to beneath my knees. I bought that on sale myself, and it is too big too. (Am I shrinking and don't know it?)

The remnants of IDA are blowing through here with gutsy arctic winds and frigid rains. I guess I should have typed gusty instead of guts! As I type, a small river in the basement is running under my feet. I hope I don't get electrocuted. I am sitting in a metal chair, that is so cold, I outfitted it with a fluffy rug which covers the seat and back, and is somewhat warmer than the cold metal alone.

In between typing, I wash, dry and fold clothes. Some I hang up and some I iron or do touch ups to make everything nice. Currently, though, I am using the ironing board for my desk, as the legs are adjustable from desk height on up to standing height.

Actually, before I got here, my friend had a basic boring basement laundry area that consisted of a washer and a dryer, and nothing else. I strung up rope using the rolling hitch knot, so there would be a place to hang hangers and clothes as they came out of the dryer.

There was a tall plastic shelving unit in the other end of the basement, empty, and sitting by its lonesome. I moved it over next to the dryer, so there is a nice place to fold, sort and stack clothes. The neighbor threw out a big huge pile of stuff as they were making their midnight move. (One wonders... why do people move at midnight?)

In the pile of discarded items was an almost new ironing board. I dragged that to the basemet, then washed and dried the covering, so it looks brand new now. I set that up closest to the light on the wall that sports an electrical outlet and set up the iron I found in their kitchen cabinet. I dragged over an unused metal chair and stacked a lonely big empty bucket on it. That's handy for sorting mixed laundry.

The other day my friend popped in the basement while I was down there and dropped their jaw. "My gosh! You've set up a Chinese laundry here! Hey... I didn't know I owned an ironing board..."





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