Tuesday: Too Good Not to Share

Today,Tuesday, would be "iron day" for many but not for me! I may press a few things but NO ironing. If the clothes tag says, "needs ironing" or "dry clean", it stays on the store shelf. (I have a friend who loves to iron...everything!! Underwear, towels, socks and the usual bed linens. She says they feel and smell so good and she is right, but I can live without that feel and smell, I think) I have other things I prefer to do other than stand over an ironing board and a hot iron. Speaking of standing over an ironing board, let me recall the ironing contraption with which my dad spoiled my mom. I had never, nor have I ever since, seen one of these! Maybe some of you older readers have. Tell me if you have and where it was; I would like to see another one. (For non-bloggers, hit "comment", write your comment in the block on the screen that comes up on the right, hit anonymous; put in the code shown and hit publish. But, let me know who you are so I can thank you).
I don't know what this contraption was called, but Mother sat in a comfortable chair in front of this monster (at least that's what it looked like to a young child); then, she would run the clothes through and between these 2 large, hot metal rollers. Presto! Ironed garments! That was amazing but, wow, that thing would heat up the whole house (which was good in the winter months).
Now, there were some things Mother still wanted ironed on the old-fashioned ironing board and iron so that's where the lady, Juliette or her daughter, Alma, came in. (Juliette was the cutest little lady, probably around 4 feet and a couple inches tall, so the ironing board was as low as it would go. She would entertain us with all sorts of black American folklore while she worked, just as Iona, who also loved to sing, did on the days she came. I loved those ladies dearly and miss them to this day! What a treasure they shared with us and they loved us just as they did their own children and grandchildren whom we enjoyed playing with then and still enjoy seeing today, especially Bobby and his wife, who are excellent caterers.)

Today, we still use that old-fashioned ironing board, but better, hotter, lighter irons which we can fill with water. Mother used to use an old RC cola or a Pepsi bottle filled with water and topped with a sprinkle cork-like thing and she would wet the clothes before ironing. I also have a built-in-the-wall ironing board but it's so small and doesn't work as well as the real big, bulky board that I have trouble storing, setting up, and re-storing. Again, I wonder what my grandchildren and great-grandchildren will use. I don't think this chore has come a very long way in the last 15 years, do you, if you're old enough to remember? Okay, someone, what can you invent to lighten this load?? Help my legacy!!!