My mother didn't have a clothes dryer in the 1950's. But she washed and ironed Monsignor Denny's alb every week. And dried it hanging on the line. Then she would sprinkle it with water and wrap it in plastic with the other cotton things to be ironed, and put them in the refrigerator overnight.. On Tuesday mornings she did her ironing. The alb was always the first thing to be ironed.She put newspapers down to keep it clean. It seemed to take her forever. She would iron for a long time and every time she was done with everything she would say to me, "Well, that's what the shoemaker threw at his wife" and she'd look at me and I'd say, "The last?" and she'd laugh and say,"No, the awl." Or I would say "The awl" and she'd laugh and say, "No the last piece." I still can't remember what the shoemaker threw at his wife.Then she would teach me to iron. White T-shirts and white pillowcases. Things needed ironed when they were hung out to dry. I loved to iron. For about 35 years I ironed Jack's work shirts and spray starched them. Always during the soap operas. Then when I went to work in 1998, I started to take them to the cleaners. I still iron T-shirts and jeans for him, because I love to iron. And I use an old wooden ironing board like Mom used to have. I loved watching her live her life. She had beautiful red hair and Monsignor Denny was her cousin. 5th or 6th, and I have proof. We always thought she was exaggerating about that because she just loved that priest. Enough to iron his white robes.
