the clothes line, the %@*^$! clothes line

In this African life, washing clothes can be a difficult endeavor. It is, however, much easier now than it was 3 years ago.

Then, we had no washing machine, so clothes were washed by hand. The Mission House now has an automatic washer, but we still hang-dry our clothes. This is sort of a cathartic experience, maybe because it connects us with our past in some simple way. But it can also be a little frustrating.

(the photo is not of our clothesline, by the way - found this example on Google Images for the youngsters wondering what a "clothes line" in...)

If you’ll recall, I love the rain. I have decided that I no longer love the rain on Tuesdays, our washing day. If it rains, the clothes on the line stay wet, even thought we hang them on a line that is on our covered balcony. They just don’t dry.

So, we wash when the weather looks OK and then we pray that the rain holds out until our stuff is dry enough to bring in. Last night, we had no choice. We were running out of clean clothes and thunderclouds were rolling in. We washed, hung, and listened to the storms sweep through. This morning, as expected, the clothes were nowhere near ready to be taken down.

It is only mildly irritating, actually (despite the vehemence of the blog title). It is simply another reminder that many people still do many things "the hard way". If this is the worst thing for us in a week, it has been a very good week.