A Tale of Two Friends

To prepare for our paint projects we removed everything from our walls. It was at that point that I discovered how badly a watercolor painting from a friend had faded. We received the watercolor as a wedding gift from my college friend, Mary Claire. It was a unique gift because it was original art, a fine winter landscape with pines and a church beautifully matted and framed. I was a bit shocked to see the damage, considering that the picture had hung in a corner not known to receive direct sunlight. It makes me think of my friend, whom I miss dearly, and with whom I lost contact many years ago. Mary Claire, I wonder whatever happened to you. Perhaps you are now married with children of your own. Are you still in Wisconsin? Are your parents still living? Is everything okay? I shall send my angel after you.

Another college friend, Morgen, just sent me a copy of a needlework magazine which she found at an antique shop. It contained an article on the needlework of the Sisters of the Order of St. Benedict of St. Joseph, Minnesota, where we both attended college. The article brought back fond memories of the needlework exhibit which I saw at the Sisters' Haehn Museum. Because I knit and embroider, and was a project leader in those areas in our 4-H club at the time, I arranged for the club to tour the museum. The exhibits were incredible. The magazine article had a photo of the St. George tapestry done  by one of the nuns. The  article told how many hours it took to complete it, and how many stitches were in this or that section of the tapestry. I could believe it. My response when seeing it at the museum was that it must have taken forever. The back looked almost identical to the front, which was a marvel in itself. My cross-stitch projects have certainly not looked like that! It reminded me of the Bayeux Tapestry of William the Conqueror. Another portion of the exhibit which stands out in my memory were angels on a vestment. The sleeves on the angels' garments were stitched in such a way as to look transparent, showing the arms underneath. What skill that took to execute! At the very end of the display were modern stoles woven by one of the nuns. Although the stoles may have been made of fine wool, which I appreciate as a knitter, they did not have an inkling of the beauty of the embroidered vestments. Their use in a home setting would have appealed to me, but in church they seem out of place. Too hip.

The needlework magazine had another reference to nuns, this time in an article on Polish bridal caps. That article was interesting because it talked of "unveiling", the ceremony in which the bride received her cap. I have heard that word just recently in our Bible study on the Book of Revelation, which means "unveiling". It is also reminiscent of customs which I have heard in other countries, namely Kristin's (Kristin Lavrensdatter by Sigrid Undset) wearing her hair long before her wedding ceremony for the last time. and then putting it up or covering it afterwards. The nuns came up again because of their work on liturgical vestments: They taught local Polish women, who in turned used those methods in making their bridal caps.

Now to put that article in a good spot for safe keeping. Best goes into my knitting folder.

Thanks, Morgen! Very cool.

I have roast beef in the crock pot for supper. I had thought we would take a walk today, but the football game is on, and Husband is watching. My sinuses are draining, so I do not feel up to it anyway. Besides, I have two assignments to do for our Bible study, and I would really like to finish Little Women today. My guess is that I will start reading, and then fall asleep. 

Swiffer vs. Mop or Broom

The first section of our new flooring is finished. Now that I have a very large surface of vinyl tile, I thought that I would finally go modern and try a Swiffer. The ads on television make them look very effective at picking up dirt,, and everyone seems to be using them to the point that "swiffing" seems to be a new verb. (I have not checked to see if it in fact has made it into the latest Oxford Dictionary.)

My wonders before I made the purchase were: What is the difference between a Swiffer and my microfiber dust mop? Can I use my Shaklee Basic H with it, or will I have to use the Swiffer formula? and, What about all of the waste and expense involved with the wipes? I had seen something on someone's Pinterest board about making one's own wipes, so I decided to search a few web sites on DIY Swiffing supplies. I found a few, looked, and decided I could replace the Swiffer refill products with my own home-made. I decided to swing for a purchase.

First, which one to buy? Should I get the Swiffer which picks up particles in a dust pan before wiping the floor? Hmmmm. Sounds too much like the broom and dust pan I already have. What about the scrubbing Swiffer, which my daughter has? I already have a mop, although I prefer scrubbing small spaces on my hands and knees. The floor duster alone? I settled for the wet/dry version so that I would have another mop head which would fit into small spaces for both dusting and scrubbing. My current sponge mop, dust mop and broom are not very effective in getting into corners, and the packaging says the Swiffer is good in tight spots.

I was ready to scrub when I got home, so I opened up my purchase immediately. Took me a few minutes to figure out how I was supposed to attach the cleaning cloth. The label was not very clear. That blue strip looked like Velcro which was supposed to attach to something. Finally figured out that those holes with the teeth were what was meant as the "fixer". I'm thinking that it will not take many uses before those teeth start bending and breaking, just as the teeth do on disposable wipe containers. My second reaction was that the cloths were making more of a mess on my floor by the dripping solution than the spots I wanted to clean. It would not be very efficient if each time I went to wipe something up I had to clean up after the Swiffer cloth first. The third response which I had was that the smell of the wet solution was very strong, and heavily scented. I was glad when I had my three refills used up so that I could throw them all away. I thought I was going to have to move the dirty clothes to the fireplace immediately for burning to get the odor out of the house so that I could breathe again. Now I know I will never buy them again.

I used all three wipes in the package to scrub about twenty-five square feet. Granted that I was wiping grout off of a newly laid floor, and it was dirty,  but I thought that if I have to continually change my cloths as I am scrubbing our kitchen/family room, I may as well use my mop and bucket.

I have not tried the dust cloths yet. Those may be more practical depending on how often I "swiff" the floors. The draw-back with my current microfiber dust mop is that it seems to get so dirty so fast, and it takes so long to dry after washing. At least now I will have two mop heads to trade off with. As recommended in one blog, I immediately stopped at the dollar store and bought three pairs of chenille socks to use as Swiffer cloths, so with six changes, that should last me a week. I will still have to use the broom and dust pan to get the larger, heavier stuff, just as I did before with my dust mop.

All that said, I finished scrubbing the floors this evening with my pail, sponge mop and Basic H. The water was clearer than after last night's scrubbing, but I still see spots where I think I will have to wipe off grout by hand.

'Til next time, happy cleaning.