SHEETS, SHEETS in Postcards 4

Lately, I’ve been more concerned with my friends and myself wearing out than my things wearing out. Silly me. I went to use my favorite heavy frying pan, and the Teflon was bubbling off. I went to bed on my favorite mended sheets only to discover I could see through them…we both loved those flying flannel sheep. The towels we bought for the big house are now very gentle and soft. They are also so worn that they barely absorb much water before they are full.

I can see stoves, refrigerators, and even my old bed quilt wear out, but I hadn’t expanded my horizon to bed sheets. Everything around us wears out in the end, so why hadn’t I expanded my thinking to sheets?

Mother bought only white sheets. Her flannel and percale sheets were on carefully marked shelves in the long, dark linen closet upstairs. It was a real closet in those days. Everything went with everything else though there were two sizes of sheets. Twin and double. I have two kinds of sheets, cotton and flannel, but they offer the eye wildly differing patterns and colors. I bag them in carefully labeled plastic bags, and I think no further about them.

I’m reduced now to one thin flannel set of sheets and two sets of cotton in solid colors. How boring life is when reduced to thinning sheets.

• Himself: Dawdled the morning away. Visited Poolie, and never looked at the appointment book. We had an appointment with the Comic Con volunteer folks who now must think us total flakes. G sent an apology this morning. Great speaker last night. Today: Working hard on other’s wrecks. Waiting for Thursday’s CT scan. Meeting tonight.


• Herself: Very embarrassed about the Comic Con foul up. Checked the book first thing this morning. Today: Write, exercise, do the laundry and shop for three or four days of dinners. Antiques Roadshow this evening.


• Reading: My very own 99 cent plus shipping copy of Schlesingers “Journals” arrived. I’m happily finishing it.


• Gratitude’s: Books…even getting rid of badly written or unappealing books is a good thing.