I am allergic to my laundry soap

Kamál (Perfection), 12 Jalál (Glory), 166 BE – Monday, April 20, 2009 about 7:10 AM Pacific Time

I am allergic to my laundry soap. I think I have written about this before, this is a different brand of detergent then before. However, the problem is the same. The laundry detergent has additives in it and I cannot use a powdered or liquid detergent with additives. I have to buy a detergent without additives of any type.

One of the problem, of course, is that my washing machine does not use two rinse cycles. Since I am not going to buy a machine with two rinse cycles, I have to buy a detergent without additives in it. I am also going to read the ingredients on the box or the bottle very carefully.

I remember, when I was a child my grandmother doing laundry. The first machine I remember her using was a wringer washing machine. She would wash the cloths, then she would run them through a wringer into the first rinse. Grandma had two huge washtubs she used to rinse the cloths. After she put them through the first rinse, she would then put them through the wringer again and into the second rinse.

I always thought Grandma used the second rinse because she used bluing to make the cloths whiter. Now I realize that the second rinse also removed soap residue from the cloths. Anyway, what I am saying is that a second rinse is not a waste of water. It is essential to get the soap residue out of the cloths.

Doing the Washing

Fidál (Grace), 14 Asma (Names), 165 B.E. – Tuesday, September 2, 2008 about 3:42 AM Pacific Time

That's what my Grandmother Newland called washing laundry. She did "The Washing" once a week for six or seven people. I'm still attempting to figure out what her secret was because I do laundry everyday. However, grandma did it only once a week on either Thursday, Friday, or Saturday depending on the weekend plans.

For years Grandma used a wringer washing machine. That was an electric washing machine with a wringer attached to squeeze the water out of the cloths before putting them into the rinse tubs. The first electric washing machines didn't have spin or rinse cycles. The only thing those machines did was wash the cloths. They used an agitator (I think that was what it was called) to wash the cloths. After the cloths were washed, then the cloths were put through a wring to get the excess water out before putting them into the first rinse tub.

After the first rinse, she would put the cloths through the wringer again and then into the second rinse tub. Grandma always used two rinses and in one of those rinses, she put "bluing". The bluing has something to do with making the white cloths whiter or something like that. All right, it was in the last centaury and I was only in grade school at the time. I would still like to know ho she did laundry for six or seven people once a week and we do laundry everyday for only two people.

Eventually grandpa bought her an automatic washer with two rinse cycles. He never bought her an automatic dryer though. If grandma had wanted a cloths dyer, he would have gotten one for her. However, grandma liked hanging her cloths outside on the cloths line. Sometimes I wish I had a cloths line to hang my cloths on while they dry. I remember the scent and the feel of cloths taken right off the line and folded. This memory always brings a smile to my face.

My washing machine sounds like a helicopter

Istiqlál (Independence), 1 Kamal (Perfection), 165 B.E. – Friday, August 1, 2008 about 7:54 AM PDT

My washing machine sounds like a helicopter in the spin cycles. The machine is unbalanced and moves when in the spin cycle, so I think that may have something to do with the noise it makes. I have noticed the sound before, but until today I couldn't place the resemblance.

I know it is the washing machine making that noise, because I looked out my window and did not see a helicopter landing in my yard. I don't know what I would do if a helicopter landed in my yard. However, that does sound like a good beginning to a short story and I need to come up with a short story plot in Kamal.

One of my goals is to write a short story every nineteen days. So far I have completed and submitted one short story. That was to a contest on writing.com, which ended on July 30 or 31. I won't know until August 15 where I placed in the contest. However, I still need to complete about six more short stories. Two of the short stories just need more added to them. The ideas for those two came from another contest.

My Washing Machine Dances

Jamál (Beauty), 13 Rahmat (Mercy), 165 BE – Sunday, July 6, 2008 about 6:08 AM PDT

My mornings started on an interesting note. I say prayers, make coffee and put a load of cloths in the washer. My washing machine dances when it enters the spin cycle. The machine isn't level and so nine loads out of ten it moves in the spin cycle.

I know it moves because the cloths are out of balance. The unlevel machine and the out of balance load cause it to dance. I used to stand against it when it went into the spin cycle, but I don't anymore. Now I put something between the washer and the dryer to prevent it from crowding the dryer. Also after each load, when the washer is empty, I move the machine back into place.

I know there is something I can get to keep the machine in balance. Anyway, someone told me there was something. He said all I had to do was go to a hardware store, get the object and then put it under the washer. I'll have to get the object this year sometime because I can't continue physically moving the washer back into place.

It's either get the washing machine back into balance or under load the machine. I'm not one of those people who under load a washing machine. I go the opposite direction; I overload the machine, which means the cloths don't get completely dry in first time through the dryer.

My washing machine dances,

with almost every load of cloths I wash

it moves across the floor;

now all I have to do is find

the proper waltz to accompany it

and I have a dance partner for the rest of my life.