I definitely have to be careful what I wish for. Last week I had bought clothes pins and clothes line. In the most recent issue of Countryside Magazine there was an article about hanging clothes on the line. I remember my grandmother doing this frequently and have many fond memories of helping her.

When we moved into this house there was a clothesline in the back as well as a winter one in the basement. These have rarely been used.

However this last weekend I decided I shoud try hanging at least a couple of loads on the line each week. I was hoping to save money and energy cost as well as become more self-sufficient. If we lost our power or chose not to use it, what were my options for drying clothes? Even with my new resolve a week after purchasig the clothes pin and lines they were still in the packages.

Until last night. After trying to dry a load of diapers 3 times I had to face the truth--something was wrong with our dryer. We ended up scrambling to find enough diapers at bedtime.

In any case it appears that this is a new skill I now have to learn. We may be able to fix it still or we may have to buy a new one but in the meantime we are going to hang clothes on the line.