I love this project! We’re traveling this week, so I might not get any notes written, but I just might find some postcards. We’ll see where you find such things these days. Your notes mean so much, Elizabeth. You’ve brightened my day more than you know each time you send a note. Thank you.
Great idea For years I have had “PROJECT PILLOWCASE” I am a laundry activist for the “Right to Dry” which simply means the right to hang out your laundry on a clothes line. I wrote and published Laundry Wisdom 2010 which a collection of stories of clotheslines. I visited several nursing homes to collect stories I in-turned would bring fresh laundered pillowcases. The response I got was overwhelming they could still smell the outdoors and it brought fond memories of their past. The collection of stories tells of a simple everyday routine of the past. Commonly told to me were men when they came home from war seeing the laundry hanging on the line for the first time in years brought a feeling to their hearts they were finally home. Women told me that they could tell what was going on in neighbors homes lots of bedding usually meant someone wasn’t feeling well. When a neighbor was expecting a new child they would wait to see if there were blue or pink booties on the line. One woman told me that she loved to see the children’s clothing grow as the child grew. There were many tales of unheard stories of the American fabric simply from hanging your laundry on the clothes line.
When I was a child it was popular to have a “Pen Pal” our teachers would bring a hat around and you would pick a name out. Your homework was to write one letter a month. Perhap I should find a way to start a “ Pen Pal” at seventy?
Believe it or not I have stayed off Facebook. The only time I was on it was because the publisher automatically put you on for book sales. Funny thing is was all I ever heard from was from people who wouldn’t talk to me in high school suddenly wanting to have lunch with me. Then I would receive hundreds of requests on “how do I get this stain out”? On top of that they sometimes sent photos that seared into my brain of things you would never want to look at.I seriously don’t think I sold any books on Facebook.
Yet today I’m retired time to rethink it your title is so intriguing I’m going to sign up .
Sincerely thank you for the pen pal information . I truly love your idea about writing to nursing homes. Talk about stories every single nursing home is full of experience humans that feel like they have been forgotten
Yes, can you imagine the collective wisdom and stories in just one of those facilities? Believe me, I totally understand your feelings about Facebook. I have made the group private so that we can all feel comfortable sharing things about our notes and letters. If you decide to sign up and don't want to fool with the rest of it, just set your privacy settings on the highest level. We'd love to have you. It's a nice group of people and I've learned as much as I've taught others.
I’m definitely joining thanks about checking off privacy I would had not known. “ Ive learned as much as I’ve taught “is one of my favorite lessons Cheers
I loved reading this response Carin. What a wonderful project you had of collecting these stories. I have such wonderful clothes line memories of my own.
What a wonderful story about the impact of laundry on the line! I love this, Carin, and I really appreciate your sharing. There are so many ways to find a pen pal. One organization I've just learned of recently is called Love for Our Elders (https://loveforourelders.org/). They'll match you up with someone. I'd also be glad to have you join our Facebook group "The Art of the Heartspoken Note" (https://facebook.com/groups/heartspokennotes). If you post about your interest in having a pen pal, you may find a group member who'd love that.
And who knows, you may get a response from this post today!
I love this project! We’re traveling this week, so I might not get any notes written, but I just might find some postcards. We’ll see where you find such things these days. Your notes mean so much, Elizabeth. You’ve brightened my day more than you know each time you send a note. Thank you.
Great idea For years I have had “PROJECT PILLOWCASE” I am a laundry activist for the “Right to Dry” which simply means the right to hang out your laundry on a clothes line. I wrote and published Laundry Wisdom 2010 which a collection of stories of clotheslines. I visited several nursing homes to collect stories I in-turned would bring fresh laundered pillowcases. The response I got was overwhelming they could still smell the outdoors and it brought fond memories of their past. The collection of stories tells of a simple everyday routine of the past. Commonly told to me were men when they came home from war seeing the laundry hanging on the line for the first time in years brought a feeling to their hearts they were finally home. Women told me that they could tell what was going on in neighbors homes lots of bedding usually meant someone wasn’t feeling well. When a neighbor was expecting a new child they would wait to see if there were blue or pink booties on the line. One woman told me that she loved to see the children’s clothing grow as the child grew. There were many tales of unheard stories of the American fabric simply from hanging your laundry on the clothes line.
When I was a child it was popular to have a “Pen Pal” our teachers would bring a hat around and you would pick a name out. Your homework was to write one letter a month. Perhap I should find a way to start a “ Pen Pal” at seventy?
Believe it or not I have stayed off Facebook. The only time I was on it was because the publisher automatically put you on for book sales. Funny thing is was all I ever heard from was from people who wouldn’t talk to me in high school suddenly wanting to have lunch with me. Then I would receive hundreds of requests on “how do I get this stain out”? On top of that they sometimes sent photos that seared into my brain of things you would never want to look at.I seriously don’t think I sold any books on Facebook.
Yet today I’m retired time to rethink it your title is so intriguing I’m going to sign up .
Sincerely thank you for the pen pal information . I truly love your idea about writing to nursing homes. Talk about stories every single nursing home is full of experience humans that feel like they have been forgotten
Yes, can you imagine the collective wisdom and stories in just one of those facilities? Believe me, I totally understand your feelings about Facebook. I have made the group private so that we can all feel comfortable sharing things about our notes and letters. If you decide to sign up and don't want to fool with the rest of it, just set your privacy settings on the highest level. We'd love to have you. It's a nice group of people and I've learned as much as I've taught others.
I’m definitely joining thanks about checking off privacy I would had not known. “ Ive learned as much as I’ve taught “is one of my favorite lessons Cheers
I loved reading this response Carin. What a wonderful project you had of collecting these stories. I have such wonderful clothes line memories of my own.
Me, too, Sally! Although with five children, I'm pretty sure my mother bought a dryer the minute it hit the market :-).
What a wonderful story about the impact of laundry on the line! I love this, Carin, and I really appreciate your sharing. There are so many ways to find a pen pal. One organization I've just learned of recently is called Love for Our Elders (https://loveforourelders.org/). They'll match you up with someone. I'd also be glad to have you join our Facebook group "The Art of the Heartspoken Note" (https://facebook.com/groups/heartspokennotes). If you post about your interest in having a pen pal, you may find a group member who'd love that.
And who knows, you may get a response from this post today!