The ever-increasing price of electricity is an ongoing worry for me now that I live alone. It never worried me unduly while Lyn was alive, because he used alternative methods of heating and cooking, which I can't do. I am not capable of changing gas bottles or even lighting our gas heater.
As part of my efforts to eliminate unnecessary use of electricity, I bought one of those clothes airer things that look, when set up, a bit like a tent frame. The nice man in the shop set it up and I was sold. Yep, that'll do me, our sunroom captures whatever sun there is, and this contraption will fit in there - just.
Came time to put my new purchase to use, and I struck a brick wall. It has lots of arms but where do they go? I got the four little red "feet" onto the only four bits they would fit on, and extended a couple of arms that wouldn't stay in place, and didn't appear to attach to any other part of the mechanism.
I remember an old TV show in which contestants had to assemble various devices,and most of them looked impossible, and that's what this clothes airer looked to me. Impossible. But I had seen it done, I knew it was possible. I just don't have the brain for assembling things.
Well I finally got it so that several of its racks were usable, and placed various items of freshly-washed clothing on it. It collapsed on the floor. Rocky Bird flapped wildly in his cage, not being used to this kind of warfare. I picked the thing up and got it standing, but very precariously, and definitely not looking the way it looked in the shop.
The day was saved by the sun making a belated appearance, the washing went out on the clothes line where it dried in the sun and wind, and everyone is happy. Except for one small detail. All this will have to be endured again eventually, until someone shows me how to assemble this drying rack. It's perfectly simple. I've seen it being done. I hope that one day I'll be laughing about it, not resorting to my electric dryer.
Kiwibarb.
