Washing Machines are NOT for Cameras

Hey Folks:

I washed my camera.
No I didn't take a damp cloth and wipe of the smudges that Erick left behind after taking 50 pictures of his Thomas train tracks; no I put it in the washing machine and washed it! Not on purpose of course but 'tis my life. A couple of Saturday's ago I gathered up a bunch of clothes from the table to throw them in the wash before downloaded my latest flicks. Well guess what was in the bunch of clothes? Yup you got it my pink camera case, SD Reader and all. While the clothes were washing I kept hearing a thud in the machine while looking for my camera. I looked down at Myles my 3 yr old and said "I think mommy put her camera in the washing machine" he looked at me with his spectale'd face and said "oh no mommy, that's not good". I went into the laundry room, stopped the cycle and sloshed around in the cold water and pulled out my camera, almost cried.

My camera was a mother's day gift from my mom. It wasn't expensive but it was mine. It was ALWAYS with me. Whenever their was a random family gathering folks knew they could look to me to pull out my pink Sanyo and play paparazzi. My SD card has over 1000 pictures on it. Although I'm really good at uploading them to my computer I haven't emptied in the card in a while.  I was crushed. I let it dry out and tried to put new batteries in it but nothing. Then I tried to use my SD reader to see if my SD card was shot and nothing... then I did cry. All my pictures were gone... so I thought. I let the SD card rest over the weekend and took it to work with me on Monday. I asked the Director of Multimedia to see if he could retrieve my pictures and he did! My SD card didn't fail me woooooo hooooo. I couldn't be happier.

Lesson learned? Pay close attention to what you have in your hand before you put anything in the wash.

What strange things have you put in the wash?

Until next time...
MUAH!

The Laundry

Hey Y'all:

I was at the laundromat last night (well really it was early this morning) and I realized that I love the washing machine!
As I watched the rinse and spin cycle I thought about all the women before me who had to manually wash their clothes. I thought about the time that it took them to get one load done and how many times a week they probably had to wash clothes. I thought about all the nasty diapers and underwear they had to handle and praised the person who invented the modern day washing machine!

I came into the office today and did a little research on the washing machine and read a little history about the methods people used 'back in the day'. According to the Great Idea Finder site and About.com - people on sea voyages washed their clothes by placing the dirty laundry in a strong cloth bag, and tossing it overboard, letting the ship drag the bag for hours. Ancient peoples cleaned their clothes by pounding them on rocks or rubbing them with abrasive sands; and washing the dirt away in local streams.

"In the early days, without running water, gas, or electricity even the most simplified hand-laundry used staggering amounts of time and labor. One wash, one boiling and one rinse used about fifty gallons of water—or four hundred pounds—which had to be moved from pump or well or faucet to stove and tub, in buckets and wash boilers that might weigh as much as forty or fifty pounds. Rubbing, wringing, and lifting water-laden clothes and linens, including large articles like sheets, tablecloths, and men’s heavy work clothes, wearied women’s arms and wrists and exposed them to caustic substances.

Can you imagine this back breaking work after having to deal with kids, a significant other, work, preparing meals and everything else we do everyday? I love the inventor of the washing machine. Hamilton Smith, William Blackstone, Hurley Machine Company, F.L. Maytag, The Whirlpool Corporation and anyone else who had a hand in making my life a little bit easier; I thank you!

Until next time...
MUAH!