Exchanges with People that Make Your Brain Hurt

[lowspark]

I admit I wear whatever t-shirt & jeans to the grocery store & such, but I usually do try to wear nice clothes whenever going out, even if it's just for something like a casual dinner out. It's kind of fun to dress in nice clothes and feel good about your appearance even when not necessarily required. When I say nice clothes, I don't mean totally dressing up, just what I consider to be well put together.

Hillia's comment about people who always look nice and put together even on these little errand running trips reminded me of someone I knew years ago who once commented that she wouldn't even go to the mailbox (at the curb of her house) without make up on! For some reason that comment stuck in my mind. Disclaimer: I don't wear makeup (yeah, I know, I'm crazy-weirdo but there it is!)

[Twik]

My mother had a friend who claimed her own husband had never seen her without makeup. She would get up before him, in the dark, and feel her way to the washroom to put on her face for the day.

Not sure how she handled taking it off at night. Waited until he fell asleep?

[greencat]

A lot of couples don't have exactly the same sleep schedules - and yes, she probably does wait to go to bed until after the light is out in the bedroom.

My brain-hurt today...is "I'm just looking at the personals for the (erotic) pictures!" the new "I'm just reading it for the articles!" defense?  The brain-hurt was twofold - first, he expected me to believe him, and second, he was the second guy to use the exact same excuse!

[Iris]

Pippen's post in the Absurd Requests thread made me think of one. I don't think I've posted it before but it was one of those exchanges where everybody's brain ends up hurting.

I was chatting to a friend during a time when there was a head lice epidemic happening in our small town. Her children were boys and didn't go to school yet so she had no idea of the *agony* that I was going through with DD1's long, thick hair. Anyway, in the course of the conversation I mentioned that I habitually washed my sheets on Hot setting as part of my ongoing fight against the evil hordes.

Her: But doesn't that make them hard to iron?
Me: *Brain explodes at the idea of ironing sheets every week for a family of four*
Her: *Brain explodes that she actually has a friend slatternly enough that she doesn't iron sheets*

I'm not Martha Stewart. So sue me

[Jones]

DH's grandmother and I had a similar conversation.

She told me about how she used to sew her children's little pantaloons and diaper covers, with millions of little frills, and then after they were dirtied she'd handwash (only option back then), line dry, and carefully iron each little frill every time.

When a second baby was born, she'd still iron, but was grateful she didn't have to sew so much (hand-me-downs). About the time she had three children--all girls at this point--she had to cut back on the ironing, then she had two boys but still started waving the kids out the door in the mornings in clothing that was ironed (on the outer layers), but she was sooo embarrassed that ruffly underthings weren't carefully ironed anymore.

Meanwhile, my brain exploded that she had time for ANY ironing at all with 4+ small children underfoot. These were the days before she had an electric iron, as the lived on a farm in the middle of nowhere. The fact she carried MIL (her youngest child) an extra 2 months in utero because she "didn't have time" to go see a doctor hurts my brain too, but coupled with the fact she was trying to find time to iron a bunch of clothes helps alleviate the brain pain due to cancelling each other out to a minor degree.

[Pippen]

My mother irons everything. Nothing escapes. Not even socks. When I was about 13 she would iron my bras. Basically the heat would melt the material into sharp little points which felt like pins were sticking into you. I used to have to hide them from her so she wouldn't destroy them but she would hunt them down and do it anyway despite me telling her to stop as she was ruining them and they were to uncomfortable to wear. I did all my own washing but she would sneak in my room as she just couldn't handle the idea of anyone wearing something that wasn't ironed.

[BB-VA]

When I look at the hairstyle books at the beauty parlor, I try to imagine how the styles will look on me.  Then I hear Mama saying, "Get back in the house and comb your hair!!  You aren't going anywhere looking like that!!"  So, it's back to Scout Finch with longer  bangs.  (sigh)

[mechtilde]

I sometimes suspect that in the past ironing was a way of getting clothes completely dry. With limited heating in houses it could be very hard to get things properly dry without it.

[Elfmama]

My mother irons everything. Nothing escapes. Not even socks. When I was about 13 she would iron my bras. Basically the heat would melt the material into sharp little points which felt like pins were sticking into you. I used to have to hide them from her so she wouldn't destroy them but she would hunt them down and do it anyway despite me telling her to stop as she was ruining them and they were to uncomfortable to wear. I did all my own washing but she would sneak in my room as she just couldn't handle the idea of anyone wearing something that wasn't ironed.

When DH gets too ornery, I threaten to iron his underwear.

With lots and lots and LOTS of starch.

Wrong side out.

[Iris]

I sometimes suspect that in the past ironing was a way of getting clothes completely dry. With limited heating in houses it could be very hard to get things properly dry without it.

In Australia that would rarely have been a problem but there were mad ironers here as well (my Grandma for one). I think also limited availability of really hot water and lack of modern chemicals was part of it. I know during the Great Head Lice Infestation of '06 I probably WOULD have ironed the sheets if I didn't know that the scalding hot water they were being washed in would kill anything. Intestinal worms, bugs, fleas, you name it all used to be much harder to deal with and ironing was probably the only effective way to 'sterilise' things.

[Pippen]

I sometimes suspect that in the past ironing was a way of getting clothes completely dry. With limited heating in houses it could be very hard to get things properly dry without it.

In Australia that would rarely have been a problem but there were mad ironers here as well (my Grandma for one). I think also limited availability of really hot water and lack of modern chemicals was part of it. I know during the Great Head Lice Infestation of '06 I probably WOULD have ironed the sheets if I didn't know that the scalding hot water they were being washed in would kill anything. Intestinal worms, bugs, fleas, you name it all used to be much harder to deal with and ironing was probably the only effective way to 'sterilise' things.

A hotel in Vietnam had a wee note of the bedside table telling guest the sheets had been sterilised using UV rays. This had us somewhat puzzled so we asked what it meant at reception and they told use they dried them outside in the sunshine. Bless them it was so cute.

[Ida]

O sweet mother of custard, this ironing stuff reminds me of my paternal grandmother——my cousin dubbed her Sergeant Grammy. She was a terror.

And she. ironed. everything. Yes, sheets. Also underwear, socks——I fear for our fates if we'd've held still and in reach while she was ironing.

What I loved (in a truly perverse way) was that she would iron the kids'* T-shirts, yeah, OK, but then she'd fold them in sixths, the way you find them on the store shelves, and press ther iron over them AGAIN, so the boxy creases stayed there. Because, I guess, that would leave no doubt these T-shirts had been ironed. And they'd b'gum stay that way at least till the end of the day they were worn.

I sent 16 years in Catholic schools and about a decade as a hospital nurse, but Sgt. Grammy gave me the most strenuous workouts in keeping a straight face I ever got.

*She lived with my cousins and their parents.

[Cracea]

A lot of couples don't have exactly the same sleep schedules - and yes, she probably does wait to go to bed until after the light is out in the bedroom.

My brain-hurt today...is "I'm just looking at the personals for the (erotic) pictures!" the new "I'm just reading it for the articles!" defense?  The brain-hurt was twofold - first, he expected me to believe him, and second, he was the second guy to use the exact same excuse!

I actually have a male friend (who overshares) who does exactly that. Your guy might be telling the truth.

[jedikaiti]

A lot of couples don't have exactly the same sleep schedules - and yes, she probably does wait to go to bed until after the light is out in the bedroom.

My brain-hurt today...is "I'm just looking at the personals for the (erotic) pictures!" the new "I'm just reading it for the articles!" defense?  The brain-hurt was twofold - first, he expected me to believe him, and second, he was the second guy to use the exact same excuse!

I know men who will look at craigslist personals in other locales honestly for the explicit pics - it's cheaper than the girlie mags, and not so virus-laden as erotic websites.

[greencat]

A lot of couples don't have exactly the same sleep schedules - and yes, she probably does wait to go to bed until after the light is out in the bedroom.

My brain-hurt today...is "I'm just looking at the personals for the (erotic) pictures!" the new "I'm just reading it for the articles!" defense?  The brain-hurt was twofold - first, he expected me to believe him, and second, he was the second guy to use the exact same excuse!

I know men who will look at craigslist personals in other locales honestly for the explicit pics - it's cheaper than the girlie mags, and not so virus-laden as erotic websites.

His attempts to gaslight me on the matter (he gave me a different reason and pretended that he'd never said that bit about the photos) and the fact that he is most certainly computer savvy enough to avoid viral infections from websites (and does, and I wouldn't care about that) and the falsehoods he was simultaneously telling me about another related topic make me disinclined to give him the benefit of the doubt in the matter.  He was also looking in both local areas and near the location of a convention he's attending next month.  The previous user of the excuse was definitely lying - I knew he'd met someone off the site already.