Discovery and serendipitous cleaning are some of the hallmarks of the time spent in wandering one's house post-visit of toddlers. One cannot just wander through the familiar hallways or saunter into the bedroom as you normally do. Make sure that you have shoes on. Make sure you have your glasses on. Make sure your hands and pockets are free to collect treasures. Do not be squeamish. One child's treasure is ... well, never mind.
If barefoot crossing the kitchen floor you will encounter surfaces that grasp your toes and heels with ardent stickiness. You cannot see where this sticky surface rests, but it is there and will grasp every bit of dust and dirt in the days to come, revealing its presence unless it is scrubbed away right away.
One cannot just vacuum a floor without the same careful perusal of the areas that one uses before mowing the lawn. Something will be camouflaged within the pattern of the Oriental rug or slipped just out of sight beneath the edge of the sofa. Something will stymie that vibration brush on your vacuum or cripple your barefooted arch and leave you limping for days as you step upon that first stair.
The expertise of looking for tiny fairy slippers, pointy plastic swords, and teeny legos is something that must be practiced and learned well. Impatience in this arena will punish you. I have learned this the hard way.
Yet, even I can learn something new. I had collected all the sheets, pillow cases and assorted bath towels and had begun the first load of laundry. When it was done I pulled the heavy damp sheets up into the dryer. Within minutes I heard a clanging noise. I stopped the dryer and pulled wet heavy fabric right and left and found nothing. I continued the dryer again and heard that odd noise. The photo of the metal hoop above is what I finally was able to retrieve from my damp laundry but only after it has torn a small corner off the sheet.
I have ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA what it is, where it came from, or whether I should be a little panicked by my lack of knowledge. I do not have one of those fabric tunnels that children can crawl through. Everything is still working in the house. Any ideas? Should I worry? Do you have one of these?
NO idea whatsoever! I did think of the fabric tunnels, but if you don't have one......LOL
ReplyDeleteLet us know if you discover what it is.
Something that large you couldn't possibly miss in wet clothes, so my guess is that's a piece from the dryer.
ReplyDeleteThat's odd. I was thinking that it came from the dryer too but it looks too small to relate to the size of a dryer drum and too large to hold the venting pipe. Maybe it came from the washer??
ReplyDeleteIt looks like there might be a spring on the right side of the hoop. Unfortunately, I can't think of anything that has a hoop like that either. Clothes hamper, yard basket, something the little ones put in the dryer?
ReplyDeleteMy son has one of these pop up laundry baskets in his room which isn't round but I bet the supporting hoops would be circular if they slipped out of the casing. Anything like that at your place?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.washingnet.org.uk/140_640xnnn_laundry_basket.jpg
G says "an alarm?" I wonder if it is part of am embroidery hoop? Could it be a piece from the dryer as Richard Suggests?
ReplyDeleteOH MY Goodness! Richard, I owe you a beer or a cold glass of lemonade! It is the (I think) spring which holds rubber gasket on my front loading washer...impossible to get back on, BUT at least now I know the source. This washer is less than three years old, so I could not imagine it having a problem already.
ReplyDeletewell, that's settled that.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I have been collecting tiny yellow balls from every corner of the house and garden for years. The last time the children used those was at least three years ago.
How do children manage to spread themselves and their belongings like that?
RYN: Yes, I think that piece needs clarifying too, so I am taking it to my poetry class today to read. They will properly shred it into shape. I'll be able to see things clearly when they get done with me.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you figured out what that was. Obviously you have to have it replaced....gosh.
It is a good thing I missed the guessing because I did not have a clue.
ReplyDeleteYou really can tell a story that leaves me wanting more. Too funny!
ReplyDeleteGood luck dusting your garden. ;)
Hilarious - and as with all the best humour, so true!
ReplyDeletehq! that's a great story!! glad you identified your mystery noise maker!!
ReplyDeleteI'm just guessing it's a hoop for cross stitching but I can't guess how it got there.
ReplyDelete