Living the Dream

When I was a kid, I used to watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory a lot. I'm not sure why, though, because I remember being really scared of Willy Wonka on the boat in the tunnel, and I was troubled by Augustus Gloop going up the chocolate pipe, and let's not even mention those oopma loompas! (I was also terrified of Dumbo, E.T., and Gremlins, but I watched those all the time, too, and even carried around a stuffed Gizmo). 

Anyway, from Willy Wonka, I developed two childhood dreams - neither of which had anything to do with going to a chocolate factory.

The first dream was to hang out in bed like Charlie's grandparents. I thought this looked so fun! I remember watching the movie and thinking that was the life - to just sit in bed all day foot to foot with three other people. 

WHAT?!?

I tell ya, Kid Britt was wiggety whack! 

I've since decided that this is no longer my dream. I'm also kind of mad at Grandpa Joe for being an invalid for years but suddenly being able to hop out of bed to go eat candy. That's pretty sketchy, Joe.

My other childhood dream from watching Willy Wonka was to stir laundry with a big paddle. 

I can't explain it. Here's a movie about a kid who gets to go to a chocolate factory full of treats beyond his wildest dreams, and four-year-old me is like, "This makes me want to stir a boiling vat of laundry with a big stick!"

Earlier this week I got to fulfill that dream. While I was setting up for my brother-in-law's funeral luncheon, I was putting table cloths on the tables, and a lot of them had stains. I went to the Relief Society closet to find more table cloths and found more and more with stains. I've helped with a few funerals over the past few months in my ward, and I've also borrowed the table cloths for personal use, so I feel like I've become very close to those table cloths and their stains - enough so that I could even tell you which stains were from the most recent event. 

Long story short, in looking at the stains, I wondered how many of them could be fixed with a little TLC, so I started hauling all the table cloths out to my van so I could take them home. Scotty has learned to just go with it and not ask too many questions, but I know in his mind, he was going, "Oh great... what is she doing now?"

I brought home 26 table cloths and spot treated them. Then that night, I put them in my bathtub and soaked them overnight in OxiClean white revive. 

Because of the large amount of table cloths, I had to find a big stirring stick, so I took my broom apart and used the broom handle. 

I stirred the table cloths around every hour or so and texted my sister-in-law that I was fulfilling my childhood dream!

Not sure what she though my childhood dream was... but I informed her of the inspiring laundry-stirring ways of Charlie Bucket and his mother, and she seemed mostly supportive. 

Anyway, I accidentally broke my broom handle, and now I know for next time that the wooden oar in our garage is probably a better option. 

I spent all day Tuesday washing and drying the table cloths, and then sorting them into "Relief Society Quality" and "Elders' Quorum Quality." Then I watched Hamilton whilst folding them. 

Full disclosure, at the time this photo was taken, I was just laying on the floor being lazy, but at least I folded some table cloths before I gave in. 

And thus my dream was fulfilled, and 26 table cloths are a little bit whiter, albeit not perfect, but the treatment did wonders!