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Sunday, November 15, 2009

Tiny Little Bits Glued Together to Form the Semblance of a Whole

As is common with me, a couple of things happen in a row and I'm off with my head in my hands, looking for patterns.

Two things of note today: Jon replaced the faucet fixture in the kitchen sink, and I washed my hair.

I'll pause for a moment, here, to allow you to regain your breath.

Stunning news, innit? New fixtures! Clean hair!

The faucet in the kitchen has been unruly for a bit now, spraying unwanted water everywhere. This became serious when we discovered that there was also some sprayage going on under the sink, luckily landing in my "cleaning bucket", AKA the "cleaning boo-kay". Things had come to a head under the sink, so to speak; and so we dug deep and bought a new fixture with the money that was to have gone toward having my elbows polished.

You know, you save and you save...

Shortly before Jon and Mary arrived, I was in the shower, washing my hair, when some shampoo got in my eyes. This rarely happens, particularly whilst shampooing sober, and it instantly reminded me of my childhood, kneeling on a chair, my head in the sink, my mother washing my hair.

Do people still wash their hair in the kitchen sink? This was quite popular in my youth, at least in my family: the shampoo and conditioner on the counter, the towel draped around one's neck, the gradual and insidious seep of water down one's head and into one's eyes as your mother directed your head one way and then the other.

"My eyes! My eyes!"

Insert, here, the nervous cackling of my brother and sister as they await their own turn under the Faucet of Destiny.

Despite my assertions at the time that any future diagnosis of blindness would be attributed to my mother's careless and indiscriminate use of Prell (or was it Breck?), I have yet to be struck sightless.

And I am no more blind today than I ever was - in any sense of the word.

Which brings me back to today.

The old kitchen faucet fixture is gone, and long live the new one. The replacement fixture in the kitchen sink has an elaborately raised faucet, a shepherd's staff of a spout designed for the filling of large pots and the washing of heads of all sizes - an improvement over the old, straightforward style of faucet.

And this makes me happy: A subtle and yet important change to the kitchen and a small vacation, if only in my mind.

Happy Sunday, everyone. I'm off to call my mother.

20 comments:

anon said...

Its the little things, innit?

Christine Gram said...

Why did we wash in the sink? An effort to preserve childhood stink?

ellen abbott said...

And so now, I suppose, you'll be washing your hair in the sink.

Kevin Musgrove said...

I'd forgotten all about leaning over the sink with a towel over my shoulders while I got my hair washed. That'll be why I get backache these days.

IB said...

my wife always gets really excited about things like new fixtures, me not so much. The other day I replaced a toilet seat. She was so completely and utterly thrilled, I thought she was going to cry.

Douglas said...

"Faucet of Destiny"... yes, that does truly sum it up. When I was a wee lad, we lived in a house with a septic tank of dubious value. This meant that bathing was done in a tub (sometimes shared with a brother) filled to 4" of tepid water (why waste hot water on children?) and hair was washed by using a pot to pour the water over one's head. Or, if not bath night, at the kitchen sink.

I have done some plumbing. Even installed a garbage disposal (where none was before) and replaced a toilet. I would much rather pay someone else to do those things now.

Jayne Martin said...

Truth be known, I still on occasion wash my hair in the kitchen sink. I can just no longer remember why.

Jeanie said...

Yes ma'am, bath at night, hair wash in the kitchen sink in the morning. My kids have always given me a hard time about it, but that's the way I roll. When I was a kid it was laying on my back on the counter with my head hanging back into the kitchen sink. Saved my eyes, but kinda hard on my neck.

Ms Sparrow said...

Hyacinth would be so proud of your "correct" pronunciation of
bucket.

I have one of those high-arched kitchen faucets and I love it except I splash a lot more than I used to--but maybe it's just that I'm entering my second childhood.

Barlinnie said...

I can remember waiting in line behind my 7 brothers, all greeting over having their washed in the kitchen sink by the mammy and her carbolic soap.

Warty Mammal said...

It was Prell. That was the favorite torture implement of mothers back in the day. That, and trying to come out tangles. (shudder.)

http://howtobecomeacatladywithoutthecats.blogspot.com said...

Ah, Prell... I'd forgotten all about it. We always washed our hair in the kitchen sink. Probably because we didn't have a shower in those days.

That Janie Girl said...

I love new fixtures....it is definitely the little things.

Unknown said...

I lost it at boo-kay...seriously
Hyacinth would indeed be proud..

speaking of little things...I think my development process was halted a bit by repeated sink hair washings...
I had a permanent divot across my chest :)
speaking of permanents..did your mom ever give you one of those home permanents? Oy...

Peace ~ Rene

Kelly said...

I know the reason my mom washed my hair in the kitchen sink is the same reason I washed my daughter's hair in the kitchen sink: to make sure the hair is washed! My daughter would take a shower and when she'd get out, despite having wet hair, it was obvious no shampoo had touched those follicles.

mapstew said...

Oh to have hair to be washed!

@Jimmy; The queue of brothers, so I was not alone? Happy days eh?

@eloh said...

Mother owned a Beauty Shop so I had my own set of horrors.

I liked the title to your post...though it did give me a start. I had visions of a prequel to a Thousands Little Pieces and your whole gang of followers being called upon to defend you against the almighty Harpo. I was ready!

The Retired One said...

I SO remember the Prell (thick green goop!)shampoo and washing my hair in the sink...especially after I got that fresh stinky perm which frizzed my hair to the point of no return!!

You brought back some fun memories, Pearl!!

Unknown said...

Prell... too nostalgic. Used to also wash my hair in the kitchen sink as a child. For the life of me, I can't remember why!

Enjoy your new faucet.

Bill Lisleman said...

you tell the best stories