Friday, August 5, 2011

Sheet!

Sheet!, graphite on bristol, 14x11
A guest is arriving tomorrow--an old friend.  I'm setting up the guest house and I always have trouble getting the top sheet even on all sides of the bed.  I never know if the finished hem should go down or up.  This is when I wonder if I should have skipped an art class and taken a home economics class in high school.  Nah--my housekeeping methods are more fun.   I'm grateful that my mother never taught me anything about housework or cooking (I suspect she didn't have the patience).  She did ask me once to slice cabbage for coleslaw; I suggested we pass the cabbage around and have everyone take a bite.

After searching for a couple of weeks, I found my tin of graphite pencils three days ago.  Despite my intentions of readying the house for company I couldn't resist drawing--hiding out upstairs with my pencils H & B through 9.

Now I'm off to put those sheets on the bed; I hope there's no graphite on them.  I'll be ready for my guest by 2 p.m. tomorrow; if not, the refrigerator is stocked with his favorite drink and I've made dinner reservations at his favorite area restaurant.

22 comments:

  1. Sounds like the perfect host to me, art included! ha ha Love the drawing!

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  2. you must have that naked lady on the throne hiding under the sheet!

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  3. Sounds like you've got it all covered (ha ha catch the pun!) so you can rest easy and pick up the H7B through 9's again! Enjoy your company.

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  4. Thanks, Rhonda. Another hour and I'll be ready.


    Hi Robin. I seem to have problems folding sheets--I take them out of the dryer and put them back on the bed. Sometimes I have to tease the dog by putting them over my head and growling; okay, maybe there's a bit of dancing around the utility room, too. Reminds me of long-ago belly dancing classes.

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  5. Ha Carole. I've got it covered--the bed's made and the old ice cubes pitched (onto my plants). The last chore is always clearing the pile from my dining room table.

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  6. Ha, My favorite way to do the bes is too also ...pull the sheets off,wash,dry,put back on bed.

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  7. Yay, I was just testing to see if google would let me post a comment(above). Love your graphite work. Enjoy your visitor.

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  8. Hi Sue/Hi Sue. Yes, the easiest way is the best way for me. Pencils have always been my favorite art tools; I was happy to find these again. (My utility room is never as neat as in this drawing.)

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  9. oooooo what an intriguing drawing! I always think drawing is so much better than anything whatever to do with housework. I can so identify about the sheet challenge. I have one set of sheets that I seem to understand, because there is a stripe that indicates the correct direction!
    LOVE this drawing!

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  10. This piece just made me smile, Hallie. I remember we used to do just this as kids and lurch around the house making ghostly sounds. Never scared anybody but the dog. LOLOL I always put the wide finished end at the top of the bed and always line up the sides parallel to the edges of either the mattress or box spring. If that helps you any. LOL Love this!

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  11. I want you to illustrate my horror novel! This is a great sketch. Your spirit always soars (I mean this literally and figuratively (lol). I love the cabbage idea - it is how I cook too. Well, I don't cook. I just eat. Which is why I love the idea. And I am sure you will do just fine - that favorite drink will hide all imperfections. Have fun!

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  12. Hi Celeste. I think almost anything beats housework, which is never finished. I thought returning as a male in my next life might be the answer; then I worry that, by then, men will be doing the housework and I'll get stuck again! Thanks for the comment.


    Thanks Autumn Leaves; I'm glad you smiled. My dog doesn't get scared--just runs in circles barking. I always say I have no idea why he's making so much noise.

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  13. Dan--Thanks for the offer but I think you'd be great at illustrating a book. I actually made coleslaw a few years ago when a neighbor assigned me that dish for a block party. I found a recipe on chitterlingdotcom, and bought a grater and a cabbage. I had cabbage all over my kitchen for days--couldn't use my right arm for for a while. Then I learned about buying packages of already grated cabbage--better yet is just buying a container of coleslaw.

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  14. The basic rule is:
    The host always maintains the right to not invite a guest back.

    I figure that covers any complaints a guest has the nerve to make.

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  15. Is that chicken under the sheet with the naked lady? I had to laugh when I first saw this. It's the playful you coming out again. Might as well turn a chore into fun and put it off 'til tomorrow.

    As for housework, F-it! I have always said we ALL need wives or at least a partner who is willing to share half the chores. I like the "I cook and my audience cleans up" system.

    Since most people shower daily and never really go to bed dirty, changing sheets can be done at much longer intervals than once a week. And then I change them on days when I don't have the rest of the laundry to do. That let's me subscribe to the wash 'em and put 'em right back on the bed policy.

    I also avoid top sheets by using blanket covers (known as duvet covers 'cause if you give 'em a french name you can charge more for 'em strategy.) I use safety pins at the corners and across the top edge to keep them from getting tangled up. Making beds is a snap with blanket covers. I make them myself by top stitching flat sheets together and just leaving an opening at the bottom. Works like a charm.

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  16. Hi SamArtDog. All my guests are really nice, and the guest house is always neat (because I usually stay out), the problem is the house I live in. I end up running around like an idiot for a few days--eliminating some of my piles. And I do nothing until the very last minute.

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  17. Hi LifeArtist. I do tend to play a lot when I'm doing housework--I also like loud music and a good beat for mopping. Yes, we need wives.

    Duvet covers! I struggle with duvet covers--I cuss every time I try to cram a down comforter into one of those things. I resort to safety pins, too. I have a couple, though, that have buttons along two sides--much easier. I think I just plain hate all housework! Maybe I have to keep doing it until I get it right.

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  18. A lot of technical skill in this rendering. Let's see... vertical folds, light and dark, straight lines, ellipses, perspective... who cares about sheets on the bed!
    You sound like a perfect host.

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  19. Hi Pam. You don't miss a thing, do you? I think the ceramic tile floor is dipping a bit--probably due to the weight of the sheet-folder. (I was too lazy to look for something with a straight edge.) I could have spent a week on this drawing and enjoyed every minute until it was totally overdone.

    I enjoyed my guest--I catch up on all his travels and adventures.

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  20. Hallie, I love the way that there seems to be a shape in the sheets suggesting a person under them! You did a geat job on the folds. Beautiful

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  21. Thank you Mary. Drawing is a lot like sculpting--I still think of shadows as under-cutting.

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