Clump #26:  Conquer ironing pile.

I swear I did not stage this photo.  The meditation pillows are a little hard to see, on the lower left.  My poor Chi!  Here’s a confession about me and ironing.  Subconsciously I know that the minute I iron the items in the ironing pile, they will be put into action, worn, and then — in a flash — will be back to the ironing pile again.  By postponing the inevitable, I stop the cycle for a while.  It’s not a good excuse, but it’s all I’ve got.

Here’s the basket hidden below, with poor Christmas place mats wondering when they will ever see the light of day.  I guess that answers the question of how long the pile has been festering — not the whole pile, mind you, but certainly the bottom-dwellers.

And here is the “After” shot of mission accomplished (part of it), and another, more virtuous confession.  When I finally start ironing, with a fluffy, romantic movie on to keep me company, I actually enjoy it.  I watched The Holiday and Chocolat to help me through this ironing monstrosity.  Another perennial favorite in my ironing movie collection is Pride and Prejudice.  An ironing movie must be one I have seen previously, otherwise I wouldn’t want to look down at what I am doing.  Also, the movie must have a happy ending.  There is something very cozy about getting all the wrinkles out of the fabric at hand as the heroine of an ironing movie, inevitably, gets all the wrinkles out of her life.

I apologize to loyal followers of my blog who have wondered where I’ve been.  I got off-track with a trip through different time and weather zones.  Here are some photos from this year’s Philadelphia Flower Show, featuring a recreation of Big Ben (London calling, again!) to illustrate my boggled mind.  On every hour, the clock would flip out in this way: here we are starting at 9:00.

And then the gears would crank the clock face out (digitally) …

To a garden-themed riot of all things British, with British musical accompaniment …

And changing colored lights …

Beatles popping out of the garden …

And other beloved British musicians …

Like Led Zeppelin …

And whoever this is. (?) (I guess I’m not as cool as I thought!) …

Mr. Bean and Freddie Mercury; Benny Hill, Monty Python (not pictured) and so many others …

Book-ending with the Beatles sprouting from the garden again, older and fancier.

Whether it’s stopping the clock, leaving reality for vacation, or avoiding the ironing pile, postponing the inevitable is never a good long-term solution.  Excuse me while I meditate on this for a while.