Do you use blueing in your final rinse?

Things have been meshugah here in MD. As you know, Mum was visiting, as was a head/chest cold from Hell. Right before my company arrived, I took extra Sudafed and attended a soiree I'd RSVP-ed months earlier. Actually, it was a "wash-in" thrown by one of the important people at AutomaticWasher.org. I found this site years ago and have been checking in ever since. I was (and still am) a little baffled by people that are obsessed by washers and dryers. I admit, I find many of these machines beautiful and I'd love having a few in my home, but I don't have whatever gene it is that makes one's head woozy with Norge, Maytag, Speed Queen, etc. Initially what drew me to the site was that these folks like old stuff, just like me. Sure, I pick things up here and there, but many of the members go way beyond.

These two photos are of Robert and Fred's house, the hosts of the wash-in. Robert's the washer guy. Fred told me that yes, he likes washers, but his love is...vacuum cleaners! As you will see, Robert takes his passion quite seriously. Though I have no photo, Fred's collection of vacuum cleaners (on the second floor) is just as vast and overwhelming as the washers and dryers in the basement (this a mere fraction of what's down there). Aside from being a usual get together, loads of laundry were constantly being done with attendees transfixed by the different machines and their particular cycles. Here and there I did glean information....seems Robert has many "firsts" or special machines. This is no ragtag collection, but museum quality. If you visit their site, you can click on different folks collections from all over.

The entire house was pristine, with retro chachkahs and knick-knacks everywhere. A stunning old television, beautifully restored by Robert played I Love Lucy. They have collections of Better Homes and Gardens from the Fifties and a slew of old Sears catalogs I found tough to put down. Go know.