by Isabella Paiano - My great-great-grandmother wrote on September 10, 1874

10. September 1874: From the diary of the great-great-grandmother

Today was laundry day. Elvira, the lazy bitch, has once again avoided work. Maria helped out, which on the one hand was gratifying and on the other hand she asks for it again when she needs help. That's how it is with neighbors.

The neighbor's rascal, Michael, took advantage of a moment of inattention and threw all the soap into the boiling pot! As I eagerly stir the laundry in the kettle with the ladle, the washing water keeps foaming and a carpet of bubbling, flashing and bursting white bubbles pours out over the yard!

The chickens ran around in a mad panic and had to be caught again by Ludwig.

The cows stood in the foam and looked stupid. Maybe they thought their milk had leaked.

Understand the cattle!

Somebody understand the fowl!

Understand the boys!

After all, Ludwig shook every caught chicken so that it became very rigid and stiff, and then placed it in a neat row on the fence post! That was a picture!

Waldi went completely crazy from the chickens on the fence, and ran up and down the fence on his short dachshund legs barking like mad. He kept slipping in the soapy water and falling in all his nose, sneezing and shaking himself and trying to lick the soap off which led to more sneezing and shaking and slipping!

Poor guy's going to get diarrhea from that stuff! The dog won't come into my house today, he's sleeping in the stable! No matter how much he charms me with his proverbial dachshund look!

By now the fire under the cauldron has been extinguished by the soap scum and trying to relight it I slipped like a waddling duck on the frozen pond!

Whoever has the damage doesn't have to worry about the ridicule and the rascals held their bellies laughing! Luckily for them I didn't have the ladle handy or I would have given them a generous set of bruises on their bums!

So when the absolute chaos broke out in the yard, the mayor's son of all people drove up to us. His gaze was somewhere between stupid and stupid. Shaking his head, he instructed the coachman to drive on again. And he wanted to court Grete? The girl will be lucky if she finds someone better! Someone who doesn't look so stupid in the event of an accident, but instead helps and laughs along.

In any case, Grete wanted to help me back on my feet. Coincidentally, she came back from the field at the same time as the mayor's offspring is driving up here. I'm not saying anything, but I'm allowed to think my part!

Of course, Grete didn't get off lightly either and slipped on the greasy floor. Like two drunkards we held hands and supported each other to get up. Our skirts looked like we took them off the scarecrow in the field!

Meanwhile, the stiff chickens have woken up again. One of them even laid an egg in the excitement! In the middle of the soap bubbles! I threw that into my pan for dinner. It was the cleanest egg I have ever collected and fortunately it tasted very good, not like soap at all.

Tomorrow I'm sending the rascals to the village to buy soap. I have to do my laundry.

Written by Isabella Paiano