Tapping My Inner Domestic Diva

"My second favorite household chore is ironing.

My first being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint."

-- Erma Bombeck

Self portrait 5-1-14

"The only time I ever enjoyed ironing was the day

I accidentally got gin in the steam iron."

-- Phyllis Diller

As wife-ing and domestic duty-ing go, I've never really seen myself as much of a housekeeper, let alone a "domestic diva" or even "the little woman."

It's no secret.

I pretty much suck at housework.

But every once in a while I get a bee in my domestic bonnet. It happened yesterday when I finally tackled the mountain of my husband's un-ironed dress shirts.

"The Laundress," Edgar Degas, c. 1869

"The Laundress," Toulouse-Lautrec, c. 189

He wears a dress shirt and tie to work every day. He has 75 dress shirts. I know, I counted. With that many shirts, I can go quite a while without ironing them before he runs out. But there eventually comes a time when I have to roll up my sleeves and just do the job.

Some of my favorite paintings have always been Edgar Degas' and Henri Toulouse-Lautrec's studies of laundresses. I think I like them because these girls look like they feel about as bored and uninterested in the drudgery of their mundane chore as I do. They all look as if they'd rather be anyplace else but stuck behind the ironing bored --er --board.

"The Laundress," Edgar Degas, c.1873

I was inspired by these women for today's self portrait. So if you pressed me for the truth, I'd have to admit that ironing the shirts wasn't just about ironing the shirts.

I had art in mind and a new camera lens to try out. And the light coming in the window was pretty great.

So while it may look as though I was fulfilling one of my domestic duties, in actuality I was hard at work making an homage to some of my favorite painters.

I mean, the ironing still got done. I did it. I still get the wife points, right? I just had to have an ulterior motive to give me the push to finally get around to actually doing it.

Whatever it takes, boys and girls.

Whatever it takes.

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