These
are the continuing adventures of a Swedish immigrant during her first
year as an American. She boldly went where she'd never gone
before...please come along on Adventures
in America.
In
Sweden, hardwood floors are common, as are area rugs. I don't think
they had wall-to-wall carpet in Sweden in 1974. They may today, but
my guess is that IF they do, it's not a widespread way of decorating.
I
remember my Farmor and Farfar taking great pride in their rugs, and I
recall the ritual of taking them out to be shaken, then beating them
with the rug beater, which is rather like a tennis racket, though no
strings, just that size and with some cross-bars, all made of wood.
Maybe they're made of rubber or nylon or something else today, but
remember, we're in MY 9 year-old mind this month...So shake, beat,
hang. Bring in before dusk.
When
we moved to the Cedar Street house in America, I discovered that
there was NO WOOD anywhere, carpet everywhere, and linoleum in the
bathrooms. (New vocabulary word for me, I suspect.) I loved it.
I
have this vague recollection that when we live in Sweden, at the end
of the day of playing outside, usually barefoot, The Nutritionist
made us wash our feet before we were “allowed” to move about the
cabin freely. There were no such worries with wall-to-wall carpet.
I remember looking at my feet as I came inside, and thinking, “I
just need to walk around a lot and go up and down the stairs several
times, and my feet will be clean!”
It
worked. I'm not kidding. If you have seriously dirty
I-played-outside-all-day feet, just about 15 minutes of being inside
would make my feet pass the still required inspection. I NO LONGER
HAD TO WASH MY FEET AT THE END OF THE DAY. I don't know why this was
a big deal to me, because I'm a fairly hygienic person and have been
since childhood. Maybe it was the “cheating” aspect of it. Or
maybe it was that no matter where I stepped, nothing stuck to my
feet. Like it does in my grown up house with hardwood floors, area
rugs, and a “sweeper” who says, “Sure Mom, in a minute!” and
then forgets...
