Nice'n Fluffy

A huge attraction of living at McMurdo is not having
to do some of the mundane day-to-day tasks that seem
to eat up much of your week. Driving to work, buying
gasoline, buying groceries, cooking meals. However one
aspect that we can't get away from is doing laundry.
Although in theory, it doesn't cost us anything (besides
time), the laundry soap that is provided is pretty
caustic (not like beating your clothes on a rock with
lye soap, but similar) and fabric softener sheets aren't
provided. Did I mention this place is dry. Dry Dry Dry,
followed by...Dry. A bath towel dries in 2-3 hours.
Try that in Seattle! Tide detergent is available in the
store (albeit a person stands next to the soap to collect
your arm AND leg if you want to buy it) and Bounce fabric
softener sheets have always seemed to be the norm for sale
there. We usually don't have to purchase these wallet-
eating items from the store since we send down a giant-size
box (almost as big as a store itself) of Tide and equally
copious amounts of Bounce fabric softener sheets.
But...I've been here almost a year...Lynn has been here for
almost 14 months...WE RAN OUT of both! Not too long ago,
but recently. I bit the bullet last week and took out
a loan to buy a small box of Tide (the banking industry
loves to see me coming...although they don't give out free
toasters anymore) and all was well until I discovered that
the store no longer sold Bounce. On principle, I refuse to
by "Snuggle" as that stupid bear on their advertising makes
me want to hurl my lunch. I won't even discuss the bears on
the Charmin toilet paper commercial...but I digress. So at
the store, I ask Zoe in a moment of distress..."Are you out
of Bounce?" She's on the phone but having put up with me for
several years, nods her head and carries on with her
conversation, which I'm sure is much more important than my
fabric softener sheets. (World hunger, missiles over American
airspace...not sure, but it was important). So my options
are...Something in a pink box that has a floral scent...hmmm
probably not going to go that route. And...Nice'n Fluffy.
It has a "Mountain" scent. I didn't know that granite had
a smell, but it was only 99 cents for 25 sheets. Hmm...is this
a good deal or bad? So when I did laundry tonight, our clothes
certainly weren't "fluffy"...I wouldn't call them "nice" but
they weren't really static-ly challenged and that's what matters.
Of course this is quality dollar-store stuff. I don't see me
making the big switch to Nice'n Fluffy from Bounce and I
certainly am not going to use Snuggle...that stupid bear gives
me the creeps!