Talcum Powder The Playing Cards?

Like most of the folks around the world I am looking for things to keep myself busy and my mind as sharp as I can keep it. Reminiscing is one way to do it. Looking back and trying to remember names, places, activities, and dates! Forget the dates, I have never been good at that. I like to think that approximate is good enough. As many of you know I am now a caregiver once again to a lady that needs some assistance in her daily activities. One of the things that she really enjoys is playing cards. We have played hundreds of games with the same two decks. Well, with the circumstances in the world today with the Corona Virus 19 I don't like anything brought into the house that might be contaminated, so I haven't gotten new cards.

The stickiness ( is that a word?) makes for my arthritic thumbs to give me a painful jolt every evening when I deal out the cards. Last night I was telling my lady that it seemed to me when my late husband and I were really poor and played lots of cards that I put those sticky cards in a pan of flour. She looked at me with doubt. So I did my "go to" and Googled it. Sure enough, it said to put sticky cards in flour, corn starch or talcum powder in a paper sack, shake it and then wipe each card off. Well it sounded like a lot of work to me. I for sure don't remember doing that.

 I had two of the three things. I asked her what she thought I should use. She opted for talcum powder. So this morning they all fifty two cards ( no jokers) went into a paper sack with about three tablespoons of beautiful smelling baby powder. The fog of the talcum powder was frightful. Who knew? But you see this fluffing caused an unexpected development other than the fragrant fog. They no longer fit in their case. They are almost twice as big as they were. In the old days we didn't have a case, we either had a little cardboard box or a rubber band wound around them. That way they could get thrown into the junk drawer and all stay together for the next card game.

I am not doing the second deck until after I see just how slick these cards are tonight. I first have to get all this talcum powder not only off the cards, but shake out the towel and wash it. Clean the counter and the floor and put the sack inside another sack. Mercy one more thing for my great grandchildren to read about. I wonder if I should put this in a Marlee story...