Oh my goodness! Thank you for your gentle comments regarding homebodies and homemakers. Your words were so encouraging because they were laced with love, love for home and love for homemakers. There IS a difference between a homemaker and a housekeeper and I talked to Bill about that today and he agreed with all of you about what a homemaker really is. So, a huge thank you to all of you for clarifying and thank you for thinking about it with me.
I'm reading The Scent of Water again (Elizabeth Goudge). I'm reading it slooooowly this time and marking up the text with questions and observations. This is the novel that talks about "the little things" so I took a picture of some of my sweet little things.
Ha! Back to homemaking (smile)! I have culled my collection of books about this dear subject, but when our house was full of cherished children, I was always trying to discover the secrets of a clean home, a tidy home. Now that I think about this a little differently (with quite a few years to do so!) I have always wanted to learn about how to make a home cushy and warm, inspiring and inviting. Of course I have to admit that sometimes my frenzied cleaning before company comes is rooted in my fear of the guests discovering that I am usually unwilling to apply routine to my daily doings and I don't like to do anything every day. Ha! I think Julia said the same thing in her comment. I find this subject so fascinating that I often put "homemaking" in the search box on Amazon, just to see if there are any books I've missed that address this juicy subject. I did this while we were in Hawaii (I read a lot on vacation) and a book showed up and looked so interesting. It's titled Windows to Our World and it's Sarah J. Brown's journal of her growing up years (homeschooled) and her marriage and her many children. Here's the link to her blog stillsmiling.net and you can get the book there or order it on Amazon. She's a smarty and she addresses the homekeeping issue in this post. The book is a "page-turner" kind of story, I think.
I like Alexandra Stoddard (really a decorator, but very wise in the ways of home). She actually wrote to my friend Sandra (Thistle Cove Farm) and sent her a book, I think! In her book Living a Beautiful Life she lists some very cozy and homey ideas at the end of each chapter. I've read it over and over again.
Right now I am snuggled on the sofa, covered in soft blankets (it's freezing here!) and watching The Bells of St. Mary's. You know how much I love nuns (and Bing Crosby!) I'm watching Christmas movies this year and I'm starting early, because after Thanksgiving the days go by so fast! (The Bells of St. Mary's isn't a super Christmas-y movie) I'm knitting (even if it's just a little bit every day). I've been ironing in the morning. I really do like homey things and I agree with some of you when you say that cleaning isn't the only act of maintaining a cozy home!
I'm looking forward to making the Thanksgiving feast. It's less than two weeks away! Yikes!
Jeff and Christie bought a piano off of Craig's List. She gave us a little concert. BEAUTIFUL!
I took this photo with my iPad as we flew over the Rocky Mountains Saturday morning. It doesn't look real, does it? I think enlarging it when I moved it from one device to another made it look like a painting. Gorgeous!
Again, thank you for your helpful comments and really, thank you for reading and caring.
