HOMEMAKING: DO YOU LOVE IT?

Doesn't this picture take you back to a simpler time in life? When women actually hung their wash out on the line to dry? When they dressed more femininely and adorned lovely aprons.

When I was little, my grandmother hung out her laundry on a clothesline; and so did everyone else in the neighborhood. I remember running back and forth in between the freshly laundered sheets blowing in the wind; inhaling them, and thinking; this is like a little bit of heaven on earth. We had a large cherry tree in the backyard too; for climbing, and picking, and lots of pie making. There wasn't anything better on earth as a child than my grandmother's cherry pie. Yum!!!

Gram always dressed in modest, freshly ironed dresses and pleasant looking aprons. She loved homemaking!  My grandmother was a simple woman having grown up in a large family. They were very poor, but happy.  Her parents were immigrants from Yugoslavia. Peter and Milka came to America in search of a better life.  Fortunately, like so many others they found it here.

 Gram sacrificed her entire existence for others. She dropped out of school to care for her dying mother, and help to raise her younger brothers and sisters. When my mother divorced when I was just 5 years old; she helped to raise my brother and I while mom was at work. Gram's motto in life was to love her family and to serve them abundantly.

My grandmother died at 100 years old a few years ago, and her priest at the funeral said among many things " Mildred always dressed like a lady, acted like a lady, and WAS a LADY." When when I finally grow up ( LOL), I want to be just like my grandmother.

 I must admit I don't wear cute dresses around the house while homemaking; but I do wear pretty aprons, and feel that are becoming more popular with women today. I  hang out wash to dry, but on a very limited basis. Several  family members here have seasonal allergies so I must be careful what I put out to the wind. How about you? Do you wear an apron around the house? Hang out your laundry? Try to be more frugal like our mothers and grandmothers were?

What about sewing, crocheting, or knitting? Are these of any value to you today? For me, I have taken some sewing lessons in the past couple of months. My aunt left me an old but very operable Kenmore machine. I keep it at my elderly instructor' s home, and take lessons from her every now and then. My nine year old daughter and I are looking forward to  making some aprons and placemats.

Crocheting and canning ( a lost art) are next on my list to do. How about you? What are your plans? . My husband and I are planning to do squarefoot gardening together this summer. I am excited about this new venture that I can share with my husband.

I plan to to post regularly on the topic of  homemaking. And I hope that you will feel free to  comment and share some of your thoughts here. If we truly love our vocation as wife and mother then we must strive to do it well each day, and sometimes that means looking into the past; and learning new skills that were the norm of our mothers and grandmothers day. 

Each time I post on homemaking; I will also share a link on a homemaker that I find interesting, or have learned something new from their homemaking blog.

Have you visited Ruthie from Sugar Pie Farmhouse? If not you are in for a real treat. A Christian wife and mother of of four; Ruth is an inventive, creative soul who LOVES HOMEMAKING. Please take some time to visit her at SUGAR PIE FARMHOUSE

Have a great Day! 

Photo source: Sugar Pie Farmhouse. 

Comments

[Cathy]

I actually remember hanging the laundry on the line, canning in the fall, and enjoying the fruits of our labor as children in the winter...Yes, it was grand then. Mom didn't get a dryer or dishwasher until I left home...DRAT! :) Love your header. It's lovely!

[Brenda@Coffeeteabooksandme]

Excellent! My mom didn't start wearing slacks until she was well into her 50s. She always wore simple house dresses and looked so nice.

Then she discovered polyester and it was never the same after that. :)

[Kathy]

Thanks Cathy! What kind of food did you can? Do you can now?

[Tracy]

I wish I had a line to hang my clothes out on... I'll have to speak to my hubby about this:-)
I am one of the strange people who wish that I could have been married and raising a family in the 50's and 60's.. my mom has told me some great stories and she does admit.. although they did have their issues.. she would never want to be raising kids right now and is glad she is not.. I agree.. this is not an easy world to prepare our kids to go out into.. I wish for the more simple days!!

[Kathy]

Thanks for stopping in Brenda. Good to see you here. Ah the days of simple house dresses!

[Kathy]

Thanks Tracy, for your comments. We hung a line outdoors for our puppy at the time ( 6 years ago) to go back and forth on so she wouldn't tear up the yard- this is our current clothesline and it works great!

I don't think it is strange at all. It is a time in our life when life was much slower and simpler.

Kids today do have it hard- too many pressures- too many inappropriate things thrown in their faces just from commercials alone.

I think we have to take our families by the lead and slow them down! I really try to do that in the summer as much as possible. I want my girls to remember how they looked for fireflies, played ghost in the graveyard with their neighborhood buddies, rode their bikes for hours and had lemonade stands.

[The Pleasures of Homemaking]

Lovely post! I have a lot of aprons and I usually forget to wear one! I'm trying to get better about that as I've ruined so many tops by not doing so.

We have a clothes line in the summer, we garden and last year I taught myself how to crochet. Still haven't tried canning though. I mostly freeze and dehydrate things, but I would like to learn to can.

Yes, I read Ruthie's blog she really does love and embrace homemaking as an art!

Manuela

[anne marie]

Hi Kathy! I loved this post - and I feel like I'm your grandmother right now! I wear only dresses and sometimes they were just pressed from the line outside......I try to live my life simply - even though it is really complicated (lol)

My Dad always jokes with me how I should have been born in 1920 -

loved this post!

[Kathy]

Hi Manuela,

Thank you for your lovely comments.

I am really impressed that you taught yourself how to crotchet!!!

[Kathy]

Hi Ann Marie,

Thanks for stopping in. That is funny that your Dad says that you should have been born in the 20's- a kindred soul you are for sure!

I hear you are having a great Barn Sale soon, perhaps my readers might want to check out your blog for further information.

God Bless!

[Shan]

Dearest Kathleen,

Thank you ever so kindly for your lovely comments on my blog.

I just love your post about homemaking as it is near and dear to my heart. I do wear an apron, and I also have to be very careful about what I hang out on my clothesline as we too have allergies in our household.

I find the greatest peace when I am taking care of my family and home...it is truly a blessing to be a homemaker!

Yours so very kindredly,
Shan
Honey Hill Farm

[Granny Miller]

What a nice post!

I enjoy "homemaking" but do not call myself a "home maker".
I call myself a "farm wife" because I live on a farm.

But if I lived in town I'd proudly self identify as a "house wife".

I think it's shame the term house wife as gotten such a bad rap.
I think the housewife bad rap is a byproduct of the Madison Ave./ Betty Friedan/ University Intelligentsia 1970's War Against Women. Housewives went out of fashion because of rampant post industrial age consumerism and the so called "sexual revolution".
(which by the way was no revolution at all- it was Charles II England all over again).
Such a shame.

The late John Seymour had quite a bit to say a about housewifery in his book FORGOTTEN HOUSEHOLD CRAFTS.

True houswifery goes far beyond the externals of aprons, laundry & home made jam.

I think of housewifery as a world view and economic philosophy.

I like to refer to that economic philosphy as a "domestic economy".
By that I mean a semi-contained household economic system.

Wendell Berry's HOME ECONOMICS and WHAT ARE PEOPLE FOR?, are always timely and food for thought when this topic comes to my mind.

Just so you know - I always wear an apron :-)

I've carried apples, eggs, baby chicks and lots of other stuff in the folds of my aprons.

I hang my laundry to dry because I rather not pay for something I can get for free.

I sew most of my own clothes because I'm particular about how I dress and I grow and raise most of my own food for moral reasons.

I knit because I have sheep.

I'm delighted to see young women beginning to refute the lies of radical feminism and consumerism.
Keep up the good work.
All the best,
Granny Miller

[Alexandra]

Super post! I look forward to seeing more posts about this topic. Your grandmother sounded wonderful; may she RIP.

[Roxanne]

Thought provoking post!

Isn't it great how many women who have become adults after the Feminist movement have come to realize we LOST as well as gained? I believe we lost way MORE than we gained, actually.

I'm looking forward to reading more of your homemaking posts.

BTW, my grandfather on my dad's side was from Yugoslavia. Delmoncia, to be exact, thought I'm not sure he had that right. Do you know what area your grandparents came from?

[Kathy]

Hi Shan,

Thank you for your lovely comments. It was nice of you to share your thoughts with us.

[Therese]

Great post Kathy.

In Australia, there are not many families that wouldn't hang their washing on a clothes line. The only time I use our dryer is if I need something dry in a hurry or if it is raining continuously.

I don't wear aprons but really should. We have done a bit of canning from our garden but it isn't something we have done on a big scale.

I sew a lot of our clothes and I can knit but don't do very much. I use to think I wanted to be a 1950's mum but after thinking about it more, I know they worked much harder than we do today. They didn't have a lot of the labour saving devises that we have.

Therese

[Kathy]

Hi Granny,

From one Miller to another. Thanks for your comments. It sounds like you have been very industrious with your apron!

My vocation as wife and mother has been a great blessing to me. I hope that many other women feel the same way. It sounds like from the above comments that they do.

[Kathy]

Hi Alexandra,

Thanks for your comments. My grandmother was wonderful. Thank you. I'll let you know when I post again on Homemaking- I hope that we can continue to have a lively discussion on it.

[Kathy]

Hi Roxanne,

Thanks for commenting. I am not sure about where my great grandparents are from but I could find out; my 94 great- uncle is still alive. I will check with him. Come back for a visit anytime!

[Kathy]

They sure did work hard Therese. And it sounds like you do too! You have a great family; and are especially blessed to have welcomed a new little one into your family. Joseph is just adorable.

I wished that I took sewing more seriously; but its never to late to learn a skill that has value and purpose.