I Love Being Home

Some time ago I came across a blog of a lady who wrote about herself that she loves being home because there are always so many nice things to do. Strange enough, she is probably in the minority as a lot of women nowadays seem to be unable to find an occupation at home. Well, may be watching television and posting Facebook updates, but outside of it, not so much. They'd rather be anywhere but not in their own house. The Holy Scriptures, however, teach the Christian women to be the keepers at home, so I decided that it would be a good idea to share some suggestions on what actually can be done at home.

First of all, the actual housekeeping. There will be some women who'll tell you that there is nothing to do around the house. Coincidentally, they also always have very messy houses, because they actually don't really clean. The housekeeping standards have become very lax in our days. There was a time not so long ago, when you were supposed to vaccuum every day and to wash all the windows every two weeks. Though vacuuming every day may seem extreme, three times a week for an average house with kids and pets is a practically a must.

Housekeeping , of course, is not only about cleaning the house, doing laundry and washing the floors. It's also about planning, organising, saving, dealing with clutter, budgeting etc. Then there is shopping for food and cooking. If you use fresh ingredients in your cooking and try to be a little more sophisticated than the average, it will take you a lot of time. Add baking to the mix, and there is work enough around the house.

Then there are creative hobbies, such as knitting, crocheting, sewing or quilting. Some women also spin and dye and weave, though most of us probably won't go so far. Making clothes for yourself and your children is not only fun, it also helps you save money as fabric can be bought rather cheap. Embroidery is a good way to spend your free time and you are creating something of value which you can pass over to your children and grandchildren. I, for instance have some great embroidered table runners from my Granny.

There will be some people who will tell you that it's practically sinful for a homemaker to relax and enjoy herself while being at home, if she has some free time she must be working at some money-making enterprise. Some women do enjoy it, and others have to help to make both ends meets, but generally, if your husband makes a decent living and money is not the issue, why not just enjoying life? If you spend half an hour sitting in the garden and reading a book, or watching a nice film, there is nothing wrong with it.

Other creative ways to spend your free time are taking music lessons, drawing, writing stories, gardening, flower arrangement and practising hospitality. Women are social creatures and modern life isolates us in our apartments. Instead of having a thousand friends on Facebook whom you never see, why not cultivate a couple of friendships in real life? You could invite your neighbours or mothers you meet at school to drink a cup of tea with you. The point is, to have a real relationship with people, you need to invest your time into it, and time is something modern women don't have.

The Bible teaches us that the love of money is the root of all evil. Nowadays people tend to be obsessed with the financial well-being to the point of excluding anything else. If you perform a job at the minimum wage level which you don't need to do because your husband is the director of a bank, you will be called a heroine, but if you stay home and take a couple of hours to drink tea with your friends, people will look funny at you and call you names behind your back. I think that people are more important than material possessions. Originally, women were the first real community organisers and social workers because they invested in relationships with others. Let your husband make the living and make life worth living. You won't regret it.

Sarabande by G.F. Handel

George Frideric Handel was born in Halle, Germany in 1685 and lived to be 74 years of age. It was his father's second marriage, as his first wife who had been 12 years his senior, had died 3 years before.The composer's father was 63 when his son was born and by profession he was a barber-surgeon, though he had always dreamed of becoming a lawyer. Unfortunately, his own father's death prevented him from getting the necessary education, but he was determined that his son would study law.

Young George Frideric, however, had other plans and finally with the help of Duke Johann Adolf I persuaded his father to allow him to take music lessons. After his father's death, Handel went to University in accordance with his late father's wishes but music finally won from law and Handel began his long and successful musical career.

He travelled to Italy where he spent some years but later moved to England and even became a naturalised British subject. Handel spent the rest of his life there. His works enjoyed great success and when he died, he got a funeral with full state honours. George Frideric was not only a composer, but a businessman who started three commercial opera companies and tried his hand at stock market speculations. He also assisted various charities and even became the governor of the Foundling Hospital. Since Handel stayed unmarried, after his death his estate went to relatives, servants, friends and charities.

Handel was always esteemed highly by his fellow composers, and Beethoven called him "the greatest composer that ever lived." If you want to know more about him, you can read it here . His most famous work is the oratorio Messiah which is still yearly performed during the Christmas season. For those interested, here is another version of Sarabande which uses the video material from the Scarlet Pimpernel with Anthony Andrews.

Moral Courage

This post is a sequel to that one, which discusses what constitutes good character, according to "Fascinating Womanhood" author Helen Andelin. In the chapter 16 "A Worthy Character" she discusses several essential virtues, starting with self-control. Another virtue discussed at length in the book is moral courage and that's what I want to talk about today.

The book defines moral courage as "the courage to do what is right, at the risk of unpleasant or even painful consequences" (p218, Bantam Books, 1992). In other words, moral courage means you should always do the right thing, no matter the consequences. In the classic story "Kidnapped" by R.L. Stevenson, an innocent man is framed for murder in a political show trial, and the main character David, who is himself only 18, declares his determination to testify on his behalf, to which his lawyer friend objects pointing out that if David interferes in what essentially is a political intrigue, he may very well be hanged himself. The following dialogue ensues:

'In that case, sir...I would just have to be hanged - would I not?'
'My dear boy,' cries he, 'go in God's name, and do what you think is right...Go and do you duty; and be hanged if you must, like a gentleman. There are worse things in the world than to be hanged.' (p.219, Wordsworth Classics, 1993).

In everyday life having moral courage will likely not demand you risking your life. It can be something as simple as sticking to your convictions in the face of  peer pressure and ridicule. Peer pressure, unfortunately, is not only something which teenagers experience at school. Housewives often suffer an enormous amount of pressure to join the workforce or they have to defend their decision to stay home even to their close relatives, sometimes sisters or mothers. It takes moral courage to go against the current.

While discussing defending your convictions. Mrs Andelin gives us an example of early Christian martyrs and reminds us that "Mankind has fought and died to defend principles they believe in."  (p. 219).

Another way in which we all need moral courage is when we have done something wrong. It takes moral courage to admit your mistake, or may be even a crime. "Sometimes, consequences are serious - humiliation, disgrace, punishment, fines, or even imprisonment." (F.W., p.219). The correct thing to do, however, is to admit your wrong and to "...clear yourself before God and man." (p.219-220).

To sum it up, moral courage means doing something right despite possible negative consequences. I think it was best expressed by Mr Knightley: 'There is one thing, Emma, which a man can always do, if he chuses, and that is, his duty...' Jane Austen "Emma", Penguin Books, 1994, p.112).

Saturday News And Some Links

It's cold outside, again. The temperature hasn't risen above the freezing point for the whole day. The weather forecast predicted snow, and our central heating system broke down:( Well, at least we still have warm water in the house, and this old gas heater in the living-room which we had to turn on. It's amazing that the thing dates back to the 1930s and still works while the boiler from the central heating was only twenty years old. They don't make them like this any more:)

As you see, we are still keeping a stiff upper lip and enjoying ourselves despite the circumstances:) There is something primeval in sitting in front of the roaring fire, even if it's burning behind the glass, and with my knitting needles in my hands I practically felt myself a Victorian. Speaking of knitting, here is a great site for all those who knit:

Knitting Pattern Central,

a huge online directory of free knitting patterns. That's where I found the pattern for the skirt I'm currently working at. For those who like crochet, there is a sister site as well:

Crochet Pattern Central

In other news, Laura Wood announces the creation of The American Traditionalist Society , The Orthosphere discusses Women Soldiers, Happy Housewife encourages childless women to stay home, and Britain loses its AAA credit rating. While browsing the links, please keep in mind the obligatory disclaimer .

I want to wish you all a blessed Lord's Day.

Things Ma Ingalls Didn't Do

For those who don't know, Ma Ingalls is a character from a series of children's books about the life of the American pioneers and of a TV series "The Little House On The Prairie", and she is often used as an example of a housewife. I must add that as I haven't watched the TV series, I base all my knowledge about her life on the books themselves.

Why writing about Ma Ingalls? She was an average American housewife in the times when it was normal for married women to stay home even if they were childless, she worked hard and created a warm and cosy home for her family, and she is still a source of inspiration for at least some, modern women. Homemakers have even been accused of living in the fantasy world and wishing to copy the "Little House On The Prairie" lifestyle.

On the other hand, a lot of people will admit that, yes, Ma Ingalls was productively busy and her homemaking role was essential to the well-being of her family, but it was then, in those good/bad old times. Nowadays, they argue, we have a dishwasher and a vaccuum cleaner and running water, so there is no reason for the existance of a housewife.

And thus, dear reader, I decided it was a good idea to create a list of things which Ma Ingalls didn't have to do, but which are the reality in life of most modern homemakers.

For the most part of the story, Ma Ingalls and her family live in small houses, sometimes consisting of only one room. For instance in Part 3 of the series, "On The Banks Of Plum Creek", in the beginning they live in a small dugout. So Ma Ingalls didn't have to vacuum a 3 storeyed house.

Ma Ingalls didn't have indoor plumbing so there were no bathroom tiles and sanitary facilities to maintain. Ma Ingalls didn't bring her children to school or homeschool them. They walked 3 miles to town and stayed at school for lunch. She didn't have to go and fetch them, feed them lunch and then bring back to school. Ma Ingalls didn't have to do daily shopping as her husband went to town for supplies once in a while or sometimes they would go together.

She had a vegetable garden, and worked in it, but if a family have a garden, its maintenance still mostly falls to the woman, and though most people nowadays grow flowers instead of vegetables, gardening is still work and anyway, nobody stops you from growing your own (organic!) vegetables if you desire so.

It's true that Ma Ingalls made her own clothes and washed without the washing machine. It's also true, that in those times people had 1 outfit for the whole week so there was less to wash, and the children helped more than they are generally doing now. Nowadays most women I know wash every day and since the cleanliness standards rose they always have tons of washing. Also, it's still possible to make your own clothes if you wish to.

Ma Ingalls' children played outside the whole day when not at school. Often they would take their little sister with them. Ma Ingalls didn't have to watch them constantly for their safety. She didn't have to arrange playdates for them. She didn't bring them to various activities like music lessons. Ma Ingalls didn't have to visit or care for sick relatives since there were none living close to them. She didn't volunteer in the church. She didn't have to do things for the school.

Ma Ingalls didn't have to deal with the modern hideous amounts of paperwork of any sorts. She didn't clip coupons or watch out for sales. They had very little cash anyway so there was no bookeeping to be done. She didn't have to deal with repairmen or bring the car to the garage. She didn't have to bring her children to the dentist's appointments or the like. She baked her own bread, it's true, but there are still countless women who are doing the same. And oh yes, she washed the dishes without a dishwasher. Well, so do I.

I'm sure there were countless other things which Ma Ingalls didn't do which I can't remember at the moment, but I think you get a general point. Keep in mind, that I was not trying to prove that Ma Ingalls was lazy or not working hard enough. Of course she did, and the same is true for the modern housewife as well. Modern life simply is different in some aspects, but though certain chores disappeared we have the new ones in their place.

That's why an argument that a dishwasher makes the housewife obsolete is silly beyond belief.

Taken At The Flood

I'm one of the ladies who lunch:) So today I ate lunch at my friend's and then we spent some time visiting different shops where my friend bought a new skirt, and myself, being of a rather intellectual nature went for another Agatha Christie story. I bought it in a second-hand shop and it cost me all of the 1 euro.

When I came home I right away started reading and I regret to tell you that the book was so thrilling that it caused dereliction of duty in our household, but at 10 p.m. I finally finished it. The book is titled Taken At The Flood/There Is A Tide and it was originally published in 1948 while the events described chiefly take place in 1946.

Just like in most Agatha Christie mysteries there is one person in the story whom everybody hates - the rich young golddigger of a widow whose unexpected marriage with a much older childless widower brings his whole family into financial troubles, especially after his untimely death during an air strike, without leaving a testament.

The tension in the village where the consequent events take place grows when it becomes generally known that the first husband of the lady in question is probably not dead, which means that her second marriage was not valid and she has no right to the money at all...

 In addition to this we have also a love triangle between a pretty self-assured girl, her boring farmer fiance and a dashing stranger of a war hero. Luckily, Hercule Poirot interferes just on time to prevent a crime, solve the mystery and bring the lovers together. The justice triumphs and the murderer gets his deserved lot on the gallows.

The book has a refreshingly politically incorrect minor character who violently dislikes foreigners and also, makes an astute observation that it was probably not such a good idea of the government to force women to work in the factories and leave their teeenage daughters without any supervision. In short, that was quite an amusing book in the typical Agatha Christie style and it will take its deserved place in my collection.

Taking Care Of Azalea

My dear husband never fails to remind me that the lady of the house must have two chief interests outside the normal housekeeping: taking care of plants and emroidery:) Under embroidery he understands all sorts of handwork and since one of my previous posts was about knitting, today it's the turn of the houseplants.

Azalea belongs to the genus Rhododendron but is smaller and it has been cultivated for hundreds of years. In China it was so important, that some poet dedicated his verses to it, and it is also one of the symbols of the city of Sao Paolo, Brazil. Japan, Korea and United States all have flower festivals celebrating the blooming of azalea, but with all its beauty. the plant is also highly toxic and according to Wikipedia its bouquets were used as a death threat. (Read the whole article on Azalea here ).

Azaleas prefer the room temperature about +20*C and slightly higher, however, if the room is cooler, it will bloom longer. The plant doesn't like dark rooms, but the direct sunlight and draught should be avoided. Instead of watering it, twice a week place it in a bucket of water and let it stay there for about 15 minutes.

Taking care of your azalea and other houseplants is easy to combine with listening to some nice music, such as this:

Friday News And Some Pictures

Yesterday was St. Valentine's Day, so I hope that you all had nice time with your loved ones. Since it was our wedding anniversary as well, we celebrated it by going to a restaurant. The winter returned this week and we had quite a bit of snow, but today the sun is shining, the snow is chiefly gone and spring is in the air!

I finally finished knitting the front part of a skirt I started working on last year:

Long skirts seem to have been out of fashion lately, but for the old hippi like me it makes no difference:) Actually, the skirt is part of a matching set and it's supposed to look like this. It will be my third knitted skirt and I'm using acrylic yarn for it which was not expensive at all. The first skirt I ever knitted was this:

And then last year I made another one:

It was supposed to be the lower part of a dress, but the pattern was so darn difficult that I decided to change it into a skirt, and I haven't regretted it since.

It's that time of the year again, so the cat has been running wild, eating next to nothing and hanging outside with other disreputable characters. His head is covered with wounds, and the only thing he wishes is to be left alone, like this:

Well, that's about all the news I have at the moment, or at least those I want to share:) We are currently dealing with sickness in the family so I had no mental energy for any serious topic. I wish you all a nice weekend!.

On The Usefulness Of Second-hand Stores

In our city we have a couple of second-hand shops, where you can buy all sorts of things, such as books, furniture, clothes and even bicycles and computers. As life gets more expensive, the amount of their customers keeps growing. Being somewhat of a miser  model housewife, I keep visiting them hunting chiefly for old books. With years, I have collected quite a library and I seldom pay more than 1 euro for a book. There is always an element of a thrill because one never knows what literary masterpiece he can come across.

Some of the furniture in our house also comes from a second-hand store, for instance, this cabinet:

It's made of  high quality solid oak, but was quite inexpensive.


I'm rather prejudiced against buying second-hand clothes, mostly due to my husband's opinion on this matter, but I will make an exception if I find some quality item. Only this week I went on a treasure hunt and dug out this cute little skirt which I was wearing today while performing my housewifely duty:

Nice clothes don't have to cost you a fortune! My relationship with the second-hand shops tends to be reciprocal as through the years I also donated some things there. Though I'm not an environmentalist, something definitely can be said in defence of re-using and recycling, if only from the point of view of saving money.

If you accumulated some unnecessary stuff such as books, DVDs, clothes, children's toys etc etc think twice before throwing them away. If there is no second-hand store nearby, you may have a friend who will be happy to get them. Nowadays people are always busy with donating to charities overseas, some of which are actually quite phony (how comes that the CEOs of those charities all earn  six-figure salaries?), but I believe that charity begins at home.