Life is All about Home

At the end of our day we go home.  

We go to that place that we are residing, it can be long term or short term but it is that place we go for refuge.  It is where we take off our shoes and change into something soft and loose. 

It is where we make so many memories.  Not everyone has good memories of home, and this is sad, but we can make sure when it is our turn to be the keeper of the home, we make good memories.  

My daughter says that she had a good childhood and that I made things fun.  When our children are growing up, it is our responsibility to nurture our children and be present for them, even if we are working a job outside the home.  This is our time to show them love and teach them skills.  This does not require a fancy home.  We cannot be selfish during this time, if we want to be selfish wait until they are out of school. 

No matter where we live we can make our home that most special place to be, and it is up to us. 

Many people neglect their home, I am not talking about messy but some people abuse it and throw things around in it.  They scuff it and let it get dirty even though it is one of the most important things that we have.  Even if we are just renting, we should take care of this dwelling that we live.  

We need a good dose of responsibility today to show what being responsible looks like.  

If we do not like where we live, and we cannot move, then make the place we live a special place.  We don't have to spend a lot of money, we can do slow repairs ourself.  We can find beautiful things in thrift stores.  We can save money for paint by reducing our bills and by giving up something less important. 

The same goes for our furniture that makes us comfortable, and the floors that we walk on, the clothing in our closets and drawers.  These are things that we take care of and clean and mend.  

We call our cat Jess the recliner man. 

Blue craves touching

A home should be a place of belonging.  It is where we go to shelter as does a squirrel in a hole or nest.  In nature the animals clean their shelters and replace wood and straw at times.  They fluff their nest and mend the structure when needed. 

I am very interested in history and for many years have studied about the homelife of generations before me.  I now have the understanding that the old reliable items from the past are still a very good option for today.  The reason is important, today they are tacking on fees to use the things that we buy and the old reliable items are just there for us to use. 

Over the years the things we buy are more flimsy and non repairable and I feel the purpose is so we have to buy another.  In the past people had their shoes repaired, we used to get new parts for items that have broken.  I mentioned this before but now it seems more important since we are heading towards a time that we will not be allowed to buy our parts or fix them ourselves because much of everything is going to where we must pay to use it or pay to have it repaired.

I can see that our generations in the past could not have afforded to live like this and we cannot afford to live like this either, but we are blindly and steadily doing so.  If we do not pay off our credit card at the end of each month, that means that we could not afford to buy what we purchased. If we are in credit card debt we are living beyond our means.  Only we can correct that, Charles and I were in debt and we corrected this issue by living more like the past. 

Our home and or the items in our home should belong to us once we have paid for it.  There should be no extra fees to keep it, or to use it.  Not much we can do about taxes but we can do something about what we purchase.  

Over time Charles and I have stopped using many items that cost to run.  We do not have televisions in our house, no microwave, no dishwasher and only a few appliances. We do not have electronic games, we have boardgames and cards.  We do have this computer and our cell phones which are starting to feel like a real "cell".  

We have not missed any of the items that we decided to donate and our home is more peaceful. 

I love sewing on the treadle sewing machine, the soft clicking and rhythm of the petal. 

I like the tatting shuttle as well with the soft clicking sound that it makes.  Neither a loud sound but a rhythm sound. 

I study how people did things by hand and try and do it that way. I do use some modern items if they cost nothing to use once they are purchased. We will purchase something modern to "help" us do that task, but we try to get an item that does not come with extra costs to use the item.  I really like this little mop that will reach hard to reach places. 

In the past, telephones were simple.  A phone line, a jack and a phone.  A set monthly fee and a long distance fee.  It's purpose was to talk to someone on the phone.  Now phones are very expensive to purchase and to use.  They are also invasive. 

When television came, it was the television and an antenna.  Once we bought the antenna, that was it. The only cost was the electricity to run the tv.  No cable bill no subscriptions.  We all know where that has gone.

Long ago people did pay for things that we do not have such as ice delivery for their ice boxes which they called Refrigerators.  These refrigerators that were non electric and there was area where large blocks of ice were stored to keep the food cold.  They were also called cold closets but when the electric refrigerator came about they changed the name of the first refrigerators to Icebox.  Charles and I had a vintage Refrigerator/Icebox but we could not buy block ice anymore and the packaged ice today melts too fast.

In the past we did not have smart things in our home, it was a simple way of doing things, everything with purpose.

I feel happy and comfortable in our home when the home is quiet. Quiet means that the meter is not turning, the bill is not getting higher.  

I feel happy when I am making bread dough by hand. The whole process I use now is completely by hand, no difficult kneading and beautiful, delicious bread.  I was having problems kneading dough due to weakness in my arms and had to use a bread machine but the bread was not the same so I found another method of stretching and folding.  It is not a old traditional method, it came about in the 1970s.  However, it could have been a old method and we just do not know they did this.  

I have found when studying history that they used different words than we use today.  When I research I often have to describe a method to find the information because it was called something else.

I have a passion for learning, I want to know how they did it, whatever that is that I am curious about.  It makes life very interesting.  By studying history I have learned how to Tat, how to bobbin lace, how to do white work on cloth. 

Charles will be setting up his shop differently next year as he wants to learn how to repair clocks and watches.  He also wants to repair old radios because he has some of his Grandfathers items that need to be repaired. This should be a new adventure, we all need adventures.

Our garden here at home is now in it's mid summer / fall gardening stage.  We have pulled many vines and plants and have done a second summer gardening planting and I am slowly starting some fall planting of seeds  and next month will plant more of them to have plants through fall and early winter.

A little news here.

My blogging through August will remain to be seen so to speak.  Charles is having surgery in August.  He is having a total hip replacement due to arthritis.  There is no cartilage left in the hip joint and is bone on bone and very painful. It is a necessary surgery as the doctor put it to us. Our August will be all about taking care of Charles and getting him strong and better where he can do things without pain in his hip and back.  

I will drop in on the blog to give updates as many of you feel like family and I know that you will wonder about Charles.  I will most likely just do some short posts since I will be doing Charles part of keeping home and garden. Charles has always been a big helper and not a couch/tv guy.  Charles enjoys cooking and I enjoy baking so I will miss him in the kitchen but he will busy mending his body. 

 He will be getting 4 to 6 weeks of physical therapy after surgery so that will occupy us quite a bit.  In the past, hip replacements were only experimental.  Not only until 1962 was there a successful total hip replacement preformed by a British Orthopedic surgeon by the name of Sir John Charnley.  We are very fortunate that this doctor succeeded in finding a way to help people with deteriorated hip surgery.  Since Sir John Charnley, this hip surgery has come a long way in becoming a less invasive surgery.  

With this surgery it makes us realize what is important today.  Not expensive entertainment items, not better and bigger everything, not commerce that makes the rich richer.  We should be focusing on what can we do to improve health in the human body, mentally and physically, clean water, and the "necessary things" to improve quality of life.  This is what should come before anything else.  

I hope you all around the world have been well, we are in what I think of the halfway mark.  Those in winter are mid winter, warm blankets, hot drinks and those in summer are in super hot, muggy, uncomfortable, itchy summer.  Looking forward here for mild comfortable temperatures.  I say this as a tropical storm is brewing below us...

I do have a forum question for everyone all around the world.  What do you commonly eat for breakfast?  We live in different countries so I would like to know what is a common breakfast in your "household"?

Also is your main meal of the day Breakfast, Lunch or Dinner?

Do you have a typical main meal or favorite go to meal, one that is easy to make and your family favorite? 

We have our main meal for our lunch and a light early evening meal.  

We can talk about anything except politics and can discuss anything else you would like to talk about and even ask your own questions.  

Again, I am posting this on Sunday evening for those ahead of us and are already on Monday.  

Hope to see you in the forum, Grandma Donna