Monday, January 11, 2010

Homemade Lovin' : Part 1

Update*** In my effort to "shop my house" for decorating solutions, I remembered an old cast iron corn stick pan that (surprise) was my mother's. With DD#2's help, I hung it in the nagging blank spot over the library-turned-dish cabinet. Love it! (By the way, the walls in our kitchen/living room/dining room are not weird greenish-gray. They are a fresh light green shade called "Apple 3" from the Laura Ashley paints at Lowe's.)

All this winter nesting has got me thinking a lot about the art of homemaking. I got my love of all things house-related from my mother. She has absolutely no interest in computers, but if she were homemaking today, I have no doubt that she would be searching the blogging world regularly for cute decorating ideas. She was a talented seamstress and floral designer, she threw lovely bridal and baby showers and dinner parties, and she always had some new goody she had crafted for a forgotten corner of the house. My mother is a lover of beauty, and that is a gift from God.

I am not naturally organized, and I am more a crafter of words than fabric. I can barely thread a needle, much less sew a pillow or slipcover. Hand me a glue gun or some baking ingredients, and I'm much more comfortable. I love beautiful gardens but have a black thumb. (Fortunately for me, I married a man who discovered a latent green thumb in his gene pool.) I am an idea thief, not an idea developer.

All that to say this: though I'm letting go of any notion of being a perfect homemaker--or even one as good as my mom--I am embracing what it means to create a lovely, orderly space for my family. (Some days are more successful than others.)

Our house was a major fixer-upper. After the first "ick!" response, we saw the windows, the wide,long front porch, and the open floor plan ...and the main-floor level laundry, a rarity when most are located in the basement. The yard and the basement are a long way from finished. A lo-o-n-n-g way, but that's okay, because imperfect is okay. Plotting and planning the next project has become part of the fun. Most days.

Here's some things I love about our house (besides the occupants):
*Lots and lots of natural light from lots and lots of windows;
*Lots and lots of books;
*A cozy fireplace insert (imperfection at its finest--it took four years for us to finish that);
*A nap-worthy, squishy-cushioned couch.

See what I mean?
This post is getting long, so I'll close with a question: what do you love about your home? What do you wish you could change? Does homemaking fill you with pleasure or make you break out in hives?
Blessings,
Ginger

5 comments:

  1. Love your pics of your home. Really love the kitty.

    The things I love about my home:

    Faces east so I get amazing sunrises through my huge windows.

    All my windows can be washed without using a ladder!!

    Master bedroom is on one end of the house; guest rooms on the other.

    I have two kitchens: one upstairs and one in the basement. You cannot believe how often I use both ovens or both fridges or even both dishwashers!! Love it.

    Master shower: 6 foot by 5 foot with 3 shower heads! Lots of room!

    No close neighbors; we live on 17 acres.

    Leah

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  2. That corn bread pan hanging on your wall makes me hungry for one of those crusty fingers of cornbread!

    What do I love? My hardwood floors, my big garden tub, my huge kitchen sink. And my spare bedroom that is all snuggly and cozy with Shabby Chic bed linens, a stack of old Victoria magazines about 2 feet high, a window seat and a white iron bed given to me by my parents.

    What would I change? I would have more storage and a bigger kitchen with an island for baking. And I wish I had a refrigerator with an ice-maker that dispenses crushed ice from the outside of the door.

    I love my home. It is my sanctuary.

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  3. To answer one of your questions (sort of ) - I enjoy homemaking - especially the aesthetic part and the decorating. I have not mastered the organization end, nor the cleanliness end of housekeeping. I am changing my mind THIS YEAR to embrace homemaking. My generation (which I think is the same as yours) of women were taught that homemaking is not an honorable profession. I have to recreate that image in my mind to better reflect what God wants me to do.

    By the way - I am glad you made the New Year's goal of 2 verses per month. I am going to copy you - SURELY I can master two!

    Glad you stopped by my blog and commented!
    -Trish

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  4. One more thing - and this will sound bossy.
    If you change your blogger private profiles to allow your email to show up, then, when you comment on other blogs they can email you back. The only person who will see your email is the one you comment TO. (I saw that you just started in Oct, so I thought I would give you that hint.)
    -Trish (the bossy one)

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  5. I love cast iron - I have a small collection of skillets - your cornbread iron is neat (I have a round cornbread pan - kind of odd, sliced like pie slices). I always hated cleaning the cornbread out of those irons shaped like corn. But boy was the cornbread good. I love the faux wood blinds we put up, I've struggle w/having downsized and yet having too big furniture pieces - ?? go figure. Small house BIG furniture. I wrestle w/making things over and over and over again. I like comfy-cozy as opposed to too much room. Good thing, huh? I'm looking forward to seeing what you share on your blog ... it's hard not to get hooked on all the neat doings (I love BJ's blog and what she does w/her house! Love it!) I have the email thing that Trish mentioned - it's nice. I need to set up a generic email for my blog. Chatty here. :) Jenn

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