The Art of Homemaking

I have to admit. I love retro images of housewives in dresses and apron with their neat as a pin houses, fridges and freezers and the idea that they have everything pulled together.

But it's not merely the images that attract me to what I feel was a somewhat simpler time. It's the draw of a somewhat slower, more relaxed pace that draws me in. The seeming sense of having it all together. The fact that life seemed much more balanced back then. Families ate dinner together most of the time, went to church on Sunday and morals were a bit higher up on the list of priorities.

I get this feeling not only from the images and some of my favorite retro television shows, but also from remembering how my Mom and grandmothers ran their homes.

There seemed to be a peace about it. They got things done. Dinner was always on the table. The house was clean. Laundry kept up to date.

Women took pride in keeping a clean home. They cooked, cleaned, ironed (the act of which I find so strangely comforting and yet which I rarely have time or make time to actually do). They planned parties, raised their kids.

Nowadays, we all have so much to do that we barely can remember if we're coming or going, never mind getting dinner on the table, kids to sports practices, ourselves to the gym. It sometimes feels we don't have the time to fit our homes, and ourselves, into our priorities.

Soon I'll explore many different aspects of homemaking. The true art of keeping a home. Laundry basics. Retro homemaking with some modern twists. Old-fashioned lemonade and black cows on the porch or patio.

Come, sit for a spell, take a load off, and relax. Maybe, together, we can bring a little bit of the art of homemaking, back.