Beginnings

I love everything to do with homemaking. Cleaning, organizing, crafting, gardening, cooking, baking, entertaining -- everything! I especially love old-fashioned homemaking. To do things the way my mother and grandmothers and great-grandmothers, and so on, did... well, it gives me a lot of pride and comfort knowing I am keeping traditions alive.

Homemaking hasn't really changed through the centuries. Dust is still dust, clutter still has a way of appearing from nowhere, mouths still need to be fed, company still comes to call, flowers are still pleasant to look at, and we still do not have enough storage space. The products we use to clean with may have changed, but I don't know if they are any better than the soap and water our ancestors used.

I have always had a dream of writing about homemaking in its entirety. When my kids were little I dreamed of writing a magazine about homemaking. I wasn't thrilled with the ones already on the newsstand because I don't care to read about people from Hollywood. Frankly I find their way of life and ideology undesirable. My heroes, the women I have always looked up to, were stay-at-home moms who volunteered to teach VBS during the summer and held our church youth get - togethers on Friday nights in their homes. The ladies who brought the most delicious, mouth-watering food to our church picnics and potlucks. Women who made their own clothes and their children's clothes and who crocheted, knitted, quilted and made other handmade things for their homes and gifts. You know, the ones that when you walk into their homes you feel comfort, love, warmth, and you can smell the aromas of the foods that were cooked for the family’s last meal.

When I was growing up my dream/goal was to live in a big yellow house in a small town with 4 seasons that was full of love and comfort and was clean, have a dog and umpteen kids, a loving husband who I adored, and to be active in my church. I wanted the big vegetable garden in the backyard and the clothes hanging on the clothesline drinking in the wonderful sunshine for me to smell on them later. I wanted flowers in my yard and big, shady deciduous trees that changed with the seasons. I would sit in school and let my mind wander to the days when I would be the mom and imagine myself at the grocery store or buying fabric at K-mart for my latest sewing project.

Here I am 35 years later. I have raised 4 kids that are grown and on their own. My two daughters are married and moms themselves, giving me 3 grandkids (my kids are from a previous marriage, my husband has 5 kids from his previous marriage - that gives us 9 kids total!). I lived in a big, yellow house with a big vegetable garden and flowers and trees in the yards in a small town in Iowa for 12 years(that means I had 4 seasons!!). I taught Sunday School, Awanas, VBS, Pioneer Club and was active in our church. I hung my clothes on the line to dry and have grocery shopped in many different grocery stores and purchased tons of fabric and craft items!!

Now I live in a small, yellow house in a big city and am now married to a loving husband whom I adore.  I am still living my dream.

But there was still the dream of writing about my passion -- being a homemaker. About a year ago I discovered blogs on the internet. Wow! I have a whole list of them on my 'favorites' that I am reading through and the ones I enjoy the most that I continue to keep up-to-date on, I will be adding to my blog list on the sidebar here. I think many women have such inspiring blogs that lift me up in my Christian faith and even motivate me when I don't feel like dusting. Ah... but there is still my desire to write my own homemaking blog.

I tested the waters by beginning a blog about my daily doings in May of this past year, although I slacked off during the heat of the summer, but am back to blogging (ourhoneypie.blogspot.com). Now, though, it is time for me to start my homemaking blog. And here it is!! Yippy Skippy! I am excited to begin this new adventure.

This blog will be about all things homemaking. Cooking, crafting, gardening, cleaning, entertaining, etc. It will mostly be about how things were done in days gone by. There are a lot of blogs out there who show you how to keep house the modern way. This one will be mostly about the way our mothers, grandmothers and even great-great-great grandmothers managed their homes.

I hope you come back often to visit. I also hope that you will find inspiration and motivation here to keep your homes with love, comfort and cheer!

The house is only an empty building until a home is made in it.