Re-Inspiration

Thanks to Amy Caroline for continuing to blog! I love your new blog and posts, and am glad to see you decided to keep blogging. I guess I am too, for now. And your homemaking meme was the perfect opportunity to stoppa me foot-draggin' and get something up. So here goes.

Aprons: Yes! I finally made one after I kept soiling my nice new Ross skirts day after day. I made it out of a tan jumper I got from the Goodwill--just slice a chunk out of the back, make ties, and hem (easy enough even for a sewing moron like me). Pockets a must.

Favorite thing to bake: Bread. Yes, it's a little fussy (like the other day when dh preheated the oven--with the dishcloth-covered dough in it--without looking and almost set the house afire!) It's the most satisfying product when everything goes right and we practically live on it. Try white. It's amazing.

Clothesline: No. We have a wooden drying rack I sometimes use, but usually we just use the dryer.

Donuts (have I ever made them): Yeah, but they never seem to be as good as the yummy goo-covered fat pills at the grocery store. Recipes welcome.

One homemaking thing you do every day: Dishes. I have made my peace with dishes. Oddly enough, the dishwasher had to break before I could really learn to enjoy this task. Now it's like my morning meditation. And I want to get prettier dishes, because they turn out so nice and clean and never chip.

Freezer--separate deep freeze? I wish. Right now I am making do with a rather capacious side-by-side. I never thought the freezer part was that big, then we shopped for a new fridge and they just don't make the freezers big enough.

Garbage disposal: Yes. Although I have learned to live without one. Basically whatever doesn't go down the grate you pick out. Simple, cheap, and nothing to break!

Favorite homemaking resource: HOOO-boy. Homeliving Helper is my most recent discovery. Also an honorable mention to the Hillbilly Housewife.

Ironing: Love it. If I have the time to iron a couple of Dean's or my shirts and especially my apron, that's a sign that my homemaking is a success and things are getting done. BTW, ironing a couple of shirts is no big deal. In the military, they make you iron everything, so to me it's nostalgic (well, kinda).

Junk drawer: Work-in-progress. Tightwads must be careful to never toss a piece of junk. Each time I do it, I conceive a use for it later that day. My newest favorite location for junk is The Junk Tower, a plastic thingy full of drawers that rolls around and only takes up one square foot. Each drawer has a different type of junk. And boy it helps getting that stuff organized.

Kitchen, design and decorating. Ah, the joy of remodeling. Our kitchen is almost finished, after having spent an obscene amount of money on new countertops, sink, faucet, floor, paint. Didn't have to redo cabinets, hubby put up a couple of shelves, on which my shiny new set of cookware is displayed. Too bad we're selling the house. I am finally enjoying myself in there.

Love: My favorite part of homemaking. Hmmm. I love having the freedom to manage my time and space for the sake of my family's peace and comfort. There is no peace out in the world. And if I had a job, there would be no peace in the house. The world would come right in with schedules, stress, endless outside obligations. My head would be a mess, and that would rub right off on my family. We do not live to work; we work to live. We have to work to earn enough for our needs, but beyond that we sacrifice our peace. If a woman stays home she has the chance to make the house a home--a place of refuge, an oasis of contentment, a space in which her family can feel that they can just breathe and be.

Mop: Yes, occasionally, with a well-rung out sponge mop. With a hardwood floor instead of carpet, I see way more dirt than I did before. Mostly I can just sweep it up, but eventually it gets greasy.

Nylons: Hand or machine wash: N/A (I hate nylons. I usually can't wear them to the point of dirtiness without tearing a hole in them, so I just trash 'em. Bloomers and knee socks in the winter.)

Oven, how do you check it? Open the door. The window, I am sorry to say, is too dirty. I have a phobia about cleaning fridges and ovens from being a military cook.

Pizza, what do you put on it? I try to use up leftovers, but I also have a store of pepperoni and salami in the freezer. So it's either Hawaiian or BBQ chicken or spicy Italian. Hubby likes artichokes and lotsa garlic.

Quiet: What do I do in my quiet moments during the day. I make a cup of tea and read the semi-interesting stuff that comes in the week's mail. If I'm really fried I sleep. Oh, and pray!

Recipe card box: Hardly ever use it. I keep my Mom's recipes in there, but I never use the ones I clip from newspapers or jot down from the TV.

Style of house: 2-story contemporary. Not very evocative--or convenient. The place was designed like an apartment, with almost no utility areas. No porches, no entry, no mudroom, no pantry, no broom closet, no linen closet, no storage shed, no access to the garage from the back yard, no basement, no attic. You need these things in a house if you're going to live in it for the long haul.

Tablecloths and napkins? Neither. With little people tottering around grabbing everything they see, our house lacks this little hallmark of civilization. And our table is so ugly. BUT it is always scrupulously clean.

Dang this is a long meme.

Under the sink-what's it like? Totally cleaned and organized. I know, surprised even myself (fruit of recent homemaking inspiration--little people helped).

Vacuuming, times per week. At least once. It was way less before Tom got sick with the whole allergy/lung thing. We are saving up hubby's hotel points to get a Dyson. I heard that thing sucks.

Laundry, how many loads per week. It's probably kinda tame. I do one or two loads a day but I don't have to do it every day of the week. If I keep on it, it eventually gets down to less than one load a day worth of buildup. Then the baby'll throw up and the diapers pile up and hubby comes home and I'm buried.

Daily to-do list: I have a monthly calendar that I write things down on that I Must Not Forget. Then I check them off. If I'm feeling pretty disorganized, I write down things like, DISHES. MAIL. LAUNDRY. If I'm feeling really organized, I only write down appointments and things like PLANT BULBS. SORT OLD PHOTOGRAPHS. But those things never get done anyway. If I'm at a loss for things to do, I scan the calendar for any unchecked items. If I'm too busy, I ignore the calendar.

Yard-who does what? Sigh. Basically, I do everything. With Dean gone all the time, it goes with the territory. Plus, he's terrible at mowing. He doesn't really care how things look, so he leaves tall pieces sticking up everywhere. But I guess it's OK. If he did all that, I would probably never go outside.

ZZZZ. Last thing I do before I go to bed. Make bottles. Make soy milk if I have to. Lock up. Clear and wipe counters. Straighten living room and sometimes pick up stray toys. Put out food and water and/or kick out the cats.

Tag: I haven't seen laurathecrazymama do this one yet. You're it!

Suggested New Category: Grossest shortcut you've ever made in your homemaking life:

Putting the dirty sheets back on the bed because I failed to wash them earlier!

PS Changing to new Blogger was a breeze...glad I dragged my feet a little.