A Week in Review

Hello! I have not put anything here for two weeks now, and I suppose it’s time to write something. Blogspot.com is going to put my blog on an inactive status. There’s not a lot to talk about today, but lets still try to do a Week in Review.

Walking
It’s been a nice spring – kind of wet and cooler temperatures, but I really like cooler temperatures. Yesterday I took my camera with me on a walk up City Creek Canyon. Everything’s so green and pretty, and there are some wild lilac bushes that look and smell gorgeous. Here are a few pictures.

And one of the creek. With the runoff from the mountain, the water is really gushing.

The canyon is one of my favorite spots in the whole valley.

Domesticity
I've been thinking lately about homemaking. Does that sound strange, thinking about homemaking? Just the word homemaking makes me think of being 16 and sitting in Laurels class on Sundays. I have some friends who are very good at it. There's Nicole, for example, who has been sewing like a fiend, and who has created a lovely yard. And my sister is great in the kitchen and the garden. She's taken so much of what Mom taught us and put it to good use. I really admire that.

Mom did teach me every skill that a domesticated woman needs. She's a wonder. She can do EVERYTHING - cooking, baking, sewing, gardening, canning, freezing, cleaning, laundry. She even made my sister and I rag dolls, really cute rag dolls with embroidered faces. I had Jack and Jill dolls with blue eyes and blond hair. When Marla came from Korea Mom made her a doll with dark eyes and hair. The hair was yarn and divided into thick braids. I loved playing with that hair.

I remember being very little and sitting underneath Mom's sewing table while she worked. I liked to watch her foot work the buttons that made the machine stop and go. There was a little lever on the machine, at the back of the needle, that would flip up the foot that held the material in place. She'd flip that up, pull the material out, cut the string on a hook above the foot all in one swift move. Fascinating.

If I were to make a list now of how I use all she taught me it would be pretty short. I can clean; I'm good at that, and I do laundry pretty well. And....that's about it. One summer a couple of years ago I tried to grow a tomato plant in a huge pot on the deck, but it didn't work. I don't think the deck gets enough sunlight. I wonder now, if I had a real garden, if I'd be able to keep up with it? Probably not, so, so much work.

The thing is, I've always had visions of being a powerhouse homemaker, one to match my mom, but without all the sewing. But, like so many other things I thought I'd do, I put it off until I had a family to do all this for. There's not much motivation to cook for one. Living in an apartment doesn't give a lot of garden/yard opportunities. And, I've always had roommates who've had a lot of stuff. We've melded all of our appliances and furniture into one eclectic mismatch. I've never chosen a decor style of my own, or decided what to do with different rooms. And besides, when you work 50 hours a week where's the time?

I'm feeling now, though, like I'd like to give homemaking a try. Something in me is missing what I grew up with and wishing for what my friends and family have. I really think that working in a home, rather than just using it as a place to sleep and watch tv, makes it feel like the sanctuary it's suppose to be, makes it feel like your own space. So, this summer, I'm going to make small steps, starting with cracking open some of the many, many cookbooks I've bought over the years (all with such great intentions) and cook some meals. And I'm going to put flowers out on the deck. Maybe I'll even buy some pillows for the couch - but let's not get carried away. I can't do everything at once. It's going to be a quiet, homey summer, and I'm looking forward to it.

This all brings up a theme that's been running through my mind for some time now - stop waiting and just live your life as it is right now. Don't we all have things we're going to do when...? What if "when" never comes? Pick things you can do and do them. Life will be happier that way.

I think that's all for now. Thanks, as always, for your kind attention, and for ignoring my typos.

You are loved.