Come Home

In Character Improvement, I showed you some things I bought to give my sewing room more character.  Last week I found vintage magazine ads from the 1920s and 1930s that also fit right in, so they came home with me, too.  Many of them were advertisements for dress patterns, while others had a story to tell.

This is an original page from The Ladies' Home Journal, September, 1926.  I like it because it depicts a then-current modern woman facing many of the same challenges we do today.  Enjoy how language has changed over the last 80+ years:

"We lead such crowded lives!  Every hour of the twenty-four is precious!  The woman who must hoard her energy - who is tired before the day is over - misses countless moments of gayety and joy which never can return."

It got me thinking about how important home is, and how it gives back as much as we are willing to give it.  You might not have a perfectly landscaped house like this, with an enormous dog and cat waiting to greet you when you get home.  Maybe you have an apartment or a condo.  Maybe all you have is a room in a nursing home.  Wherever, whatever, home provides nourishment for our inner lives.  

I was reminded of this wonderful book I read over ten years ago.  I went to my bookshelf, pulled it out, and reread it over the weekend.  Note the subtitle "Create Your Own Haven in a Hectic World."   It's not a woo-woo (aka flaky) book, it's a reassuring book.  It's an easy read that pulls you along, encourages you, and makes you feel like it's just what you need in order to be able to create a home that nurtures your soul.

It starts out with Making a Home.  This isn't about trends in decorating or the grandeur of your dwelling.  It's about surrounding yourself with books and art and plants and collections and furnishings that reflect who you are.  Make it unique to your personality, not somebody else's idea of what a home should be.  It should energize and enrich you.

Simplifying deals with both your possessions and your time.  Cluttered rooms and busy schedules interfere with living in the moment and make you feel bogged down.  How about this for good advice - organize, but only after you've simplified. 

As far as prioritizing your time, if you're the type to make a to-do list, grade the items as A, B, or C, depending on how essential it is they get done.  That way if you accomplish only your A items, you still feel successful.  Schedule in fun, and allow more time than you think you need to accomplish something.

The chapters Cooking and Cleaning have an almost Buddhist quality to them.  Probably neither one is at the top of the list of busy people, but that is all the more reason to read what she has to say and learn how they can feed the soul.  By the time you're done reading these chapters, you'll want to do both. 

Celebrating deals with the milestones of life as well as the miracle of day-to-day living.  I particularly enjoyed the story of her and her daughter celebrating Mozart's birthday.

Sitting is one of my favorite chapters.  I used to love this quote by Thomas Jefferson: "It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing."  There's no doubt it worked for him; it's amazing all the things he accomplished.  But Moran has an equally good point when she says, "We live in a society that applauds activity and distrusts stillness."  And she doesn't mean it in a good way.  We need to learn for ourselves that serenity feels better than the stimulation of incessant busyness.


Comforts is the final chapter, and it brings us back to home.  Everyone has their own comforts - creativity, daily routines, correspondence...  What comforts you and are you doing enough of it?

This is a 12-inch quilt I made this summer.  Its name is Nesting Instinct.   The chair is a miniature version of the armchair in Althea Ballard's Dream Chair Quilts.

Let's see how well this Chickadee did in creating a haven.

• Making a Home?  Check - This isn't your typical nest in a tree.
• Simplifying?  Check - no clutter.
• Cooking?  Can't give her that - I think she ordered out.
• Cleaning?  Check - It all looks spic and span.
• Celebrating?  Check - She's waiting for her baby birds.
• Sitting?  Check - Lots of opportunity to contemplate and appreciate nature.
• Comforts?  Check - Note her happy decorating and picture of a loved one hanging on the wall.

 

I like Shelter for the Spirit because it ties together so many aspects of what it takes to build and maintain a nurturing environment.  It's like holding the ribbons to a bouquet of balloons.  Each balloon alone is buoyant and attractive, but together they feel like a complete celebration, and that's what life should be.  You can do the same thing - it's all within your grasp.