“Go out more, keep cheerful as well as busy, for you are the sunshine-maker of the family,  and if you get dismal there is no fair weather.” Louisa May Alcott, Little Women Dear keeper at home, you are the sunshine-maker of the family. You see the weather forecast of the day and you brighten it as best as you can. Like a group of candles burning together makes a peaceful glow, so does the light that you spread in your home in all your nurturing ways. You see a "storm" coming...  It is a troubled face... and as it walks through the door,  you are the first to offer a ..read more

"A man ought to carry himself in the world as an orange tree would if it could walk up and down in the garden, swinging perfume from every little censer it holds up to the air." ~ Henry Ward Beecher I love to work with citrus in the winter. Not only is it tasty and refreshing and full of the necessary vitamin C, but bright and beautiful in the somber chilly background of the season. Preserving food in jars is also very welcoming in this weather as the warmth canning brings into the kitchen is much appreciated. Plus, adding extra jars to the pantry shelf is indeed lovely too. Would you care to ..read more

“Of all the music that reached farthest into heaven, it is the beating of a loving heart." ~ Henry Ward Beecher Love languages in the home… - freshly baked desserts - coziness (throw blankets!) - a welcoming smile - freshly picked flowers or greenery - diffusers running - tidiness - a gentle squeeze - meals together - candlelight - folded laundry piles - pie (savory and sweet) - a bedtime story - prayers - hugs - encouragement - your undivided attention ? “Let all that you do be done with love.” ~ 1 Corinthians 16:14 Pumpkin pie is my husband's love language or pumpkin d ..read more

May I never forget the “real life” I was raised with so that I can daily live with a grateful heart… I grew up in a two-bedroom home sharing a room with my two younger brothers until I was ten. This was normal. In our home, there was never money for remodeling or redecorating. We wore hammy-down clothing and then continued to pass them down to others in the family. We ate what food was put on our plates, never wasting as we were taught to be thankful for the food we had. There was no individual catering of menus to each of our desires. And yet this was all normal. Somehow along the way, our ..read more

“There was no rest and no play for anyone now. They all worked from candle-light to candle-light. Mother and the girls were making cucumber pickles, green tomato pickles, and watermelon rind pickles; they were drying corn and apples, and making preserves. Everything must be saved, nothing wasted of all the summer’s bounty.” ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farmer Boy I used to keep my canning recipes in my recipe book but the more recipes I accumulated, the less space I had for the seasonal canning ones. Then I switched them to my herbal but that also grew in size. This summer, I began gathering all ..read more

"'Aye!' said Mrs. Purkis, smoothing down the bed, and despatching Jenny for an armful of lavender-scented towels..." ~ Elizabeth Gaskell, North and South It is okay to enjoy your life at home. It is okay to collect large, old jars because you think they’re pretty. It’s okay to decide to fill those jars with homemade sundries to add loveliness to your routine. It’s okay to want to beautify the ordinary to make it extraordinary. It’s okay to pour love, creativity and joy into your tasks. It’s okay to pour your heart into all areas of your home.  You have permission to ignore everyone wh ..read more

“She thought to herself, "This is now." She was glad that the cozy house, and Pa and Ma and the firelight and the music, were now. They could not be forgotten, she thought, because now is now. It can never be a long time ago.”  ~ Laura Ingalls Wilder, Little House in the Big Woods Dear reader, I've been trying to embrace the “now” with my family and any other blessings that come along. Trying to glean the good in our lives when so much seems to surround us which isn’t… I’ve been busy making and preserving memories as well as making and preserving the seasonal produce. This is our famil ..read more

“I long to accomplish great and noble tasks, but it is my chief duty to accomplish humble tasks as though they were great and noble. The world is moved along, not only by the mighty shoves of its heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker." ~ Helen Keller Dear reader, this delicately describes the gentle life of a homemaker. Through daily rituals of love and care, we are sending people into the world who are well-adjusted, who will shine a light in dark places, who will be peculiarly holy because you took the time to make this example in the home. You took the ..read more

One of the first things I learned how to preserve as a newlywed was strawberry freezer jam. It doesn't require any fancy equipment or any complicated skill but it surely blessed the whole family every time I served buttery toast, pancakes, waffles or crepes. And yes, it is also amazing over ice cream or plain cheesecake in case you were wondering. While I have since learned to can my own jams, I still make a few batches of strawberry freezer jam each year because the fresh flavor of this raw jam is insurmountable. There are two ways to make it! You can either buy the specialized  "freez ..read more

Every time I see a cracked egg, I am reminded fondly of my grandmother. You see, my grandfather ran an egg farm and as a peaceful type of fellow, he wasn’t too aggressive as a businessman. When grandmother noticed trays and trays of cracked eggs that were unsellable to his customers (and therefore being wasted), she asked if she could have them. He gave her the go-ahead and she took them to the local restaurants and sold those eggs for half the price. The businesses were delighted with the arrangement which lasted many years and she was able to put aside some savings for their family. Later ..read more