Wednesday, October 15, 2014

Home-keeping



I look around my home and I am content. It's not a show home nor is everything in perfect shape. It's a work in progress. But the clutch of mint on the windowsill is pretty to look at as I work at the sink.
 
Last picking of lemons from our tree before covering it up for the winter.

Home-keeping has a much better sound than house-keeping, don't you think? After all, although the house does require scrubbing and fixing and vacuuming and dusting, I only do those things because this is my home. 
 

This is the place where I am most myself. As Gladys Taber writes, "We need time to dream, time to remember, time to reach for the infinite. Time to be." I'd add that we need a physical space as well - indoors or out. Home should be one of those spaces.

Grey skies today and I'll be running errands later. For now, there's a pan of granola cooling on the countertop, a clock ticking quietly and a cup of tea to make. Wishing you quiet joys today.

34 comments:

  1. This is a lovely post, Lorrie. You captured the essence of what home is to many of us. Your pictures show us that it's often the little things that truly make a home. Thank you for sharing, my friend, and have a great day!

    Hugs,

    Denise at Forest Manor

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  2. Just lovely. Lemons from your own tree? Lucky you. They look beautiful in the blue bowl.
    I love quiet days at home. Blessings to you.

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  3. And some quilting to do! Is that English piecework?

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  4. I felt the contentment and the joy as I read. The peace too!

    Lovely post...
    Brenda
    xox

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  5. Contentment is such a lovely word and to be happy with what we have is worth all the gold and status in the world. Your home sounds lovely and if it's where you are happy then who's to say whether it should be perfect or not! Fancy having your own lemons - wow that would be something!

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  6. Yes, home-keeping is best.- Today was sunny and cold, 3 Celsius( 26,6 Farenhait)!

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  7. Lovely writing, Lorrie. I could feel the warmth of your contentment. Days like that are so satisfying.

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  8. Beautiful post! Home is truly where our heart lives. No matter the dust on the mantel or the squeaky screen door, it is the warmth and the coziness that keeps us there. Enjoy your day!

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  9. Home-keeping is an important job and a busy one whether one works 'outside' the home or at home. I enjoy the contentment I find in our home as well. I love the bowl of lemons. That would be wonderful to have a tree of them growing all summer.

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  10. Thank you. Quiet joys are my preferred option too and home making is high on the list of priorities.

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  11. Anonymous1:27 PM

    I do enjoy home the best. Lovely post, Lorrie!

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  12. Home keeping - I like that! Mmm, one of these days I need to make some homemade granola.

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  13. I was going to say in that last post, that slice of pie looks so nice embellished with cookies. I'd choose pecan as well. I think I'll go and make some tea.

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  14. I love days at home spent doing pleasant tasks. I started sewing a little today...making up my own pattern. We'll see how that goes! lol I should try to make the granola. It sounds so good! Hugs, Diane

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  15. Homekeeping is a lovely way to think of how we take pride in our efforts to keep our homes in a welcoming state...when our bungalow is neat and tidy I feel such contentment.
    Tea keeps me going on these rainy days...I ran errands today as well and took our daughter out for a lovely lunch at Pure Vanilla.
    I am in awe of your home grown lemons, how sweet it must be to pick them from your own tree.

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  16. I loved reading your thoughts on home-keeping. And, yes, I love that name for it! Home-keeping is important and satisfying work.

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  17. Just lovely - I feel the same way. Sometimes I just like to wander through our home in my bare feet - feeling the sense of home. I did house work today - can't really call that home work, or you'd think I was in school again, and I enjoyed the sparkle that comes each time I clean something - I love a shiny house - tidy and serene. Your photos are lovely.

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  18. You express it well. Beautiful sentiment.

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  19. Those lemons in the blue bowl! Hard to believe you could grow so many, in our climate. Very cool. I also love the photo of hawthorn berries in your previous post -- they're such a great accent in the landscape right now, aren't they!

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  20. I love being in my home. I love to travel and we do that several times a year, but being in my home "homekeeping" is my favorite thing.

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  21. Hi Lorrie! Thanks for visiting me.
    I enjoyed my wander into your part of the 'blogosphere' too.
    It is lovely to see you are so appreciative of homely beauty ~ I couldn't agree more.
    I see you are a very artistic and talented lady :)
    I'll be back!
    x



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  22. LOL you are right. Home-keeping sounds glamorous and cozy. House-keeping sounds like drudgery :)

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  23. You are right about the term house which is only an object which becomes a home with our TLC.
    We have a small home, not fancy but comfortable and a place we've made cozy with our familiar belongings.
    Have a nice weekend!

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  24. That's why I love Martha Stewart so much. She brought grace and glory back to home keeping or home making, a seemingly lost art. Our house is certainly a lived in home, but it is our sanctuary. Thank you for reminding us.

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  25. Hello Lori, I have been thinking about blogging lately and your blog is the first place I've read through. i always enjoy reading yours and was delighted to go on a stroll through Buchart Gardens with you. I was also amazed to see that you have a lemon tree in your yard. I didn't know that they grew in Victoria.

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  26. Oh I love this post, so peaceful. That is what home should be about.

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  27. I like that...home-keeping. It was a day of 'quiet joys' over here as well...though a good part of it was spent in the office.

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  28. Lovely post, Lorrie, your photographs reflect your thoughts perfectly.

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  29. Your post is lovely, Lorrie. Your lemons really pop with colour and how wonderfully fresh they must smell. It must be delightful to have a lemon tree. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I agree with you about ome-making.' I appreciate your visit and nice comment on my little table makeover. Have a splendid weekend.

    Blessings,
    Sandi

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  30. Sorry, I meant to say, 'home-making.'

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  31. Yes, home, my favorite place to be. We rent, and it's not perfect, but it's where my stuff is and where I can create and kick back. Quiet, peaceful time away from the noisy world is much needed. Have a wonderful weekend. Tammy

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  32. There is no prettier site than herbs and lemons.

    M.

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  33. A lovely post, Lorrie. I think you have captured the wonderful feeling of home that so many of us have. Such a happy and peaceful place to be.
    Helen xox

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  34. That is such a healthy looking clutch of mint. Home-keeping....I like that.

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