Old Fashioned?

Apparently I am a little old-fashioned with my homemaking. 

Every day, whatever the weather, I make sure to open windows and/or doors for at least 10 minutes every day to allow the house to air out (much longer on sunny days).

Without fail, our drapes get drawn closed every evening and opened up again every morning. 

It never ceases to amaze me how many people don't do these things. Instead, they allow their homes to become musty dreary places that drag your spirit down.

I much prefer to have sunlight streaming into the house - even on a day like today when we had a heavy frost and kept the fire going much longer than usual. 

Fresh air and sunshine are, to me, basic requisites for a pleasant home and personal good health. 

Wouldn't you agree? 

Margaret xx 

A Quiet Day

MILLIE LOVES THE WARMTH OF AN EARLY MORNING FIRE

THE BACK PORCH GOT SCRUBBED CLEAN

CURRIED EGGS FOR LUNCH

THE RAIN ARRIVED EARLY AFTERNOON SO I PUT MY FEET UP AND BROWSED THROUGH A FAVOURITE RECIPE BOOK

TIME NOW TO GET SOME DINNER READY

MARGARET xx

Catching Up

THE MORNING WAS SPENT CATCHING UP ON THE HOUSEWORK THAT HADN'T BEEN DONE DURING THE WEEK.

THEN IT WAS INTO DOING SOME FOOD PREP AND COOKING.

SILVER MADE A VISIT TO THE KITCHEN TO SEE WHAT I WAS DOING.

AMONG MY FOOD PREP, I MADE BLANCHED BROCCOLI FOR MY SALADS (cook peeled julienned broccoli stem in 4 cups boiling water with 1 tsp salt for 2 minutes; add broccoli head, broken into flowerets, and 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil and boil 3 minutes; drain and leave to cool; store in fridge 3-4 days)

KEEP SMILING 

MARGARET xx

Back In The Groove

 

When Son bought our home in 2019 it came with a dishwasher.  For eighteen years prior to then, I had “survived” without using one.

Back then there was only two people to do dishes for, and I would rope in visitors to help if they had made more! 

When I came to live with Son his daughter also lived here, so there were at least three to do dishes for (often more – teenagers always seem to have friends over) and the dishwasher was a real help.

When granddaughter moved in with her mother I still continued using the dishwasher – until it stopped working a short while ago!

We rented a skip to remove accumulated building rubbish

Now I am getting back in the groove of doing dishes by hand (I am chief cook and bottle washer around here, although Son always helps when needed), I am remembering all the good reasons for not using a dishwasher.

No more expensive dishwasher detergent to buy.  Dishes are always available for immediate use (and we don’t need to have as many).  The satisfaction that comes from washing and drying dishes and putting them away (no deferred “have to put the dishes away”).  The ability to add disinfectant to the water if anyone in the household is sick (although I doubt if any germs could survive that harsh detergent).  I don't have to remind others not to put my crystal bowls or special gold-rimmed cups in the dishwasher.  I get to listen to some favourite music while standing at the sink.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am not knocking using a dishwasher.  For a family or in a commercial situation, a dishwasher can be invaluable.  But for one or two people, doing dishes by hand can be quite satisfying.

How do you normally cope with your dishes?

Margaret 😊

 

A Busy Morning

 

It rained most of the day yesterday and I never felt like doing a thing – so curled up in an armchair and read Georgette Heyer’s “A Quiet Gentleman.”   Sometimes it does wonders to have a day off doing things.

This morning has been very different.  The washing and handwashing has been done and hung out to dry – it is mostly sunny today, with a stiff westerly that should dry things well (as long as they don’t all end up wrapped around the clothesline!).

The house has been dusted and vacuumed, and the tiled floors all washed.  Surfaces in the kitchen and laundry have been scrubbed (not that that they were very dirty).  I’ve even found time to catch up on the phone with my youngest son, so am feeling like I have had a good morning.

I would like to end this post by wishing my daughter a happy wedding anniversary (today here, but our tomorrow when she celebrates in the US) – ten years together with her wonderful man.  I hope they have many more happy years together 😊

Have an awesome day everyone,

Margaret xx

Rock emits an awesome energy field that always makes me want to touch it – I think that is partly why I enjoy collecting stones around the place. 

These beauties were photographed in Zion National Park, Utah, in 2010 when I was there.

 

A Bit Under The Weather

The last couple of days I have been feeling a bit “under the weather” and not wanting to do much, but am thankfully feeling much better today.

Sometimes I think we just need a day or two to blob out and do next to nothing.  It is like the body needs to take a break every now and then, to relax and rest.

A kind of recharging of the batteries, perhaps to stop us from becoming seriously ill.

This morning has been good.  Son and I got the washing machine connected properly to the hot water and so I was able to do a hot wash of towels (cold water is okay, but sometimes I prefer to use hot water).

When they were hung out I decided to give the washing machine a thorough clean.  That didn’t take long as it wasn’t too dirty.

But the tub beside it!!  When we moved into this place it was obvious a previous inhabitant had used the tub to wash paint brushes as the tub was badly stained and had paint spots all over it.

I thought that we would eventually have to replace the tub (it looked dreadful) but then I read that it could be cleaned with steel wool.

I always thought steel wool would scratch, but nothing ventured nothing gained, and there wasn’t much to lose if it didn’t work.

Half an hour of hard scrubbing with a soapy steel wool pad and the tub looks much more respectable.  It still has more to scrub off, but I am very happy with the results I am getting.

After a week of frosts and sunshine we are now heading into a week of wet weather.  A lot of places are still needing rain, so it will be welcome.

I hope everyone is enjoying their weekend J

Margaret.

Mothballs

I love to place lavender sachets among my linen.  They leave a lovely fragrance and work just as well as mothballs when it comes to repelling insects.

Lavender ready for picking and drying

Years ago I used to use mothballs to stop insect damage in anything that was being packaged up and stored.  Naphthalene flakes were sprinkled beneath bookcases to stop silverfish infestations in the books.

My mother-in-law swore by the use of DDT for killing all bugs and used to sprinkle it around the skirting boards of her rooms.

My uncle and his father regularly used horticultural sprays without any protective clothing.

It is a wonder any of us have survived!

Lichen will only grow like this when it lives in a healthy environment

Schools are open again today after being “mothballed” for a couple of months.  Grand-daughter set off with some trepidation about what school would be like – some girls (she goes to a girls’ school) were wearing masks but most were not.  The school has asked only that each student carries their own bottle of hand sanitizer.

She was looking forward to seeing her friends again, in person instead of via a screen.  It will be interesting to hear what she has to report this evening.

A typical New Zealand country primary school

Stay healthy and happy, and have a great day J

Margaret.

Routines

This was our home in the late spring of 2005

Routines are slightly different to rituals and habits.  Rituals are the ceremonial performance of certain actions.  Habits are actions that are so ingrained in the mind, so automatic, that they become very difficult to change or stop.  Routines, on the other hand, are simply a sequence of actions that are regularly followed. 

I like to set out in list form the routines I use for housework.  It makes it much easier for me to know what needs doing and means I can totally forget about it the rest of the time.  When I was ill I used to follow the list one step at a time, and eventually the jobs would all be done.  Having a list also meant that if any help was available they could be shown it to know what needed doing.

Each time we moved house (which was often) I would write out new cleaning routines to suit that particular place.  I am doing the same again now. 

At the moment it looks like Monday and Thursday will be our main cleaning days.  I have yet to think about Thursdays but it will centre round the living rooms.  My draft Monday routine looks like this (it will no doubt change as it gets tweaked to make it work better):

Morning toilette and breakfast

Kitchen duties (dishes etc.)

Wind up chiming clock (it only needs winding weekly)

Change bedroom sheets

Put dirty sheets on to wash

Squirt cleaner into toilet and leave it to sit

Tidy and clean bedrooms

Clean bedroom and bathroom mirrors

Clean toilet

Clean bathroom (vanity, bath etc.)

Put out fresh clean towels

Put old towels on to wash

Hang out washed sheets

Drink a glass of water

Do the dusting

Vacuum all floors

Wash uncarpeted floors

Hang out washed towels

            (If weather is inclement, take washing to laundrette to dry)

Give one item a Special Clean

For the special cleaning, I intend to look around and see what needs to be done, consider what I feel like doing, and then enjoy doing that job.  It might be washing windows, polishing silverware, cleaning out a drawer, or re-arranging ornaments – whatever looks like it needs some attention.  Once upon a time I used to have a list of all these jobs and then do them in order, but I find my priorities are changing and I no longer want to fuss over housework so much.

Today’s warm sunny weather has been most enjoyable.  As I write this I can hear both a cock pheasant and a kingfisher off in the distance.  There are sparrows chirping outside the window, and a tui is singing in the nearby tree-filled gully. 

The sounds of nature are so peaceful.

Margaret.

A Quiet Saturday

I was a bit tired after yesterday’s long day so never stayed up to watch the All Blacks playing Wales, although I heard this morning that it had been a good game (from a Kiwi rugby supporter so not sure how impartial that comment was!).

I intend to watch the Rugby World Cup final match tonight, between England and South Africa, and expect that it will be a good game.  When visiting Nelson a few years ago, we came across this playing field that is part of what is now known as the Nelson Botanical Reserve.  It is the officially recognised place that a game of rugby was first played in New Zealand – on 14 May 1870!

Sight of New Zealand's first rugby match (in 1870)

We have had a sunny day today, with a bit of cloud and wind but generally very pleasant.  Took it easy and sat outside in the sun for a while and semi-dozed while son worked in the garden.  

A corner of the garden-in-progress

I did get the washing done though, so didn’t feel too guilty doing nothing.

A good sunny day for drying washing

I also messaged with my daughter.  Her and hubby are currently trekking the Arizona Trail from Utah down to Mexico and were disappearing back into the wilderness this morning for another week. 

(Photo courtesy of my daughter)

Made a BLT (bacon, lettuce, tomato) salad for lunch and ate it al fresco in the sunshine.  I love sitting outdoors to eat breakfast as well, but our outside table is still in the shade that early in the morning so that little treat will have to wait until summer really arrives.

My salad was a bit of a throw-together.  I sautéed some onion and bacon, lightly fried the tomato before chopping it up, and sprinkled them over cut lettuce, parsley, cubed cheese, and pickled ginger.  A drizzle of dressing and it was finished.  Nice and simple and it certainly tasted a bit different to my usual salads!

My BLT Salad

Happy weekend everybody,

Margaret