Reclaiming The Home

Big News!

Here at Reclaiming the Home big things have been going on behind the scenes.  The needles have been knitting, the sewing machine has been sewing, and bits of craftiness are showing up everywhere around the house, here and there.  Because of my cold, the only cooking that has gone on was done by the infamous Mr. Rose with some buffalo cheese dip that he was quite proud of.  I'll have to ask him for the recipe so that I can share it soon!

The big news though, comes in the form of the new public Reclaiming The Home forum! 

My goal for the forum is to be a community of people who care about their homes and the gentle home arts.  There will be tutorials, resources, and information that will help us all to learn to be better Reclaimers, while providing incentive and motivational games in a fun atmosphere where we share our love of the home with one another. 

It is a place of friendship that welcomes people from all walks of life, where we all get to be ourselves, get to know one other better, support each other, and share our joys as well as our sorrows.  You don't have to be a mother, a wife, or stay at home to enjoy homemaking.

I know you will find real community here, grow friendships, build each other up, learn new things, and just enjoy hanging out at the forum.

If you have a moment, stop on by and take a look. There is so much to be found there and so much more to come, including a big surprise event for all of the forum members that will begin within the week! 

This idea has been in the works for some time, and I am so pleased to say, has finally come to fruition.  So many people were involved in its creation.  A big thank you to Caitlin, Pam, Diane, Audrey, Rachel, Robyn, Danna, and SO many more lovely women who helped to make this part of my dream a reality!

{HOME}

We just returned from visiting my Mammaw and my Dad this last week down in Texas.  My grandma is one of the greatest inspirations for me with homemaking.  She taught me how to crochet (which later inspired knitting).  She taught me how to embroider, and showed me the importance of being a good hostess, friend, and mother.   This morning, I snuck this photo of her that I plan to blow up and frame for my kitchen to always remind me that home truly is in the heart....

While we were there we also took a few moments to remember my grandfather who passed away on Sept. 17th.  This was the first time that we were able to go down there since his passing.  It was difficult to be there without him, and even more difficult to see how lonely my grandma was.  Still, there were moments where I could almost feel him with us, or hear him sharing a wise tidbit with us to help us grow and learn. 

He seemed to be everywhere, and nowhere all at once... While playing out with the kids in the back yard, I saw his garden, withering and neglected.  The yard was his forte, and he loved to putter around, weeding, pruning, watering, and growing new plants from starters, even when he already had 30 aloe-vera plants taking over the east side of the yard.  Still... a few plants managed to survive the lack of attention, and carried on the bits of life he helped them to attain.

It struck me that pieces of him were in all of these plants... his wisdom, his skill, and his tender loving care... through the grief, the denial, the neglect of these beautiful plants, they had survived and thrived, and kept on blooming out his love for all of us to silently feel around us.

In a few small pots were some cuttings that had miraculously grown into small starter plants.  Mammaw saw me admiring them and asked if I would take them home and care for them.  I carefully collected cuttings, starters, and seeds... the only plant I wasn't able to harvest a piece of (that I desperately wanted to) was the tomato plant that he had brought with him and kept strong for years.  Over the past few months as they have been left to their own survival, most of his tomato plants have shriveled and died.  Many would say to expect that in December, but they didn't know Papa.  He could grow anything, anywhere, at any time (though it helps that it was about 80* even when we were there this week!  Texas doesnt get much winter!).  Still, I feel as though I have come away with a living piece of my grandpa that he will be pleased is continuing on.

Its not much... its just a touch of his legacy.  But to me, its the world.  Its his wisdom, his amazing ability to grow life in the garden, his passion, and his gentle care of these delicate plants... all of the pieces of Papa that I have cherished my entire life, and miss so desperately about him. 

Its these little unnoticed pieces of our past that come through to help form and shape what it is that we cherish so much about our homes and our environments.  Our ancestors and our upbringings help to form the way that we view our world, and the way that we shape the walls of our environment around us. 

I am truly blessed to have such great love and joy to hold on to, and to use as a starter for the growth of love and legacy in my own home...

Exercising the Imagination

Gardening is about enjoying the smell of things growing in the soil, getting dirty without feeling guilty, and generally taking the time to soak up a little peace and serenity.  ~Lindley Karstens, noproblemgarden.com

The crisp fall air smells of harvest time and that always gets me to planning for spring's sweet gardening. I have a running handwritten list here on my desk of beautiful and delicious plants I hope to grow up in my yard and share with friends and family next year.

I am also doing a lot of research on permaculture and square foot gardening so that I can maximize the health and production of my plants.  The mister has agreed to build me some square foot gardens before it gets too cold, so that they can start to get ready for planting as we compost and continue to plan.

Gardening is something truly special to me for a great number of reasons.  The first reason is personal to me and something that reaches in to the depths of my heart.  My grandfather was an avid gardener, and produced the most beautiful and delicious fruits and vegetables one could imagine from his little backyard garden.  He shared his skills and his passions with his grandchildren, and it has stayed as fresh in my mind as the  season's first ripe tomato.

In addition to my sweet memories and romantic ideas of a family garden, I also believe that growing your own food is an essential way to make a positive impact on the land God graced us with, even if only in a small way.  By eating food that is grown close to home, we are reducing the amount of pollutants produced by transporting food to the stores and to our tables.  We can also rest assured that there aren't any dyes or chemicals on the produce we eat since we are in control of exactly what goes into our gardens.  As a bonus, the new plants produce oxygen, which not only benefits the earth, but us as well, bringing a little extra fresh air to our area.

On a more personal level, not only do we get delicious, organic fruits and vegetables a-plenty, but we also save money by not buying produce from the stores in the quantities we can get from our home-gardens.  It encourages us to eat healthier when fresh produce is literally delivered right to our house by nature itself.  We also feel a bit of independence and self-sufficiency by having a way to feed ourselves without dependence on outside means.  And as a bonus, we get a beautiful landscape to look at. 

What's not to love?