Hearth and Home (and Garden) - Part One

My boss recently described me as "quite the homemaker." Aw shucks. I don't really consider myself a homemaker, since I do work a full-time professional job.

But then I got to thinking about it, when I was home washing a week's worth of pots and pans. I do make things at home to make our house and lifestyle more homey, so yeah, I guess that I am a homemaker.

The week's worth of pots and pans shows that I am not a great housekeeper, but I do try to make our house a home. I can take very very little credit for the interior decoration of the house, but I can take credit for much of the exterior of the house.

My main focus in cultivating a sense of "home" is through cultivating the garden. One of my favorite homey things is fresh-cut flowers and thriving houseplants. This past year, I did grow enough flowers, particularly black-eyed Susans, to have several weeks of bouquets. I'm hoping that in a few years, I will have a well-established cutting garden so that I can actually utilize all the vases I've accumulated under the sink. This year, I have ordered Flashback calendula and Selma Suns sunflowers to expand my floral choices.

The other favorite homey thing (this time of year) is my pantry. It has onions from Musterfield, potatoes from Spring Ledge, butternut and acorn squash from our garden, a sad handful of tiny shallots, and all my canned goods. It is immensely gratifying to "go shopping" in the garage for dinner. We have been eating canned peaches and pears lately, and they are just wonderful. I can't say that I grew most of the contents of the Mason jars on the shelves, but I was able to preserve foods made from the cucumbers, peppers, basil and tomatoes that we grew in our yard.