The Cottage on the Hill

Probably billions has been spent over the decades by women alone trying to keep their girlish figures. While I am a bargain hunter, I would probably be embarrassed to know the amount of money I wasted  spent on exercise junk. I'm not against exercise or fitness or even the industry. But, I keep hearing the voices of those influential women in my life. "We never worried about exercising or getting in an hour at the gym every other day." And yet, they stayed trim. For me, to do a workout routine or video is the utmost in boredom and torture.  I hate most of them.  So, to simplify my life, I once again look to the past for my answer. Women used to get enough exercise just in their daily lives. Housework alone burned the bulk of their calories. They walked more, too. And went dancing. Now, those are three things I like doing! I like doing housework and I am sure I can put more caloric effort into it. Spring is here and I am walking more.  I walk to...

There are admirable women in my life.  Women who raised families the "old fashioned way" before technology was the rule.  Their homemaker examples and influence fashioned very strongly how I pictured my own homemaking lifestyle. For me (yes, that is a disclaimer.  I am expressing that this is how I feel for myself.  I make no claims that every woman should be in line with this way of thinking.) that influence is stronger than just charming nostalgia.  For me, it honestly feels like wisdom I could follow to find my own homemaking peace of mind. So, I am doing a little series on this blog.  I will be looking back at how my mother and grandmother and my neighbor and other such ladies kept their homes and families during the eras when homemaking was honored, cherished, and keeping the house was a serious career and daily routine rather than a hurried after thought. They seemed more joyful and less stressed. I feel harried almost all the time. So,...

The fridge needed a good cleaning. Thankfully, I did better at keeping up with it than I had in the past. But, I still threw out an embarrassing amount of food. It really got me thinking about my grocery spending and food waste. I realized that I buy too much food, and too many "foods with broken promises." These are foods that I buy because I have some fantasy that I am going to make something special, and I never get around to it. These are foods I impulse buy on clearance because they're cheap and good for me, but they are ultimately extras that I never get around to eating. These are foods I purchase with high hopes that my kiddos will eat them despite knowing deep down that I will shun the food and it'll go to waste. So, I started this week's grocery shopping with some new thoughts and considerations. One simple change (something I used to do in the past but since forgotten about) was purchasing boiler onions. It started today when onions were on...