Almanac for Homemakers

1853 Advice for Today: Teach Child Daily   "Mrs. Abell's advice to parents in 1853 on teaching children at home is still well taken." We first met Mrs. L.G. Abell in our April post about Love Survives. Here is what she says about teaching children: "Few parents realize how much their children may be taught at home, by devoting a few minutes to their instruction every day. Let the parent make the experiment only during the hours which are not spent in school. Let him make a companion of his child, converse with him, propose questions, answer inquires, communicate facts, explain difficulties, the meaning of things, and the reason of things, and all in so easy and agreeable manner that it will be no task, but serve to awaken curiosity and interest the mind, and he will be astonished at the progress he will make." Let's break this down. Devote time to your children at home. Become companions with your children. Being their friend...

"Wish You Were Here" "A new kind of vacation has become popular in recent years. Two families exchange homes for the vacation period - and both benefit." This is the premise of one of my favorite movies The Holiday In this 2006 movie, our main characters go onto a website called HomeExchange.com. They decide they want away from their tormented lives on Christmas so they vacation in each others homes for the Christmas Holiday. It's an adorable movie that ends all cuddly and romantically. Our Almanac suggests that if you wish to try this out you should join the Vacation Exchange Club! In the 1970's, this was a directory of people who were all part of this home exchange club. It featured homes around the world so you could swap homes with people from different backgrounds. This is also a chance for you to visit far off places and check off some countries from your bucket list. Home Exchange is still operating today. You ...

1853 Advice for Making a Home Happy "In 1853 the 216 page Skillful Housewife's Book  by Mrs. L. G. Abell was published. It included many recipes and directed itself to such other topics as household duties, health care, gardening, birds, and education of children." I really couldn't find much information about the author. What I did find is that Mrs. L.G. Abell was thought a very wise, informed, and skillful homemaker. Here is an excerpt from the book in our Almanac: "It is not the imposing majesty of a sumptuous mansion, nor the hollow glare of gaudy furniture, nor the obsequious attention of servants, that make the blessedness of a home. No, it is the steady exercise of those holy charities, that soothes our sorrows, and builds the nest of peace, love, and true enjoyment in our bosoms.  It is a mutual respect and attention, a kind consideration of each others feelings, under all circumstances - a sympathy in our cares, a regard to...

Try Putting Up Wallboard? Why Not? "In the spring one tends to think about the sprucing up the home." In the 70's wood paneling was all the rage. Wallboard or as it commonly called today - Decorative Paneling. There are some seriously cute panelings out there today. Typically, when you think of wall paneling, you think of wooden paneling. I have some in my living room and it is very dated. It's so dark that is great for movie nights but mostly it just feels like a room that is sucking the light from your house. I found an article from Houzz that has some modern looks for us in the year 2018. So if you decide to go the way of decorative paneling, please steer clear of the basic stuff, and go for a nice chic modern look!

How to Make Your Own House Numbers "Is your house number displayed prominently somewhere on your property? You can buy suitable numbers and put them up. But perhaps a tool-using member of your household would like to make them - as part of the spring spruce-up of your home."   DIWHY House numbers Why buy numbers when you can boast on a blog that you made your own. AMIRIGHT Back in the day, your house number was a sign of pride. Homeownership. Branding.  Look at me I have an address. In our picture today, they suggest that this is a tradition that dates back to our caveman ancestors. When you didn't have a zip code and I'm surprised that they could count to 17. Our Almanac suggests some handsome redwood for your project. "Your local building supply center can sell you the small amount of redwood you'll need." Mostly because this material is long lasting in any weather. You could, at the time this book was writt...