"One of the most fundamental of human longings is the longing for home. We long for a place that feels like the right place, where we belong, where we ourselves are longed for and welcomed. And for all its spiritual and psychological dimensions, this longing is physical and material as well. We want there to be a place where waiting for us is a room, a bed, a chair, a meal - the things that meet the basic needs of embodied things like ourselves. We want “the comforts of home”, not just somewhere away from home - a fancy hotel, say - but at home, where, we sense, they are supposed to be.”
- MARGARET KIM PETERSON
Keeping House: The Litany of Everyday Life
Now that my leg is on the mend from a pinched sciatic nerve, I'm slowly immersing myself in all things homekeeping, especially vintage housekeeping, which still resonates so deeply with me. I can't get enough of images like these, the sweet scenes of home and a wife and mother tending to the needs of her family. Don't get me wrong, I don't judge or begrudge any woman the right to pursue a career, that's just not at the heart of who I am, and as such, its what you'll always find this reflected here in this space.
Growing up, I was blessed to have a mother in the home. My mother didn't go to work until I was in high school and it was a great comfort to me. Regardless of what may have been happening in my life, knowing my mother was home and available to me at any moment grounded me, I suppose you could say. I liked knowing she was there and would be there to greet me any time I returned. Though our relationship wasn't perfect, her choice to be a stay-at-home mom is a gift I will always treasure, and it greatly influenced my life as a young girl.
Something I enjoy is perusing the plethora of vintage housekeeping books that are available on the Internet Archives. While nothing replaces holding a book in your hand, since there is no way I could or should own every book that catches my eye, the archives serves as a useful tool.
A few favorites I've come across are the Mrs. Beeton's Books. Her first book, Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, published in 1836, was an instant success. There are actually what look to be a number of updated and revised versions at the archives, including;
and this one looks interesting,
I just love perusing these old texts, which are often filled with practical, as well as a lot of out-dated but still fun ideas. If you enjoy vintage housekeeping, too, I encourage you to spend some time searching them out on the archives. I often do an initial search on Pinterest, which usually provides me with a number of images of covers and titles and then seek them out on the archives. I find them quite fun, like stepping back to a time when life seemed simpler.
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