Of Hearth and Home

I LOVE my job as a homemaker.  I view it as my commission, my calling, my sacred duty.  I see my home-centered influence shaping generations and in turn, shaping the very history of mankind.

Over the years I have collected a number books in keeping with my mission, books like "American Woman's Home" by Catherine Beecher and Harriet Beecher Stowe (copywrite 1869) and "Home and Health" which was "prepared and edited by a competent committee of home-makers and physicians" in 1907.  These books are filled with wisdom, encouraging women to excel in the business of keeping their homes, loving their husbands and raising their children.  They view the world through the lens of the family and an understanding that the family directs the nation, which in turn, directs the history of the world.

Thumbing through Home and Health, I came across Don't for Parents.  Although considered old-fashioned and outdated by today's standards, think of how our society, our nation, would look if we but adhered to these few simple rules.....

Don't for Parents

1. Don't train your baby to cry for everything in sight, or he will soon learn the value of tears.
2. Don't neglect early training in orderly habits.
3. Don't allow demonstrations of temper.  Screaming, kicking, and striking need never be struggled with if "nipped in the bud".
4. Don't allow "whining" or "teasing".
5. Don't fail to express sympathy when the child is in trouble.  Sympathy is soothing.
6. Don't tolerate talebearing.  It breeds selfishness.
7. Don't criticize and punish first, and investigate later.  Injustice inflicts a deep wound.
8. Don't offer bribes.  Teach obedience from principle.
9. Don't push the little ones from you for fear of their soiling a pretty gown.  Sometime you may long for their caresses.
10. Don't fail to fulfill all promises.  This will instill confidence.
11. Don't give opportunity for the children to question your justice.
12. Don't fail to be kind and considerate.  Kindness is a mighty conqueror.
13. Don't neglect forming the acquaintance of your children's playmates and companions.
14. Don't try to frighten your children into obedience by telling them ghostly tales, or shutting them up in a dark place.
15. Don't fail to require good manners at the table.  Habits early formed will stay by children through life. 
16. Don't use language that you would blush to hear your children repeat.
17. Don't manifest partiality toward any one of your children.  They are keen observers.
18. Don't look for polite answers from your littles ones if you fail in this respect.  They are excellent imitators.
19. Don't treat your girls and boys in such a careless way that they will bestow their confidence elsewhere.  When you lose that, you lose your stronghold.
20. Don't put everything up out of the reach of the baby finger.  An understanding that some things are not to be touched will be a good lesson in self-control.
21. Don't turn a child off with an evasive answer when he is seeking special information.  He will get it elsewhere.
22. Don't deceive yourself by thinking that your children will grow up to be gentlemen and ladies unless you treat them as such.
23. Don't frown and scold the children continually and expect them to be sweet-tempered.
24. Don't feel above making an apology if you have wronged your child.  This is one way of establishing confidence.
25. Don't permit your children to stay with their playmates overnight.  Be fearful of their learning lessons of impurity.
26. Don't fail to instill honor and truthfulness into their young hearts, by example as well as by precept.  To do this under all circumstances requires courage, but it pays.

Oh, if we were to turn from the things of the world and become the keepers of our homes, we would surely change our families, our nation and our future. 

Homestead Espresso

Twenty-five years ago, I bought an extravagant Christmas gift for Sir Knight - a La Pavonia Europiccola espresso machine.  I had saved my pennies for months and was so excited to walk out of the boutique coffee shop with a treasure that I was positive my husband would cherish for a lifetime.  And cherish it he has.

Sir Knight has always been a coffee aficionado.  He remembers Starbucks when they only had two trucks (delivering coffee to businesses - no retail locations), Star Ship 1 and Star Ship 2.  But, even then, he wasn't interested in sitting in a coffee shop sipping on a Grande Macchiato, no Whip, with a beret jauntily positioned on his head and a copy of Mein Kampf in his hand.  He was more of a double-shot mocha, extra froth, sitting in a club chair in his living room, kind of guy.  Because of that, the La Pavoni was his kind of machine.

La Pavoni Europiccola

This machine is 25 years old!

Steam escaping the relief valve

Heating/frothing the milk

Pressing the espresso

Beautiful!

We've used the Europiccola heavily over the years, however, it fell into disuse when we moved into a "shouse" in the middle of a prairie with no electricity.  After we installed solar panels, we dusted off the espresso machine and reveled in the luxury of an occasional coffee.  As our off-grid systems have improved so has our ability to enjoy espresso.  Not only does Sir Knight enjoy a mocha from time to time, hot chocolate, made with Hershey's syrup and steam frothed milk has become a special treat for our children.

The one downside of the Europiccola is that it requires electricity.  We really wanted an espresso machine that would work on a gas range and especially, on a wood stove, without requiring any electricity.  Stovetop espresso machines are easily obtained, however,  we really wanted to be able to froth milk as well as well as make espresso.

Perusing Craigslist one day, I came across a Bellman CX-25 stovetop espresso machine.  Not only did the Bellman make espresso, it also steamed milk!  We snatched it up for an embarrassingly small sum, brought it home and proceeded to put it to the test.  What a wonderful little machine!  It is the perfect addition to our off-grid homestead!

Bellman CX-25

Frothing the milk

Espresso!

The making of a mocha!

Grated chocolate on top!

After watching a youtube video, we fired up our gas range and gave it a try.  The little machine worked wonderfully, with a yield of two 2 ounce shots of espresso.  It also frothed a full pitcher of milk relatively quickly.  We did use boiling water in the tank, which cut down on the heating time, and were careful not to overfill the tank, which could block the relief valve.

The real test came a few days later when we decided to use the Bellman on the wood cook stove.  Again, we used boiling water to fill the tank, put the Bellman over the woodbox and waited for it to heat.  After about 15 minutes, steam began flowing out of the relief valve indicating that it was ready to go to work.  I steamed the milk, using gloves (that cook stove was hot!) and quickly heard the low rumble of heating milk.  After the milk was heated, I removed the Bellman from the cook stove and cracked open the espresso knob, releasing perfect, steaming coffee.  Success!!

On the wood cook stove

Frothing the milk

The Bellman CX-25 will be going to live at Caer David.  Now, we'll be able to enjoy espresso both at home and at our home-away-from-home.  Although nothing will ever take the place of tea in our lives, an occasional coffee can be good for the soul.

Settling In....

Wow!  It has already been almost a year since Maid Elizabeth purchased her first home so I thought it was high time I took you along on an updated house tour.

Maid Elizabeth purchased a home in our small town because, really, it was too good a deal to pass up. The house was owned by the bank and for one reason or another, no one else seemed to see the potential in it's Edwardian era charm.  It was a definitely a "fixer", with the bathroom needing to be completely gutted, however it's bones were good and it's structure sound.  Elizabeth made an offer, the bank accepted and then the real work began!

Sir Knight and Miss Serenity gutting the bathroom

Ugh!

New flooring!  And plumbing!  The wall needs to be painted, but progress!!

Elizabeth completely reconfigured the bathroom

Working on a limited budget, Elizabeth took care of the big things first, specifically the bathroom.  The subfloor was pulled up and the walls were pulled down and all of the plumbing was replaced.  There is still work to be done but Elizabeth will do that as she has the time and the money.  And for now, she has a fully functional bathroom!  She also painted - EVERYTHING!  She painted the kitchen, after tearing down the panelling to reveal shiplap and she painted her living room RED!  I have to admit, I was a little concerned when she told me that she wanted to paint the living room red - I mean, who does that?  Red, of all colors!  But, once the color was on the walls, I saw her vision.  It is perfect - warm and welcoming and rich - just right in her large, wood accented living room.

Shiplap under the paneling in the kitchen

The chimney in the kitchen

The Pioneer Maid

Antique apartment sized gas range - Perfect!!

Elizabeth's antique drafting table in the kitchen/diner

New light fixtures installed by Sir Knight

A rocking chair in front of the cook stove!

The children pulling up flooring in the laundry room

Laundry room/white goods

After living in her house for about six months, Elizabeth noticed that her kitchen was dark.  In reality, her ceilings are ten feet tall and she had two single lights bulbs at the ceiling.  During the summer, she hadn't noticed the lack of light, but during the dark days of winter, she was suffering.  She bought two light fixtures at Costco and Sir Knight installed them and now her kitchen resembles the surface of the sun!  I'm pretty sure the entire neighborhood knows when she's home!!

The living room - before

And with RED walls!

A daybed under one window and a child's table under another

Cozy with a gas fired burner

Elizabeth still has many, many things on her to-do list.  She would like to turn her front porch into a snug, refinish her stairway and hall, finish her bathroom and install flooring in her utility room. She has painting to do in the bathroom and painting and flooring to tackle in the upstairs bedrooms.  She is saving money to put on a new roof, as well as an exterior paint job.

The front porch that will be a snug

Elizabeth's winter transportation - a kick sled with basket!

Maid Elizabeth truly has settled in and is enjoying every moment.  And the page turns on the next chapter.....

Motor Oil and Oat Rolls - A Day of Serenity

There are days that our lifestyle presents itself as a peculiar depiction of stark contrasts.  Take Miss Serenity for example.....

On an average day, Serenity can be found helping clean the house before she vigorously undertakes her academic workload.  In the afternoon she may be strapping on her saw chaps and cutting wood from the log deck, or perhaps she'll be curling her hair for an upcoming swing dance.  Her evening activities could be anything from reloading ammunition to teaching her little sister how to paint her fingernails.  Serenity fits into no mold - she is the epitome of the "Competent Man".....

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly.  Specialization is for insects."

Robert Heinlein

Not to long ago, my friend Lady Day was over for tea.  After Serenity had made tea and set the tea table, she joined us for a cuppa and some conversation.  Finishing her tea, she pulled on a pair of mechanics coveralls and headed outside to change the oil in her truck.  A little while later, she was back in the kitchen, oil covering her hands, washing up at the kitchen sink.  After tying the top of her soiled coveralls around her waist, she grabbed a bowl of oat roll dough that she had made earlier in the day and began forming dinner rolls.  Letting the rolls rise for a bit, she slid them into the oven, set the timer and headed back out to finish the maintenance work on her truck.  She finished the oil change, installed a new air filter, checked her power steering fluid and topped off the wiper fluid.  Washing up again, she slipped out of the coveralls, checked her rolls and sat back down for another cup of tea.  Soon, she was brushing her perfectly browned dinner rolls with melted butter and sliding them onto a cooling rack.  No specialization here - nothing but a well-rounded, competent young woman.

Sir Knight and I have always endeavored to give our children the tools to successfully navigate this thing called life.  We are convinced they need to be able to run a home, fight a war, be creators (and appreciators) of beauty and to build society rather than destroy it.  Their lives need to be a peculiar depiction of stark contrasts.  That is why motor oil and oat rolls equal a day of Serenity.