by Kathleen Guire I love cleaning. I know. Not everyone does. I love order, organizing, and making things beautiful. Homemaking is an art that many in our culture have discarded. Perhaps we back down from beautifying our space because we don’t think it’s “beautiful enough.” The barrage of HGTV picture-perfect homes and Instagram design accounts […]
Levels, Shame, and Joy… Oh, my! (Aka: Bless this messy house.)
To Do List Clean (really clean) the first level Straighten the second level Bank Gas Consignment Shop Pick up coffee beans at Quantum Bean Drop tin of cookies (with note) at Blatter house Dear Mr. and Mrs. Blatter: I’m writing to apologize… For the time I wouldn’t let you use the bathroom in our house […]
Confessions of a Former Neat Freak (because hardly anyone actually does “drop by when they’re in the neighborhood”)
Confession: I peeked inside my daughter’s diary once. I didn’t intend to, but there it was, wide open on her bedside table. Instead of disclosing her crush-of-the-moment, her fifth-grade handwriting read, “I wish Mom didn’t care so much about how the house looks.” Her secret ran me through like a skewer. The constant clutter in […]
Hospitality Lost and Found (Now where did I put that virtue after I used it last?)
I can’t remember if I trembled when they asked. I’m pretty sure I did. The request arrived in an e-mail but would’ve been cooler if it came via telegraph. Coming to your town for five days –(STOP)- Can we stay with you –(STOP)- Or at least share one good Italian meal I cupped my hand […]
Bedbugs 101 (aka: My Deepest, Darkest Secret—Well, One of Them)
(This post includes affilated links.) I don’t remember who got bit first but eventually, everyone did. You could play connect-the-dots on our son’s midsection. Tony Bear’s neck and ears blossomed with thumbprint-sized welts that itched ferociously. In time, both girls also suffered with itchee-owies. I was bitten a time or two. At first we weren’t […]
