My mother was a first generation superwoman who worked throughout my childhood. She realized early on that we, as women, can not do it all. Thus she hired a bi-weekly housecleaner and was smitten with easy prep meals such as Hamburger Helper. The invention of the microwave greatly expanded her nightly repertoire and quick, yet soggy, fish sticks with a side of peas became a staple. To this day my mother owns two microwaves and does most of her cooking with them.
I obediently followed in her footsteps and also became a working woman. Only neither my husband or myself chose careers based on income production. As a brewer and veterinarian we work hard. We get by but are far from wealthy. Accordingly I do not have a housekeeper or cook. And, oddly, I’m not fond of frozen food.
I want my children to have delicious home-cooked meals, milk and cookies after school, clean clothes in the closet and someone to help with their homework. I also want them to have a roof over their heads, indoor plumbing and some mode of transport to and fro. As such I find myself in the precarious position of being a working woman by night and a domestic goddess by day.
Only here’s the thing. After eight-years of formal schooling I am well-versed in veterinary matters. My domestic skills, however, are faulty at best. As a child I did my own laundry and was forced to pick up my room (cleaning for house cleaners ... who ever heard of such a thing!). I also took a few cooking lessons. End of story. I never truly learned cook or bake. Knitting was passe as was any mode of sewing. I was not trained to clean a floor or, according to my husband, load a dishwasher. It seems I am self-taught in all home matters.
I tend to pick and choose my domestic pursuits. I lean towards the crafty ... knitting, baking, cooking, sewing and gardening. My husband would be ecstatic if I would, say, become heavily involved in the fine art of toilet scrubbing. But alas this does not hold my interest (though I have tried my hand at plumbing). Accordingly my house sits in disarray as I feign ability.
This week in lieu of laundry and dishes and general tidiness I dabbled in canning and embroidery. I dare say I have two new hobbies to add to my cache. First I made an Apricot-Basil-Riesling Jam. You see we have an apricot tree (well really it belongs to our neighbors but I lay claim to the generous portion that falls over our fence). In years past the fruit has shamefully gone to waste. This year I decided to make jam. I loosely followed this recipe and added the basil on the advice of a friend. The thrift store had an inexpensive canning pot and I found the jars at our local market. The resulting jam was/is delicious. I may have to buy more fruit and make another batch.
As for embroidery ... I fell in love with a set of “vintage” tea towels at JoAnns. They were just begging to be embroidered. Once again the thrift store had what I needed - embroidery hoops and floss. I traced a pattern in pencil and, in honor of my soon to laying hens, fashioned a Wyandotte.
It looks like I may have a theme for Christmas care packages. Now if I could only find someone to scrub the floors ...
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Please tell my I'm not the only one struggling to "do it all". I'd love to hear how do you manage house, hobbies and all that life demands.
