February 15, 2016

The Warmth And Simplicity Of Home

Corn tortillas under construction.
"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."
- Thomas Moore

A great strategy for saving money (and one of the easiest) is to just stay home more. Big business hates that. They want you out and about, wallet in hand, looking for somewhere to spend your hard earned cash.

If you can't get people out of their houses, you can't get them to spend as much of their money. That must be why the term 'homebody' has such negative connotations.


The view is good from home.

A popular online dictionary defines homebody as "a person who likes to stay at home, especially one who is perceived as unadventurous." What?


Lots of good books to read.

Try living with an intelligent, witty, irritatingly logically consistent, humorous and always feisty woman with multiple sclerosis. Most adventurous I assure you. Or how about living without toilet paper? Or doing more with less?


Baking bread - an age old, soul-enhancing routine that transcends bodily nutrition.

Obviously one's sense of adventure is a matter of perspective, and whether you are drinking from the consumer/travel industry punch bowl or not. I think one can have a perfectly adventurous existence in the comfort of your own home. Without buying anything or going anywhere.


Learning to cook all your food from scratch is a majorly enjoyable adventure.


The definition of homebody I prefer is "a person that enjoys the warmth and simplicity of home". It's not that it is so bad "out there", but that it is so good right here at home. If someone wants to sell me something it is going to have to be better than this.

And not much stuff for sale is better than this, I have found.










14 comments:

  1. Home is my favorite place to be. I do have to go out some as I live alone and need social contact.

    I'm reminded of how expensive and stressful it is to be away from home. Recently, I've taken on extra odd jobs for relocation expenses. So far I've been able to cook most my meals on my day off and get laundry done. It is harder to not use the clothes dryer though.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Conveniences are endlessly enticing. I noticed that my neighbours don't put laundry on the line in the winter. We don't have a line yet.

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  2. PS I love these pictures. Food looks delicious! Something very special about homemade food.

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  3. If you are too busy, you often don't even know your neighbors. We have a little coop going where I supply the mower, one neighbor supplies the labor and an elderly neighbor supplies the gas. I was gifted a bag of tomatoes last summer by neighbors across the street. Home expands a little to neighborhood.

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    1. I love the idea of expanding the idea of "home" to include your area. And outward the concentric circles go to eventually encompass everything. Earth is home and we are all family. You are lucky to experience a bit of that right where you live.

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    2. What Annie wrote made me feel happy! What a great idea. I'll not forget this one.

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  4. This is one of my favourite posts ever! I am so often accused of being small-minded and little because my home is where I want to be. I don't want to travel, did it in my twenties, nor go anywhere really other than my place. I look at it this way, if I needs little, it means I have everything I need and don't need to go searching elsewhere to get it. If I have to fill my life with distractions then obviously I would be still searching outside of myself for fulfillment. Give me my home and my family, anytime!

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    1. I always thought of travel as a learning experience, but like school, eventually ends. Then the real adventure begins, traveling inward and learning what you can there. That is hard to do when you are busy looking outward in the material world.

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  5. Anonymous2/16/2016

    Someone recently told me they were bored because the weather was keeping them in the house. I'm always in the house and never bored. There is so much to occupy your mind and tasks to be done. I do miss being out in nature, but don't miss at all the hustle and bustle of a modern life. Then, I've always been a homebody.

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    1. I don't understand bored. There is much to do and not a lot of time.

      “What is life? It is the flash of a firefly in the night, the breath of a buffalo in the wintertime.”

      - Crowfoot

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  6. I love being at home. Family members often can't believe that I'm not "doing things" on the weekend. I do lots of things, just in and around my home! P.S. Would you consider sharing your tortilla recipe? Looks good!

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    1. I just reposted the recipe I use for corn tortillas. Fresh ones off the cast iron fry pan are great plain. They are even better in the many other recipes that call for them. Bean and rice burritos are a staple in our home.

      Would making tortillas qualify as "doing something" on the weekend?

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  7. Love this post! What a good reminder that being a homebody (and a people-loving introvert) is not only a good thing, it is who I am.

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    Replies
    1. Our culture is out of balance when it comes to that, putting extroverts on a pedestal. It takes all different types to make this thing work.

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