Link to My New Blog

Here it is for anyone interested:

www.mamaofthehouse.blogspot.com

It's the link to my new blog. Hope to see you there!!

You Can Take the Girl out of the 50's...

Hey friends...I write today to give a very brief "farewell address." Blogging about 50's homemaking has been something fun for me to do, but as you can tell by the sparse posting of late, it's difficult to be consistent with it. More than anything, it's been tough to find time to add 50's homemaking experiments into my hectic daily routine which includes regular homemaking and keeping up with my son (who is developing an iron will these days!).

So, I'm ending the Move Over, June blog and starting up a new one - one that will be mostly just fun for me, but I hope to give an accurate picture of my life - one I am realizing more than ever is blessed beyond my wildest dreams. I get to be a stay at home mom (during the week at least), I have a wonderful husband who works hard to provide for us, and an amazing son who brings me joy every day. I'd like to spend more time blogging about that which I hold dear - although that gets hectic at times, too!

I will post a link on this blog to my new blog very soon - in case anyone is interested in following or just checking in from time to time. I'm sure there will be 50's tidbits here and there in the new blog - after all, you can take the girl out of the 50's, but you can't take the 50's out of the girl!

Thanks to all for keeping up with me here! This is June Wanna-Be, signing off!

Dry-Cleaning at Home

I realize it's been over a month since my last post...and 50's living has really gone by the wayside over this crazy, busy summer. But as my husband gets ready for "back to school," and our schedule returns to somewhat normal, I look forward to keeping up with the blog...and getting my house back in order, 50's style!

With the mountains of laundry we returned to after several weeks away, I can think of no better topic to post on than laundry itself. The everyday items are easy enough to handle, but the delicate items (read: dry clean only) pose more of a problem. Especially if, like me...you don't want to pay a dry cleaner gobs of money to do what you can (maybe) do at home. At least some of the time.

Good Housekeeping's Guide to Successful Homemaking states:

Dry-cleaning at home, because of the many dangers, should not be attempted on a large scale, but occasionally it may become necessary on a small scale (p. 254).

This piqued my interest because while I have no desire to turn my home into a full-scale martinizing operation (or blow my house up), it would be nice to have a way to deal with some of the dry-clean stuff myself.

Dry-cleaning is similar to washing fine things by hand in a washbasin. You squeeze the article to remove soil, rub neckline and cuffs with extra effort, rinse, press out the moisture, and allow to dry.

This seems like a lot of steps, and I don't currently own a washbasin, although I suppose my bathtub would do just fine. Or is that really gross? I'm having trouble deciding.

Regardless, a special cleaner made for the purpose of home dry-cleaning is reccomended. So I guess the question becomes: do I really want to put that chemical stuff in the same tub I use to bathe my son? Um, NO. So clearly, a trip to the basin store aka Target is in order.

Unlike water, cleaning fluid doesn't remove creases or pleats, so pressing dry-cleaned clothing is much simpler than ironing laundered clothing.

I'm glad there's one thing about the process that's simpler. I'm going to find that magic cleaning fluid, and get started. Off to find those "dry clean only" clothes and give it a shot. Maybe I'll start with just one. That way if I ruin it, it's only one clothes casuality. God knows we can't afford more than that!

A Brief History of Wall Storage

I thought summer would bring me more chances to blog, but we've been gone off and on pretty much since it started. Everything we've been up to has been fun, but it feels like as soon as we unpack from one trip, we are back to packing for another! In fact, in just about an hour, we are leaving again for a weekend excursion to the Poconos with my immediate family. It should be a great trip and we are really looking forward to it. However, we are leaving again once we return from there (I know, we're crazy but this is the only time we have to travel since my husband is a teacher and can't take time off during the school year). That being said, I'd love to get a quick post up about something I love...decorating.

I wish I was better at decorating - my love for it mostly stems from countless hours looking wistfully at Pottery Barn catalogs and dreaming of what could be...if and when we win the lottery.

My copy of Good Housekeeping's Guide to Successful Homemaking has a whole section devoted to decorating, discussing all different types of furniture for each room of the home, providing pictures galore. Today, I will focus on bookcases, cabinets, and break fronts; I will include pictures as close as possible to the ones in my GH Guide as well as ones I've been eyeing...in my dreams, of course!

The picture at the top of the post is a Sheraton bookcase in cross-grain veneer. English, c. 1800.

Above (right) is a provincial wall cabinet in Louis XV style. Open shelves on top, graceful panels on lower portion. French, c. 1770.

It's interesting to note that each of these pieces as well as those pictured in the Good Housekeeping Guide are more or less what you would find in 1950's homes. Were antiques that popular for that long? Indeed, they are still popular today, but I guess it all depends on where you look. It seems that decor has gotten much simpler - clean lines and practicality abound more in today's furniture. For example, the picture above (left) is obviously reminiscent of the antique style but some would consider the Pottery Barn piece more functional for today's lifestyles. It's all a matter of taste, I suppose.

I guess the important thing is no matter what style you choose, be sure to choose wisely - big pieces like these are expensive. However, with a little extra TLC, these pieces can last a lifetime. I suppose that's a post for another day, though! Happy decorating (or in my case, dreaming)!

Our Own Ultimate

As I was skimming around Amy Vanderbilt's Guide to Gracious Living today, I was struck by her decision to devote an entire section to "familiar words and phrases from other languages." It caught me off guard, because although the title of her (in my opinion fabulous) book lends itself to be a guide to everyday living, I wasn't sure how having a base knowledge in other languages (especially Latin, which we all know is a dead language) is something anyone (let alone a 50's housewife) would utilize every day. Or even once a week, for that matter.

But even as I type this, I'm having an ah-ha! moment, because therein lies the appeal of the 50's housewife, right? For lore tells us of a woman rich in grace and beauty, who keeps a spotless house, has 2.5 children with impeccable manners, a husband who adores her, and he with never a wrinkle to be found on his clothing, in addition to her being cultured. She may not use Latin or French every day, or even on most days...but the one day she needs to partake in the witty repartee of her husband's business associates and their spouses, she can do so with ease. Now that is something to aspire to.

The kind of society we should seek is that which stimulates us to express ourselves verbally, that spurs our intellectual processes, that makes us want to achieve our own ultimate (p. 467).

Our own ULTIMATE! What a fantastic concept. To just be the best we can be, stealing the Army's once famous motto. When I get tired and just down and out about my lack of 50's housewife skills, I can remember the goal is truly - to achieve my own ultimate. Even if I completely fall short of perfect (which, let's be honest - not even June or Margaret can call themselves that), I will still be a blessing to my family by striving for my personal best. And, as a writer and lover of literature, it brings me great pleasure to share some of Amy's list of familiar words and phrases from the language that's dead to the world, but not to us housewives...Latin!

ex cathedra - usually used in connection with a pronouncement from the Pope. Literally, "from his chair" or "officially."

ex libris - (among) the books (of), a bookplate with the owner's name, coat of arms, etc., to be pasted on the inside cover of a book

habeas corpus - a writ or order permitting a prisoner to be produced at a stated time to determine the court's right to detain him. This is a phrase beloved by crime reporters and mystery writers.

You see? Before today, I thought habeas corpus was just a line from Legally Blonde. We're learning so much already, aren't we?!

ipso facto - by the act itself

mare nostrum - our sea. A phrase used politically by the Italians to indicate the Mediterranean. And a phrase particularly liked by editorial writers.

A word of caution here, fellow housewives, if I may. I'm guessing it wouldn't go over well in the world for Americans to start referring to the Atlantic or the Pacific as mare nostrum. Just a thought!

multum in parvo - much in little

And that's where we'll end the language lesson for today. I hope you were all taking notes, housewives. The lesson within the lesson that Amy should wish to impart is that the learned housewife is the happiest housewife. Until next time, Valete! And if you don't know what that means, I'm afraid you'll have to look it up to get the joke!

It's BadMINTON!

I've blogged quite a bit about the work involved in keeping a June-like life, but have yet to spend much time on leisure activities of the 1950's. While watching yet another episode of Father Knows Best, my interest was piqued when the episode centered around whether or not Jim was too old to play badminton. Eventually, he and Margaret skip off (in a very youthful fashion, I might add) to play badminton with another couple for the evening.

I guess it's not much different than couples playing tennis together today, but it was just funny to me because I haven't played badminton since tenth grade gym class. And also...I thought it was "badmitten"...like fingerless gloves. Seriously, I figured out I was wrong for the first time today when I tried to type "badmitten" into Google search and all the results came up for "badminton." I guess they're wrong when they say computers will never be as smart as humans.

Anyway, badminton to me, seems just a little "cuter" version of tennis. Obviously, there are the logistical differences of a shuttlecock being used instead of a ball, and the court being a bit different, but it seems similar enough. I, not being particularly adept at tennis, am actually very interested in trying out badminton (for the second time ever) sometime soon.

Before I get ahead of myself, I think it's best to consult the expert on all things, Amy Vanderbilt on the topic at hand.

A sociologist or psychiatrist could glean considerable information about any [badminton] player's personality defects by watching his behavior on the court. In this game, the man stands revealed, even in a game of mixed doubles. He has plenty of room in which to throw a tantrum or his racket, lots of space to yell and hurl taunts at his opponent, many opportunities to cheat when there is no referee and his word as a sportsman and gentleman decides whether the shuttlecock is in or out (p. 163).

Now that gives us lots to look forward to, doesn't it? It sounds very similar to what I imagine will be my son and his peers interacting in about another year or so. Nevertheless, Margaret Anderson did look so snappy in her cute little badminton outfit - maybe I'll still give it a go!

No Rest for the Weary Wife

The time has come...to say goodbye...to a favorite ritual of mine.

The daily nap.

My son has recently switched from two naps to one and it has not been a very easy transition! He's doing fine now, but there were a few days last week where my husband couldn't get home from work soon enough because I was exhausted and my poor little non-napper was, too. Finally, I figured out it was a combination of being ready to switch to one nap a day, and the dreaded teething once again.

However, when I say farewell to the siesta, it's not his I'm talking about. Hopefully he'll keep that up until he's 3 or 4! It's, well...my own nap I'm having trouble parting with!

Go ahead, judge away - but it's tiring chasing a 13 month old, and keeping non-edible items out of his mouth, and getting your finger bitten several times a day, and on and on! I get up at 6 and on good nights get to bed around 10:30 - it's been so lovely to have a nap almost any day I want one.

But this 50's housewife life is a work in progress - and as I progress...or start to see less progress than I would like - I see it's probably only going to improve if I'm willing to part with my beloved nap. I couldn't even find time to make my mincemeat yet and that post was well over a week ago! If I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it all the way.

Wish me luck - and better wish my husband luck, too! I can imagine I'll be far less pleasant to be around sans-nap. If things get too out of control, Amy Vanderbilt has this advice:

A tired mother needing a bath and a nap might employ a baby-sitter to watch the baby in the playpen, sandbox, or nursery (p. 321).

Well, at least it's comforting to know that 50's housewives weren't robots after all...they got tired, too. That makes me feel at least a little better about life!