Windows entirely covered with lace curtains are out of place in the country, for we want the view of hills and woods, of prairie and stream to add to the beauty of our homes and to give them an effect of space and distance. We want our windows to be moving pictures of storms and sunshine, of sunrise and sunset, of moonlight and sunshine and the ever changing seasons. And so, while they must be more or less draped, the less they are draped the more we shall love them.
If the walls are plain, cretonnes or prints are good draped at the sides and across the very tops, but if there is figured paper on the walls then a plain color or white is better for the windows.
I once made some very pretty window curtains out of unbleached muslin, edged with crochet lace. The soft cream color of the muslin and the effect of the lace were charming when the curtains were hung.
COOL AND INVITING
In winter we give our homes a feeling of warmth and coziness by the use of warm materials and warm, bright colors and by a snug grouping of the furniture.
In warm weather, however, we want to suggest coolness, to give a sense of lightness, airiness and restfulness. To secure this effect it is better not to have too much in a room, for a cluttered room is stuffy and gives a feeling of confusion which is tiring. The furniture should be rather scattered, with chairs and couches arranged to take full advantage of the fresh air from open windows.
A few good pictures on the walls are better than many and the bright colored bindings of books give a pleasing note of color in a darker corner.
The quality of quietness and coolness should be especially emphasized in the treatment of our bedrooms, thus helping to induce a restful sleep when hot weather comes. One of the quilts, from some beautiful, old pattern that everyone has been making lately, is a lovely cover for a bed and several cushions, of different patterned blocks, go nicely with it. A tiny block, of the same pattern as the quilt, in the corner of white window curtains and dresser scarf gives a touch of quaintness to the whole.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Mrs. A. J. Wilder’s Articles and Columns in the Missouri Ruralist
“According to Experts.” February 5, 1917, p. 9.
“All in the Day’s Work: Just a Neighborly Visit with Folks at Rocky Ridge Farm.” February 5, 1916, p. 20.
“All the World Is Queer.” September 20, 1916, p. 9.
“The American Spirit.” December 20, 1918, p. 11.
“And a Woman Did It.” July 20, 1917, p. 10.
“And Missouri ‘Showed’ Them: From A To Z—Alfalfa to Zinc—the ‘Show Me State’ Won Honors at ‘Frisco’s Exposition.” December 5, 1915, pp. 3, 7.
“Are We Too Busy?” October 5, 1917, p. 12.
“Are You Going Ahead?” February 20, 1917, p. 13.
“Are You Helping or Hindering?” July 5, 1918, p. 21.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (1). June 15, 1921, p. 17.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (2). July 15, 1921, p. 16.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (3). November 1, 1921, p. 24.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (4). November 15, 1921, p. 21.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (5). January 1, 1922, p. 20.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (6). February 1, 1922, p. 26.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (7). March 1, 1922, p. 28.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (8). March 15, 1922, p. 26.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (9). May 1, 1922, p. 14.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (10). June 15, 1922, p. 22.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (11). July 1, 1922, p. 20.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (12). August 15, 1922, p. 27.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (13). September 1, 1922, pp. 20–22.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (14). October 15, 1922, p. 27.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (15). November 1, 1922, p. 20.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (16). November 15, 1922, p. 26.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (17). January 1, 1923, p. 20.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (18). April 1, 1923, p. 30.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (19). April 15, 1923, p. 32.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (20). May 15, 1923, p. 22.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (21). July 1, 1923, p. 16.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (22). August 1, 1923, p. 18.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (23). November 1, 1923, p. 22.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (24). November 15, 1923, p. 16.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (25). January 1, 1924, p. 34.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (26). January 15, 1924, p. 20.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (27). February 1, 1924, p. 39.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (28). March 1, 1924, p. 31.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (29). April 1, 1924, p. 31.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (30). May 15, 1924, p. 16.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (31). June 1, 1924, p. 16.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (32). June 15, 1924, p. 16.
“As a Farm Woman Thinks” (33). December 15, 1924, p. 16.
“As in Days of Old.” April 15, 1922, p. 36.
“An Autumn Day.” October 20, 1916, p. 9.
“Before Santa Claus Came.” December 20, 1916, p. 3.
“A Bouquet of Wild Flowers.” July 20, 1917, p. 13.
“Buy Goods Worth the Price.” April 5, 1917, p. 17.
“Chasing Thistledown.” June 20, 1917, p. 12.
“Dear Farm Women.” January 5, 1921, p. 7.
“Does ‘Haste Make Waste’?” April 20, 1917, p. 16.
“A Dog’s a Dog for A’ That: Intelligent Pets Sometimes Seem Almost Like Real Folks.” August 20, 1916, p. 5.
“Doing Our Best.” June 5, 1917, p. 13.
“Do Not Waste Your Strength.” September 5, 1916, p. 11.
“Do the Right Thing Always.” June 20, 1918, p. 11.
“Each in His Place.” May 5, 1917, p. 9.
“Early Training Counts Most.” October 20, 1918, p. 13.
“Economy in Egg Production.” April 5, 1915, p. 21.
“Everyone Can Do Something.” November 20, 1917, p. 16.
“Facts Versus Theories.” June 20, 1916, p. 9.
“The Fairs That Build Men: Where Citizens of Tomorrow Are Trained.” January 15, 1924, p. 23.
“The Farm Home” (1). May 5, 1919, p. 26, 35.
“The Farm Home” (2). May 20, 1919, p. 21.
“The Farm Home” (3). June 5, 1919, p. 23.
“The Farm Home” (4). June 20, 1919, p. 19.
“The Farm Home” (5). July 5, 1919, p. 19.
“The Farm Home” (6). July 20, 1919, p. 29.
“The Farm Home” (7). August 5, 1919, p. 20.
“The Farm Home” (8). September 5, 1919, p. 32.
“The Farm Home” (9). September 20, 1919, p. 44.
“The Farm Home” (10). October 5, 1919, p. 23.
“The Farm Home” (11). October 20, 1919, p. 22.
“The Farm Home” (12). November 5, 1919, p. 17.
“The Farm Home” (13). November 20, 1919, p. 34.
“The Farm Home” (14). December 5, 1919, p. 33.
“The Farm Home” (15). December 20 1919, p. 27.
“The Farm Home” (16). January 5, 1920, p. 41.
“The Farm Home” (17). January 20, 1920, p. 45.
“The Farm Home” (18). February 5, 1920, p. 35.
“The Farm Home” (19). February 20, 1920, p. 40.
“The Farm Home” (20). March 5, 1920, p. 36.
“The Farm Home” (21). March 20, 1920, p. 38.
“The Farm Home” (22). April 5, 1920, p. 34.
“The Farm Home” (23). April 20, 1920, p. 27.
“The Farm Home” (24). May 5, 1920, p. 39.
“The Farm Home” (25). June 5, 1920, p. 27.
“The Farm Home” (26). July 5, 1920, p. 27.
“The Farm Home” (27). July 20, 1920, p. 29.
“The Farm Home” (28). August 2
0, 1920, p. 33.
“The Farm Home” (29). October 5, 1920, p. 31.
“The Farm Home” (30). October 20, 1920, p. 34.
“The Farm Home” (31). November 5, 1920, p. 27.
“The Farm Home” (32). December 5, 1920, p. 25.
“Favors the Small Farm: It Lessens the Investment, Improves Country Social Conditions, Makes the Owner More Independent of Poor Help, Promotes Better Farming Methods and Reduces the Labor of Housekeeping.” February 18, 1911, p. 1.
“A Few Minutes with a Poet.” January 5, 1919, p. 19.
“Folks Are ‘Just Folks’: Why Shouldn’t Town and Country Women Work and Play Together?” May 5, 1916, pp. 12–13.
“Friendship Must Be Wooed.” March 5, 1919, p. 44.
“From a Farm Woman to You.” July 1, 1921, p. 12.
“Get the Habit of Being Ready.” October 20, 1917, p. 13.
“Getting the Worst of It.” March 5, 1917, p. 9.
“Giving and Taking Advice.” January 20, 1917, p. 9.
“Good Times on the Farm: It’s Easy to Have Fun if You Plan for It.” February 5, 1914, p. 9.
“Haying While the Sun Shines.” July 20, 1916, p. 9.
“Hitching Up for Family Team Work: The Oettings of Wright County, Building on the Sure Foundation of Faith and Industry, Have Made Ozark Farming Pay.” January 15, 1923, p. 3.
“A Homemaker of the Ozarks: Mrs. Durnell Reclaimed a Farm, Built a House in the Wilderness and Learned the Secret of Contentment.” June 20, 1914, pp. 3, 8.
“A Homey Chat for Mothers.” September 15, 1921, p. 14.
“How About the Home Front?” May 20, 1918, p. 10.
“How the Findleys Invest Their Money: These Missouri Parents Figure That Education of Their Boys and Girls Pay Bigger Dividends Than Pretty Clothes and Frivolous Pastimes.” August 1, 1922, p. 1.
“If We Only Understood.” December 5, 1917, p. 14.
“Join ‘Don’t Worry’ Club: Conservation of a Woman’s Strength Is True Preparedness.” March 20, 1916, pp. 10–11.
“Just a Question of Tact: Every Person Has Said Things They Didn’t Mean.” October 5, 1916, p. 11.
“Just Neighbors.” May 20, 1917, p. 9.
“Keep Journeying On.” March 5, 1918, pp. 10–11.
“Keep the Saving Habit.” March 20, 1919, p. 25.
“Kin-folks or Relations?” August 5, 1916, p. 9.
“Learning to Work Together.” December 5, 1916, p. 11.
“Let’s Revive the Old Amusements.” January 20, 1919, p. 24.
“Let Us Be Just.” September 5, 1917, p. 16.
“Life Is an Adventure: Voyages of Discovery Can Be Made in Your Rocking-chair.” March 5, 1916, p. 14.
“Look for Fairies Now.” April 5, 1916, p. 11.
“Magic in Plain Foods: All the World Serves a Woman When She Telephones.” November 20, 1915, pp. 12–13.
“Make a New Beginning.” January 5, 1918, p. 2.
“Make Every Minute Count.” March 20, 1918, p. 13.
“Make Your Dreams Come True.” February 5, 1918, p. 12.
“Making the Best of Things.” June 20, 1915, p. 9.
“Mother, a Magic Word.” September 1, 1921, p. 20.
“Mrs. Jones Takes the Rest Cure.” February 5, 1919, p. 34.
“My Apple Orchard: How a “Tenderfoot” Knowing Nothing about Orcharding Learned the Business in Missouri—Quail as Insect Destroyers.” June 1, 1912, p. 5. (Probably written by Mrs. Wilder but credited to Mr. Wilder.)
“New Day for Women.” June 5, 1918, pp. 12–13.
“Now We Visit Bohemia” (1). September 5, 1920, p. 30.
“Now We Visit Bohemia” (2). September 20, 1920, p. 30.
“Opportunity.” November 5, 1918, p. 26.
“Our Fair and Other Things.” November 5, 1916, p. 12.
“Overcoming Our Difficulties.” August 20, 1918, p. 11.
“The People in God’s Out-of-Doors.” April 15, 1911, p. 12.
“Pioneering on an Ozark Farm: A Story of Folks Who Searched—and Found Health, Prosperity and a Wild Frontier in the Mountains of Our Own State.” June 1, 1921, p. 3.
“A Plain Beauty Talk: Women Can Afford to Spend Time on Their Looks.” April 20, 1914, p. 9.
“Put Yourself in His Place.” August 5, 1917, p. 20.
“Reminiscences of Fair Time.” December 1, 1922, p. 22.
“The Roads Women Travel.” February 1, 1921, p. 17.
“San Marino Is Small but Mighty.” December 5, 1918, p. 22.
“Santa Claus at the Front.” January 20, 1918, p. 16.
“Shorter Hours for Farm Women: The Woman Who Manages the Farm Home Should Have Every Means of Saving Labor Placed at Her Disposal. Simple Conveniences within Reach of All.” June 28, 1913, pp. 3, 10.
“Showing Dad the Way: Mansfield Has a Boys’ Good Road Club That Works and Plays.” August 5, 1916, pp. 12–13.
“Sometimes Misdirected Energy May Cease to Be a Virtue.” February 20, 1916, p. 11.
“So We Moved the Spring: How Running Water Was Provided in the Rocky Ridge Farm Home.” April 20, 1916, p. 19.
“Spic, Span—and Beauty: How a Home Responds to Springtime Touches.” April 1, 1931, pp. 5, 12.
“The Story of Rocky Ridge Farm: How Mother Nature in the Ozarks Rewarded Well Directed Efforts after a Fruitless Struggle on the Plains of the Dakotas. The Blessings of Living Water and a Gentle Climate.” July 22, 1911, p. 3. (Probably written by Mrs. Wilder but credited to Mr. Wilder.)
“Swearing Is a Foolish Habit.” August 5, 1918, p. 10.
“Thanksgiving Time.” November 20, 1916, p. 13.
“‘Thoughts Are Things.’” November 5, 1917, p. 23.
“To Buy or Not to Buy.” September 20, 1917, p. 18.
“Turkeys Bring $1,000 a Year: Where Secret of Success Is ‘Love Them.’” February 1, 1924, pp. 26–27.
“Victory May Depend on You.” February 20, 1918, p. 13.
“Visit ‘Show You’ Farm: Prosperity and Happiness Is Found on a 25-Acre Plot.” March 20, 1918, pp. 20–21.
“We Must Not Be Small Now.” April 20, 1918, p. 11.
“We Visit Arabia.” August 5, 1920, pp. 22–23.
“We Visit Paris Now.” January 5, 1921, p. 23.
“We Visit Poland.” February 15, 1921, p. 29.
“What Days in Which to Live.” September 20, 1918, p. 13.
“What Makes My County Great: And Why I’m Proud to Be a Citizen.” December 1, 1923, pp. 3, 12.
“What’s in a Word.” January 5, 1917, p. 9.
“What the War Means to Women.” May 5, 1918, p. 10.
“What Would You Do?” April 5, 1918, p. 12.
“When Grandma Pioneered.” August 1, 1921, p. 20.
“When Is a Settler an Old Settler?” June 5, 1916, p. 15.
“When Proverbs Get Together.” September 5, 1918, p. 11.
“Who’ll Do the Women’s Work?” April 5, 1919, p. 36.
“Without Representation.” July 5, 1917, p. 8.
“Women and Real Politics.” April 15, 1921, p. 19.
“Women’s Duty at the Polls.” April 20, 1919, p. 36.
“Work Makes Life Interesting.” February 20, 1919, p. 42.
“Your Code of Honor.” October 5, 1918, p. 26.
INDEX
Account books, keeping, 49–50, 131–32, 235, 284
Advice: from experts, 213; giving, 98–99; from mothers, 259; taking, 99
Agha Khan, 227
Aging, 136, 177, 281–82
Agricultural theology, 141–42
Agriculture. See Farming
Airplanes, 159, 221–22
Alaska: Katmai National Monument, 188–90; Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes, 188, 189–90
Albania: meals, 264–65; Rose Wilder Lane in, 7
Alchemists, 233–34, 255–56
American Federation of Labor, 184–85
American Forestry Association, 200–201
American Red Cross, 147. See also Red Cross
Anderson, William T., 2
Andrews, M. L., 75, 89, 92
Anger, 261–62
Animals: horses, 45, 228, 278; pet dogs, 81–82; wildlife, 81, 88, 138, 294. See also Livestock
Apple trees, 18, 20–22, 59
Arabia, 226–29
Arbor Day, 202
Armenia, 146
Ashton, Mr., 144
“Athenians,” 68–71
Atmosphere, 221
Auctions, 92, 153
Automobiles: effects in rural areas, 106–7, 171–72; of farm families, 274; “Tin Can Tourists,”286, 287. See also Roads
Autumn: harvests, 236, 262–63, 292; natural beauty, 87–88, 124, 235; readiness for first frost, 126
Bacheller, Irving, The Light in the Clearing, 294
Bachelor girls, 149
Baker, Newton D., 154–55
Barnum, P. T., 237, 238
Barton, A. C., 139–42
Barton, Nora L., 140
Beauty: craving, 226; of European countryside, 226; in everyday life, 256–57; natural, 87–88, 124; tips for women, 27–29
Bebe, Albert, 200
Bebe, Marie, 200
Bedouins, 228
“Beginning Again at Ararat” (Elliot), 299
Belgium: hunger during World War I, 129; King and Queen, 159; military, 160; war casualties, 146
Benzol, 214
Bible verses, 236–37
Birds: geese, 90; hawks, 49, 111, 112, 134; wild, 21, 81, 87, 138, 269. See also Poultry
Blackberries, 224
Bohemia, 230–34, 255
Borchardt, Norman, 286
Breads, international, 37, 39–41
Bryant, Mo., Bryant Farmers’ club, 74–75, 92
Bryant, William Cullen, “Thanatopsis,”287
Bryant River, 78
Buckberries, 224
Buddhism, 255, 306
Budgets, 235
Building materials, 215–16, 228, 297
Burns, Robert, 197; “The Selkirk Grace,”279
Butter churns, 8, 84–85
By the Shores of Silver Lake (Wilder), 90
California: droughts, 308–9; Pacific coast, 298; Rose Wilder Lane in, 76; woman suffrage, 181. See also San Francisco
Campriverside farm, 249–53
Cars. See Automobiles
Case, John F., 3–4, 241n
Case, Mrs., 109–10
Cattle. See Livestock
Character: of children, 269; cowardice, 289–90; importance, 277; improving, 102
Laura Ingalls Wilder, Farm Journalist Page 41
