Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1892-03-24
OUTDOOR LIFE
low TO Convert a Piazza Into a Co,nforta
bile Retreat.


bile Retreat.
One reason for the alarming preva-
lence OF nervous and other physical dis
orders among American housewives is
that they spend so little time in the,
open air.
As soon as the spring weather viii
permit, and long before it is discreet to
do so, the annual siege of houscclean-
ing is commenced. This is at best an
exhaustive and laborious duty, and it is
no wonder that with the present limited
knowledge of sanitary requirements,
the housewives first thought is to pre-
serve the state of cleanliness that she
has secured, as long as possible. To
accomplish this, windows and shutters
are closed, and in order to keep out
flies and dust, she shuts out the life
giving sun and pure air, and secures
neatness at the expense of health. To
be sure, kitchens receive more ventila-
ton than other rooms but by no means
enough to rid them of the impure air
which the combined doors of cooking
give: and here in this overheated, de-
bilitating air. the housewife performs
her daily duties
Very likely there is an ample piazza
adjoining this or the adjacent dining
room. but the houscwi looks upon il
as an ornamental appendagc to the
home, and a place where her flowers
thrive luXuriantly. No easy chair is
there as q standing invitation for her
to come out and sit down, with her feet
in the sun, and prepare the vegetables
for dinner, or read a few minutes while
riS nd 81,
appreciate its benefits enough to carry
one out.
Now, if all this ignorance of the i'm
mense posi- bilities of piazza could be
dispeled and every housewife induced
to live out there every hour that she
can during the summer and fall, an
astonishing Improvement i'll their gen
eral health would result. If the piazza
is sunny plant some fast-grOwing vines
to shade it, but do not have these dense;
sunshine is what you want. if you can
not afford to buy veranda chairs land
they are not expensive), see If there
are none in the attic that you can scour
up and repaint, and make not only pre-
sentable, but attractive
Make cushions for the seats and backs
and cover them with fancy ticking,
blue denim or turkey-red calico, and tie
the latter in position with wOrsted dress
braid
Make a generous supply of floor
cushions, too. They DO not want to be
embroidered or cXpens;vely covered.
Very likely there Is abundant material
among your odds and ends to cover
all you need Dat straw, or hay, or
excelsior (which can be bought for five
cents a pound at any upholsterer's
answers every purpose for filling them.
If there are some small children, make
some expressly for them, but have the
others twenty-four inch.s square. If
you have room for sm-. i stand, keep
it there to hold your reading matter,
sewing or darning basket.
If you have not been accustomed to
living in this kind of way, and the
piazza is in view of the street. you Will
at first feel little nervous, a desire to
shrink from the publicity of pairing po-
tatoes and earning stockings in view
of passers by. But persist in your eff
forts for q month and see how much
easier it is to be cheerful and hopeful
than it was when you commenced the
experiment: and remember that your
first duty is to yourself and your family.
What the remainder of the world t&inlzs,
is your minor consideration. And in
deed they think far less than we inn
agine they do, any way.
L have not mentioned one of the most
essential belongings of a piazza-name-
1y, a hammock. But you certainly must
have one, whether there is room on the
piazza to suspend it or not. ''All work
and no play makes the housewife just
as dull as it does Jack" If they
always remembered this. and were
not so over-eXacting with them
selves, life would be far better
worth the living. Be a little more
ienient with yourself this year and see
if you are not a gamer. Make the little
dress that you had planned to tuck and
puff without any ornamentation; let
down the tension and use the time saved
to read up the newspapers or an inter
esting book, while you swing restfully
in a hammock and draw in long draughts
of pure air.
The day has gone by when we can
neglect the sanitary condition of our
homes, eat and dress INDEPENDENTLY
and over-work continually, and then
call the inevitable breaking down that
follows "a dispensation of Providence
katherine 3. Johnson, in Country
Gentleman.