Iron County register., 1893-08-31
OUTDOOR LIFE.
Row to Convert q Piazza Into Comforts
hle RAfraaf

OUTDOOR LIFE.
How to Convert q Piazza Into q Colnfortn
! BILE Retreat.
| One reason for the alarming preva
! lence of nervous and other physical dis
| orders among American housewives Il
| that they spend SO little time in th,
open air.
| As soon as the spring weather viii
permit, and long befe re it is discreet Il
| do SO. the annual siege of houseclean
ing is commenced. This is at best ar
exhaustive and laborious duty, and it i.
| 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. nc
| 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. TIC
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 odors of cooking
l.
| bilitating air, the housewife performs
her daily duties.
Very likely there is an ample piazza
adjoining this or the adjacent dining
room, but the housewife looks upon il
rs an ornamental appendage to the
home, and place where her flowers
thrive luxuriantly. No easy chair is
there as standing invitation for her
to come out and sit down, with her feet
in the sun, and prepare the vegetables
for dinner, or read few minutes while
the bread Is rising; and she does not
appreciate its benefits enough to carry
one out.
Now, if all this ignorance of the inn
mense possibilities of apiazza could be
dispeled and every housewife induced
to live out there everyhour that she
can during the summer and fall, an
astonishing Improvement in 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 expensivel, 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 turley-red calico, and tie
the latter in position with worsted dress
braid
Make generous supply OF floor
cushions, too. They do not want to be
embroidered or expensively covered.
Very likely there is abundant material
among your .'odds and ends" to cover
all you need. Oat straw, or hay, or
excelsior (which can be bought for Ave
cents a pound at any upholsterer's),
answers every purpose for filing them.
If there are some small children, make
some expressly for them, but have the
others twenty-four inches square. II
you have room for a small 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, desire to
shrink from the publicity of pairing po-
tatoes and darning stockings in view
of passers by. But persist In your Of.
forts for a month and see how much
easier it is to be cheerful and hopeful
than 1t was when You commenced the
experiment; and remember that your
first duty Is to yourself and your family.
What the remainder of the world thinks,
is your minor consideration. And in-
deed they think far less than we inn
agine they do, any way.
have not mentioned one Of the most
belongings Of a piazza-name-
~, a hammoek. But you certainly must
have one, whether there is room on the
piazza to suspend it or not. 'tAl 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
lenient with yourself this year and SEQ
If you are not gamer. Make the little
dress that you had planned to tuck and
puff Withnut any ornamentation; let
down the tension and use the time saved
10 read up the newspapers or an inter-
esting book, while you swing restfu1ly |
a hammock and draw III long draughts |
II pure air.
The day has gone by when we can
Neglect the sanitary condition of our |
homes, eat and dress unhygienioallY |
ind over-work continually, and then |
all the inevitable breaking down that |
olloWs ia dispensation of Providence
Katherine u. johnson, in Country
Gentleman.