Evening star., 1902-08-23

lINTS

One of the most charming and enviable
characteristics of the western woman is
her ability to create comfortable and ar
tistic home out of whatever materials may
be at hand.
Back east" as all Californians say, the
capable woman who could turn her hand
to anything was held TO have faculty"
In the west she still possesses faculty"
but often with an increased perception of
what is artistic and what is suited to spe
cial environment In the process of trans
planting there has been a disintegration of
many old-time ideas. The crudeness the
narrow adherence to family and neighbor
hood tradition in furnishing and methods
of housekeeping soon slough off. Freight
rates are too high. The heavy mahogany
bedstead, solid or veneered, the hair-cloth
sofas, the colossal feather bed permeated
with the effiuvium of generations dead and
gone, the plush albums, wax flowers.
Titanesque castors and pink-howered Gus
pidors have all been left behind, and un-
trammeled by what aunt Jane" or "the
neighbors' will say. she can go to create
a new household heaven in the new earth,
using the materials at hand.
In Arizona the accepted saying is: 'The
woman who can't make a comfortable
home If she has plenty of baling wire,
empty beer bottles and gunnysacks is no
housekeeper" This may be taken as
poetic license, but out of the desert itself
have seen homes evoived-homes that
are JOY to look at-a privilege to share
From the earth itself come the gray rest
full walls of adobe, holding out the cold Of
winter and the heat Of summer. From
river bottom, rocky mesa, volcanic overflow
or deserted mine collected varied and
beautifully colored rocks and ores for the
building of the stone fireplace. Cacti, quaint
and curious. bear transplantng from the
desert to the new yard, going on to unfold
their crowns of yellow, crimson and purple
bloom. The scarlet f1owered ocatila makes
a garden paling that would turn the heart
of eastern gardener green with envy,
and the verdant canes Of the river mott,
mingled with the branches of the cotton
woods which almost grow while you wait,
furnish a protecting canopy that should
bring the blush of shame to the gayly
striped checks of the city awning.
Simple furnishings, with plain lines and
no dust-catching scrolls and curlycues, and
of these only what is necessary for every
day use and comfort. Tighten the caretaker's s
daily round of necessary housework and
at the same time satisfy the eye grown
weary of the multiplicity of useless things
for which there Is really no excuse.
In California there is wider field to draw
from. in the native woods that make the
building of little home like the arrange
ment of a beautiful picture. Frequently a
veranda Is built directly about a live oak
shade. Overlapping shingles Of cedar in
the natural browns or redwood stained are
used for the outside walls Of the house and
to cover the porch pillars. Luxuriant vines
rose, jasmine. honeysuckle, wistaria, plum
bago, madeira-curtain the windows and
make arbors and rest corners where the
hammock may be swung or the table
spread assured of all the privacy of Il room
The artificalfties, eonventionalties and
superf1uities of the old life laid aside the
| western woman boldly uses the talents God
has given her to make the most Of the
materials at hand. She frequently takes
to the hammer and the saw, showing her
self an artisan of no mean gifts. She sprin-
kies her own lawn and rose bushes, prunes,
gratis and trains, and taking nature for her
guide and model. soon has her home the
outward expression Of a cultivated and re-
fined taste.
For Spanish omelet take six eggs one
medium-sized tomato. small onion q lit
tie black pepper. cayenne or paprika, as
preferred, quarter Of a teaspoonful of