How I Learned About Homemaking From a Couple of Birds
I've never had much of a sense of home. Before the age of 21, I'd moved house roughly 20 times, from the army base in West Germany where I was born to YMCA housing in southern England in my late teens. My itinerant childhood gave me itchy feet as an adult. Wherever I landed, I'd soon feel pulled toward the next place, and then the next.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Number of households in England in temporary accommodation hits new record high
The number of households in temporary accommodation in England has climbed to a new record high, despite a drop in families living in bed and breakfast lodgings. Some 131,140 households were in temporary accommodation – a form of homelessness – at the end of March, according to data published by the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government (MHCLG). This is up from 117,350 a year earlier and is more than double the total a decade ago in March 2015, when it stood at 64,710. The number of children in temporary accommodation stood at 169,050 in March, up year on year from 151,540 and also the highest since records began in 1998. By law, bed and breakfasts (B&Bs) are meant to be used only as temporary accommodation in an emergency and for no longer than six weeks. Some 2,300 households with children had been living in B&Bs for more than six weeks as of March 31 – though this is down from 3,240 a year earlier. There were 1,170 households with children who had been in B&Bs for more than six months at the end of March, up slightly year on year (1,080) but down on December 2024 (1,510). John Glenton, executive director at the charity Riverside, which provides accommodation for people affected by homelessness, said the numbers were 'greatly concerning'. He added: 'It is particularly disappointing to see the number of additional homeless children living in temporary accommodation continuing to increase so rapidly, with 17,510 more children year on year. 'However, the number of homeless households moved out of temporary accommodation into social housing has increased by almost an eighth over the past 12 months compared to the previous year. 'We know moving families out of temporary accommodation and into a social rent home works. 'We are pleased to see the Government fund the delivery of 180,000 new social rent homes, but there are also opportunities to better use the existing stock of social housing.' The data also shows 18,140 households needed help for homelessness in the year to March after being required to leave Home Office asylum support accommodation, more than three times the 6,010 in the previous 12 months. The number of these households at risk of homelessness and therefore needing prevention help from councils stood at 4,620 in 2024/25, up from 2,160 in 2023/24. A further 13,520 of these households were assessed as being already homeless and therefore owed a relief duty from the local council, up from 3,850 in the previous year.
New York Times
4 hours ago
- New York Times
Hey, My Kid Could Have Drawn That! Hers Did.
When the ceramicist and designer Sunshine Thacker and her family relocated to New York's Hudson Valley from San Antonio, the move was a breath of fresh air. The family of three found a rental home and a school for their now 12-year-old son while they looked for something more permanent. In 2022, they found the perfect property and Ms. Thacker got to work designing their house. Though designing and building a house can test anyone's nerves, Ms. Thacker found the upside, reveling in the time to create for herself and those she loves. 'What was great about the break from doing work for other people was that I got to make work that was really meaningful for me,' she said. 'It was this complete break from thinking about others to being an insular artist.' Ms. Thacker wanted it to be the kind of house her family could live in forever. It's all one floor, the doorways are wide, and the bathrooms are tile murals of sketches by her son, Ace. 'I imagine being in this house when I'm 80 and still loving that I get to be surrounded by something Ace did,' Ms. Thacker said. 'And that he let me make it a big part of our home.' The project started with Ms. Thacker's love of a sketch her son drew on the chipboard backing of a notebook in third grade. The detail of the characters and the world caught her eye. He had drawn a collection of creatures of different shapes and sizes, some free-floating, some speaking a language of question marks and exclamation marks, sketched in deeply shaded pencil. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Yahoo
Princess Anne Is ‘Annoyed' at William Amid Reports He Plans to ‘Overhaul' the Royal Family Once His Father Passes
King Charles' illness and his advanced age has meant that succession plans have moved along more quickly than they would have otherwise. It has also meant that people have already started thinking about what Prince William would like if he were in charge, and what type of changes he would make to the monarchy. This is particularly true considering William has been pretty open about his desire to modernize the institution before. Now there are reports that Princess Anne, widely regarded as perhaps the hardest-working royal, is not so happy with her nephew. According to The Sunday Times, the Princess Royal is reportedly 'annoyed' that William has not taken on more investiture ceremonies at Windsor Castle. This is despite the fact that Prince William lives nearby, at Adelaide Cottage. More from StyleCaster Diana Hauntingly Predicted a 'Difficult Path' for Harry Decades Before William Will Reportedly 'Never Ever' Forgive His Brother Inside Harry's 'Desperate' Attempts to Reconcile With the Royal Family Amid Reports He's Worried William Will 'Literally Banish' Him Once He's King Related: Here's what each royal inherited from Queen Elizabeth A source close to Princess Anne reportedly said, 'She's still doing most of the investitures [at Windsor] even though William lives there. It annoys her.' Last year, Princess Anne outnumbered every working royal when it came to royal engagements. She undertook 474 engagements. Meanwhile, King Charles had 372 engagements, and Prince Edward carried out 293 visits. Despite this annoyance, reports indicate Princess Anne is overall very fond of William and supportive of him. She is also said to admire his commitment to modernizing the monarchy. And William and Kate reportedly have a lot of affection for her back. Recently, after she returned to her duties after an accident, William and Kate shared a message for her: 'Super trooper! So great to see you back so soon! W & C x'. This all comes as reports indicate William will 'overhaul' the monarchy once he becomes King. According to the Times, he will make the coronation service 'much simpler.' This has to do with William being 'mindful of how much the monarchy costs' and how the optics of those costs reflect on the royal family in general. 'He wants to make sure the whole thing has even more impact and remains relevant,' a friend told the outlet, and not giving an impression of overspending is very important to those plans. 'He has been thinking about the future for years, and he knows that what his grandmother did and what his father does is an evolution,' Jason Knauf, CEO of Prince William's Earthshot Prize, explained. 'There are traditions and things that won't change, but this thinking about the next [role] is how is this going to be reflective of him?' Whatever happens next for William and the monarchy, it's likely Princess Anne will continue to be heavily involved. She said in an interview with the Press Association, 'I don't think there's a retirement program on this particular life. It really isn't written in, no. It isn't really an option, no, I don't think so.' All these conversations are being had now because of King Charles' illness. British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital. 'King Charles is living with cancer, which makes his family situation very sad,' Chard said about his feud with his son, Harry. 'I'm sure he is thinking about his mortality and reevaluating his life.' Whether that pushes the royal family closer to reconciliation or not remains to be seen. But changes are coming one way or another; that much seems clear. Best of StyleCaster The 26 Best Romantic Comedies to Watch if You Want to Know What Love Feels Like These 'Bachelor' Secrets & Rules Prove What Happens Behind the Scenes Is So Much Juicier BTS's 7 Members Were Discovered in the Most Unconventional Ways Solve the daily Crossword
