On being domestic

I made myself a new tea towel - with embroidery designs from Sublime Stitching.  In this picture, the tea towel is wrapped around a loaf of homemade bread, sitting on a counter that I cleaned, in front of the slow cooker that I would be shortly loading up to be that night's dinner.

I cook.

I clean.

I sew.

I garden.

I iron.

I bake.

I mend.

I shop.

I fix.

I am domestic.


What does this mean, to be "domestic"?  It implies being tamed, constrained, and dependent on others.  It implies nurture, relationship to others, devotion.

Domestic: " Remaining much at home; devoted to home duties or pleasures; as, a domesticman or woman."

do·mes·tic adj. 1. Of or relating to the family or household: domestic chores. 2. Fond of home life and household affairs. 3. Tame or domesticated. Used of animals. 4. Of or relating to a country's internal affairs: domestic issues such as tax rates and highway construction. 5. Produced in or indigenous to a particular country: domestic oil; domestic wine. n. 1. A household servant. 2. a. Cotton cloth. b. Household linens. Often used in the plural. 3. A product or substance discovered in, developed in, or exported from a particular country.