Finding joy in the everyday

We often think we live in an ever changing world, where, in a blink of an eye, things change and evolve whether we like it or not.  We think that those in previous generations had it so much easy, life was quieter, simpler, they understood the rules of society (the does and don'ts) and life was less demanding.  They just didn't face the changes we do now.  Those who lived in latter part of the Victorian era, through the Edwardian and beyond experienced change that most of us have never experienced and it had a profound effect on the entire society. To understand the birth of feminism, this is the period that needs to be understood.  Feminism didn't just happen - it was born out of events that disrupted and caused such upheaval in society.  I have just finished reading " Uncommon Arrangements " by Katie Roiphe and whilst she writes about the married lives of artists and writers I think she sums it up really well: . . . . they watched the streets fill w

I dedicate this post to my cousin Bets, as it's her inspiration with knitting that got me started again!! I learnt to knit many years ago but never really got into it. My mum use to be an avid knitter, she knitted everywhere and I mean everywhere. I never wore a shop bought jumper or cardigan as she made everything we wore. She didn't make ordinary jumpers, she could do the fancy patterns and produce beautiful pieces.  After her stoke she had limited hand movement and stopped knitting, but since moving into the nursing home she has started up again. Nothing fancy, squares to make a rug . . . as knitting is very good for your hands, it makes them move and the elderly are encouraged to knit, even those with dementia.  I am many years from reaching old age (!!) and nursing homes, but I thought I really ought to polish my knitting skills and as you can see in these photos, I have started my first square (in garter stitch).   It might take me until I am 80 to finish the r

Dear friends, What a morning - I have been busy tweaking my study and the rest of the house, moving bits and pieces from one room to another (and sometimes back to where they came from) plus tossing things out that I no longer want (bin or to charity).  My son has just come over and I gave him a few things for his house that I no longer wanted - its good to have someone to pass things onto!  Have I got things "just right", probably not - decorating seems to be an on-going task in my house as I change my mind!!   In between the work inside the house, I was able to plant 24 snow pea seedlings and 16 English spinach seedlings in my veggie garden bed. Unfortunately the nursery didn't have any kale so I will need to pick that up during the week (probably Thursday).   Other news from garden - I am very happy that the bulbs I planted a few months a go are all popping out of the ground and will flower in late August/early September.  How was your week?  Mine was bu

Artist: Frank Jeffrey Edson Smart Born 1921 (Adelaide, Australia) -- Died 21st June 2013 (Italy) Australian urban landscape artist (surrealist) Why do I like this art - I just love the bold bright colour and line.  However I have included some that are far more muted but still have the strong lines and similar character.  His work reminds me very much of American artist Edward Hopper (another favourite of mine)

I have finally finished setting up  my study . . . its only taken 7 months but now that it is done, it’s just as I imagined it.  I particularly like the library of books along one wall!!   The only things left to do (which won’t be done until summer) is painting all the doors white (including the cupboard doors) which are currently pale blue and not that great after boys stuck stickers on them.  Monday and Tuesday evenings were spent moving books all around the house (tossing out those I no longer want, yes I was quite ruthless), I think it is almost right, just little tweaking then it should fine.  Ruby, the cat certainly likes it, with the arm chair her favourite spot (she thinks I bought it for her). Now we each have a room of our own – my husband’s study is very masculine and brown whilst mine is much more feminine and pretty. We use to share a study but it meant I couldn’t stretch out with things like my sewing, now I can leave the machine out and use it whenever I want, much m

Life is like this sometimes! Dear friends, What a cold, wet and grey weekend we are having. The only thing to do on days like this is to stay indoors and keep warm. And that is what I am doing.    Yesterday (Saturday) a couple of guys came and pick up the very heavy 6 foot fish-tank (it was horrible conditions for moving the tank as it was sleeting and freezing). This is exciting news (for me anyway) as now I have my study in full and not sharing it with the ugly tank. My husband has cleaned the walls and carpet (where the tank was sitting) and tomorrow all my bookcases will arrive. This means I can do some major re-arranging of all our books and that is one exciting task!!  Hopefully in my next week's update I will be able to share some photos of my new study. I don't have any new recipes to share this week as I haven't made anything new - I have been try to eat up pre-made meals in the freezer, some of which are poorly labeled so I am not entirely sure wha

I love clouds and todays Art Friday is all about clouds/weather. *** Check out this link - the photography is amazing - the clouds are just fantastic. If only I had such talent and scenery (these shots have been taken in Germany as a storm rolls in)!! http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/franz-schumacher-harvest-time *** If you have time (10 mins), this TED presentation on cloud spotting is worth watch. It tells us why its important to look up at the clouds, lie on our backs and look upwards at the clouds, do nothing else but watch the clouds. http://www.ted.com/talks/gavin_pretor_pinney_cloudy_with_a_chance_of_joy.html *** Some favourite paintings of clouds/weather John Constable John Constable

In some quarters it is strongly believed (quite ardently) that the modern working woman is neglecting her husband and to not neglect one's husband, a wife needs/must be at home 24/7. Is caring and serving ones husband is a full-time career? Is this really true? After I read this I wondered how my husband was being neglected as I am one of those "modern" working women. I am not being flippant here, I really want to know what else I should be doing that a woman at home is doing and I'm not?  I have worked most of our marriage and so far he doesn't look very neglected, in fact he is looking very healthy and not bad for his age! he gets all his meals home-cooked from scratch and (generally) on time each night (healthy, whether he wants healthy or not!!) his  house is clean and tidy and everything is put away the washing is done regularly and he never runs out of socks or jocks unless he has hidden them and I can't find them the groceries are boug