Finding joy in the everyday

I have to admit I love well made clothing but sadly, anything well made also comes with a hefty price tag and I don't have the budget for that sort of thing. Cheaper clothing in Australia is no longer cheap any more - an average winter weight lined business skirt (made in China) can cost anything from $60 upwards and that won't buy you anything well made or nicely fitted. So this winter I have decided to make my own. I can save money and get what I want. And thanks to Spotlight and their 40% discount on fabric, I can easily make a lined business skirt for around $20 that fits!!  So far I have made 3 skirts with another one cut out. I have also made one pinafore (jumper) and have plans (and the fabric) to make two more winter dresses. I am finding myself looking at "expensive outfits" and searching for patterns similar so I can make my own.  I have also discovered the importances of looking at sewing blogs and reading the reviews of patterns I am interested

...for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content. Philippians  4:11 I have been home for the last three weeks. I have enjoyed lunches with my husband,  romantic walks, sewing, re-arranged cupboards that really didn't really need  re-arranging,    sorting out my winter clothing, reading books in the sunshine and visiting the library to stock up on more. I enjoyed eating breakfast in bed whilst I read, I had lunch with my eldest son and breakfast with my youngest, I watched DVDs on rainy afternoons and I planted out annuals for winter. I also did the usual housework which never takes very long, baked and make dinner most nights (unless my husband spoils me and cooks). Who wouldn't want to be at home. It is quiet and rather blissfull. If I was at home, this is what my life would look like. It would be perfect - who wouldn't want a life like this.  Have you ever wondered if I would swap work for home?  Of course, I would love to be at home full-time. 

3# Warm memories I have found much joy in the everyday over the last three weeks at home.  Whilst this time draws quickly to a close, it has created wonderful memories which I will treasure and look back on with pleasure. Memories don't need to be of exciting holidays or a new born baby - memories are made up of fragments of the everyday, which, when you look back, warm you from the inside and make you smile. Memories are timeless treasures for the heart. Watching the setting sun Warm feet snug in slippers What memories have you made from the everyday? *****

Australian war artist Ivor Hele Art Friday: War They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them. British war artist - Christopher Nevinson Many brave men and women have ptured war through art (and  photography)  - they were  the  official war artists. They risked their lives and many died doing their job. Each nation enlisted  artists to go to the front line and capture the daily events on the canvas or via photography. Countries such as Australia, the USA and UK still send war artists into battle.  Our  Australia  artists have gone to many wars, including those most recent in Iraq and Afghanistan and those in East Timor, Vietnam, Korea and the two World Wars. However, these days we rely more on the photo-journalist than a painter to record the horrors of war. Today's Art Friday is to remember those brave war artists that went to war doi

To all my blogging friends, I thought it would be fun to start a Facebook page. Who knows why we do things like this . . .  but its a friendly way to reach out to others and share the joy. Below is my new Facebook address and I do hope you join. It will be much less formal than the blog and I do hope a place for feminine conversation (and of course joy in the everyday) and a place to enjoy a nice cup of tea. Beware, I am likely to include recipes, books I am reading, articles I have found interesting, artwork that I love, my cats, domestic activities, quotes, birthdays and anything else that takes my fancy!!   https://www.facebook.com/joyintheeveryday PS lets see how big we can make this community by the weekend!! PS Still trying to figure out how to place a 'Facebook" button on my blog - help welcome :) ***

I was reading a sermon by Spurgeon in regards to a piece I am writing on good works and came across something interesting. This sermon was delivered on Sunday morning, 16th March 1856, a time when we imagine ladies being well-dressed, respectable, modest, especially when attending church. However Spurgeon departed from his sermon on good works to remind those in the  congregation, men and women alike,  to consider what they wore and how they presented themselves as Christians in this world: . . . . I am obliged to depart a little sometimes, from what we call the high things of the gospel; for really the children of God cannot now be told by outward appearance from the children of the devil , and they really ought to be; there should be some distinction between the one and the other; and although religion allows distinction of rank and dress, yet everything in the Bible cries out against our arraying ourselves, and making ourselves proud, by reason of the goodliness of our appa

She had grown up in the same orphanage where she was stilling living, looking after its children in the same way older women had once looked after her. It was miles and miles from the nearest market or town. She slept on the floor in a tiny room with four other women. She had lost a leg to a landmine. But she could still ride her bike in the stifling humidity to wherever she wanted to go, looking gorgeous and hardly breaking a sweat at the same time. She loved her home. She loved her friends and the fact she lived and worked with so many children. She loved the moment -- despite its fragility and the fact further conflict in the region at the time seemed imminent. She told me she was happy. (Source: Women's agenda ) What makes women happy — well, that depends very much on who you ask.  Some women are not happy unless they have an exciting job outside the home running about closing deals and living the high life.  Some women are very happy with remaining in the h

2# A morning walk in Autumn Reading in the sunshine Home-cooked meal Kale and feta parcels based on spinach and thyme pastries from River Cottage Where have you found joy this week? ******

The village tailor by Albert Anker (1894) Art Friday: Work When we climb into our car,  walk around our homes,  prepare the evening meal, visit the doctor when we are sick, do we ever think of all the people that make things happen.  The farmers, the scientists, the construction workers, the manufacturers, the people who work in retail and in offices, the road builders, the doctors and even the lady at my local library. They all contribute to make the world turn round and without them we would all be in a pickle. A coal miner by Norman Rockwell We have an army of workers who get up every day and go to work to provide everything we need. Without them, the economies of the world would collapse and you or I would not be able to buy the milk we need, the meat we have for dinner, the books we read, the medicines that keep us alive or even the shoes on our feet. Today I would like to remember the workers. Most don't go to work because they love their job or to go on a gr