Finding joy in the everyday

Dear blogger friends,  Welcome to December — for us here in Australia it is the first day of summer, for those elsewhere it is the first day of winter. I love summer, being able to wear summer dresses, walk around in bare feet, sit outdoors in the evening, enjoy a barbecue or go for walks at dusk when it starts to cool. Summer is salads, watermelon, ice-cream and strawberries. There is so much to enjoy at this time of the  year.  Sadly though, it is also the season of heatwaves, droughts, storms and fires. In November alone we have had some devastating bushfires that have destroyed huge swags of land, destroyed families homes, businesses, crops and 1000s of livestock (on one farm alone they lost 51,000 chickens and another almost a 1000 pigs)  and six people have lost their lives. This is such a bad start to summer and my heart breaks for all those farming families who have lost so much (including the income they would...

Painting by Frederick McCubbin I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  (Philippians 4:13) **** Women have amazing strength and really can do almost anything if they need to. Just think back to your ancestors, the women of the past, our early pioneer women and think what they endured and managed — they were amazing. Often on their own (whilst their husbands went off to hunt or to undertake business) the women not only had to care for their children, they also had to cut wood, tend to the animals and make sure everything ran smoothly.  In those early days women didn't live in comfortable homes as we do today, they lived in whatever their husbands could build, which might mean a tent or a timber or stone cottage with none of the mod-cons we have today. They were hot in summer and cold in winter, often had dirt floors and were not very pleasant. Women had to to make do with what they had. Those in urban locations often were living in overcrowded ...

Art Friday Dear friends, I have had a very busy week at work and my brain is feeling a little over-used!! So instead of finding artworks for you (which can take me ages), I thought I would share some photos I took on Wednesday when I went for my midday walk. This rose garden was in full-bloom at present and it looked glorious with all the green grass and blue sky against this fire-engine red rose.  I don't know about you, but at this time of the year I start to get a little weary and in need of a holiday (which I will be taking from the 25th of December for a month. I have so much to do over the next few weeks — gift buying, cards (which I haven't even thought about), food and then I have all the lunches (3 so far) and morning and afternoon teas I am going to (which don't help my waistline at all). I will be one very busy girl for the next 4 weeks. So my midday and evening walks are a much needed break where I can enjoy the scenery, get some fresh air  and clear...

Dear Blogging friends,  I think its about time I did an update from the sewing room (which is a little messy at present so no photos of the space!!). What have I been doing — not a lot really! I started to make a top but ran into difficulties trying to understand the pattern so taking it off to discuss with friends who sew! But I have been buying patterns, thats really the easy part of sewing!!  I buy most from eBay —usually the older patterns that are often out of print or no longer in demand. These are my favourites and I have managed to find some treasures.  I was so excited about the pinafore (jumper) pattern (below) — I have been searching for the perfect pinafore pattern and struggle to find anything I liked, this is what I have been wanting.  The pattern is a little too large so I will need to make it small, but I look forward to giving it a go!! As to the other pattern (long green dress from Buttericks 5461) I plan to make this for summer b...

Do you use table clothes these days? Are they in or are they out of fashion? My mother always had a table-cloth on the table, it was common practice when I was growing up in the 1970s. We used it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. These days many people do not use them at mealtime instead using place mats or nothing at all. My mother had quite a collection of table-clothes, I think I own one. According to Your tablecloth.com (who have written the history far better than I could): The earliest proof of the existence of tablecloths, is drawn from the work of a poet named Martial who died c.103 AD who mentioned them in his writing, so tablecloths are believed to have come into use in Europe in the first century AD. Prior to this high-ranking Roman households are thought to have possessed tables that were exquisitely carved and therefore too ornate and beautiful to be covered by cloth!  By looking at early artwork that still survives, it appears that the very fir...

Happy thoughts I think are much needed at present with all the nasties going on around the world. Whilst it is important to know what is happening — it is not wise to watch and read every possible news story with the aim of catching all the gory detail as that only leads to increased worry and fear, the very thing we must avoid.  Instead we need to find as much joy in our lives as possible and not focus on the ugly.  The one place we need to be joyful, is our homes. We need to create places of refuge that is filled to the brim with joy, love and peace as our children need this more than ever at present. They are feeling very insecure and afraid at the moment with all the pressure they have in their lives plus the current world events from refugees to war and terrorism. They need to know that their home is a safe place where they are loved and wanted. They need to know that when life is tough they have a place to bunker down that is beautiful and calm to be in. It...

Artist: Edward Thompson Davis 1833–1867 We have see such ugliness in the last week with the tragic deaths of many innocent people in Paris and in other parts of the world as a result of terrorist attacks. It can be easy to forget that whilst these events are just horrible and most of us struggle to understand why they happen — we need to always remember the beauty that is around us. The terrorists don't want us to see the lovely, the kind, the caring, the gentle . . . but they are all there if we look. Just because the terrorists can't see the beauty, they can't take it away from us.  Enjoy these beautiful works of art of Edward Thompson Davis, in particular the scenes of family life — a grandmother with her grandchildren, the young listening to the elderly, two children helping each other. This is what we need to focus on.  *****