Finding joy in the everyday

Wikimedia Commons The other week I wrote about Mother's Day, and one of my readers responded with a comment about the difficulties that women who cannot have children face on days like Mother's Days. It must very tough, especially with so much " in your face " commercialism surrounding such days.  It isn't only women who cannot have children, it is also those who have lost children through miscarriage or later in life (such as through cot death, cancer, accidents),  those who have husbands that cannot bear children and women who no longer have a mother. All these women feel the pain and loss and mostly forgotten, we need to be more sensitive, especially the church when celebrating motherhood.  I often read blogs about the Duggars and the praise heaped upon Michelle Duggar for all the children she has had (as if she is some perfect example of Christian motherhood). Is she? She is blessed (no doubt about it), but it isn't a competition to see who can h...

Do you know the history behind the disposable cup? I didn't until recently. Its fascinating, but more interesting is the consequences of the disposable cup and where it led  . . .  to a whole new way of thinking about a disposable society. It all started in 1918 and the influenza pandemic which killed millions of people. I n America in 1907, a lawyer called Lawrence Luellen was worried that one of the worst culprits in spreading germs was the humble public drinking fountain, many of which were installed in schools, office buildings and railways stations. Here, a single glass or metal cup might be shared by hundreds of different people. Luellen came up with the idea of a placing a paper cup dispenser beside a water cooler so that the drinking utensil could be thrown away after the water had been drunk. The cup was a simple thing made from a cylinder of plain paper wrapped around a disc of paper as its bottom. Paraffin, a waxy by-product of petroleum, was us...

At the moment our TV is flooded with reality shows—e.g. The Block, The Biggest Loser, Extreme Makeover, Survivor, The X-Factor, Keeping up with the Kardashians, MasterChef.  Please don’t ask me to provide details on these shows as I don’t watch reality TV—I have in the past, but no longer can be bothered.   But other people seem to love them and they generally get very good ratings.  In some places where I have worked, "what happened last night" on reality TV is a hot topic of conversation the next morning, analysing it in great detail. WHY are people so hooked on reality TV? Is it because they “ think ” they lead dull and uninteresting lives and believe other people have far more interesting and exotic lives. Or are we all nosy people who find fascination with others. Or is it more to do with watching people do embarrassing and humiliating things— in which we find delight and entertainment at the failings and problems of others. Thrilled that it i...

(Google imagine )    Do you think you generally receive good customer service when you shop? My husband ordered a part for his computer and after waiting 10 days he rang the company to be told that the part had arrived but they were unable to locate it in the shop—it had gone missing.  DH asked what they were going to do able it.  The reply was “re-order the part”.  DH reminded them that it took 10 days to arrive the first time and he really wasn’t keen to wait another 10 days for a part they had lost.  DH asked if it could be send express mail, he was informed it wasn’t store policy.  As you could imagine, DH wasn’t very happy at this point and asked to speak to the manager.  After going in circles, he was informed he could shop elsewhere if he didn’t like waiting or their attitude. He did just this, got his part and received far better service from the other store (also part of the same multi-national company).  My DH made ...

I went looking for a 21 st card at the local newsagency on the weekend. I wanted something girly and feminine that was also tasteful.  My newsagency has a large range, so the range wasn’t the problem it was the pictures on the front of the cards.  For both males and females, most 21 st cards had a picture of champagne glasses, bottle of bubbly or a 21 st key—none of these were suitable (and I found none that I even remotely liked).  I wasn’t impressed with the toilet jokes either.  And those cards that would have been considered “more girly” had pictures of skimpy dresses, shoes or handbags—but not what I would call feminine or even pretty.  I then looked at none 21 st cards and found some beautiful ones with flowers—but—as a woman who has received many “flower” cards, I thought my niece was too young to start receiving cards with flowers (she will receive many in the future) so I left the store empty handed. I was very disappointed indeed....

I have been researching down doonas (duvet) as we needed a new one for this winter.  This, once upon a time, was a simple exercise.   The choice was small, making it easy to make a decision.  No more. Firstly, down doonas range in price from cheap $100 (Aus/USA) up to the expensive $600 (Aus/USA) for a queen-size. The price increases depending on the filling and that is where it becomes complicated, for example: 100% duck 100% goose 50/50 duck and goose or other combinations goose down and feathers  by 50 down/50 feathers,  85 down/15 feathers or other combinations duck down and feathers etc etc . . . . . . .etc... So which one to buy . . . and that is the problem . . . how to decide, what is the warmest?  The labeling on the packaging isn't clear on warmth levels eg equivalent in blankets making it difficult. After my extensive research I selected a 100% goose that contains 85% down and 15% feathers as this is considered the warmest available (goose i...

I thought I would climb onto my soapbox and have a little rant.  Its about one aspect of women's fashions that I really dislike.   This will make me sounds very old fashion — but I will have a small rant nevertheless. . . .but I think many of you will agree with me. Why do women come to work (to an office) in very short floaty dresses, the sort that would fly away with a gust of wind and make bending over to pick something up very difficult.  When I walk around the corridors I see plenty of very short dresses (and skirts) and lots of long legs and stilettos (I read this week that this is the "latest fashions").  I assume some men love this look (both my DH  and son tells me they don't) which must be part of the attraction why women dress like this. It must be hard for men sitting in meetings to have a pair of long legs and short dress in front of them, what temptation. I am not a male so I can not assume that I know what they think  —but from a ...