Finding joy in the everyday

Each week I visit the supermarket (usually Aldi) and generally buy the same items (I am a creature of habit)—it isn’t terribly exciting and I do it as fast as possible. Supermarkets don’t have any character — just check out the photo above, but they serve a purpose.  However on Friday afternoons on the way home from work I stop off at the local fresh food market. This place has a wide selection of fruit and veg stores, 3-4 different butchers, bakeries and those great European delis.  I love visiting the markets and enjoy the smells of all the different foods, the great selection of food from around the world, the buzz of activity and the character of the place (it isn’t all polished and sterilized). I went last week to pick up some vegetables and came out with far more—to be honest it is often cheaper than the supermarkets and I know everything is fresh and picked locally.   I particularly love looking at all the different cheeses —this time I bought a feta in oil...

Advise from"How to be a Good Wife" written in 1933 Don't overlook the fact that the average husband likes being made a fuss of.  If you give it honestly and don't gush about it, there is nothing he won't do for you.  Of course. it has got to be genuine. Don't forget that it is every married woman's duty to come down in the morning with a smile.  It is the atmosphere of this early morning hour that largely colours the whole day, hence the advisability of your men folk going forth with the memory of a smile rather than a frown.  Do endeavour at all times to look on the sunny side of things.  This is a fortune in itself.  Don't look on life through a smoked glass. Don't feel aggrieved if your husband mentions with pleasure some dish that his mother use to make.  Write and ask her for the recipe and then give him a surprise by producing it. Don't dress for other men or women, not even to outdo the latter, but dress for your husband. Do this ...

Christ in the storm on the Sea of Galilee by Ludolf Backbuysen, 1695 Jesus slept on a pillow in the midst of a ranging storm. . . . He could because He slept in the calm assurance that His Father was in control.  His was a quiet heart.  We see Him move serenely through all the events of His life - when He was reviled, He did not revile in return.  When He knew that He would suffer many things and be killed in Jerusalem, He never deviated from His course.  He had set His face like flint.  He sat a supper with one who would deny Him and another who would betray Him, yet He was able to eat with them, willing even to wash their feet.  Jesus in the unbroken intimacy of His Father's love, kept a quiet heart.  by Elisabeth Eilliot from "Keep a Quiet Heart" Thou art the Lord who slept upon the pillow, Thou art the Lord who soothed the furious sea, What matter beating wind and tossing billow If only we are in the boat with Thee? Hold us in quiet through t...

Outside my window - The sun is finally shining through the clouds, after a very bleak day yesterday and many millemetres of rain with more this morning.  Even though the sun is shining the wind is icy cold and winter attire is required.  The heating has been on all day.  What am I thinking - About how much I love a Saturday, being at home pottering about.  I am also thinking (right now) that the mouse I currently have is terrible (it wants to move in the opposite direction to where I am pushing it) and needs to be replaced-very soon!!  It is as bad as having a wonky shopping trolley:) What am I thankful for - The rain God has provided that is filling up our dams ready for summer. They have now over 80%, the first time in 10 years. What am I wearing - A long demin skirt with a grey long sleeve t-shirt. Purple slippers on the feet for comfort and warmth. I am going - I have been out this morning to buy some pans to cook Bienenstich tomorrow + to buy a ...

Wise words from Anne of Green Gables Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?  "You'd find it easier to be bad than good if you had red hair," said Anne reproachfully. "People who haven't red hair don't know what trouble is".  Next to trying and winning, the best thing is trying and failing. Look at that sea, girls--all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn't enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds. Life is worth living as long as there's a laugh in it. I have lost count of the number of times I have read the "Anne" books and only recently I read book one again and loved it as much as I did as a girl. ...

  As I have been looking at work and home this week, I thought the following piece of research was quite relevant to include.  A longitudinal study that has been conducted by the University of Queensland since the 1990's has found the following: 41% of those interviewed endorsed the male breadwinner model in 2005, compared to 29.6% in 2001. 74% of women in 2005 thought at-home mothers were better for children compared to 57% in 2001. Janeen Baxter (who conducted the research) said " ...shows the trend towards more liberal views on work and family has stalled and in some cases reverses ...... these developments may not be sufficient to warrant the term 'backlash' but they indicate some rethinking of the goals of the feminist movement for equal opportunity ". The only question to buck the trend was the increased  numbers who believed that if both the husband and wife work, they should share equally in the housework and childcare.  The study found men were consis...

Artist: James Hayllar (1829 - 1920) British artist Hayller was born in Chichester in 1829. He attended Cary’s Art School in 1842 (his family were not overly happy, not many seem to be!) then went off to the continent to paint. On his return to Britain he exhibited at the Royal Academy in the literary and historical genre. However in 1866 he started a series of hugely popular genre studies of children. The first of these was “Miss Lily's Carriage stops the Way”, in which a child has her cloak adjusted before her first party. This was followed by a series of painting with children as the subject. His children Edith, Jessica, Mary and Kate were also artists—all trained by their father. His wife, Edith Phoebe Cavell (1827-1899) was aunt to Edith Cavell (1865-1915), a nurse during World War One .   Miss Lily's carriage stops the way I love the way the brown dress falls to the ground with all those folds of fabric   Tea time Centre of attention The little girl is the artists daug...