Finding joy in the everyday

I thought I would write a series called " Keeper of the home for busy ladies ", in particular for those, like me, who work outside the house either full-time or part-time.  However, we are all busy ladies and we all need as much encouragement as possible to get through the week in one piece. These are tips  and ideas for creating a cosy home for our families that don't take many hours to do, but add so much to our love ones lives. Part  one ,  two ,  three ,  four ,  five  , six   Part 7: How to overcome stress at home Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. (Philippians 4:6)  If you are stress at home . . . nothing will go smoothly.  It will affect your relationship with your husband (who you are meant to be supporting as his helpmate), your relationship with your children, it will affect how you run your home and...

Have you noticed an increasing number of people whinging, complaining, just not happy, feeling very negative about life and some are even quite angry. Nothing seems to please them. They are unhappy about all sorts of things. It can range from the the cost of their electricity, how much food costs to the price of petrol.  And everyone is blaming the government -- perhaps because they have no one else to blame. I wonder if people complained as much during the depression, or did they just get on with living quietly. Interestedly . . . the thing that appears to make people most unhappy is the cost of living . . . but the cost of living has not increased dramatically.  Most of what we buy has not gone up exponentially at all.  However, the Opposition party (and the media) have jumped on this "feeling" that people have and banged away at the message of doom and gloom for months.  If a society is told enough times that it is glum, they will end up believi...

Flower from my garden I was in a bookshop the other day when a youngish mother went to the counter with a book. The young male assistant said " that is the second book in the series ". The mum (with her little boy) said, " I will take all the books in the series, an old lady recommended it - told me they will spice up my life ". The young man went and got the remaining books with quite a smirk on his face. He knew what these books were all about. I am referring to the best seller trilogy "50 Shades of Grey" by the British author, L E James.   It is not a book I have read and have no plans to read it (the plot sounds troubled [I don't read books about bondage] even if you remove the erotica), however millions have been sold worldwide and women are raving about it, the problem, it is porn (erotica) aimed directly at women of all ages. And women are going mad over it.  Where once hidden, women are now openly reading this sort of genre and it i...

I have decided that once a week I will make a NEW recipe, something I have never made before. I thought it would be fun and stretch my cooking skills a little plus our taste buds.  On the weekend I made my first "new" dish" HUEVOS RANCHEROS and it turned out so well I plan to make it again.  According to the cookbook, this recipe  should feed 4 people, however 2 of us ate it all, so I would suggest making more if you have a larger family as it simply wouldn't be enough for hungry boys.  We had two eggs each, however the recipe suggests 1 egg per person.  The photo from the book - mine looked very similar (just that my photo was very blurry!!) Ingredients : 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 red onion, thinly sliced 1 red capsicum, thinly chopped 1 or 2 chorizo, chopped in rings 1 teaspoon cumin 2 ripe tomatoes, chopped (I used 8 cherry tomatoes) 420 g red kidney beans (drained)** salt and pepper to taste 4 eggs (depending on how many each person...

Fishing on a quiet backwater Artist: Henry John Yeend King British painter 21 August 1855-1924 Henry John Yeend King was an important Victorian genre and landscape artist. He was born in London on August 21, 1855 and began his education as a choirboy at the Temple Church. One of the artist's earliest recollections was of being locked in the building one afternoon after practice: "I had to spend the night in a cabin built of pew cushions, while my father was inquiring at every hospital in London. After three weeks' rest with a bad cold, on going back to my choral duties I was summoned to an interview with a Bencher, who, after regaling me with cake and wine, presented me with five shillings for having been a 'good boy,' and 'for not having thrown my boots through one of the stained-glass windows.' The idea of doing such a thing had never occurred to me." His specialty was scenes of rustic genre and the countryside - almost never showi...

I thought I would write a series called " Keeper of the home for busy ladies ", in particular for those, like me, who work outside the house either full-time or part-time.  However, we are all busy ladies and we all need as much encouragement as possible to get through the week in one piece.  Part one , two , three , four , five Part 6: How to remember special occasions I am not sure about you, but running a home, supporting my husband, caring for my sons and going off to work each day is plenty enough - but I also have to remember birthdays and other special occasions. If I don't, no one in the house will.  To help with this task I have a number of strategies -- they save time and make my life a little less hectic. I am not perfect at this and at times cards and gifts arrive late, but generally this works: Have a comprehensive list of birthdays and anniversaries - I have this on my fridge calendar and one on my smart phone (there are a nu...

Liseuse by Charles de Steuben (1788-1856) I f I had an addiction it would be books and reading. I love books. I buy books. I own too many books. I lend books to friends. I love to read books.  My books are loved and well read.  Reading came late to me, I started at the age of 12.  But don't worry, I caught very quickly and overtook my school friends. I was just delayed. Not because my parents didn't read to me. They did . . . lots of wonderful stories and poems. I come from a home full of books and I have past on that love to my sons.  Reading allows you to escape and travel the world from the comfort of your lounge chair. It allows you to explore ideas (big or small). It allows you to meet interesting people who have been dead for centuries. It allows you to run away into your mind. I couldn't imagine living in a world without books and reading.  But reading isn't all about books . . . we need to have the skill of reading to f...