Finding joy in the everyday

Painting by John Sloane “What really does work to increase the feeling of having a home and its comforts is housekeeping.  Housekeeping creates cleanliness, order, regularity, beauty, the conditions for health and safety, and a good place to do and feel all the things you wish and need to do and feel in your home. Whether you live alone or with a spouse, parents, and ten children, it is your housekeeping that makes your home alive, that turns it into a small society in its own right, a vital place with its own ways and rhythms, the place where you can be more yourself than you can be anywhere else.”  ―  Cheryl Mendelson How true  ―  a clean and  orderly  home creates an  environment  of peace and calm  ―  a place where we can be  ourselves . In fact it is the only place we can be ourselves and that is why HOME is so important to us all. Dusting,  vacuum cleaning , washing  the  clothes, doing t...

We have lost the ideal of reverence at the hour of death, and put our faith in science and technology instead. That is what has transformed the natural and peaceful ending of life into a violent event. (from "In the midst of life" by Jenny Worth, page 335) Death is a topic that most people feel very uncomfortable talking about, it is a topic that the media rarely ever approaches and we hide our children away from death so they grow up not truly understanding it and as a result fear it as adults. We think if we don't talk about it, it won't happen.  I have just finished reading " In the midst of life " by Jennifer Worth (2010).  You may remember Jennifer Worth as the author of "Call the Midwives" which the BBC has made into an excellent series on TV.  In this book Jennifer document her experiences as a nurse treating patients at the end of their life (and she doesn't simplify or hush over the difficult parts of dying), she prov...

Art Friday (Part 2): Are they real? Here are some more of those very realistic pictures.  The next two are by Neil Hollingway and I plan to share more of his works at a later date. They are amazing. *****

Telling another to pray and have faith is easy, putting it into action is hard. VERY HARD.  The last 12 months have been tough,  I know how difficult it can be to just trust the Lord and have complete  100% faith in Him. It is incredibly hard at times,  especially  when you are fragile, upset, frightened and fearful of the unknown.  Sometimes your only  available   transportation  is a leap of faith (Margaret Shepard) During my toughest moments I prayed vehemently to God, for His comfort, for His wisdom, for His love, for His grace. He NEVER let me down, ever .  The more I did this the more it became clear that we would make it through the toughest times, but not without the Lord Jesus Christ. Whilst out shopping on Saturday morning I received an urgent text message from our my 21 year old son. He needed our help, didn't know what to do and to make matters even more  urgent,  he  hadn't slept ...

Block one of my nine block sampler is complete - Ohio Star.  This one has been hand stitched and I am not the world's best hand sewer but nevertheless it has turned out quite well for a beginner.  Mid way through this I started to dislike the colours - until I placed the centre fabric then it all looked so much better.  I can already see one error that I need to fix. The remaining quilt will be machined sewed so it should become easier and quicker. This is such pretty fabric For those wanting to know what we have learnt in the quilting class: firstly we learnt to draft our own patterns (on large graph paper). From this we cut out the shapes to use to draw around on the fabric.  Once I have drawn around the shape, I use my 1/4 inch ruler to draw an outline. This is the line I cut.  Pencil lines on the fabric Building the pattern.  ****

After 100's of visits to my " Why I wear skirts and dresses " I thought I would gather together some of my favourite quotes about being feminine. I wear skirts and dresses because I want to be feminine and look like a woman. I have no interest in dressing like a man or even behaving like a man and I am not alone on this one.  God gave us a special gift and that gift was femininity and we need to embrace it 100% and not be ashamed of being feminine in a very unfeminine world. We need to be proud of the word "feminine", even if the world is no longer proud of women being "feminine".  We should be as proud of the word "feminine" as feminists are about the word "feminism". Femininity isn't just about the way we dress or the jewellery we wear, it is about the way we behave, the way we nurture our children, how we interact with others, the way we speak, the way God is in our lives. Being pure, calm, gentle, peaceful, dignif...

 Art Friday: Makoto Muramatsu Even if you dislike cats I guarantee you will love these, they are adorable and o'so cute!! By the end you will be smiling and feeling happy!!  ******