Thursday, June 11, 2015

A Day of Bliss




Greetings Dear Ladies,

The days fly by and although I have been incredibly busy, there are very few things in a finished stage that I want to post. For today, I will share some bliss of the season.



                            
I used to look at these flat baskets and wonder what their purpose was, but today when  I  was trying to find the best container for collecting cut flowers from the garden, I found this to be the perfect carry-all, as  it allows the stems to lay flat and be removed easily without mangling the flowers.  Because the basket never proved to be of any use otherwise (nothing could be carried or displayed in it effectively, I concluded it must be for holding flowers in this manner).  I include a couple of paintings, below, depicting the old fashioned use of this container.

The paintings are by an artist named James Himsworth, from the 1980's, and are embroidery and paint-by-number kits, which of course, due to constant demands of daily life, plus losing the projects a couple of times, I haven't finished!  I always found it hard to sit still when there was housework to be done, and that is why these were not finished!

                                                  
This one, above, is called "Romance for Roses" and I think the one below is called "A Summer Stroll."

                        
This is not of any eternal consequence regarding homemaking, but I thought it was interesting. I like the dresses, too; do you?  To make these for home, I would shorten them and take in some of the fullness.



                                  
Above: Preparing to cut some flowers to put in jars for the ladies class today. The freshly cut flowers domt get broken or damaged when being transported from the garden to the house in this flat basket.

Below:  Cut flowers in jars and bottles. The best bouquet is picked by a child because a child will include all types and colors and sizes and it will be a perfect mix.
                                 
Thank you to you who are waiting for the centerpiece post I promised to write---one of the the things I haven't quite completed! I do have all the containers collected, so at least I am thinking about it :-)







The cherries are on, and I am in a hurry to get them picked before the birds get them.

                              

Another project not finished:  I will have to make unfinished projects into special art-forms.
                               

Since it is so hard to find a lady for a model, I stage the pictures for the paintings I want, and paint different faces on them.

                                 
So far, the cherries haven't made it into a pie.  My husband thinks if he brings in a bowl of cherries from that tree outside, that it no time, a pie will appear. Each one of these tiny fruit morsels must be cut in half and the pit removed, which is something he has volunteered to do, in anticipation of that pie.

                                  

Right now the yard work and housework seem endless, and there isn't time for much else, but I did finish a dress for someone, which I started last year. It goes nicely with the cherries :-)

There is a coordinating little girl dress in the works.

                              


Below: In anticipation of the Ladies Bible Class this morning. 

                               

I will put a verse from the chapter the ladies class here is going to be sifting through today:

"For God is not unrighteousness to forget your work and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward His name..." (Read the rest in Hebrews 6:10-11)


                                    
If you have difficulty leaving a comment, please email me and I will publish whatever you have to say. Click the email button on the upper left of my blog.

                                     

Some of you may like to know that the blossoms of chives are just as good as chopped chives. If you have let your chives grow hard, the onion stem is not as soft to chop or pleasant to the taste. They then they begin to blossom, but the blossoms can be crumbled if they have dried, or clipped into tiny bits with kitchen scissors, (available at the dollar store), and mixed with your sandwich fillings.  I sprinkled them on the butters bread in preparation for tea sandwiches today, but chive blossoms are great mixed in soft butter, called chive butter.

For the ladies Bible class I use the Robert Young Analytical concordance, for word meanings.  I find the analytical concordance valuable because it gives the Koine Greek, Aramic amd Hebrew meanings. That way, when you read a word, like "taste", you see that it does not always mean the same thing.  The word "taste" in today's chapter, means "experience."


I appreciate everyone who comes here and I hope it is worthwhile for you.

                                    



Cherry print fabric from JoannFabrics.com.


14 comments:

Heartshome said...

I have read you for many years and love both your words and the lovely photos. You are like a beautiful break in my day. In fact. I'm reading your blog as I ssit for cookies to come out if the oven!

anonymous said...

Oh Lydia thank you for such lovely post. It was delightful to see you picking cherries.
I really like the pretty cherry print fabric and can imagine a summery dress made from it.

Your roses dress is so pretty. Can't wait to see the little girls dress to to match.

Janet.

Rosemary UK said...

You can get cherry pitters quite easily.I am in the UK so I cannot advise you where to get them in USA.

Unknown said...

Thank you for this beautiful uplifting post today. Such a lovely dress you
made. The pleasures of homemaking are so bountiful and joyful.

vintage ellen said...

The dress is so pretty! Perfect for a summer day.

Rhonda said...

I always like your posts but this one is just especially beautiful. The dresses, flowers, art and photos- they really made me relax and smile.
My mother had a basket like that, she kept a small stack of magazines and my dads newspapers in it.

Hope you have a wonderful Friday

Lydia said...

Magazines fit this basket design perfectly.

Rachel and Family said...

Another absolutely lovely post!!

Lydia said...

From Julie in Iowa:

Hi Lady Lydia! I want to thank you again for having me at Bible study on Thursdays. I want to encourage everyone to come, if they can. We are going through Hebrews, and it is a blessing.

Unknown said...

Every bit of this post is so wonderful it is hard to know where to start to comment! I loved the pictures that you posted of the women in the flowing dresses with a flower basket over their arm. They are so pretty and feminine and I loved the dress you made with the rose clusters.

We planted a "stella" cherry tree about 6 years ago. Last year we planned to cut it down because we had only harvested a handful of cherries over the years but there was a robin's nest in it so we decided to leave it up for the robin. We are so happy we did! This year the robin reused her nest from last year and our tree is covered with cherry clusters. We had to get out a ladder to use to harvest all of them and have had enough for sharing with our neighbors and ourselves!

I have started wearing some long ankle length dresses and find that you naturally move more gracefully. I must lift my dress to walk up stairs, getting in an out of the car, and doing various other household tasks. I definitely feel and look more feminine.

The cherry fabric was cheerful and would make pretty kitchen curtains or a tablecloth or runner. It would also look pretty as an apron with a ruffle around the bottom edge or eyelet edging.

Last but not least, I really enjoyed seeing you in the pretty outfit and the sketches that you made.

A great post for many reasons! It really brightened my day!

Linda said...

I must agree with everyone else. I enjoy the pictures and the encouraging posts you write.I don't know where you find the time to do all you do.
Thank-you for being a bright spot in our day!
Blessings,
Linda

Mrs. Laura Lane said...

Oh! Cherries! When our neighbor moved in, he accidentally chopped down the cherry tree! I do love homemade cherry jelly. I've never seen cherries in the store. I'm so glad to know that about chives. I believe my daughter planted some this year.

Please drop by and say hello!

Blessings,
Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage

Dawn said...

What a beautiful post! Your photo of the cherries in the basket looks like a painting. Every picture is just lovely but that one is amazing.

I love the new dress you made. The creamy background and the luscious color of the flowers are wonderful together.

You look so pretty picking cherries. You dress nicer for chores than most woman do when they are out in public.

Fresh cherries are so expensive here, between $3.99 to $6.49 a pound that I haven't bought any for years. For other people's sake, I hope they are less expensive in the rest of the country than here in MA. I wonder if cherries can be grown in my locale.

Unknown said...

Lovely tree! What variety is it? My cherry tree doesn't seem as "fruitful" as yours :)

Sherri