The Happiness of Home

Greetings Ladies,

It has been a full day here at home and to make it more interesting I have taken some photos aside from the daily work and all thing things that go into looking after the family.  It is these bright spots that express some of the happiness of the home. 

Above is a sample of something our parents used to do back when framed pictures were so unaffordable: they would take a picture out of a magazine and frame it using frames purchased at K-Mart or the dime store. To cover up the description on the upper right corner, I could always paste a few fall leaves over it.

An orphan teacup I found at Goodwill for 80 cents is paired with one of my unmatched saucers.  

This is the best herb tea, called Happy Mood.  

At a little fabric store I found a series of quilt fabrics featuring antique postal prints of postcards, old letters, stamps, etc.  I started to read this letter from a young man in the Confederate army in Richmond.  I kept walking back to that section of the store to read more. Finally I bought half a yard of it so I could figure it out at my leisure.

It says in part:  "Please tell Father that I beg him to forgive me for being so ugly and headstrong, and tell him I have found out what a Home is and that nobody on earth has better parents than I do and Please pray God saves my health and let's me get home safe again."

Written over a hundred years ago, it still expresses what all of us feel when we are away from our dear parents and siblings.

We recycle our cast-offs among our friends and family. Above is a wired vine someone was tired of, after using it for a decade. Winding around the chair back, it looks quite cottage!

Speaking of cottage, a cereal box as a base can be used to make these cottages. Covered with fancy papers and embellishments, these little houses would look good on a shelf or mantel.  Instructions are at the Victoria magazine blog.

Someone sent me this magazine from 2014 and I have been too much on the go to sit down and look at it.  I am looking forward to seeing the contents of this publication from Denmark.

You have heard the expression "castles in the air". 

I saw this book  called Castles From the Air" at Costco and thought it was fascinating but expensive.  I found it at a thrift store for $6.50. It feels so rich and elegant to have a book on castles gracing my coffee table.

Another find, below: the saucer and cup are not matching pieces, but the two pieces look about right together.

The Path to Home

THERE'S the mother at the doorway, and the children at the gate,
And the little parlor windows with the curtains white and straight.
There are shaggy asters blooming in the bed that lines the fence,
And the simplest of the blossoms seems of mighty consequence.
Oh, there isn't any mansion underneath God's starry dome
That can rest a weary pilgrim like the little place called home.

Men have sought for gold and silver; men have dreamed at night of fame;
In the heat of youth they've struggled for achievement's honored name;
But the selfish crowns are tinsel, and their shining jewels paste,
And the wine of pomp and glory soon grows bitter to the taste.
For there's never any laughter howsoever far you roam,
Like the laughter of the loved ones in the happiness of home. 

By Edgar Guest