Wednesday, August 08, 2018

Pleasantries


Good Morning,

Regarding today's title, I just remembered that my maternal Grandmother's name was Pleasie, and her grandfather's name was Pleasant Tackitt.  Those names were familiar in the 1800's but not any longer.

Here are a few pictures from Pinterest that transfer pleasantry. 

As a matter of fact, most anything orderly, beautiful and organized is peaceful!  That is an  important clue in settling the mind, and I know how good it is  to wake up to pleasant sights. How would you like to go spend a morning outside in front of these two beautiful places!


Everyone I know  decluttering and also  wisely taking time out to enjoy some leisure, in the outdoors. That seems to be the two things occupying people's minds. The shelves in stores are empty and bare of all storage boxes and cleaning materials and we are awaiting the next shipment.  Dollar Tree is out of the mops and mop buckets and other things. It is nice and dry here and everyone wants to clean and declutter.

 I like this painting, which I assume is by Vladimer Volegov, of the lady with a book in the garden. Do you remember doing that as a child? If you do not remember, maybe it is time to create the memory. Take a grandchild by the hand and settle down under a tree or on a bench in the garden.



painting by Joseph Farquharson, Scotland, 1846-1945

Here are some fabrics by Rachael Ashwell. I'm not sure where they are sold, but aren't they soft and soothing!

And now, here are some of my own morning pictures from around here. They are not exactly Pinterest-worthy, but I'm getting closer to making these scenes into something I like waking up to.


 No, this is not a real slice of cake, but it looks like a vanilla slice.

It is a piece of chalk rock from the hillside up in the high desert, and I have been keeping it on the tea table and enjoying people picking it up and thinking it really is a slice of cake. It looks like Salted Caramel Vanilla Crunch Cake that is served in tea rooms around here. The recipe is impossible to get. A slice costs $8.00, so most ladies order one slice and share it.

If I could have that recipe...

Once my MIL ate a delicious salad at a restaurant. She wrote and asked for the recipe, and they gladly sent it to her with a bill for $50.00!!! I never heard if she actually paid it.  


 We are still using my MIL's furniture, which was old when she first got it,  and now I am covering it by draping it with her chenille bedspreads, which are better off being used than getting musty in an old box.  I found that laundering them and then leaving them on the line to get all that nice sun-starch, makes them perfectly sturdy for furniture covers.  I add a drop of lavender scent to the wash and rinse. I actually wash them in cleaning vinegar. The sun also bleaches this cotton fabric and makes everything so fresh and new and kind of exciting.

I will be looking for new furniture as this will not last much longer, and I'm considering patio furniture because of the humidity here. It is also more reasonably priced than other types of furniture.


These are those $3.88 outdoor waterproof cushions from Walmart. There are some other prints available there now that were not out when the sale first began, so if the price goes down I will get a couple more.  I like them because they are not delicate, and I don't have to feel sensitive about them being ruined. 


Dried eucalyptus is a great way to make my  house naturally fresh. I have some in every room and I'm fixin' to get some more.

I have collected a couple of pictures of patio furniture. For as little time as people spend sitting on couches and chairs these days, I do not see much point in having huge, heavy, over-stuffed furniture that I cannot move by myself to sweep under, and that also overwhelms a tiny living room.  Patio furniture sets are usually a fraction of the price of "real" furniture and seem to be just as comfortable, and in fact I believe it lasts a lot longer than conventional living room furniture.

 My wicker and my vinyl wicker has outlasted several sets of traditional living room furniture and is far more versatile, as it can be used in other rooms, even the kitchen and bedrooms.  I have to laugh when I think how difficult it is to get rid of the old broken down living room couch, and how people will put it on their front porch sometimes.

 Unlike upholstered furniture that wears out, patio furniture looks great even when abandoned to the yard. Usually, no one is in my living room, as they are all visiting in the kitchen, or people go to their own rooms where there are also chairs, desks, and lamps. So, for the living room replacement set, I may be getting patio furniture. I have seen drastically reduced (under $50 sometimes for a couch) in local shopping areas when summer begins to fade.


I know most people would not think of using this in the house, but consider that it is waterproof, including the cushions, and that air circulates better around such furniture, entailing easier housekeeping, and that it is washable and resistant to spills and stains. It is also usually steel framed, and impervious to hard wear and tear.   In humid climates, this is the ideal furniture, as there is no cloth on it to attract moisture, and the air freely circulates around and through the furniture, incurring less mildew or musty scent.


I was listening to the the Bible being read on YouTube, and this phrase caught my ear. I wish I had studied and practiced this at age 16! How much better it would have been for me than some of the empty learning of the time. I will have to practice it quickly, so I can make up for lost time.


Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,c encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, 21but test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it."

First Thessalonians 5:12-24.


9 comments:

Janet W. said...

So lovely, both the houses, the fabric and the scriptures. Beautiful paintings also.
I think your photos are quite Pinterest worthy and you have a good eye for subject matter and balance.
I did notice the last visit to Hobby Lobby there were some very soft pretty fabrics that were similar to the Rachael Ashwell collection in your photo.
If you want the faded look try waging new bright fabric in a solution of that fabric whitening powder by Rot Dye. It won't take all the color out but will fade it considerably and make it appear "vintage"
In a quilt group I w@s a member of Years ago, it was popular to over dye fabrics to get a different color than could be found at the stores. We used swatches of fabric to test with.
So kind of you to share the names of you ancestors. What an interesting story.
Janet Westrup.

Renee said...

I appreciate your contented spirit. I like how you creatively used the chenille bedspreads to cover older furniture. I have done that as well. This summer we inherited some furniture from my mother-in-law that she had slip covered. We feel so blessed even though it is not new furniture is might as well be. Reading your writings really blesses me. I enjoy hearing how you lovingly washed the throws to give that fresh feel. It really is inspiring to other ladies to care for what they have and utilize things creatively. Thank you so much.

Laura Jeanne said...

I love that scripture in particular. So I can read it more often, I am printing it out and taping it up inside one of my kitchen covers.

All of your photos are lovely today - your creativity really shines in what you share with us and I do think they are Pinterest-worthy. It's just because you don't have a fancy camera and the proper lighting that the pictures don't look like they are from a magazine.

How interesting that Pleasant used to be a name commonly used. It has a friendly feel to it. I don't think I've ever heard of that, but I have heard of Patience, which I really like.

Lynn said...

You must greatly enjoy watching the hummingbirds that come to your feeder right outside your dining area...

Unknown said...

You always present such a pretty array of pictures! You've inspired me to a new project: I'm going to take (and actually print!) pictures of all the different areas of my home-inside and out-and put them together in a special scrapbook called "Images of Home," or "Home Sketches" or something similar. My mom recently gave me a stack of pictures from the home where I grew up and it was such a pleasure to remember that place and the things and pets that made it a home. Pictures of people are great too, of course, but seeing the rooms of my childhood invoked a different set of special memories. Thank you, Lady Lydia, for the efforts and love that you put into your blog. I look forward to every new post!
Lisa

amulbunny's random thoughts said...

Here ya go:
READY IN: 1hr 25mins SERVES: 8
UNITS: US
INGREDIENTS Nutrition
CAKE
1 1⁄4 cups cake flour
3⁄4 cup sugar
1⁄2 cup egg yolk
1⁄4 cup water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup egg white
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon salt
3⁄4 cup sugar
TOPPING
1 1⁄2 cups sugar
1⁄4 cup brewed coffee
1⁄4 cup Karo light corn syrup (golden syrup may be used)
3 teaspoons sieved baking soda
FROSTING
2 cups whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350F.
Mix cake flour and sugar together; add egg yolks, water, lemon juice and vanilla and beat until smooth.
In a large bowl beat egg whites, cream of tartar and salt until a fine foam forms through.
Gradually add sugar and continue beating until meringue is firm and stands in peaks.
Fold batter gently into meringue until just blended; do not stir.
Gently spoon batter into ungreased tube pan.
Cut through batter with a knife to break up bubbles and level mixture.
Bake in preheated oven for 50-55 minutes or until top springs back when touched.
Remove from oven; immediately turn over and place tube over neck of funnel or bottle to cool.
Let stand until cool, then loosen with spatula and place on plate.
Split cake into four layers.
While cake is baking, combine sugar, coffee and syrup in a deep saucepan; stir and bring to a boil and cook until hard crack stage or 310 degrees on a candy thermometer.
Remove from heat and immediately add soda and stir vigorously just until topping thickens and pulls away from sides of pan.
Immediately pour into ungreased shallow metal pan.
Do not stir or spread; let cool without moving.
Knock out of pan and crush into coarse crumbs between sheets of waxed paper with rolling pin.
Whip cream, sugar and vanilla until stiff.
Spread half of cream between layers and remainder on top and sides.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Just before serving, cover cake with crushed caramel candy.

My grandmothers name on my mother's side was Elma Maude. One time my mom was making airplane reservations and the agent asked her to repeat the name...She said Elma---like the tree with an A. I'm named after my paternal grandmother...My great paternal grandmother was named Wilhemina.von Barthold.

Lydia said...

Ann, How did you get the recipe and how do those ingredients turn into salted caramel? I don't understand the reason forftge coffee. Did you make this and have you eaten it anywhere? I've looked all over the recipe sites and have never found it. I'm going to read this and see if I can figure it out. I'd like to know how to make one slice! thanks for posting.

Lydia said...

I wondered how they made the fine crunch on top the cream coating. I thought it might be salted caramel before the cream was added.

amulbunny's random thoughts said...

just googled it and found it on a recipe site. I think the coffee gives it a flan like flavor. I don't bake. When my daughter comes home for the holidays we bake some things, I'll give this one a try. Right now even using the convection oven makes it too warm. It's hot and humid and Not conducive to baking.