Table Centerpieces

Here are some centerpieces you can make at home, using what you can find outside or buying one bouquet that contains a variety of flowers. Here, you see what I have picked from trees and bushes in my own garden. There is still one to come that I haven't done yet so check back and I will have it up.

New Link

I am getting read to post a side link on the issue of Modesty. It will be a collection of links to good articles on modesty. If you have written any on your blog, please post your link here and then when the collection is finished, I will put it on the side under "Modesty Issues" where it can be easily accessed. If you know of any good articles on the web on this issue, especially for youth, please post the link. Thank you! Lydia

The Ordinary Day

Art by Betsy Brown

Since there are some who find the idea of homemaking full time rather unusual, I thought it would be fun to connect with other homemakers and see what they are doing today. This will give a glimpse into the life of the homemaker on an ordinary day. Of course we all know that no day is really ordinary when you are caring for the home and the family.

For myself, I am going to teach the Ladies Bible Class in the morning. I sometimes get asked what book we are studying. We are studying the book of Matthew. After that, Cindy, a long time friend, is coming over with some left over wallpaper and paint and a notebook. She is an interior decorator and has done a fabulous job on her own home. She is going to put a plan in a notebook, with sample swatches and colors, for me to follow, to help hoist the old place up.

After that I know I will get a visit from that special family next door and maybe from those irritating cousins, the Bumphries. If you know who the Bumphries really are (see www.thepleasanttimes.blogspot.com ) please do me a favor and keep pretending they are our hick cousins from the hills.

Eventually today I hope to do some sewing. Yesterday I sewed a marvellous dress from some cotton that I had saved and I was not paying attention to the pattern size. I had not noticed that my daughter had cut her size from it after I had used it. I forgot to add the extra on each piece to make it fit me. As a result, she got a new dress but I am happy to give it to her since she needed it. She is always making me something or other: costumes, blouses, skirts, etc. so we can have matching outfits. I think we are even.

I have already made scones this morning and the house smells great.

I would so value and appreciate knowing what others are doing today, with links to pictures if you have any. I was just here http://pinkcottage.blogspot.com/ enjoying the little fabric confections this lady makes. I think one reason I like crafts like this is that the small ones are not a huge project and not tiring. I love to sew dresses best of all, but it is very hard labor sometimes. Sewing these little desserts is a lot of fun. I don't know if they are for sale.

Washing Dishes

Home Notes for Today

The lilacs are in full color and we are having our own lilac festival. Lilacs on a tree, in a basket, in a vase, and even digging out any lilac-themed items we might have.

I was thinking today about the relation between clutter and frugality. Someone had written a supposedly witty saying that claimed that a clean house was a wasted life. They didn't think that one through. Does it mean the opposite is true? I've found a cluttered house to be a great source of misery and expense. If you can't find anything because the clutter is so disorganized, you end up in a store searching for it from their neatly stacked shelves, where things that are alike are stored next to each other: thread with zippers, vac. bags with the vacuume cleaners, soap with the tissue paper, dishes with the cutlery, books with the papers and pencils, etc.

Everyone has, at one time or another or maybe more than one time, wished a great big team of professional cleaners would come in and do her organizing and cleaning. It would be a nice big surprise and we would cry when we came in the door to see the transformation.

However, the best way to keep from having such a cluttered house is to first and foremost, get it cleaned up. Do it methodically by picking up things that are alike: books, then papers, pencils and crayons, then toys, then clothing, dishes, food, etc. Do that, one room at a time. Then, clean the floors and dust and decorate a little. When I wash dishes I clean up the perimeters of the place first: the stove, the little table, the center island, the cabinet top. I neatly stack everything to the right and clear off everything on the left. I sweep the floor. Then I fill up the sink with the hottest water and put in a stack of dishes. I might go put in a load of laundry while that soaks a minute.

After the major cleaning is done, the best way to maintain it is not to letter clutter accumulate. Everyone has to dispose of anything he has used, after he is finished. No one can leave anything in any part of the house to give a clue he has been there. It is that simple. Throw away wrappings and such, from take out foods. Clean up the bedroom as soon as you wake up. Clean up the bathroom while you are in there by wiping the sink and folding things. In the living area, pick up things when you are in that room. I've talked about this before in previous posts.

There is no need to have a disaster area if things are picked up, not passed up. You might think, "But it is not a housecleaning day," and walk down the hall, tripping over towels and toys. You never really have to have a housecleaning day if you clean as you go. Things won't accumulate so badly if you get in an automatic habit of cleaning as you go. The good manners of neatness will accompany you everywhere, from your car, to other people's places, to public places. It costs you less, because things do not get stepped on or broken, or put in places to be forgotten about and gone to waste.

We have a rule in our house that the floors have to be bare, to prevent accidents, but also because it prevents mold and disease. A clean house, rather than being a sign of a wasted life, is a sign of a busy, industrious person and a diligent family who cares enough to be good stewards of their property.

The Gem of the Field

When I first saw my "new home" I was in a state of shock. I never saw anything so dismal in my life. I sat in dismay, unwilling to unpack anything. I wanted to go back to Texas. My husband said we couldn't go back and we would have to make the best of things. He told me to go to WalMart and get whatever I needed to hoist the old place up. It was amazing what a coat of white paint did. Forty year old dark stained panneling which had long lost any gloss, was transformed into brightness. The tall grass and weeds were clipped and mowed, revealing one of the most beautiful views in the world. We removed the complicated dark, draperies and put up hand made muslin curtains with ball fringe. This scene was snapped from that window. In spite of the fact that the man who had built this house over 40 years ago had used scrap materials, his ideas were very good! He had built a window to take in the view. He had built a sewing room for his wife. The dining room was framed by a special opening, and every single room had a view. No high windows, either, but all low enough to look out when seated.

A Visit to a 1920's Style House

My daughter and her daughter and were coming home from a tea party in town and noticed a brand new 1920's style Bungalow house for sale in our area, and a sign that said "Open House."

We were very pleasantly surprised at the interior. It felt right to be inside; it felt like we belonged.

Little Miss Pooh-Bear enjoyed looking out the upstairs cathedral style window. For such a small looking house, the rooms were expansive. The walls were a deep beige with a beautiful white trim.

Have a look at the doorway trim, here.

We weren't too bright when photographing this nice kitchen. We didn't think to photograph the sink and the window over it. The view was great.

Here is the front door: I don't know if it is 20's style or not. It looks Victorian, but it went really well with everything in this house.

This is the stairs. The white posts with the wood bannister were really nice.

This was a four bedroom house. That extra large room upstairs was so vast, it could have been divided, for children.

The Better Part

If you can contribute anything to this lady's questions on one of my theme articles,

your gracious comments to her would truly be appreciated. I think I've explained these answers many times in long, long, well-thought out posts, and I'm wanting to write about other things right now. Some young women are "concerned about many things" like Martha, but will one day wisely choose "the better part," or the part that will make the greatest impact on your life in the future.

My purpose in writing the article she posted on (Get In On Life, Before It Passes You By) was to help girls see that the "better part" was their child bearing years when they should be married and tending to the home. While they are worrying about the many things the world is telling them to be concentrating on, they are missing out on the better part, which is the part most urgent in there lives.

You can always go to school. Schools are a dime a dozen. Husbands and children and houses are not. It is getting harder to find a mate. It is harder for women in general to have children. You can always get a career. That will always be waiting in the wings for you. But, to be married, to be a loving wife, or a mother and homemaker in your own dear little house, is something you cannot put off and expect to be there later on. Wife-hood, motherhood, homemaking, homeschooling--these are things that must be done when it is time to do them.

I am sure there are many preachers whose sermons have covered the story of Mary and Martha, and that there are many wordy, theological explanations for it in various places on the web, so I am just going to give my personal application.

I don't believe that Jesus was telling Martha to abandon house work and go to a meeting or become a missionary. Several times when He walked the earth he reminded people that "the bridegroom you will not always have with you." (Matthew 9:15). There would be time to do other things after he had gone. He was only there a short time. People needed to sense the urgency of being with him while they could, while he was there. Marriage, home and family is urgent to the young. They need to capitalize on their feelings for it while they are young. They need to chose the better part. It is that era that they will do it the best.

Without re-writing the entire article, I will try to explain: All that time the world has you in their schools, convinced you do nothing else, you will be wasting your child-bearing years, the time when it is the least difficult to bear children. You will be forfeiting the time most likely to find a mate. You might even pass up some very good chances, in order to "finish school."

The poster did not really address these issues, which were the main theme of my article. A very helpful article, written for the Atlantic Monthly in the early 1900's, can be studied here http://menstribune.com/abbott.htm and should be another theme article. It explains more fully the urgent reason that women need to be home while young, attending to things that can only occur during that time in their lives. For sure, a woman can fall in love at any age, and maybe even have children, but the best time is when she is young, and those years are too often spent in institutions (school, career) instead.

Most young people want the best in life. They want to wear the best shoes, the best clothes, go to the best restaurants. If they hear of a town or state that is considered the healthiest place to live right now, they all flock up there to settle, even if it means leaving their parents. In like manner, they need to understand that the best time to marry, build a home, and raise children, is when they are young. Jesus wants us to choose the better part, that part when will be the most comforting to us later on and which will impact our lives with greater force later on. Jobs will decline, companies will go bankrupt. Careers will fade.

Phyllis Schlaffly wrote in one of her columns that most jobs young girls study for in college, will not even be available when they get out. Industry is always changing. Demands for careers change constantly. I remember learning to type and was told the need for typists would be great. However, in just a short time, there was no such demands. Things had changed. There will always be a need for a wife and a mother and homemaker. This one thing has never changed throughout the ages from the beginning of time until now.

Many people can teach your children, but it is the mothers that do it best. Anyone can be hired to wash and iron and clean, but it is the wife who knows what technique is needed and who does it for different reasons other than just getting it done. Anyone can clean house, but the homemaker does it because it is her little cottage and she loves being there so she wants to do all the arranging herself. Throughout time, the office of homemaking has never changed. Various rebels have tried to put an end to the family structure and their inter-dependence, but their ways have always ended in disaster.

Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her. Luke 10:38-42

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Lighting Up A Dark Day

For some years, my mood was based upon the weather. Later, I learned that every kind of weather was a gift from God, and did have some advantages. On dark days, I learned to brighten up places in the house, for a bit of bling, as we call it here.

I realized that there

Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.
Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

New Every Morning

Spring View, photograph by Lydia Sherman

It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23

As a homemaker, it is interesting to me that the mess I left the night before because it was too overwhelming and I was tired, is so simple to fix the next morning! We need not be discouraged. Even problems that seem to overwhelm the mind, are a little less threatening when morning comes. The house is easier cleaned in the morning, and quicker, too. The daunting projects that made you sigh in exasperation the night before, are simpler.

I remember growing up how we would have to take naps, even when we thought we were too old. When we woke up, life seemed new, better, simple.

"There is no day so bad that it cannot be fixed by taking a nap." Susan Branch.

Lesson on Refinement for Young Girls

I was at a loss for an illustration in the subject of refinement for young girls. I was asked to teach this, to help steer some of them into better ways to dress and speak; different from the world.

The Bible said that Christ was "like a refiner's fire." (Malachi 3:2) I chose several verses that would help them understand refinement, including Philippians 4:8.

To illustrate this, I had two pieces of tarnished silver, that I had purchased at a thrift store. I put one little tarnished silver plate in the middle of the table, while passing around another piece, a sugar bowl, with a polishing cloth. While one girl rubbed a portion of the bowl til she could see her face in it, I spoke of the difference between being polished and unpolished. Crude speach and immodest clothing is like the unpolished piece, and clean speech is like the polished piece. The bowl was passed to the next student who polished another side of it. It went around the room, being polished by each person. At last, it was placed next to the tarnished piece. With just a little effort, it shone. It was now something that showed its value.

All young girls have value, but it is sometimes hidden beneath the tarnish. It needs to be polished by learning how to speak pleasantly and answer without resentment or bitterness. All young girls have an inner sweetness that can be revealed with a little polishing of manners, speech, attitude. We talked about refraining from answering back rudely to authorities. We discussed how to overcome a critical attitude. In the end, they each got another piece of silver to take home and polish. I suggested they keep one side of the little silver coasters polished let the other side tarnish, just to remind them to be their best.

Framing Those Posters

Tea set from Horchow

We have finally figured out how to frame the posters that we order. As you know, they are quite reasonable in price when on sale (see Lovely Whatevers for a choice of good paintings)

After several trips to places like Michaels and other framing places, resulting in quotes never below $250.00 for mats and frames and labor, my daughter bought a poster frame, wooden, at WalMart for $20.00. She took out the cardboard backing and covered it completely in a piece of fabric( from the fabric stash we have vowed to use before we die). Most of the poster frames are cheaper than $20.00 so you can still feel you have a bargain. It is better to put them in a poster frame, if that is all you can afford, than to leave them rolled up in the tube, or laying about, as I was told by the framers.

To that, she centered the picture and used folded tape to attach it. Then she put the glass in, and mounted the entire thing and it looks great. An advantage was that I could then use a piece of matching fabric for the table below it. When my staff wakes up I will share a picture of it.

My original idea was to see if the cardboard backing was white, and to use that for the matting, but it was just grey pulp board, so it had to be covered. I thought I would share this idea with those who are ordering these beautiful pictures and then find out how expensive they are to frame.

May Sites

This site http://theoldpaintedcottage.wahmweb.com/store/WsPages.asp?ID=3 has gone to a lot of work to display gardens this month. The close-ups of the florals really gave me a lift.

Here are a few more month of May updates I enjoyed http://kellishouse.blogspot.com/2008/05/nine-patch-notecard.html (This lady has an online seasonal newsletter you can subscribe to for about $20.00 a year and is very professional and uplifting--quite worth the price)

http://larearose.blogspot.com/ really does love roses!

It is a beautiful day here at last, at least for this hour. You never know

Rejoice With Those Who Rejoice

I had great plans to have a post here early this morning, but there were so many urgent things to do that I was not able to sit down til 8 p.m. I haven't been around the blog world yet to see if there were any interesting first-day-of-May posts.

Today, even with its inclement weather and darkness here out west, was a special day. When I woke up, I changed the calendar and surprised myself with a new painting by Janet Kruskamp. I'll be putting some of her artwork on Lovely Whatevers when my "staff" comes back to work.

After breakfast, I bundled up and went outside to pick the apple blossoms that appeared in this cold weather. To them, I added this pine cone that looks like a rose. There are quite a few of them on the ground here.

I was also excited to get out all the past issues of Victoria for the month of May. Here are 1990 - 1995. I haven't opened them yet to see what was in them but I am sure they are as lovely as they were the year they came. I am looking forward to having time to sit and look through these again. There is almost one per week for this month, which is better than a subscription magazine coming each month.

I did quite a few things today that were "grunge jobs," so, as a treat, I made this new shelf arrangement for May. As I have mentioned previously, our house is used and lived in from morning til evening, with very few places left alone. This is the one shelf I have that does not get disturbed or used. Today I decided to gather up anything I owned that looked like a rose. The round table cloth is all scrunched up on purpose to make it fit on the on the mantel shelf.

Later in the day, my daughter played "Song of the Lark" to me on the piano, to celebrate the first day of a new month.

I sympathise with every woman who does not have access to a car, or cannot leave her home often because of pressing responsibilities, lack of money, or distance. I am presently without transportation but am reminded once again of the freedom within the home and outside it to do many things for others. And, the less I travel, the less it costs, so there is some advantage to this. It actually does not cut spending completely, because there is always the phone, the catalogs and UPS, which comes straight to the door ;-) if I get too desperate.

My husband wants to take me somewhere expensive for my birthday next week and said he had a gas station in mind, since gas was probably the most expensive thing he could buy me. I sometimes think I would rather have the money! One lady I know says it costs her $65.00 to fill her mini-van. That would buy a lot of fabric, or part of a new chair or couch. We really must re-think our distance problem, and create a village system where we can get our basic needs within walking distance. Another solution to gas prices is to keep the prices reasonable everywhere and raise the gas prices only in Washington D.C.

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Here is something I was asked to comment on regarding how to extend sympathy to those who had lost a loved one.

When I was younger I was not sure what to say to someone who was in grief. I looked in etiquette books and read books written especially for Christian women. For some reason, it wasn't concise enough for me to get the thought into my head and remember it when I needed to. I will just use a familiar verse from the Bible and see if it can be made clear.

Romans 12:15 Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.

I can remember when my brother died a lady said to me: "I'm so sorry to hear about the death of your brother. I know how you feel. I lost a brother when I was very young, and I still miss him."

I don't think it has to be a big, complicated issue to extend sympathy. It really helps if all you say is, "I am very sorry for your loss." Sending a card is always appreciated. These days you can email some very pretty e-cards that have good sentiments.

As awkward as it can be, it is still better to send a card or say something, than not to. People who lose loved ones feel very alone. Anything you do will help. Also, I have observed that extending sympathy becomes easier with age.