O Blessed Home

Link for this image here.

Aren't the lyrics of this Victorian hymn, originally written in Norwegian, just beautiful? Almost like a prayer, as so many hymns are (or taken from passages of Scripture).   I intend one day to write this out in calligraphy script and illustrate it myself, as I would like to have it framed and hung on the wall!  It would also make a beautiful gift for a young couple on their wedding day (the tune to the hymn is rather somber to have it sung, at least, we thought so, for a wedding ceremony).  But just to read and keep in my heart it is lovely.

O blessèd home where man and wife
Together lead a godly life
By deeds their faith confessing!
There many a happy day is spent,
There Jesus gladly will consent
To tarry with His blessing.

If they have given Him their heart,
The place of honor set apart
For Him each night and morrow,
Then He the storms of life will calm,
Will bring for every wound a balm,
And change to joy their sorrow.

And if their home be dark and drear,
The cruse be empty, hunger near,
All hope within them dying,
Let them despair not in distress;
Lo, Christ is there the bread to bless,
The fragments multiplying.

O Lord, we come before Thy face;
In every home bestow Thy grace
On children, father, mother,
Relieve their wants, their burdens ease,
Let them together dwell in peace
And love to one another.

Wednesday's Workbox - How To Iron A Shirt

Despite the heat today, Little Bear and I have been doing the ironing.  We put on the radio and listened to Andre Rieu as we ironed and it was great fun!  One of us sorted, folded and put away while the other one ironed and then we switched over.  Our work was done in no time, and we were almost sorry when we had finished and had to put the iron away until Friday!

Ironing is one of my favourite chores!  In fact I think I would go so far as to say that I don't actually think of it as a chore, but a pleasure.  It is not just that it is one of the most satisfying household tasks that a homekeeper can work on - you get wonderful results every time, with very little effort or skill required - but also that it is so lovely to work with the clean, sweetly scented clothes (and lavender water, which I put into the iron before I start).  I especially like ironing our bedclothes for this reason - everything is so pretty and fresh, and I love to see it all crisply ironed and folded, ready to be put away!  In an hour or two you can transform into neatness a heap of creased and rumpled garments with really not much trouble at all, and yet somehow it always makes me feel so efficient!  Having my family in nicely ironed clothes is important to me.  Even when we were living in very poor and impoverished accommodation (one room with two small babies), I always made certain to iron everything.  I would be minded of a passage in one of the Laura Ingalls Wilder books (I think it might be the one most well known of all - "Little House On The Prairie") in which even though the family are travelling in a bow-top wagon with all their possessions piled inside it, Ma still finds a way to launder their clothes - and iron them, using the front seat of the wagon as an ironing board!  That was always an inspiration to me to make sure I found a way to keep our clothes looking nice, too.

One of the garments which I find myself ironing most frequently of all is shirts.  Papa Bear and Cubby Bear wear at least five shirts a week (on the other days they may wear sports shirts that do not need ironing), and frequently Little Bear or I will have worn a blouse too, which needs to be ironed in the same way as a man's shirt.  Therefore over the years, I have ironed a great many shirts indeed, and I am happy to share what I have learned with readers who may not, through age or circumstance, have quite as many years of experience as I do!  Yes, I know that ironing doesn't really come under the same workbox label as creative activities such as knitting or sewing, but for both these skills, it is important that you are also able to iron efficiently, so that your finished garments and other items look professional and neat, and to my mind it is a skill that any crafter, whatever your chosen interest is, may find useful to accomplish - even if you don't have a family to iron for, or you happen to care little for neatly pressed clothes!

I must admit that not all the credit can be given to me!  I learned to iron by watching my mother, and Little Bear has learned through watching me using the same technique that I am sure my grandmother and greatgrandmother probably used too.  It's a bit of a fiddle, I'll agree - I certainly wouldn't advise a beginner in the art of ironing to start with a shirt - but it is a skill worth knowing!  At the very least, you will have a happy husband if you can iron a shirt properly - and a beautiful looking wardrobe, too!  So I must thank my mam, Grandmama Bear for handing down her skills to me - and to my daughter, too, who irons her brother's shirts to perfection now.

Start by making sure that you have the right equipment though.   An iron doesn't need to cost much - ours didn't, and has lasted for years even so - but I would recommend one that has a steam facility.  Most clothes (though not some - silk for example should never be steam ironed) are easier to iron if they are damp, and a steam iron takes out all the bother of having to spray them as you go.  I do sometimes spray items that have got really deep creases in them, if they have hung out on the line too long and got really dry before I brought them in, but some irons also have a spray facility built in with the steam function, so have a look at the different models before you buy.  If you have a large family to iron for, these little extras may well be very handy indeed.

Also make sure that your ironing board is the right height.  Over the years I've ironed on tables, floors, kitchen worktops and even a folded towel on a bed (which was not very successful!) but I must admit I do like my ironing board!  It is height-adjustable, which makes work much easier.  Ironing is less hard work if the ironing board is below waist height, so that you are able to lean over and put more of your own body weight into the work, so unless you have back troubles, you may find that you will get through your ironing quicker if you lower the board a notch or two.  I didn't realise this until recently, quite by accident when I set the ironing board up incorrectly without really watching what I was doing, and then found it was stuck and I couldn't adjust it back up to the right height (which was in fact much too high for me).  Rather than wait for Papa Bear to come home from work and adjust it for me, I got to work anyway, and was amazed by how much eaiser it was using the board set at the much lower setting!  Now I always use it this way and find my work much less tiring.  Try it and see - you will be very surprised, I promise!

Now for your shirt ...

Check in the label of the garment to ensure you will be setting the iron to the correct temperature.  I tend to iron shirts after synthetics, but before jeans or bedding, and use the iron on its hottest, or nearly hottest setting, because most of Papa and Cubby Bear's shirts are made of thick brushed cotton, and not polycotton which needs ironing on a lower setting.  Denim shirts need a hotter setting still.  If unsure, set the iron lower than you want, and if it doesn't make quick work of smoothing out the creases, raise the setting a notch or two and try again.  It is worth being cautious - if you use too high a setting you will scorch the fabric and there is really no way to remedy this apart from sewing a patch over the scorched place if this is possible without spoiling the look of the garment.  We've all done it - but I've learned over the years to proceed with caution!

Ensure the soleplate of your iron is clean (if you've previously scorched a garment, it may not be ... so do look!  You can clean scorches off by very gently scrubbing the soleplate with a scourer (a plastic one is better than a metal one) dipped in a little fabric conditioner.

Start with the shirt inside out, unbuttoned (don't forget cuffs), and iron all the double thickness parts first (apart from the collar).  I like to do the seams down the front and then the cuffs.  It is a bit tricky to navigate around the buttons, but if you look closely at the soleplate of your iron, you will see a small ridge all around the edge which is there especially to make it easier to iron around buttons! 

When ironing cuffs (and collar), iron from the inside edge to the outer, smoothing them so that the fabric isn't rucked at all.  Sometimes it helps just to dab the edges with the tip of the iron.

Turn the shirt the right way around now, and hold it with the back facing you.  Fold it just below where the seam of the yoke is (about 6 inches from the collar on a man's shirt) so that the yoke is uppermost.  Now lay the shirt on the board with the fold at the edge, and iron just the folded part (not to the fold, or you will get a big line beneath the seam of the yoke, which you don't want).

Iron the collar band on both sides next. 

Then iron the collar itself, smoothing the creases inwards towards the collar band, then finally giving one stroke of the iron in the opposite direction.

Now iron the sleeves by stretching it out, smoothing the underarm seam so that the fabric lies evenly on either side (if you don't do this, then you will end up with a line along one side of the sleeve, where the seam didn't quite lie flat).  Iron the sleeve double thickness from shoulder to cuff, then turn over and repeat.  I do iron a crease into the top (upperarm) edge of a sleeve because Papa Bear likes them done this way but some men prefer not to have this so if you are an eager new wife, do check that you are doing it the way your husband likes!  Or ask his mother - Cubby Bear is going to expect a wife who knows how to iron creases into his shirt sleeves!   If the menfolk in your life do not want a crease along the upper arm of their shirts, then bring the iron just within the edge of the fabric to avoid the crease appearing.  Repeat on the other side.

Iron the body of the shirt starting with the back, then both fronts.

Lay the shirt face up on the ironing board so that the pleats or darts in the back lie as they would when it was being worn, then iron these into place.

Repeat on the front of the shirt, if there is tailoring here too (on most labouring work shirts, of the sort Papa Bear wears, there is no extra tailoring on the front as the shirt is designed to be worn over other clothes and therefore is cut big anyway).

Finally button the shirt over a hanger, or if it is going to be stored or put in a case for travelling, fold it by laying it face down on the ironing board, folding the side seams back to the centre back and lying the sleeves along the folded edges.  Then turn up the cuffs into the sleeves, and turn the base of the shirt up into the body about 6 inches or so, then fold again in half.  This will result in a neatly folded shirt that should not need ironing again when unfolded.

I like to think that each and every shirt I have ironed for Papa Bear and Cubby has been infused, along with the beautful lavender water, by a veil of my love that will embrace them all day long when they put the shirt on!  Fanciful maybe, but a lovely thought for me!

Happy ironing everyone!

Tuesday's Time To (29th May)

Yesteday I wrote about the sweet fragrance of grace.  Today in Tuesday's Time To, I thought I would carry on this theme, and write about scents! 

Our sense of smell is a very important gift.  There are too many different scents in the world to be able to number - and our ability to distinguish between them allows us to make many different inferences and choices.  Scent is also an important aspect of our emotional make-up too.  Scents can be part of memories; they can tell us whether we are with someone (or something) familiar.  They can bring us great pleasure - and we are happy to spend a lot of money on scents that make us feel wonderful too!  Scents can be complicated too ... think of the scent of cinnamon rolls or spice cookies baking, and how it makes you feel - that mixture of cosiness, nostalgia, excitement and peace, which is the combination of all the different remembered feelings we have about Christmas, or feeling good when we were young.  They can arouse more than just one feeling, and some scents have many different layers to them too.  Perfumes are designed with different "notes" that develop over the time that the wearer has it on, and it will smell different at different times of day as a result.

Without any sense of smell, it would be harder to determine if food was safe to eat or not - and it certainly helps to enhance our sense of appetite too.  It's a unique gift as well because everyone's sense of smell is slightly different, and what smells great to one person might not smell so good to another.  When I was expecting Cubby Bear, my pregnancy cravings were not for food, as they had been with Little Bear (for broccoli and red delicious apples - not on the same plate!).  With Cubby, my cravings were for the smell of washing powder!  I would sit on the floor by our washing machine with Little Bear, holding the box of washing powder in my lap and sniffing it!  I found it absolutely irresistible!  When Cubby was born of course, the craving went away, and though I do still like the scent of washing powder, I dont' need to sit and sniff the box any more!  I don't know what Little Bear thought as she sat in her wee cradleseat and watched me!  To this day she adores broccoli and red apples, but I can't say I've noticed Cubby having any srong leanings towards the scent of washing powder!  Anyway, here are my Tuesday's Time To thoughts on fragrance ...

A Time To Plant ...
The scent of plants is very evocative.  There are so many gorgeous ones it's hard to know where to begin.  Growing up on the borders of North East England and Scotland, one of my favourite plant scents is that of bracken.  It has a beautiful, woody aroma which instantly transports me to some of my most loved places in England, and makes me think of the rough, craggy hills that were just beyond the boundaries of the farm where I lived.  I loved walking up through the huge jagged rocks, to where water would fall between them, clear and icy cold.  All along the path the bracken would grow, and it would form a soft blanket on the ground beneath my feet in Autumn.  I miss that landscape now - we live in a much flatter part of England - but I know the crags and fells are still there for me, whenever we go to visit our family that still lives there.

A Time To Heal ...
There are so many healing scents!  Many herbs, such as peppermint, chamomile, raspberry leaf and licquorice, are beautifully scented and used in natural medicine.  I like the aroma of olbas oil, a mixture of essential oils that we use as an inhalant and decongestant when we have colds or sinusitis.  And I also love the scent of clove oil which use to be used for toothache - but which I now add a drop of to my duster when I am doing housework.  It lends a fresh, clean aroma to the room as I work.  People often say that they don't like the scent of disinfectant because it reminds them of hospitals, but I have to say that neither do I dislike the scent of disinfectant, and nor does it remind me of hospitals, in which I have spent more than my fair share of time over the years!  I actually quite like the scent of disinfectant! 

A Time To Laugh ...
I also like scents that lift my heart and make me smile and feel happy.  In the 1990's, Elizabeth Arden brought out a perfume called "Sunflowers", which came packaged in a bright yellow box. 
One day when Papa Bear came home from work, he presented me with a bag from a fancy department store in town, and inside it was a cute wee yellow jumper dress for Little Bear, matching yellow dungaree shorts for Cubby, and a bottle of the "Sunflowers" perfume for me!  I can remember feeling so happy and loved when I took out the gifts my sweet husband had bought me!  And do you know, that perfume smelled of summer!  The yellow clothes were perfect for that perfume - we were all three of us bathed in sunshine every time we wore our gifts - and Papa Bear's smile when he saw us was enough to make all our hearts warm!
A Time To Embrace ...
Who can resist snuggling their new baby!  I am certain that there's absolutely nothing else in the world that smells quite as precious as a newborn baby and which can make us feel quite as warm and nurturing and loving.  When our children were babies, I loved just drinking in their gorgeous aroma. I can't even begin to describe it - just that it was the most perfect scent in all the world!   Whenever I held anyone else's baby, they did not smell to me quite so lovely as my own children did!  Just scrumptious!  Of course, husbands smell delicious too in quite another way!  When Papa Bear and I were first married I use to buy him aftershave as a gift on birthdays and at Christmas - but do you know, I love his "real" smell just as much as the aftershave!  And even our birds, who I love but don't adore like I do my family - well, their feathers smell gorgeous too - warm and sweet.

A Time To Keep ...
As I say above, scent is a very important element in evoking memory.  Some of my happiest memories are aroused by scent - not just the smell of bracken, but many others too - the smell of the dairy cows that were raised on the farm, which is not unpleasant at all, but a wonderful earthy, grassy aroma - the smell of hay - the scent of putty or woodshavings when my dad was doing repairs around the farm buildings - even the rough aroma of the tobacco that the other farm hands smoked in their pipes.  All these aromas are of my childhood.  At different times of year, there were different scents - the smell of warm tarmac in summer when we played hopscotch and skipping outside, then the wonderful piny scent of Christmas trees in winter!  There was the smell of the hyacinths that my mam grew in pots on the windowsill in spring, and in Autumn, wonderful smells of preserving and baking in preparation for the colder months.  All my childhood memories are stored in different scents - and I'm sure most other people's are too - just have a think about it now and see what you can remember!

A Time To Sew ...
Now I wonder if you thought "there can't be any scent associated with sewing"?  He he!  Well there is one! It's a scent I absolutely adore, too.  The smell of my sewing machine, when it has been running all afternoon.  It's a sort of engine smell, a bit like a steam engine but not anything like as powerful, which is probably caused by the motor getting hot as I use it.  I can't describe why I like this smell, but I do - it's the same sort of smell as that of the ink used on printed glossy magazines and brochures, which I also like!  He he!  What's your strangest favourite scent?

A Time To Speak ...
Of course, scents speak for us.  A gift of perfume says "I love you".  The aroma of baking bread or cookies says "I care", and the warm fragrance of a roast dinner or casserole says "welcome home".  Freshly squeezed orange juice tells my family "rise and shine!" and clean bedlinen says "sweet dreams".  Making our homes smell lovely is another way in which we can give a powerful message to our families and to all those who visits our homes, that says, I am taking my role as a homemaker seriously - I want to please God and make my family feel happy and loved - and I'm going to embrace every sense in so doing.  It's easy to start thinking of ways we can achieve this - just a few scented candles, or a vase of freesias will lend a sweet fragrance to your home, and make everyone who enters it feel glad to be there.

A Time To Love ...
Roses are of course the bloom that speaks of love - and their scent does too.  It is a dream and hope of Papa Bear and I that one day we will again have a garden of our very own, where maybe we can plant some roses of our own.  My favourite sort of roses are the big, soft, double-petalled ones that come in every shade, from the palest shell pink to the deepest crimson, with every colour inbetween.  Grandmama Bear has some wonderful roses in her garden, some of which are very ancient species, and one in particular is the most beautiful delicate creamy pink colour, almost a soft creamy-coffee, and it has the deepest, loveliest scent, like all other roses distilled into one.  I may not yet be able to enjoy such beautiful gifts as a garden of roses of my own - but I do have beautiful bubble baths that are scented almost as delightfully, every evening - thanks to my sweet Papa Bear!

A Time For Peace ...
There can only be one scent for me that makes me think of peace - and which stills my heart whenever I feel restless or anxious - and that is the scent of lavender.  It's one of my very favourite scents of all, always calming - in fact I've discovered that  a few drops of lavender essential oil on our pillows at bedtime ensure we all get a good night's sleep!  When I feel a migraine coming on, I massage a little lavender oil into my temples, and I also use it to scent the water in my steam iron, so that all our laundry smells gorgeous too.

The world is full of so many wonderful things that our Father God has provided us with!  I thank Him today for giving us five senses with which to enjoy His beautiful world - and for so many scents to delight us with!

Sweet Fragrance Of Grace

We had such a lovely service at Church yesterday.  Although our Church is not all that far from where we live (in a busy town), it is a small, pretty, very ancient building that looks as if it had been picked up from a wee village hamlet in the countryside and set down again in the centre of town, like a toy in a game of make-believe.  Somehow it seems cruel to have such a pretty building set against a backdrop of ugly modern concrete structures such as malls, car parks and tower blocks.  But step through the gates and you are transported somewhere else entirely.  It is surrounded by a high flint wall, and within the Churchyard are several very old cherry blossom trees that form a canopy above you in the sky.  The grounds are planted with pretty bulbs and flowers for every season -  snowdrops, daffodils, bluebells, violets and wallflowers, michelmas daisies, gladioli and aconites, and the lawns are stippled all summer long with hundreds of daisies.  It is all so beautiful and tranquil, and within it is beautiful too!  Almost unchanged through the centuries.  Through the stained glass windows you can see the blossom trees outside and it is especially lovely to see the turning of the seasons represented in the changing appearance of those trees, framed by the coloured glass windows.  Yesterday they were heavy with frilly pink blossoms, that barely moved in the warm still air.  Oh I did enjoy being there in the cool gloom of the Church.  We had some lovely hymns yesterday too - the one that I shared yesterday (Come Down O Love Divine) was another of the hymns that Papa Bear and I had at our wedding service! 

When we got home my mind was buisy with the words from our second Scripture reading - which I also posted yesterday - Galatians 5: 16-26.  I kept especially in my heart the words of verses 22 - 23 -

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance ..."

It has been so warm here the last few days, that I felt it was particularly fitting that we should have had this reminder of how our Father God wishes us to conduct ourselves!  Hot weather can lead to frayed tempers, and sometimes we need to step back, take a deep breath, and remember that losing our tempers is not Godly behaviour - even when the temperature is rising, and everyone around us seems to be in a bad mood!  Remembering these precious verses has helped me to keep cool and calm these last couple of days!

As I lay in my lovely rose fragranced bath yesterday evening, with soft vanilla scented tealights flickering at my toes, I thought again of these words, and of how important it is that I keep hold of God's commands, even when (in fact, particularly when) I don't naturally feel like I want to!  It's easy to endeavour to conduct ourselves in a way that glorifies God when life is treating us kindly, and we have no worries or concerns to weigh us down.  But it's equally important that we remember to carry on glorifying Him when times get tough.  Only that way can we be a true example to others - a beacon for Him in a world of darkness.  The beautiful scents of my lovely bath creme and the tealights that my sweet husband has given me, also served to remind me of another very important passage of Scripture - one which I really love, and which I feel is one of the most important of all, as a guide to our conduct.  Here we see that we have a very high calling indeed, as God's children - we are to imitate Christ.  In so doing, we will become a sweet fragrance to the Lord - expressing the beautiful scent of grace to all those around us.  Ephesians 5: 1-33 ...

"Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;
 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.
But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks.
For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
Proving what is acceptable unto the Lord.
 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them.
For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.
See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise,
Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Wherefore be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;
That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word,
That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. 
 For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church:
For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.
This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband". (Ephesians 5: 1-33).

Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to commit this whole Chapter of Scripture to memory, to use as a blueprint for our every action?  Papa Bear and I plan to do just this, over the next few weeks.  And in so doing, I also hope to give this passage some deeper consideration which I intend to share here, on the blog.  I may not be perfect (I know I am far from!) but I can strive to be better - my best - for the sake of my Salvation.  And so can anyone!  All we have to do, to start with, is open our hearts to the words of our Saviour.  And then, work hard to ensure that in all that we do, we are as sweet and beautiful in our demeanour, as our Father God created us to be.

Walk In The Spirit

"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,
Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies,
Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not be desirous of vain glory, provoking one another, envying one another". (Galatians 5: 16-26)

Reflecting Our Faith



Source for this image here.

"In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array;
But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works". (1 Timothy 2: 9 - 10).

What beautiful warm weather we are enjoying here at the moment!  There is a slight breeze which makes it perfect for being outside - so that is what we have done today!  We visited Grandmama Bear and enjoyed sitting in her pretty garden, and then we walked into the town so that we could do a little shopping there.  While we were there, we went into one of the big department stores to get something for Little Bear, and afterwards, she and I looked at all the different scented toiletries on display in that store.  There were some really beautiful ones - all very attractively packaged with lovely botanical drawings of the plants and flowers they were scented with.  Imagine how delighted we were when Papa Bear offered to buy us some!  We chose rose scented bath creme and talc to match - and oh, they are just delicious!  Little Bear and I are very much looking forwards to enjoying them when we have our baths this evening.  Thank you Papa Bear!  You do spoil us!  He spoiled himself and Cubby Bear too, by buying them a new piece of kit for when they go fishing next weekend, so we were all very happy indeed when we returned home!

One of the nice things about the warm weather is being able to wear some of my pretty cotton dresses and skirts again after having spent the last few months in my darker, heavier garments.  Mind though, I like them too - and by September I shall be looking forwards to wearing them again as well - but by now I am well ready to leave them in the wardrobe and wear my lighter clothes instead!  Most of my dresses and skirts come from thrift stores.  I did use to make a lot of clothes (mostly for myself and Little Bear - shirts for the menfolk are not so easy to do, as the tailoring needs to be very accurate, though I did - and still do - knit for them) and I do plan to make some more - Papa Bear picked out some pretty dress patterns and fabric for me not long ago, but at the moment the vast majority of my wardrobe consists of manufactured clothes, though not bought necessarily from the store on the label.

I have 3 new dresses to wear this summer - and 2 of these are in fact new.  Papa Bear bought them a couple of months ago, but it hasn't been warm enough until now to wear them!  Today I am wearing one of them, which is dark blue with a pink, turquoise, yellow and white floral pattern on it.  It has short sleeves and a sweetheart neckline trimmed with blue ric-rac.  I like it very much - and it feels lovely and fresh when I wear it!  Papa Bear likes it too!   I love to feel pretty and feminine in my dresses, and can't imagine feeling the same way in a pair of jeans or shorts - but it isn't that way for every woman.  At this time of year, you can see people dressed in just about anything - some even look as if they are wearing nothing but their underthings, and girls far younger than Little Bear seem quite content to walk around in public dressed this way without any concern for the image they are projecting to other people.  It frightens me that as a society we have become so careless about the way we look - and that no one seems to think that it matters very much.  But does it?

"Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body.
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?" (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20).

It does matter very much how we dress.  In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul is saying in the passage above that we must honour God with our bodies.  This means outside, as well as in - we must take care of ourselves physically, and what better way to demonstrate this, than by paying attention to our appearance?  Of course, I am not talking about vanity here - but about dressing modestly and appropriately, in a way that does not tempt or encourage impure thoughts by others and which also demonstrates our willingness to reflect the Holiness of the Spirit that dwells within us.   If we dress in a way that honours God, then we make ourselves a visible witness to others - and that's why it's important that we do care about how we look - it is part of our duty as God's servants - and it's also our duty, as wives and mothers, to ensure that we demonstrate our understanding and willingness to conform to this, that we might serve as a role model to our daughters (Titus 2: 3-5).

But oh, how difficult it can be!  It seems to me as if there are two main ways in which we women fail to honour God through our appearance.  Firstly, by dressing in an impure and immodest way, revealing the shapes of our bodies and our flesh through our clothes, and secondly, by failing to give enough attention to our appearance, so that we look sloppy, or frumpy, and unattractive.  I've posted previously about the need for us to dress modestly, so that we honour our Father God - and our husbands too.  Today I am going to write about the need to pay attention to our appearance and dress attractively - for these very same reasons.

There are several factors that contribute to us allowing ourselves to lose the way when it comes to our appearance.  When our children are young, it is so difficult to find the time to set aside to consider our own needs.  We prioritise the needs of our family first, instead, and we get relegated - like my winter clothes at the back of the wardrobe - so that we're forgotten about!  There always seems to be something more important to be concerned with instead of how we look - and finding enough time to spend getting our hair straight, applying a little make-up - even ironing our clothes and putting together an outfit that matches - seem like impossible goals when there are so many other more immediate pressures.  But it should not be this way.  I know this is how it could easily have been for me - but somehow, there was some wee flicker of motivation that burned deep within me - partly love for our Father God, and partly love for my husband - that made me want to make sure that each and every day, I presented myself to him anew as a gift - the same gift that he had taken ownership of, on our wedding day.  That way, I knew (though I didn't even think it consciously) I would be honoring him - and therefore, God.  So I worked hard to make this possible.  It wasn't always easy, but knowing how much he appreciated my efforts gave me enough motivation to keep at it. 

 These are some of the things that I've found have helped when you are short of time - and probably energy too - to give attention to yourself.

Keep it simple - it is much easier to put together attractive outfits if you only have a small base wardrobe to choose from - in a few colours that all complement each other.  Over the years that you put together your wardrobe you'll know which colours work best for you (I suit pastels and softer colours rather than very deep or bright colours).  Use these as your basis for most outfits, and vary the details, such as scarves, jewellery or shoes.  If you stick to a basic pallette of colours that you like, these will become "your" colours, and everyone you know will come to associate you with them - which will mean that whenever you are given clothing as a gift, you know it will suit you!

Always do your hair - even if you really don't feel like it, I promise that it will make you feel one hundred times better, if you do.  If it is really troubling you to find the motivation to do this, why not try buying yourself a new hair trimming, or a different style?  Even a simple plastic or fabric hairband worn with clean, well brushed hair, will look lovely, and like you have taken some care with your appearance.  I find keeping a small handbag-sized hairbrush available with me means that I can tidy up my hair when I'm at home as often as I like just with a few quick brushes, so it always means I'm reasonably well groomed!  Keep a few pretty hair clips or other trimmings in a place that's easy to get to, and then you can dress up your hair in minutes whenever you need to.

Jewellery - yes, we are not to wear too much (1 Peter 3: 3-4), but a little (especially if it something your husband gave you) will also make you look as if you have spent time on yourself.  Again, if you are really short on time, only make available a few items, and rotate these - or do as I do, and mainly wear gold, which I don't actually ever remove, even for bed.   A pretty, dainty watch, bracelet or chain may be all you want to wear - but this will be enough!  Or have some signature items that you always wear, as I do - you'll probably find that your family may then contribute to your collection quite unexpectedly, when you have a special birthday or anniversary!

Make-up - likewise, we mustn't paint ourselves so we look like pantomime dames!  But a little lip gloss and some mascara take a few seconds to apply, and do make all the difference.  I'm quite pale, so I always make sure to have a little blusher on, even if nothing else.  My whole make-up routine doesn't take very long at all, and I always wear the same make-up as I have a very pared-down make-up bag, but I make a point to wear some, every day.  At the very least just a dab of lipstick!

Talking of routines, having a grooming routine really helps to buy you some time to devote to yourself.  I know (because I felt this way, and still do, sometimes) that it's easy to feel that it is somehow wrong to concentrate on yourself, when your family's needs are more important.  But I promise that if you do give yourself some time, you will feel so much better for it, that your family will benefit from this positively too - so see it as time invested in you for them, and that way it will be a little easier.  I tend to set out my clothes for the next day the evening before - just as I am going to bed (Papa Bear also does this too as it saves him time in the mornings).  I may need to check the weather forecast first!  But if my outfit is ready to put on when I get up in the morning, it makes me feel as if I am organised already, before my day has really even started!  I do everything in the same order - which means that if I get interrupted, then I know exactly where to pick up from and what else still needs to be done.  I've always been in the habit of rising before the rest of the family, and this time to myself is really valuable.  I know it's difficult - and I only succeed in this by going to bed very early, but it means that I feel as if I am starting off the day on the right foot, and therefore my mind is calm and my heart is happy as I begin my day. 

The evenings may be a better time for you to buy yourself some time, and this is when you can take the opportunity to really pamper yourself. Once your children are in bed asleep (I can't stress highly enough how their routines are as important as yours - if you don't have schedules for your children, then you will never be able to organise yourself - this is the first thing we wives need to think about, when we are planning our days!) then you can use the evening to pamper yourself and set aside some time to do some nice things like painting your toenails, giving yourself a facial, having a workout, or even just, as I plan to do tonight, a wonderful long bath with some gorgeously scented toiletries!

These things will certainly make you feel better about yourself.  Just 5 or 10 minutes a day is all you need, and if you combine this with generally trying to eat sensibly and getting some exercise each day, you will certainly be investing in your wellbeing in a way that benefits the whole family.  Having said that, we do feel that it's important not to make an idol of your health.  It's just as damaging to your body and spirit to be too concerned with food and fitness, as it is to not care at all.  As a family, we try to have a wholesome attitude to our diet and health. We don't obsess over it, and aren't interested in cranky diet plans or food elimination regimes.  We also believe that our physical fitness should be incidental, and come from our everyday activities, rather than setting aside time to go to the gym.  For example, we walked into the town today - it took us 45 minutes, so that was our workout today!

There is another reason that some women struggle with dressing themselves in a way that honours God.  It can seem that the alternative to dressing in a worldy and immodest way is to dress like a frump - but that really isn't the case.  Some dear women seem to hesitate over wearing only long dresses and skirts because they fear that they will look less attractive to their husbands than they do in tight jeans or miniskirts.  I can confirm wholeheartedly that this isn't the case - Papa Bear certainly prefers to see me in my dresses and skirts!  But there are some things that you can do, if this is a concern of yours, to ensure you don't go down the "sack" route!

Women come in every shape and size - and we are all beautiful, as God's children.  But we do all look much better if we wear clothes that fit us well.  I'm very tiny - so it's extremely easy for me to look frumpy!  Clothes that are too large look just as unbecoming as those that are too tight.  Don't be ashamed to buy clothes in the right size for you.  If like me you find this quite difficult, for whatever reason, then this is a good motivation to sew your own!  You can make them just the right size for your personal body shape and they will look great because they are personally tailored to fit only you!   Bigger women may tend to look better in larger prints than smaller women, but I don't see why any of us should have to wear dull clothes with few patterns or textures.  Be led by what your husband likes - Papa Bear prefers my clothes to be generally in pastel florals or denims, so that is what I wear.  But your husband might have quite different ideas!  It's lovely to shop for clothes together - so if you aren't really sure what suits you, seek his opinion - you can be sure it will be right!

I also try to put my outfits together so everything matches (shoes, jewellery, handbags etc).  The exception to this is headcoverings.  My headscarves are all block plain colours - this isn't for cultural reasons, but just what Papa Bear prefers, and certainly I think this looks smarter than having a patterned dress on, and a headscarf in a different design.  That way it looks as if I've paid a little more attention to my outfit (though in fact since a lot of my clothes are of a similar colour, it takes far less effort than you might think!).

If your husband permits, wear shoes with heels, such as court shoes or wedge heels.  These will automatically make you look smarter, whatever you are wearing.  I generally tend to although I have to be careful, with my arthritic hip, just because I do feel they finish an outfit and make it look nicely put together.  There are so many different styles around - wedge heels are very comfortable, and you instantly feel smarter and more feminine when you put them on!  I can manage to wear these without causing too much trouble to my arthritis. You don't need to have lots of pairs of shoes - although in truth these days, shoes are inexpensive and so it's possible to have several in styles and colours that flatter you as well as being practical. 

It's fun to start thinking about how we can focus on making ourselves into visible witnesses for our faith - dressed to honour God and our husbands, as His servants and as Helpmeets.   Of course, it isn't just about clothes however.  The world wants us to put our bodies on show in a way which degrades and defrauds, and which does not celebrate our true femininity.  The world says that what is on the surface is all that matters - God says that it is what is in our hearts that is most important.  And when our hearts are right with Him - when we are acting through Godly motivations rather than worldly ones, our countenances will reveal this. 

"Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works" (Hebrews 10: 22-24)

Our beauty will not be skin-deep, but will be expressed outwardly, from within our hearts.  This is our true apparel - our faith.   We have a responsibility to work on this, so that our inward purity is reflected externally - for it is our duty.   If our appearance leads other people to react to us in ways that are negative or immoral, then we are at fault.  We are God's servants, and we must obey God, rather than men (Acts 5: 29), and that means dressing modestly but attractively, in a way that reflects His glory - in all its beauty and purity.  After all, to do so is to clothe ourselves with the most beautiful garment of all -

"Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;
 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price". (1 Peter 3: 3-4).

Frugal Friday (25th May)

It has been gloriously warm here the last two days.  Papa Bear and I have enjoyed some beautiful walks in the park!  We do miss having a garden, but even without one, we've still been able to make the most of the wonderful sunshine - in England you really do have to make the effort to enjoy it while it lasts, because it never does!  Already this afternoon, a strong breeze has got up, which is perfect for drying laundry, but not so good for walking in.  I hope the weekend will be just as lovely as the last couple of days have been, so that we can enjoy being outside with the cubs - who have finished their end of semester exams, and are looking forwards to a well deserved rest - before Cubby joins Papa at work for his summer break, and Little Bear joins Mama at home for hers! 

Having the cubs at home with us whilse they study at college is a great privelige - but feeding four adults isn't cheap!  We greatly admire families who have a lot more mouths to feed than our's, and who yet still are able to provide economical and nourishing meals from a single income.  For us, managing to stretch our pennies has been a long learning curve.  It's one reason why we decided to have a regular "Frugal" post on the blog - so that we could share some of what we have learned along the way.

Managing on a budget is really, at its most basic, all about learning to make do with what you have - and being able to prioritise your expenses so that the most pressing bills get paid first.  Learnging to stretch an income was something that we found more difficult than we had expected when we first married - the bills always seemed to be bigger than we had anticipated, and the money coming in, always less!  But we've grown in our understanding of how to balance our books each month, and nowadays, each month's outgoings are fairly similar.  We have some big expenses coming up in the next couple of months - our car will need to have its MOT and service at the garage, and God willing that it passes the MOT - if it doesn't, more expense! 

But Papa Bear and I are open to knowing that the car is one area where we could make savings if we needed to.  We could survive without a car.  Sure, it would be difficult - but not impossible. Most days Papa Bear gets a ride to work with one of his workmates, and although we use the car to get to the supermarket, it would be possible for us to do the supermarket shop using the bus, if all 4 of us went together.  We could rely on taxis for other vital journeys that were too far to walk, and on the bus service for trips into the town and to Church.  We like having a car, but we regard it as a luxury.

What other areas of our lives could we pare down if we had to?

Well, there is the TV for a start.  Although Papa Bear and Cubby enjoy watching sport on the TV (which would cost considerably more than the subscription and license fee, if they were to actually attend the games themselves - a ticket to see their football team play a match is over £50 for one person), we could do without it if we had to - life would still be good, without a TV!  Little Bear and I could quite happily do without the TV altogether even now, but I know the menfolk would miss it - that is why we do have one.

We have a LoveFilm subscription which is useful to us as it means we can select our own films at our discretion, and watch them when we choose (we don't have a "Tivo" or other recordable device with our cable TV package as we already feel this is an unecessary expense).  But this too could be dispensed with if necessary - we can share our small collection of DVD's and videos (yes, we still own a working video machine!) with other family members, and that way still have plenty of films to enjoy.

We could eat more frugally if we needed to.  Papa Bear sets our food and household expenses budget, and he recently raised it - but we rarely reach the limit he has set for each week.  The money that we save out of that weekly budget is going towards a fun and exciting adventure we have planned for later in the year!  It is all booked up now, and we are looking forwards to it very much indeed!  I shall share more details of this later ... He he!

We already have a set budget for gifts for birthdays and Christmas, but again, this could be pared down if needed.  Already this year, I have been making some plans for Christmas gifts for family members in our huge family - things that I can make and get ready ahead of time.  This is one way to spread the expense of holiday costs like Christmas gifts.  We also buy savings stamps to spread the cost of our Christmas food bill - all through the year we contribute to this, so that we have lots of money saved up by December to spend on meals for family and friends throughout the holiday period.  But we could pare this down too if we had to!

We already save money by not having vacations.  If you are working for a family business as Papa Bear does, vacations are a rare luxury anyway - if you don't work, you don't get paid - and he has grown up knowing this to be so.  Apart from our honeymoon we have only had a handful of family vacations - and none of us have ever been abroad - we don't even own a passport.  While it would be wonderful to experience more of the world, at this season in our lives, it isn't best use of our income to spend it on fancy holidays and trips abroad.

We don't spend on entertainment either - as I have described in previous posts, there are plenty of ways to have fun as a couple or family without having to spend much - or any - money!  We would rather save our pennies for more important expenses such as ... getting the car through its MOT!

We don't spend much money on eating out, either - and when we do, it is usually at a reasonably priced restaurant such as Brewer's Fayre (an English chain restaurant similar to Cracker Barrell) or on a takeaway treat such as fish and chips!  This weekend I am planning to serve home made "McChicken Sandwiches" for our evening meal on Saturday - another way to save money! 

Being creative with ways to save can be fun!  We only have one way to spend each penny or pound that comes to us - and it's worth remembering, that none of what we own is really our's - it's God's.  We must use the resources He gives us to take care of wisely - and that means, not being careless or extravagant - and being thankful for what we do have.  All of us have far, far more than we actually need.  It's so easy to be lured by the tempting displays in shop windows and magazines - and on the TV and internet.  But unless we seek God's guidance first, we are likely to slip up.  I try to remember this whenever I am tempted!  And ultimately, knowing that I am serving Him by using our income carefully, is a far greater reward than any material possession or transient experience that we could buy.

"Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?
And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind.
For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things.
But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also". (Luke 12:27-34).

A Country Diary

Source for this image here.

I thought today I would share with you another book from my own personal library!  This one is yet another vintage volume - though I believe it has been reprinted again fairly recently.  It is easily available on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk - once again, for less than the cost of a glossy magazine.  The copy that I own is the original publication from 1977 - way back when I was far too young to be able to appreciate it!  

But appreciate it now, I certainly do.  It is a charming, beautiful facsimile of the original journal written and illustrated by Edith Holden in 1906, when she was a young, married woman with a fascination for nature.  Turn to any page in the 1977 publication of her journal and you will be able to experience an exact reproduction of the beautiful writings, paintings, drawings, poetry and Scripture references that she has used to create a wonderful piece of living history, right down to the texture of the pages, and the carefully amended handwritten notes that accompany the illustrations.  What is truely incredible is that at the time of her creating this journal, it was never intended to become a publicly available piece of work!  Unlike the "journalers" of today - Bloggers like Papa Bear and myself, she didn't expect anyone else to ever see her journal.  It was merely a personal record of all that she encountered on her almost daily walks in the countryside around her home in Solihull (a town in the Midlands, close to Birmingham, what is nowadays one of England's largest cities.  Back in Edwardian times I imagine it would have been much smaller than it is now, and extremely rural).    

Just looking at the illustrations in this journal gives me so much pleasure!   The animals, flowers and plants that she has reproduced are beautifully observed, and demonstrate a great attention to detail - even more impressive when you think that she must have had to paint and draw from the live model, for it's very unlikely that she would have been able to take photographs at that time - the art of photography being much clumsier in those days of its infancy, than it is today.  I also feel that the journal demonstrates the way in which our society has changed so much from those much slower-paced days.  For one thing, the vast majority of married women today wouldn't have the time - nor probably the inclination - to go out on nature rambles each day, let alone to make hand painted illustrations of what they encountered.  And what would that be?  Many of us these days live in busy urban environments where we are very unlikely to be able to enjoy the beautiful scenery that is illustrated in Edith Holden's journal.  Tragially, it simply no longer exists.

Thinking of this today made me feel very priveliged, as I walked yet again through the park with Papa Bear on his way to work.  This morning we saw just as many beautiful birds - including the song thrush we have seen before - and, believe it or not, a fieldmouse!  We were enchanted to see the dainty little creature scamper boldy right across the path in front of us - almost running over our feet!  It made us smile so much!  I wish I had the talent to be able to show you in a painting, just like Edith Holden, just what it looked like - but I'm afraid I can't!  However I do realise that I am extremely fortunate just to be able to sit and write about it now - and to have had the time to enjoy not only my walk, but the time in my day to remember it, and record it here on the blog.  I thank God for this.

But for another thing, Edith Holden was working on her journal at a time when education in England was very different to how it is today.  Nowadays I am not sure that any attention is given to skills like penmanship or the use of proper grammar.  In Edith Holden's journal you can see not only her artistic talent demonstrated, but also her sound ability to write beautifully - not just in terms of her use of English, but the actual writing, too, which is a joy to see.  My own writing, while tidy, is not anything like as lovely to look at as the writing in this journal, but it makes me realise just how little time I spend actually writing with a pen, compared with my ancestors of generations gone by!  How the computer has changed the way we work and think!  Although I enjoy writing here on the blog, the creative talent required is far less than that of Edith Holden, in writing her journal.  It may offer far less in terms of gadjetry and technical features than a blog, but it reveals a talent and refinement that I feel no blog, certainly, that I ever author, could ever hope to match.  Furthermore, her knowledge of nature is extremely impressive - most young people today (she was only in her twenties when she created her journal) would only be able to boast a very inferior knowledge in comparison, despite the far easier and wider access that we have today to information on just about everything and anything imaginable.  It saddens me to think that despite all the advances that modern technology is supposed to have brought us, somehow, as a society, we are somehow stunted in comparison to our ancestors from previous generations.

However, that's not to say that I can't enjoy comparing what I do today, with the skills and creativity of the women journallers of generations before!  Edith Holden's journal is a great source of pleasure for me - it details a stunning array of nature which charts the turning of the seasons in a way which is both timeless and inspiring, and which reminds me that although a great many things in our lives have changed since she wrote of the world around her, that which is God's creation, is as it was still, for us to marvel at and cherish.  May her message for us today be that God's greatness is evidenced not in the creations of mankind, wonderful though some of these may be, but in the simplicity of the natural world around us, that He gave to us at the beginning of time.

"Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for Thou hast created all things, and for Thy pleasure they are and were created". (Revelation 4:11)

Wednesday's Workbox (23rd May)

Yesterday I wrote about the three decorating books that I have which are produced by the famous British furnishings and fabric designer, Laura Ashley.  When I first got these books, I was interested to be able to read a little more about this famous designer, whose name has come to be associated with dainty, feminine floral patterned dresses and timelessly attractive, cottage-style furnishings.

Born in the 1920's in Wales, she intially trained as a fashion designer, but after having her 4 children, became a "home worker", selling rustic-style kitchen and dining textiles such as tea-towels and tablecloths, that she designed and created herself at home.   From this small beginning grew a huge and extremely successful multinational business selling the same simply designed, Victorian-inspired fabrics that she had originally made, using basic printmaking equipment that she and her husband Bernard had purchased to use at home. 

It is lovely to think that even someone as successful as this world-renowned businesswoman, who passed away after a tragic accident in the 1980's, had a small and humble beginning as a stay-at-home mother who wanted to make extra money to support her family of 4 children!  She was also devoted to Bernard, who was not only her husband but her business partner and the operational manager of the business from the beginning, and as their children grew they too all joined the business as well.  Just as Papa Bear hopes that Cubby will join him the family business that he himself works for!  And indeed so do I - working from home as the book keeper and secretary!   It is interesting to read of examples of other families where a similar model for providing an income for the family has been employed to such a great success - though I don't think our family business will ever reach such dizzy heights!

The three books that I have are a great inspiration to me in other ways too - they contain a wealth of ideas for home decorating which aren't necessarily expensive or complicated.  There are instructions for creating soft furnishings for every room, and design ideas too, which make use of items most people probably already have around the home.  A great deal of what goes into creating an attractive and well furnished home has nothing to do with how much money you spend - or how well appointed your home is - but on how much imagination you have to work with!  You can make a tranquil and tasteful environment using the plainest and simplest furnishings - even shelves made of planks resting on piles of bricks, and armchairs created out of piles of cushions can look lovely, if you put them together with a little inspiration!  These books are a wonderful resource to turn to when I'm in need of some ideas for cheering up our home or rearranging things.  It's a much more economical way to give the flat a new look, than having to go out and buy new things.  Here are links to the 3 books, which are all available on Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com.  I thoroughly recommend them - they will cost you only a couple of pounds or dollars each - less than the cost of a glossy home decor magazine -  and are well worth this for the inspiration they provide (please note, although the content of the books is the same, the date of publication, and therefore the cover design, may vary depending on where you buy them from).

Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk

Tuesday's Time To (22nd May)

This week in Tuesday's Time To ...

A time to plant ...
Today I walked with Papa Bear through the park to the main road where his work colleague stops by to give him a lift in the pick-up. It was beautiful walking through there today - the sun was already shining, the air was sweet and all around was green and white with the leaves and blossoms. We saw so many different birds - greattits, bluetits, a robin, magpies, collared doves, starlings, blackbirds, dunnocks and even a jay. It was very hard when we reached the road, to say goodbye and leave Papa Bear, but then I remembered that I would get to walk home through the park again! Lovely!

A time to heal ...
I don't know whether there's any truth in this but for me (and Grandmama Bear) at least, the warmer weather does mean that our arthritis pains are not so bad. Today I have had no pain at all, which has made such a difference to how quickly I got my chores done!  

A time to laugh ...
We had a funny mishap one evening last week. The cubs were on their way out to their usual fellowship evening at our Church, and they decided they wanted to take some chocolate brownies to share at the meeting. Cubby Bear offered to get all the ingredients ready while Little Bear finished something upstairs. While he did this, Papa Bear and I were sitting in the living room reading and enjoying a rest after a busy day - and I remembered that in the fridge there were two different cartons of spreadable butter - one for eating and one for cooking. Since the eating one wasn't suitable for cooking with, I called through to Cubby to make sure that he used the "cooking butter" and not the eating one.  "OK!" he shouted back.  A little while later, after Little Bear had joined him, I got a call from the kitchen. Little Bear said there was a problem! I got up and went through to find her puzzling over the large mixing bowl. "Mum, I can't get this butter to go soft!" she exclaimed. I thought maybe it was just that becuase the room was quite cool it was taking a while to loosen up, so I took the bowl and spoon to gave it a stir and hasten it along - but it was so stiff you could barely move the spoon! I asked Cubby what he had used for the mixture. "The block of cooking butter, like you said" he answered. Oh no! He had misheard me - and used the "Cookeen" (white vegetable fat that I use for pastry making - the English version of Crisco) and not butter at all! Not wanting to waste the ingredients, the cubs insisted on carrying on, but oh dear me - they were one very greasy pan of brownies! We all laughed together about it later, and decided that next time perhaps it would be better if Little Bear got the ingredients ready, and Cubby did the mixing!

A time to embrace ...
The event above has shown me yet again, how much we must embrace our cubs' growing independence. It won't be long before they have left our nest and set up homes of their own - so it's important to keep giving them opportunities like this one to try things out for themselves - and make mistakes. One thing they'll never do again after this is use the Cookeen for baking!

A time to keep ...
Little Bear had a big "sort out" and declutter of her bedroom at the weekend. Although she had lots of odds and ends that she wanted to donate to charity, she also had a bag of things she thought I might like - hair decorations, jewellery, scarves and gloves and such. I had a look through and found some real treasures, including a pretty pink mother-of-pearl necklace that I am wearing now, as I write! I was delighted with my "new" finds, and Little Bear was pleased that they had gone to a good home!

A time to sew ...
I've been focussing mainly on knitting again in my free time this week, but I have also been spending some time looking through my 3 precious vintage Laura Ashley decorating books. There are some wonderful tips and techniques for creating your own home furnishings in them, including ideas for making your home look more co-ordinated, without having to spend lots of money, and for making use of thrift store bargains (of which we have quite a few, in our modest home) to design a home which is pretty and unique. I am feeling very inspired at the moment to try some of these out!  The books are from the 1980's/early 1990's when the fashion was for a pretty, very feminine and flouncy, country-cottage decorative style, which I adore, although many people would probably say it was too dated for their tastes.  In our home, Papa Bear chooses the decor - except for our bedroom, where he gives me free reign!  Hopefully over the next few weeks and months I might get a chance to give our bedroom a "mini makeover" and use some of the ideas from the books!

A time to speak ...
We've been having some interesting talks at the table when we have our evening meal recently, some of which I hope to use as the theme for some future posts on the blog. For instance only today Papa Bear commented how odd it seemed that these days, the media appears to make much more of an issue over teenagers who marry, than it does over unwed teenagers who have babies. It seems as if it is considered by many to be quite acceptable nowadays for a 17 or 18 year old to have a baby, even if there is no father to support them, but a couple of a similar age who wish to marry, seem to be frowned upon, as if they are making a terrible mistake they will regret forever. As parents who were married and had 2 children well before we reached our twenties, we find this attitude very odd - but not at all surprising!  For our own children, we would be perfectly happy for them to marry while they are still teenagers, as we did - but if they don't, that's fine too.  What does matter is that they understand the gravity of the commitment that the marriage covenant represents - and see it for what it is in God's eyes, rather than that of the media and the secular world around us.

A time to love ...
This leads me to add that of course, at the heart of what makes a marriage union work - at any age - is love - true love, not infatuation. It doesn't matter if you're 16 or 60 when you marry, unless you're doing it for the right reasons, and with the right attitude, then your marriage is going to be hard work. I'm so glad that Papa Bear and I knew this - innocent and young as we were - when we were joined together as husband and wife! Of course, a marriage always has to be worked at, but if real, heartfelt, selfless love is at the foundation of that marriage, it will always be one that is "made in Heaven". That's what our's feels like to us, every single day.  It doesn't matter whether we're having a wonderful time - or a difficult one.  Our marriage is precious and wondeful, and we cherish every day that we have together, the good days, and the not-so-great.

A time of peace ...
It was so peaceful, walking through the park today! All we could hear was birdsong - and another noise, which we hadn't heard for a while - the gentle rustle of the leaves in the trees, as the wind moved them! It was a lovely sound - a sort of soft swishing, like waves crashing on a distant seashore. It made us feel very hopeful that  summer is just around the corner!

Osborne House - A Royal Holiday Home

Source for this image here.


Osborne House was commissioned by Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert, in 1944, to be used as a vacation retreat by the Royal family so that they could enjoy some privacy away from the eyes of the public. It is situated on the Isle of Wight near to the seaport village of Cowes, which is famous for holding boating regattas during the summer months. The house has beautiful sea views and was designed to look as if it was an Italian palace. The Royal family spent a lot of time there - not just in the summer, but to celebrate birthdays, holidays and other special occasions too.

Like most Royal properties, Osborne House is very opulent and elegant. It has 39 rooms and a separate Swiss play house for the Royal children, which was actually built out of a real wooden Swiss chalet that was dismantled and brought by ship to be rebuilt in the grounds of Osborne House, where it was furnished as a proper house - but with everything in miniature, so that it was suitable for children! It was used not just as a play house, but as a way of training the Royal children to know the skills needed for ordinary men and women of the time. Queen Victoria and Prince Albert believed their children should not be cushioned from reality, and as well as letting them see what real life was like for ordinary people, they also taught them to understand the value of money - something they would ordinarily not have ever needed to worry about. Prince Albert encouraged them each to have a small garden plot, where they grew vegetables which they were then encouraged to sell to him! The Royal couple were also concerned to make an example to their subjects of how parents should raise their children. They were devoted to each other and to their 9 children and enjoyed an extremely happy marriage which many people admired - and still do today.

As well as the childrens' vegetable plots (which you can still see if you visit Osborne House now) the extensive grounds boast beautiful rose gardens, a walled kitchen garden, gracious cedar and pine trees, paddocks and more besides. If you are lucky enough to visit the Isle of Wight (Papa Bear and I enjoyed our honeymoon here - quite a long time ago! We had a wonderful time and spent the last day of our honeymoon at Osborne House, a truly unforgettable experience) then you will be impressed at how lavish and well kept the grounds are, and the house inside has many of the rooms set out just as they were when the Royal family occupied them. Not all of the rooms were used just for privacy - some of them where where Queen Victoria and Prince Albert liked to entertain and these are very lavishly decorated.

Some of the furnishings in Osborne House have an Indian theme to them as they were given to Queen Victoria, who from 1876 was "Empress of India" and recieved many gifts from important Indian statesmen and kings. There are beautiful embroidered tapestries, heavy silk and satin drapes, luxurious rugs, and ornaments and paintings from all around the world, including gifts that were presented to Queen Victoria when she celebrated her Golden and Diamond Jubilees - our present Queen, Queen Elizabeth II, will be celebrating her Diamond Jubilee next month.

But the parts of the house that weren't used as rooms for the Royal family - such as the kitchens - are also interesting to see, and there are plenty of examples of ordinary life in the Victorian times visible, such as the utensils needed for preparing meals, and the bathing facilities - the Royal family had one of the very first working "showers" in their holiday home!
Queen Victoria loved Osborne House so much that it was here that she passed away. After her passing, Osborne House was not used by members of her family, and it has been passed into the ownership of the State - which means it is now open to the public. We were very pleased to be able to visit there, and in a few years' time, when we have a "special" wedding anniversary to celebrate, Papa Bear and I intend to revisit it, and enjoy sharing a glimpse into the life of a very special Royal couple.