Showing posts with label home. Show all posts
Showing posts with label home. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

ABC's of housework


Aprons – Yes or No? 
Yes, full body, old fashioned style aprons are my favorite. Though  I too often forget to put one on until I am in the middle of a messy cooking adventure.
Bathrooms – How many do you have?
Two indoor and one outhouse.
Clothesline – Do you have one?
Yes, we use it often but not exclusively.
Dusting – How often?
Three times per week is our goal in different areas of the house each time with our Norwex dusting mitt.
Everyday – One housekeeping task you do everyday?
Make lunch.
Family – Does your family help with household chores?
Yes, most definitely.
Garbage Disposal – Do you have one?
No.  We have a compost-type area out back.
Home Management Notebook – Do you use one? What’s in it?
I have tried that,.. but on my own can't make them work for me.
Ironing – Love it or hate it?
I am thankful that I can still do it.  Though, I am glad that I don't have to iron everything like the old days.
Junk Drawer – Where is it?
In the kitchen/computer area of our house.
Kitchen – Design and decor?
50's/French eclectic style.
Love – What is your favorite part of homemaking?
Around 4 or 5 pm when we are all working on the evening meal either washing up piles of prep.items or setting the table or chopping up an ingredient for the main course....all sorts of activities happening together along with visiting or listening to some inspiring music together as we work.
Mopping – How often does it get done?
Maybe once a week.
Natural Cleaning Products– Do you use them?
Yes. Yes!  We use Norwex cleaning products.  They clean without chemicals..just the cloths and water.
Overwhelmed – What part of homemaking stresses you out the most?
Clutter.
Pets – Do you have any mess-making critters in the house?
Yes a small dog.
Quiet – What do you enjoy doing when you get a quiet moment?
Sitting on the glider in the living room with a recent magazine like Victoria or Tea Time; my mini-vacation.
Recipes – How do you organize them?
Three-ring binders.
Style of House – What kind of home do you live in?
One level, rambler type.
Tablecloth – Do you use one on a regular basis?
We usually have woven place mats on the table instead.
Under the Kitchen Sink – What do you have under there?
Vases, soaps and misc. cleaning stuff.
Vacuuming – How many times a week does it get done?
Three.
Washing Clothes – How many loads do you do a week?
Three to five.
X’s – Do you keep a to-do list and cross the tasks off?
No, but I should.
Yard Work – Who does what?
We all do.
ZZZ’s – What is your last housekeeping task of the day?
Getting the kitchen tidied up and some prep for breakfast.

Monday, March 11, 2013

March Merry-ness

This picture was taken just before Sunday evening hymn singing.  
There were several other folks who attend - though it doesn't look that way.
~We had a very nice time.~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 Our driveway to the road. This was a cold but sunshiny morning. 
We are heading to a meeting at Christian Woman's Connection 
at the Thumper Pond resort  in Ottertail.

A small country cemetery along our road.

 The girls - while stopping for a stop sign.

The speaker showing the 'sconchos' that she makes and sells. 

One of the ladys modeling one of the 'sconchos'.

The lady sharing how she was drawn to Jesus Christ.

Some of the jewels she brings to sell when she speaks.

The 'sconchos'!

The girls by the necklaces.
 
~Back home~

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Early January Pincushion Embellishing

The felt wool base all shaped and dry.

Some of my decorating options.
Tools  for  decorating

Starting the embroidery work with the pearl cotton.
 
One of the finished pincushions.

This is the one my friend in Vermont picked for a
bridal shower gift
.

Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Alyssa's Birthday

Her Rose.
Cashew Chicken..her meal pick.
Her birthday candles smoking.
Amy and Ana  with the birthday girl.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Autumn ..Warm Memories..Aglow

This photo was taken a year ago in the home of Texas friends. They have many guests in their home and we were blessed to be able to stay with them more than once last year. They shine with hospitality much like this glowing candle captured one evening in their home.!

Today, we are enjoying the warmth and beauty of a blazing fire on a quiet Sunday afternoon with family, good books, and hot chocolate ( homemade marshmallow atop). 

Both thoughts, past and present, are shining pleasures this autumn season. 


Thursday, November 1, 2012

Fall At Our Place

 This is a picture taken in October at our place in mid-western MN. The leaves are on the ground and the produce has been taken in for the year.  The goats are producing very well and we are looking forward to the advancing season of less daylight with cold temperatures and white sparkly snow!
There is a light dusting of snow mixed in with the fallen leaves in this photo of the morning sun shining on our  pump house "hill".  It is a quaint little building standing like a sentinel over our place.

*Sentinel - [French sentinelle, from Italian sentinella, probably from Old Italian sentinavigilance, from sentireto watch, from Latin sentreto feel; see sent- in Indo-European roots.]

Friday, June 15, 2012

An Early Morning Thought


I know it sounds fantastic; but think it over. It seems to me that we often, almost sulkily, reject the good that God offers us because, at that moment, we expected some other good . . . On every level of our life . . . we are always harking back to some occasion which seemed to us to reach perfection, setting that up as a norm, and depreciating all other occasions by comparison. But these occasions, I now suspect, are often full of their own new blessing, if only we would lay ourselves open to it. God shows us a new facet of the glory, and we refuse to look at it because we’re still looking for the old one. 
. . . And the joke, or tragedy, of it all is that these golden moments in the past, which are so tormenting if we erect them into a norm, are entirely nourishing, wholesome, and enchanting if we are content to accept them for what they are, for memories. Properly bedded down in a past which we do not miserably try to conjure back, they will send up exquisite growths. Leave the bulbs alone, and the new flowers will come up. Grub them up and hope, by fondling and sniffing, to get last year’s blooms, and you will get nothing.”
from Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer, by C. S. Lewis.

Sunday, June 10, 2012

The Setting Sun Last Evening

  






Here are some pictures I took last evening 
as the sun was 'going down' in the western sky.
 I wanted the setting sun 
in the back of each photo. (The sunset 
was ever-so-much-more colorful 
than the pictures are revealing.)

Sunday, January 29, 2012

From The Past

This was taken several years ago before we moved to Vermont. It was maybe 16 years ago.
There sure were a lot of smiles.
Happy times!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Time To Do This Life Well

The girls together on Alyssa's birthday, 2011.
“I don’t really want more time;
I just want enough time.
Time to breathe deep & time to see real & time to laugh long, time to give You glory & rest deep & sing joy…
I just want time to do my one life well.
Life at its fullest is this sensitive, detonating sphere —
and it can be carried only in the hands of the unhurried and reverential—
a bubble held in awe.”

Tuesday, December 27, 2011

CHRISTmas 2011

This is a Christmas tree decoration that I found in a second-hand store or a garage sale a year or two ago. 

 Someone made it and enjoyed it for a time and now we are
glad to have it among our ornaments.

The creativeness of mankind - God's creation - makes
me step back and marvel. 

 I love works of art such as this!

I love the idea of re-using Christmas cards
that are going to be discarded!


Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Growing or declining??


Alyssa reading in our front yard.
Every individual is growing, changing, developing,
or declining—intellectually, emotionally, spiritually,
physically, and psychologically.
A family is a grouping of individuals who are affecting
each other intellectually, emotionally, spiritually,
physically, psychologically.
~ Edith Schaeffer, What Is a Family?

Monday, November 28, 2011

Fragile Humility

"Humility is timid. Write about it, talk about it, and it flees."  
                                                                        -Ann Voskamp

Saturday, November 26, 2011

The valuable, the beautiful, and the noble

Much is required of us. Our days are filled with many tasks that can sometimes seem mundane and of little worth, but if we can grasp the incredible truth of what sacrificial service really means, then our entire outlook will be transformed. When done for the Lord, the commonplace will become noble, the prosaic will become beautiful, and the unimportant will become valuable."
~Jennifer McBride

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Fall

 Walking down our driveway with the little dogs.

 Some leaves near the house in the early morning light.

Later in the day...

We have many trees around our home and therefore many leaves to rake. We have enjoyed the pleasant fall weather the Lord has given us this year.

Monday, September 5, 2011

While walking one day...

...the girls captured a picture of Rich and me. 
I like the hues in this photo and the smiles.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

A thought for today...

A woman feels most uniquely feminine when she enjoys her capacity
 to strengthen relationships
and to encourage others
by inviting them
to enjoy the blessings of relationship.
~ LARRY CRABB, Men & Women: Enjoying the Difference

An August Day..............


A miracle in the making..in the flower garden in front of our house.
Thanks for capturing this Amy!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Lovely Quote

"Blessed is the woman who has a smile in her voice, a sparkle in her eyes,
a song on her lips;
a spring in her step,
a warmth in her touch,
a depth in her beauty,
a purpose for her life,
 a joy in her faith,
a hope in her breast and a love in her heart."
~ William Arthur Ward

Monday, July 18, 2011

Family Religion

"We must have a special eye upon families,
to see that they are well-ordered,
 and the duties of each relation performed.
 The life of religion,
and the welfare and glory of both
the Church and the State,
depend much on family government and duty.
 If we suffer the neglect of this,
we shall undo all.
I beseech you, therefore,
if you desire the reformation and welfare of your people do all you can to promote family religion."
 --Richard Baxter