Changing...

 Life as we age - whether that be from teens to marriage and motherhood, from raising a young family to waving them goodbye as they move on in a life of their own making, or from middle age to the years of really slowing because your body needs the blessings of more rest than we were previously used to - is always changing, like the seasons.

(my husband and our Molly-dog on a quiet early morning walk along the shoreline recently)

Hubby and I feel this with each passing year, and especially over the last twelve months. We are learning new lessons about our abilities in this stage of life, and becoming more aware of what our bodies need, and what they don't. We consider what can be done comfortably, but then we must count the cost of recovery if we choose to pursue a bigger task. 

(the last of our sweet potato harvest)

Decisions need to be made that will allow us to enjoy our days, something we struggle with during the very long tropical summers here. Heat exhaustion takes a toll year after year trying to keep the gardens going, and then in the winter (very mild and tepid days and nights) when most of the world settles in to rest and enjoy warming soups and hot chocolate, there is no rest for us. That's the time of year when its cool enough to grow tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, zucchini...and many other vegetables. In winter we grow summer food. And still no rest. It's twelve continuous months of planting, tending, growing, weeding, clearing, soil building and preserving. 

(my gorgeous $3 lined basket from the op shop)

We are so tired. So very tired. 

Both of us have some ongoing health issues with our shared auto-immune disease, issues which become a bit more of a challenge as we age, so we have made the decision not to grow anything but herbs this year, alongside our young fruit trees. We need, we want, to look after our health, to take time to rest and be still in the short winter months. We must use the common-sense and wisdom which God has graciously given us, so that we may say near the end, as Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7 - "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

(lovely colours for a new crochet rug)

My interests are changing too, in craft, home decor, reading, meals, music - even in what I am ready to pack up and give away as I declutter (things I imagined holding on to for always). It was lovely this past weekend to pull out the yarn basket and choose colours for a new lap rug, something I can use as I rest this coming winter. Every rug I have crocheted in the past was gifted to a grandchild, but this one is for me. 

(such a pretty piece of Liberty for a slow stitching project)

And after having a small bag of 9 tiny pieces of Liberty fabric on my shelf for about nine years, unused because I did not like them, I am finding a wonderful slow stitching project bringing me such joy as I discover they are prints which now I truly like. 

Not rushing, not pushing to achieve a long list of accomplishments each day, not assessing my personal value by how much I can do...all of these changes have brought me a deep peace within my soul. And time. Time to talk more with God, time to enjoy gentle music, time to read old classics, time to listen, time to pray, time to see what is right before me, time to appreciate the very gift of living. 

(small slow stitches, imperfect and quietly satisfying)

In a world where 'rush rush rush' is almost a constant background beat which brings anxiety to increasingly hurried lives, I am relishing the quiet of my own thoughts, and the stillness which so beautifully accompanies it. 

I love the softness of candles after dark, something I discovered during and after the loss of power from last month's cyclone. Reading a few pages from a gentle book before bed is soothing, as is a warm mug of herbal tea instead of the coffee we no longer drink. We sold the coffee machine which ground the beans and brewed a strong rich brew or made cappuccinos, and used the money to buy groceries to increase our preparedness pantry. 

I have always sung that little hymn, Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, in my sewing room...for some reason, it always came to mind when I was in there tidying up, sewing, or designing. One line says "...and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of Your glory and grace." I reflected on this today and realised that as I sang it those hundreds of times, that it was prayer...and God is answering it.

More and more, the things of this world are growing dimmer, and they are becoming less important as I go about my day to day ordinary life. I am seeking the eternal things of God, and that's probably why I am looking with changed eyes at all I have, and feeling the need to release 'things', just keeping what we need, what we can use, what we enjoy, what we love, and what brings life to our home. 

Yes, I am changing...and it's good. 

Have you found yourself making changes or adjustments in your own season of life? 

Dear Lord, I pray for every dear woman reading this today, that You would direct her away from unnecessary pursuits or desires or burdens, and rest her eyes and ears and thoughts on what You want for her in this very season of life she finds herself travelling along. May she know Your presence, experience Your loving hand guiding her each day, and be filled with joy in the very ordinary and beautiful moments of her life. Cover her with your grace, Father, and soften the pain of grief and loss. Put a new song in her heart, and surround her with songs of deliverance for Your Name's sake. May she rest in the knowledge that Your Word is her armour, and through Your Holy Spirit, may the Scriptures come alive as never before when she opens her Bible. Provide for every precious woman who has need, Lord, and lead her in the way everlasting...in the wonderful name of Jesus, Amen.

Love and hugs

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Simple creative days...

When I think of Nana sweeping our little 3-room flat every day, there's always a mind picture of her in an apron, swishing back and forth with a millet broom - from the kitchen, through into the bedroom, and on into the living room, before opening the door wide to finish off on the tiny front verandah. 

There's something so homely and comfortable about a millet (straw) broom, standing by the back door, a sense of living in a different era, a quieter time, a more respectful time, a time when hard work was normal, and life was simpler. 

It's been on my mind for a while to buy one, but I really had trouble tracking one down as these days the brooms are predominantly synthetic, with long narrow rectangular heads and short plastic bristles. But then I had a thought to try a hardware store (yes, it should have been my first thought) and found one!

Very excited at spending just $22 on my millet broom with the strong and sturdy wooden handle, hubby had a chuckle and remarked "whatever makes you happy, sweetheart". Of course, at that stage he had no idea what my other plan was...for getting the broom was only the start. 

With this lovely old Lecien fabric which has sat on my shelf for about nine years, and a gorgeous length of very wide broderie anglaise cotton which was a bargain find at a op-shop before we bought this house more than five years ago, I set to work on my plan. 

How much prettier does it look now? Standing inside my front entrance it is a joy to use! I used the broderie anglaise as the lining, and let it peep out from under the outer skirt of the blue floral print.

I made a tie from more of the floral fabric, then stitched it in place about 1.5 inches below the top rear of the broom cover before gathering it around and tying in a bow. The cover is very secure and I am quite chuffed with it!

Yesterday I promised hubby that I would have a very quiet week, as the past three (from before the cyclone to this past Sunday) have had a lot going on and he could see me fading. So a promise was made and must be kept, therefore I have chosen a few light overdue tasks to do around home, as well as reading, sewing, and making simple meals. 

This dress has needed repair for more than a year...an easy fifteen minutes of hand work and now it is ready to wear again. 

A book I started years ago and never got around to finishing...I'm enjoying it immensely, as it stokes my homemaker heart with old fashioned recipes and simplifying ideas around home. 

Finally, my health notes, taken when watching seminars or reading articles and books, are being transferred into one notebook...

...and I'm decorating the pages with stickers and cut outs as I go along. It's so nice to pretty-up notebook pages.

Blossom and I are both making our own cleaning products these days. Some we like, others we try new recipes until we find one we love. Last week I made a new batch of dishwashing liquid, after purchasing glass pump bottles cheaply at TK Maxx, and this is definitely the best dishwashing liquid recipe we have tried, so it's a keeper. I added a little sticker to front of the bottle...

The cheese & herb pie I made a month ago was such a hit, and so simple, that we had it again last night for dinner with a salad and leftover roast lamb on the side. The recipe will taste slightly different each time I make it due the availability of various herbs from the garden. Last time I had a lot of parsley, thyme and chives. For this pie I had no parsley (it all died in the garden due to the humidity and heat) but I did have sage, lemon thyme and garlic chives...it was still delicious. 

One of my favourite patterns from 2016 was this little pillow I designed with a quote from Mother Teresa. It has always been on display somewhere in our home, but I discovered last week that it had a large stain across the front from one of our 40+ indoor plants growing across it. 

The stain just would not wash out, but turned a dirty brown instead. So...I thought, make another. The colours are different, the fabrics different, but the sentiment is still there, and as I slowly work on this for a while each afternoon, I am happy to know it will once again be on display here. Those words have been a real guide to follow when I have frustrating days or have exhausted myself and feel on edge. Fortunately, now that I am embracing Stillness more, and stopping whatever I am doing before I reach my limit, those times should become rare. 

Have you noticed that when you make a decision to pull back, and deliberately choose to slow your day, or week, or month, that there's more opportunity to complete forgotten tasks, mend something, think more creatively, read books, and cook simpler meals? 

What do you do around home in quieter times? I'd love to hear what you have put your fingers, heart and mind towards lately. 

Oh, and I am slowly working on the cookbook I'll be sharing with you...it's a lot more involved than I first envisioned, but lovelier too. Here's a peek at the title page...

 Okay my friends, it's time to get the washing off the line, set the table for dinner (already made it - chicken and cous cous salad with fresh baked bread), feed the cat and dog, and await the return of my beloved from work.

God bless you in all the homemaking tasks you set your heart and hands towards. May you find joy in the simple, beautiful, ordinary things of life, and spread that joy to all who cross your path. 

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Stillness, and a free pattern...

 

The more I ponder this month's theme of stillness, the more I observe the different ways stillness can become a part of our life. 

Today I'm sharing with you a simple, sweet design to stitch. I intentionally chose to encase it inside a circle as displaying your completed stitchery inside a hoop would make a lovely way to display your handiwork. 

Do you remember as a child being told to sit still? Or telling your own offspring that very same thing? Or the relief when a restless baby or young child finally succumbed to sleep with one last sigh of surrender? My memories include all of these things, many times over. 

But when we are grown up, who is there to remind us to be still? For as this world has progressed, especially in the 21st century, the idea of stillness has been replaced by a great majority, for busyness, for achieving more, for ticking the boxes on all we have accomplished in a given time frame, for applauding the over-achiever and the award winner more than the humble woman her tends her home quietly and faithfully year after year with no public recognition. 

How easy it is to fall into the trap of thinking we need to do more, work faster, expand our list of to-dos, and set our sights on being more than we already are. And how exhausting it is to live with that mindset, always seeking more of ourselves so that we can feel accomplished or valuable. 

Dear one, you are fine as you are. 

Regardless of how much you do or how often your name is associated with achievement, there will always be a voice somewhere, often many voices, speaking words of discouragement and failure that will only lead you to push harder, work more, be more, in the endless pursuit of reaching a pinnacle nobody can attain in this life. 

The dictionary defines stillness as the absence of movement or sound, but I believe we can be still even when quietly going about the day with it's gentle rhythms.

My stillness can be standing by the clothesline, listening to the birds in the tree overhead, who being oblivious to the housewife tasks throughout my day, touch my heart with a delightful moment of rest and joy, and sometimes laughter.

As I stand at the kitchen sink with apron tied, and long pink gloves resting in the soapy suds after washing dishes, I am still. It is one of my favourite places to be. The gentle, unrushed rhythm of cleaning a bowl, is automatic, and so my mind rests on thoughts of beauty, thoughts of God, prayers of thankfulness. 

Reading a book or my Bible, and a verse or phrase stands out as quite profound. I mark the page with a piece of cotton crochet lace, my most used bookmarking system, and close my eyes. It may be only a few minutes, it may be longer, but I rest in the stillness of pondering the author's thoughts, and allow the words to impart new wisdom. In the stillness we hear and see what we otherwise may have missed. 

Recently, I was going about my usual Wednesday cleaning tasks - this is the day when some big chores are done, such as cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming and mopping the floors, and washing couch covers, cushion covers and curtains (not every week, but rotating rooms). It was a dreadfully hot and humid day, even for the tropics, and I wearied quickly. I spoke out loud to the Lord, "Father, I am exhausted. I have reached my limit." And I sat down, too tired to say another word, or wipe another surface.

Then that still small voice, His still small voice, spoke into my own weary stillness. "Jennifer, you must never push to your limit. You must be wise enough to stop before you reach it. Then you will not empty yourself from exhaustion."

That idea had never before occurred to me. Throughout life I had heard the phrase "I know my limit" probably thousands of times - I had said it myself time and time again! Pushing to the limit is seen as a sign of perseverance and strength I suppose, an affirmation of personal awareness...and yet, it's not worth the badge of honour we thought it would bestow. Pushing oneself to the limit can be dangerous, and over time it can bring about health problems. It can be egotistical, and create in our minds a bar, which as the years go by is set higher and higher and higher, because we're wanting to lengthen/enlarge our personal limit. 

What a burden we can make for ourselves, when really, it's not beneficial in the long term, and for me, it is not beneficial in my day to day simple life. 

Perhaps you need to be reminded to be still, or to slow down, or to recognise your limits and stop before you reach them. Dear ones, life is not a race, not to be rushed through, it is a day to day gift, an experience to be lived out one sunrise to the next. It is a precious thing to have breath, and to have loved ones around us with whom we can embrace and interact 'today'. 

Be still in this day, even for a little while. Go and smell the flowers in your garden, watch the birds, brew a soothing cuppa and sit in your favourite spot for a while - and don't think about what is left to do this day. Just embrace the stillness for now, and breathe. God has given you this day, not as a burden, even though you will face seasons of great responsibility, illness or hardships, but as a gift of life - for if the Father has given you breath today, He still has a purpose for your precious life. 

Today I am going to Blossom's to help her clean house for a couple of hours. My task is the kitchen because it's the place I love to clean. But we have both agreed that when we feel we are approaching our limit, we shall stop. We shall sit quietly together, drink cool water from the fridge, and rest in stillness (with a nice bit of chocolate) before I return home. 

I shall be 65 later this month, and what a privilege it is to be gifted all these years. But I have a choice if I want to be here for another year, a choice to slow down more than I have previously, to let my 'limit' stay ahead of me and never meet up with it, and to embrace the moments of stillness as a dear friend when it visits.

I shall leave you with a lovely video, one which when shared with my family members of various ages, quieted and inspired their hearts, as it did mine.

God bless you lovely ladies. I am so very grateful for your visits to my blog, which is really a journal of life and a place to share different things with each of you...how blessed I am. 

This pattern was free until December 2024, and is now available from my Etsy Shop HERE

Hugs

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Joy in the Ordinary - block 2...

 

It's a new day, and a new month, so I'm ready to move right on past the challenges of January and look forward in this year's blog theme of "Joy in the Ordinary". I hope you are too!

Today I'm sharing the second block of this year's free BOM, and the focus of the little stitchery is something we love, a place where we can rest from the busyness and chaos of the world around us, somewhere our creative skills can bloom, a sanctuary for those within to lay down their burdens and breathe in the heart restoring welcome of HOME.

Home should be our safe environment to grieve, to pray, to rejoice, to plan, to feed, to create, to hope, to bake, to plant, to harvest, to enjoy. 

This past month, well, actually since before Christmas, life in our home has been challenging, sometimes topsy turvy, and other times requiring more energy than we thought we'd be able to muster...but all along it has been HOME. 

It's walls surround us, offering refuge from the hard times, bouncing laughter from room to room, comfort from pain or loneliness, contentment with our lot in life, and stillness when we need to separate our minds (and ears) to hear God, and to ponder our own thoughts. 

What is it that you love about your home? 

Use the link below to download this month's free pattern

DOWNLOAD Block 2 of "Joy in the Ordinary"

Missed block 1? Go HERE

I have a pile of books beside me at the moment, all with an emphasis on home, though in varying aspects. Each afternoon, and often in the evening, I read slowly from one or two, underlining thoughts  which resonate with my homemaker heart, and occasionally making notes in the margins. This brings me peace, grows my confidence in the life choices being made, educates me in new skills, and inspires me to expand further my love for all things home and family. 

(The books I am reading or studying at the moment, with one missing which was given to Blossom - I'm awaiting delivery of another copy for myself.)

I've also been making a lot of notes from a few good videos on natural health, assessing our dietary needs and making a few changes (which have brought about marvellous results already), and continuing to work on the recipe book I promised to share with you. The cyclone (before, during and after) put a stop to that for now, but as life has almost slipped back into normality I shall return to it next week.   

Most afternoons I can be found in the kitchen, especially Sunday and Monday afternoons when I prepare things for the week ahead. This week I needed to make almond milk, coconut milk, coconut cream, almond biscuits, mayonnaise, hummus, pesto and satay sauce to use in or with meals. I'll have all these recipes for you later this month, if you're interested. 

It is stone fruit season in Australia at the moment, so we are enjoying them immensely as snacks, in salads, baking, and soon as chutneys, jams  and relishes - I just need to get everything prepared the night before and then spend a whole day on preserving them. Most exciting prospect! Stone fruit is very cheap right now, so the perfect time to buy up and get preserving. 

The FEBRUARY theme...

Each month of this 'Joy in the Ordinary' year, I have chosen a sub-theme for the blog. January was 'gratitude', and it helped me enormously to focus on that mindset for a whole month, especially with a cyclone and heart trouble. What about you?

For February the theme will be 'Stillness'...

My friends, we shall chat quite a bit about this through February, but today I'll just share a quote from Emilie Barnes in her book Simple Secrets to a Beautiful Home, who 32 years ago - when life was not as chaotic, not stitched into social media, and when many women still had mothers, aunts, or older mentors to guide them - recognised the need for all women to have moments of stillness.  

"Stillness is not a word than many of us even use anymore, let alone experience. Yet women today, perhaps more than at any other time in history, desperately need moments of stillness." Emilie Barnes 1992

This week, on Monday, Blossom came with the children after their swimming lessons for our regular brunch gathering. With a feast set before them all, we ate, laughed, heard the children's stories of the cyclone, and drank a pot of tea between us. Afterwards, I tidied the table and brought out some crafts for the children to work on, and sent my sweet exhausted daughter up to our pool for some calming, alone-time, 'stillness', in the water...for she never has time away from the children unless they are asleep. 

About 40 minutes later she returned, refreshment evident in her eyes..."Mum, it was so quiet, so still. I didn't know how badly I needed this break."

That's when I knew the Lord was tapping on my heart to talk about stillness in all our lives during February. You know, later that day Blossom had some very difficult hours, but she told me that having her quiet time in the pool all alone with God in the stillness had prepared her for the trials afterwards. We have decided she will escape to the pool every Monday after brunch, and I shall have crafty things prepared for the children. 

Dear one, do not underestimate the need for stillness in your life. Today, pray and consider how you can make time to be in the quiet stillness, and then let the presence of the Holy Spirit wash over you as you rest from every toil or trouble, just for a while. 

"Be still and know that I am God" Psalm 46:10 

I'm working on a new embroidery pattern for you, a gift, which I shall share next week...for there's nothing better for stitching a message into your heart, than slowly and thoughtfully with needle and thread and prayer. 

I also have an older pattern in my shop HERE if you'd like to stitch it as well. 

God bless, and we shall chat again soon...

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