Being creative on stormy days and block 3...

 

I've been meaning to blog for days, but life has been full of other things, mostly home and family, and so much rain that our gardens are glistening from the water in and around everything. Of course it was perfect weather for weeding, so I did that in the half hour or so before sunrise each morning (if the rain took a break). Any later and the heat and humidity was more than I could handle when exerting energy gardening. It's good to know the town dam has plenty of water so I am not complaining too much about this summer's wet season. 

One thing I have really missed though, is hanging washing on the line. It is so rare for me to not have that opportunity, especially living in the hot tropics. We do have a dryer, but until all this rain through February I could count on two hands how many times I've used it in the past four years - it just sits in the laundry and I lament it taking up space! Ha ha! Until this summer. Throughout the past few weeks it has been used almost daily, but today the sun reappeared and I got so excited carrying my overloaded washing basket outside, my feet ankle deep in water, to peg everything on the line. 

So it's quite appropriate that the little design on the March block of this year's free "Joy in the Ordinary" project is a washing basket. 

Use the link below to download the free pattern

DOWNLOAD block 3 Joy in the Ordinary

If you missed the first two blocks they are HERE

What do you miss when the weather in consistently inclement over a prolonged period of time? 

Keeping busy inside is important when everything is dark and gloomy from storms, and for me I find it even more of a challenge in our summers when the temperature is still hot, sticky and humid. I'd much rather these stormy weeks be in winter when you can wrap yourself in a blanket, sip hot tea and have a big pot of soup or stew on the stove. But the reality is that we all must live within our own climate, not allowing it to get the better of us. We need to be thinking creatively about ways to add joy to our days, and a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere within the home. For me this is usually done in the kitchen, and I have indeed enjoyed many hours making this and that recently, but I also worked on two small slow-stitched projects, and the larger project of a crochet lap rug. 

The pattern I am using for the rug is from Lucy at Attic 24 and it's her Trellis Stripe design (she taught this five years back when making the Sweet Pea rug, which I made for my youngest granddaughter, Rafaella - you can see it HERE)

The colours for this version of the Trellis Stripe are more subdued than those I used for Rafaella's 1st birthday blanket. You can find Lucy's free Trellis Stripe/Sweet Pea pattern HERE

Our air-conditioner in the main living area stopped working last Saturday so it's been a challenge to keep adding rows at night, but thankfully the fans are running on high and the air con in the kitchen allows a tiny bit of cooler air to flow through. 

The slow stitching has been w o n d e r f u l...simply wonderful. It was a quiet, almost soothing, very gentle pastime, each day for a while after lunch when the morning's household chores were completed. In fact, when it was finished, I made another...

These are simply lovely little rolls, made from 10" squares of fabric, and very thin fusible parlan between the layers of fabric. You make a square from the fabrics and parlan, then hand quilt it. Fold in three corners and stitch them together like an envelope...

Make a very fine length of fabric for the wrapping tie, and sew it to the point of the open end, keeping one side of the length short and the other twice as long. 

I keep my reading and stitching glasses in them. So lovely! You could make these any size, and I think they'd be lovely as a gift. I'm already working on a third. If you'd like me to do a tutorial for this pouch just let me know in the comments. 

Another thing which has brought me a delightfully peaceful heart, and something that also added to my stillness in February was watching a video each day from a wonderful homemaker in Belarus. Her name is Olesya and she lives in a small house with her husband and son. Every video she shares recipes, sewing, homemaking, and she also shares updates on the very ramshackle old house in the forest that she and her husband are working on, with the hopes of moving there one day. I have learned much and been inspired by Olesya, especially with baking and with the sewing she does for her home to make it more cosy. I'll leave the link to one of her videos, and then you can go to her channel and scroll...you will definitely find something to interest you. Oh, and there are subtitles and soothing music, but I had watched her for a week before I realised there were subtitles! Make sure to click on them so you can read her thoughts...

Oleysa also did a video on making Tilda dolls...I have never made one, but now I will give it a try. You will find it here

In the kitchen I have been baking bread regularly, roasting whole chickens, making chicken bone broth to store in the freezer for use in winter, gathering elderberries and freezing them to make tonics later, and enjoying comfort favourites from my childhood. A new sour dough starter is on the bench, and I am hoping it's not too soon to get this going as it never fares well in the high heat and humidity of our climate at this time of year...but I miss making sour dough. 

I save chicken carcasses and when I have two in the freezer I make a big pot of broth using up all the older veggies and scrap ends, plus herbs from the garden, apple cider vinegar and lots of garlic.

I made 3 litres of bone broth from the batch last week. These are now in the freezer. Next week I'll roast a leg of lamb and use the bones for lamb bone brother. It's so good to have a variety in the freezer ready for soups, stews or casseroles. I am praying for a cool winter this year, not another warm one. I would love to slow stitch with that crochet rug over my knees. :-)

For comfort I always think of Nana's baked rice custard, so that was on our menu this week. I have shared the recipe before (here) but one thing I did not explain was that for every extra 250ml of milk you use, add another egg, a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and a little more cooked rice. 

It was SO delicious on its own, but tonight I'll add stewed black plums on the side. I am salivating now. And my heart is full of warm and fuzzy memories of sitting around Nana's kitchen table with her and Pop, laughing and loving together as we feasted on this dessert. 

I was asked to share the recipe I used for dishwashing liquid, so I shall do that today before I forget. Blossom and I have tried a few different mixtures for dishwashing but this is the best so far and we have decided to stick with it. 

Just be aware that it needs to be stored in a glass pump bottle, not a squeezy bottle (you may use too much). I got my bottles at the local TK Maxx store for about $7 each. I need to use about six pumps for a sink of water (not those big large sinks, just normal ones) because this is small pump, and not a lot comes out. Less is more when you're assessing how much you'll need. I made this three weeks ago and have only used about a quarter of the amount I had in the bottle during that time. Very economical, and also excellent for doing dishes. Lovely on hands too!

Also, the ingredients separate when not in use, so just turn the bottle upside down a few times (not shaking) when you plan to use it and everything will mix together again. 

1/2 cup distilled water (I use iron water from the laundry section of the supermarket)

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1/2 cup Sal Suds

1 tablespoon jojoba or almond oil

10 drops of lemon essential oil

Mix together and store in your glass pump bottle. 

Below are photos of the beautiful flowers I received from my husband and Blossom last week on my 65th birthday. They are glorious! It was a very special day with my family, and Blossom even arranged to have Kezzie and Dee on a video chat with all of us while she lit candles on the cake, and everyone joined in the singing. Afterwards we kept laughing and chatting - it was very special indeed. 

I know this was a long post, but I like getting things shared in one post a week now, rather than a few shorter posts. Time is precious isn't it, and I am happy to spend a few hours writing one post from my heart each week, as a letter to a friend...but the rest of the week my heart and time belongs to family and home, exactly how God designed it to be. 

(Blossom and I on my 65th birthday)

Thank you for all your comments each week - ladies, you are amazing women, living such varied lives, and yet so often quite similar. We are joined in the heart, you and I, with the same love for this God-gifted desire to make our homes a sanctuary, a place where family want to be, a place where love and welcome, beauty and warmth, fill every room. What you and I create within our walls, in this quite ordinary life, has more value than we could ever imagine...God bless you always. 

Hugs

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Seasons of the heart...

 

Even though the sun is still fierce outside and the humidity last night was thick in the air, just knowing that we are in autumn, knowing that in the weeks ahead, little by little, an easing will come, my heart is preparing for the slowing of cooler months. I am so ready for this, and amidst the heat of early autumn in the tropics, I am seeking out those things which stir my mind to enter the rest of winter when it arrives.

Today as I waved my husband off to work with a packed lunchbox and two flasks of cool juice, my thoughts drifted to the house, and what chores needed to be done, and I got excited. 

There was a time when mopping floors was number one on my list of dreaded chores, but after prayer and seeking a better way to approach this task, the Father changed my attitude and it has now become a task I enjoy, even look forward to.

Our home is all tiles, apart from the bedroom and hubby's study, which are still bare concrete after having the carpets ripped out after the floods two years ago. We bought rugs to throw over them and to be honest they have served us well so we have tended to forget that one day permanent floor coverings should be attended to. In the meantime, I begin my Monday floor routine by scattering a mix of bi-carb soda and lavender oil over all the rugs in the house, then walk over them, rubbing the mix into the pile with my feet. Aaah, the fragrance is beautiful.

If you've never made your own carpet deodoriser, I highly recommend you try this very simple mix.

I usually use half a jar at a time and as I emptied it after this morning's vacuuming it was time to make more in preparation for next week. I fill a jar to 3/4 full with bi-carb soda and add about ten drops of pure lavender oil, then screw the lid on and give it all a good shake. Once that's done top the jar to the brim with more bi-carb soda and give another shake. 

After I'd made up my next jar it occurred to me how simple a gift this would make, and as I'm off to Blossom's tomorrow I thought what a good gift to take along for her!

I have a lot of those lovely red gingham lidded Bonne Maman jars (our favourite jam if we've run out of homemade) so after writing on a pretty label and filling the jar with lavender bi-carb, I tied the label around the neck of the jar with string. So very ordinary, so very simple, and yet I know Blossom will truly appreciate it. If it were gifted to me I'd be rather happy too.

While the carpet mix was left to infuse deep inside the pile, I vacuumed all the tiled and bare floors, and only then did I vacuum up the lavender bi-carb. 

The fragrance had drifted all through the house and it was then that I decided to scatter some of my newly refreshed jar over the couches, something I used to do when we had dogs inside but hadn't done for ages. Anyhow, while I hung washing and cleaned the bathroom those couches were infused as well. Once vacuumed off it was time to mop. 

Now as I said earlier, mopping was a genuinely hated task up until around July or August last year, because pushing a mop around always made my hips and shoulders ache for days, so I was very lax in keeping up with shiny floors, choosing to spot clean every few days with a cloth and miracle spray. 

Then, on impulse, a totally spur of the moment decision, I purchased a cheap steam mop on sale at our local Woolworths supermarket. Ladies, that $59 purchase changed my cleaning life. 

Today I get such joy mopping the floors that I'm often seen just before hubby arrives home from work giving the kitchen another going over as dinner simmers away.  And this made me think about all the other chores which don't exactly come easily, and whether there are other ways to do them that will lift my heart the way this cheap steam mop has. I'm praying over this and know in my heart that the Lord shall indeed answer.

On the subject of cleaning , I shall admit that I've only recently (since Covid) began watching YouTube and the things I look for there are simple living, Godly living, natural cleaning, healthy recipes, small homesteading and the love of homemaking. Like all homemakers I also need inspiration to slow down, care for and appreciate this dwelling the Father led us to purchase. You see, for the longest time I would rush through things because I also needed to work on new designs and manage the internet side of the business. I would often spend hours each afternoon hand embroidering patterns for one of my clubs or creating a new free design - and none of that was wrong, but over time I found my time increasingly given over to the "habit" of stitching the afternoons away. I look back now and realise this was one of the reasons for that feeling of 'overwhelm' at day's end when half the things I should have done around home were now on tomorrow's to-do list and that list was already long enough. 

Before about 2014 homemaking was my first and most enjoyed priority and the business balanced nicely alongside it. Then the business took off in a big way and I had offers to write books, design fabrics, be sponsored by thread companies and even to become an ambassador for Lecien Fabrics. It was thrilling to be noticed, to be asked. But around that time I was also in the midst of delving deeper into what it means to live a "gentle domestic" life, so I declined all offers except the Lecien ambassador program, though after 16 months I decided that wasn't for me either.

Once again home and business balanced nicely, until we moved here in September 2018. Our first home, and here were were in our late 50's, starting over and having no idea what we'd gotten ourselves into. Close friends had tried to prepare us for the work needed in bringing this dream of home, garden and some self-sufficiency to fruition because they had already walked those hard yards at a much younger age than we now were. So, over time, especially last year, we were burned out physically and things began to slide. My afternoons were spent 'resting' with stitcheries and watching old British mysteries. The yard chores could not be ignored but the inside ones weren't given the attention they required...and then the overwhelm, the guilt, the stress of needing to catch up. 

This is when I really looked for inspiration to be the homemaker my heart longed to be again. So much of it was there inside me, but I was tired, weary, the balance of business was far greater than home, and I needed to bring things back to where they needed to be. I needed to start fresh and to stoke the flames of love which still simmered for a gentle domestic life. 

Things are different now. A refreshed love has bloomed for cleaning, cooking, organising, preparing our home to be a welcome sanctuary when my husband walks through the door each evening. My homemaker heart is restored and with each new day I am excited about what is ahead and how I can tend this precious little home to the glory of God.

When I take a lunch break now, it feels very deserved, and the food is delicious whether it's a simple sandwich or a bowl of leftover curry and rice, because I'm truly hungry and in need of a half hour with my feet up and a nice cup of Earl Grey. 

Loving our homes, enjoying them, being excited about tending to daily tasks and creating a place of warmth and welcome for others to enjoy and feel safe and loved - this is where the weight of balance needs to lean. 

Removing part of my business last week was like opening a window to autumn; saying farewell to one season and welcoming the next with joyous anticipation. 

I am so very blessed to have two homemaker friends who inspire and encourage me in that role - Rosie and Fee. I'm also extra blessed to have Blossom as my loving daughter, a woman of faith and courage in adversity, a constant prayer partner and Bible study buddy who teaches me as much as I teach her. 

But there are things which I also need as a homemaker, and that's where I use YouTube to glean from, and be inspired by, a handful of wonderful homemakers.

Right now my lunch times are spent watching Lea's videos on preparing practically and spiritually for Autumn around home and in the kitchen, as well as Niamh's videos on natural cleaning (we don't share the same spiritual beliefs but she has wonderful advice for slow, natural living).

Today I have Lea's autumn inspired apple/cinnamon/ginger/lemon tea simmering in a pot on the stove to enjoy over ice tonight (because it's still hot and humid here, sigh). Just watching autumn in cooler countries gives me joy and hope for what is ahead soon.

Maybe you're struggling with balance too?

Have you lost a bit of that love for the gentle domestic life, has it been pushed down because demands call you elsewhere? Friend, pray and ask the Lord to bring balance back into your life. He is faithful and will show you how. 

Now I have a bowl of passionfruit to play with and I've promised Blossom a sweet Passionfruit Slice will accompany me tomorrow, so I shall sign off and offer my hugs and a prayer over all of you tonight.

hugs

End of a week...

It seems this week chose to roll along at a faster pace than I'd anticipated. 

But some weeks are like that. 

I prefer slower weeks with relaxed hours that seem to linger longer, giving the soul and body a bit more time to unwind and relax, regardless of chores or work or visitors or sunsets.

Gathering plums on sale before the season is over has me stalking the supermarket and fruit shop so I can make a few extra jars of my plum & cinnamon jam, hopefully to see us through winter and spring. Seriously, I would choose this jam over any other and because of that it never lasts long in our house. Which is why over the next week I'm planning to double what I usually make.

Rosie came by this morning and I also invited Debbie, a new acquaintance from our Gentle Domesticity group, to visit as well. 

The three of us had a lovely morning tea, sharing stories of younger school days, the endless heat, floods, sewing, education, family and other 'getting to know each other topics' whilst sipping cappuccinos and feasting on fruit cake, matrimony slice and some lovely biscuits Debbie had brought along. 

We even stitched a bit too. 

I sent them both home with jars of plum jam which I do hope they enjoy as much as we do. 

Yesterday I spent the morning at Blossom's, filling my heart with granddaughter love and lots of cuddles. My darling daughter is glowing, in spite of the lack of sleep and if you saw her you would say "Motherhood definitely becomes her". 

Ross is home on paternity leave which has given their little family time to bond with Rafaella, and that lovely bonus of sharing more of the parenting load has drawn them closer than ever as a couple.

Cully May loves being a big sister to Rafaella.

Earlier in the week I was reading about Miracle Spray for home cleaning on Annabel's blog and decided to make some as I genuinely prefer products without harsh chemicals but haven't really liked what I've tried in the past. 

This one was different, and I cannot imagine using anything else now!

With five very simple ingredients, all found in my pantry or the local supermarket, 2 litres of Miracle Spray ended up costing about 80c to make.

I decanted some in to a spray bottle...

... and as I was doing this thought it would be a good idea to take this first batch in to Blossom, and the wonderful thing about that was when I gave it to her yesterday and showed her the ingredients list she said, "Mum, that's amazing! I was only just thinking the other day that I hate using chemicals around my daughters."

When I came home I made a second batch for myself and decanted some of the mixture into two spray bottles so I could keep one in the kitchen and one in the laundry. 

It's funny, though. The smell of eucalyptus is so fresh in my spray that I keep looking for things to clean. Before the girls arrived for morning tea this morning I even wiped down all the dining chairs, something I rarely think do, but what a blessing that was as I discovered one chair had many faint little Cully May fingerprints (from peanut butter and pasta sauce) which I'd not noticed when she was here.

If you'd like to make your own Miracle Spray the recipe is HERE.

On Wednesday I needed to pick up a prescription and decided to have a browse through the newly opened op-shop (St Vinnies) next door to the pharmacy. I found a lovely little $1 crocheted blanket, about 16" square, for nineteen month-old Cully May to wrap her dolly in, just like Blossom wraps Rafaella. 

When I gave this to her Cully was the happiest little munchkin around, and for much of the three hours I was there on Thursday she'd bring dolly and blanket to me, asking "wrap dolly blank?" I'd wrap her dolly and she would gather dolly to her chest and rock back and forth for a few minutes...then remove the blanket and come back to me so we could repeat the wrapping of dolly all over again. Her attention was only diverted when I changed Rafaella's nappy and then her chatter switched to, "get nappy, dolly poooooo!" ...and therein lies a whole 'nother story.

But back to that op-shop.

They had a good selection of books and very well priced too. Any three books for $5 said the sign above the wide bookcase and these were my take-home bargains...

I have already ear marked three of the potholder patterns for gifts (and my own use) so I'll be spending a few hours next week digging through my scraps and gathering other supplies to start sewing. 

But what I loved most was the Bible. All through it are excerpts from the writing of C S Lewis, pertinent to a passage of Scripture on the same page. The Bible appears new and the font is large and easy to read, it falls open and stays open too.

I collect Bibles, and did not have an NRSV version, so this was a wonderful blessing!

I am going to make a cover for it over the weekend and have already completed the stitchery, which is Easter Sunday inspired. In fact, I'll be sharing it with you this Sunday as gift pattern.

I'd best sign off for tonight as Mr E is ready to take me for a drive beside the beach now that the sun has set and the air is cooling. Then we'll come home and share dessert (chocolate brownies with raspberry coulis) before settling into our new couch to watch a movie.

He has a big day tomorrow with a new hobby (lawn mower racing) and I have to work as it's Stitchery Club day and there's a lot to do. Sending out issues to all Club members, updating the Club webpage, uploading separate patterns to the shop, new photos etc etc...it will take all day. 

So tonight, this lovely early autumn night, he and I will enjoy just being together.

I pray your weekend brings special moments too.

hugs

Being indulgent with yourself...

Mostly we can't accurately know exactly what the week ahead will hold, but for sure there'll be a to-do list, a hope-to-do list, and perhaps even a 'wish-I-could-do-that' hope fluttering around in your heart.

My friend Rosie Heather made this beautiful hanging heart for me recently and I think it sums up what I'm thinking today about the week ahead, or perhaps even the year ahead.

Often the little things we do, or don't do, seem so simple and insignificant that we are surprised when they turn out to have consequence later on, and that can be either good or challenging.

The good - teaching your little girl to sew when you're only just learning yourself. 

Now she has a little girl of her own and is skilfully designing and sewing beautiful baby and toddlers clothing.

The challenging - cleaning the oven. Number one on my to-do list this Monday morning but a chore I've neglected for months, moved from Monday to Monday in my diary and found plausible reasons for doing so because next to mopping floors it's my least enjoyed domestic responsibility. 

In early January, as is my yearly ritual, I scrubbed and re-organised my kitchen from top to bottom...but I managed to overlook the oven, promising myself to do it the following week.  Here we are about six or seven weeks later and that oven is still ignored.

Last night I was winding down after another migraine and Mr E wasn't very hungry so we decided to heat up some leftovers from the freezer in the oven. I did notice on Friday when I was baking Rock Cakes that the oven was a little smoky, but last night it smoked out the house! 

This morning after Mr E left for work (the Jeep is back on the road and he's driving himself again) I sat down with an old favourite read for a bit of down to earth homemaker inspiration...

...read through a few simple steps...

...and gathered my supplies for a workout.

While I'm writing this my oven is heating a large bowl of vinegar and water to boiling point, which will steam the inside walls and the glass, softening the grease buildup. Once done I'll leave it for about 60 minutes to cool down enough so I can begin scrubbing with bicarb and vinegar.

Now if I were a wise woman I'd do this every month and not every 6-9 months, which would save me a lot of elbow grease. It's in my diary now...hopefully lesson learned at last.

I like using natural products that can be put together at home as much as possible, but I'm not averse to taking the easy route as well for some things because I only have a limited number of hours each day. Picking and choosing carefully where to cut corners whilst still doing a good job is important to me, so last week I decided to try these wipes on our wooden drawers and you know, the drawers came up beautifully! 

After the oven scrubbing today I'll do the rest of our woodwork...

The washing is done and  hung on the line, bed is made, plants watered and the cat fed.

I still need to plan the week's menu and grocery list, and give the bathroom a quick once over, but all that should only take about 40 minutes (the oven could take an hour??).

I'm becoming a true believer in self rewards after mornings of physical household labour and what I like about it is how 50's house-wifey I feel - in fact, I was even tempted to go grab my pearls on Friday when I did this! 

I'll brew the kettle to make a pot of tea (or switch on the automatic cappuccino machine if I want coffee), get out the vintage cup, saucer and cake plate, grab a magazine or book, and sit 'proper' at the dining table to enjoy my treats. With a vase of colourful blooms beside me by the window I can relax for 20 minutes or so, a lady of leisure. 

It's not a long time, but I was quite surprised on Friday how refreshing a 20 minute indulgent break can be, and I call it indulgent because I'm choosing to give it to myself as a gift, and because it's a gift I'll plan to have my favourite tea on hand and also a pack of special biscuits (cookies) that I enjoy for days when I haven't baked.

I already purchased a very special Caroline Zoob coffee mug late last year which shall be used on my coffee days, but I intend shopping this week for a special tea cup, saucer and cake plate for the 'indulgent' tea days. Having special cups for that daily 20 minute indulgence break adds to the ceremony of it, I think...and I'm one who likes that sort of thing. 

What about you?

On the stitching front this week I am playing with the March block for "The Love of Home" BOM, another sweet reward...

I'll have this ready for you to download on March 1st. 

(Block 1 is still a free download here)

Well my lovelies, I've just heard the "ping" of my oven timer which means it should be cool enough for me to don my apron and go a-scrubbing...

have a wonderful week,