Free Saturday tea towel pattern and rambles...

 

As I promised earlier in the week, here's the Saturday tea towel stitchery from the Days of the Week series which up until now had been shared through my bi-monthly Homemakers Heart magazine.

I just haven't had time at this end of the year to do a November/December issue so I'm giving you the final two days of the week stitcheries here on the blog to download. 

I'll share Sunday before the end of the month. 

Each of the 'days' in this series has a little theme, and Saturday's theme is letter writing - something I used to enjoy, but which became difficult the past few years due to the increasing discomfort of arthritis in my right hand, the hand I try and save for designing and stitching my embroidery patterns. Stitching is in fact very good for my hand - it's gentle and rhythmic, very soothing. But holding a pen and writing long letters is painful, so I save my writing for menu plans, shopping lists and cards.

I often think about typing a letter to old friends, printing it up and posting away to them, but then I'm held back by the thought they'll think I'm lazy for not 'writing' in my usual cursive script. My own fault really as up until today, in this blog post, nobody but my husband, Blossom, and of course our doctor, knew about the arthritis. Sigh. Silly me.

I was wondering how many of you also have issues with your hands? In many ways we're blessed to live in such a hot tropical climate, as cold climates would make the condition worse. Hubby and I can feel it more during winter, even though our winter is probably like your spring - and yes, he has arthritis too, but for him it's in his neck, wrists and knees. Poor love.

Are you held back from writing letters because of something similar? Perhaps we just need to explain to our friends (or family) and begin typing and printing...popping our words in a pretty envelope and adding a lovely bookmark or something similar? That's definitely my plan from now on.

Use the link below to download the stitchery pattern.

DOWNLOAD "SATURDAY"

If you've missed the first five days in this tea towel series just pop over HERE and download my free magazines.

The garden is alive with lizards, and whilst I am taking cover from the heat in my air conditioned home, they bake in the sun. I hadn't seen this one before and am not sure what type it is, but it has the most beautiful green stripes. Fortunately he stopped under the Syzygium bushes for a while so I had time to grab my camera and take a few photos.

Elsewhere in the garden we're doing a lot of mulching around the herbs, flowers, and the handful of remaining edibles. 

One big surprise in the ghastly heat of the past two months has been a resurgence of growth in our strawberries! 

I thought they were all dead as everything was dry, brown and shrivelled - but they are in a small planter stand my hubby made out of wooden pallets and the petunias which are scattered between the strawberries still had a little life so I just kept watering every day, thinking of the dead strawberries as mulch. Well, low and behold, they grew back - far healthier than before, and this time they're not being eaten overnight by critters. 

My roses continue to flourish...

...as do the geraniums. These pops of colour are gorgeous!

And no matter how hot it gets here, no matter how humid, the chillies thrive. We have two types - Birdseye, which self seed every year, and these Santa Fe Gold which have quite a burn so are used sparingly.

Blossom and the children had head colds last week but it didn't stop Bloss from sewing Cully May the MOST gorgeous princess dress! 

Our sweet 5yo slipped on the tiles out back when her and Rafaella were cooling down under the hose, and ended up with a black eye...but mummy made it all better with a princess dress and a wand to match. Honestly, there's so much detail in this dress...

I'd only just bought Cully May the gold sparkly shoes the week before - how perfectly they matched her dress. 

Something really lovely about Blossom's two girls is how excited they are for each other when Blossom makes either one a new dress. They're never jealous, only excited. Bloss was so proud of Rafaella that she made her a wand too, which matched the silver sparkly shoes I'd bought her.

Now don't get the impression these two sisters are little angels - they can get wound up with each other, just like most siblings - but they do love each other very much, and are thrilled when one or the other receives a gift. They're also excellent big sisters to Charlie David, and he adores them. Tomorrow they'll all come over for the day and I have been instructed to bake 'blueberry & raspberry muffins" for Cully May, and "pancakes with peanut butter and strawberry jam" for Rafaella. 

Young Charlie is happy to eat either. 

Yesterday I pulled the pantry, kitchen cupboards, drawers and appliance cupboards apart for a very long and exhausting tidy up. In the process I put things aside to donate, threw away out-of-date items, and began working on the principle of storing like-with-like instead of storing things where I can fit them. This required me to carefully plan where it made sense to keep my appliances, cake trays, bowls etc in order that I make the best use of my limited space. 

Recently I've been reading a few blogs from homemakers I follow on Instagram, and a common theme with those who have small kitchens has been creating 'work stations'. Whilst I don't need to go that far, it did make me consider the placement of everything I use daily, weekly, monthly or rarely.

In the midst of that spring clean I baked a loaf of bread using some new flour from Laucke Mills. It's a sprouted wheat grain, which I've been after for ages, and was on sale, so I bought 3kg, which for us will become 12 loaves of bread.

Have to say I chose to do half-and-half in my bread dough, half of this flour, and half of regular white bakers flour, and I'm glad I did. The bread is delicious, it's very hearty but still fairly light, and my hubby prefers a lighter loaf - so he was happy. 

We had it with chicken pasta salad last night, and toasted for breakfast this morning with homemade strawberry jam, peanut butter, and fruit on the side. Yum.

Last night I pulled a book off the shelf to read as I was bone weary and needed to lay down, but unable to sleep as I was staving off another brewing migraine. It's been years since I read "The Simple Home" but I had to laugh because in the midst of my spring cleaning through each room, I noticed Rhonda's October chapter was on that very subject, so even though it's November, I'm reading through October.

The book is written month-by-month (following our Australian seasons - but you just choose the opposite seasonal month for the northern hemisphere) and expands on Rhonda's first book "Down to Earth".

If you've not heard of Rhonda Hetzel why not pop over to her blog, 'Down to Earth' HERE and have a wonderful roam around - so much to inspire!

I especially like the quote written on the October page...

"Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work."

(Thomas Edison)

That made me think of Annabel, and her consistent work ethic. Hers is another blog I highly recommend for inspiration and encouragement. 'The Bluebirds are Nesting on the Farm', can be read HERE.

Well, that's enough for today - thank you if you hung around till the end. 

I won the battle against my migraine last night and only have a dull thud today, but still, I intend taking things slow for the remaining hours of Thursday. 

As the early morning gardening is done, and this blog post written, I shall now gather some stitching, choose a good movie, and brew myself a very large pot of Vanilla tea to sip and enjoy with the home-baked rock cakes from Tuesday (before hubby eats them all!).

I hope and pray your own day is one that revives the body and mind, puts a smile on your face, and brings joy to those very dear people who share your dwelling. 

hugs

Look after yourself too...

 

Another week passes by.

Rhythms rise and fall with each new day, and though at times my plans sway in another direction than that which I'd planned, there's almost always a gentle predictability to this gentle domestic life which I cherish and hold close to my heart. 

The first half of the week I gave much needed attention to pattern piecing, subsequent photography of the blocks, and then writing patterns. My sweet daughter, Blossom, was still unwell and not able to catch up as we'd normally do one or two days a week, so I wrote a list of chores, recipes and business tasks to fill the days alone at home which lay before me.

It was wise to productively fill this time with tasks which I'd fallen behind in as admittedly my Mother and Nana heart deeply misses the wonderful hours we usually share, but it was important to keep our distance so her nasty cold could run it's course and not spread. I made chicken bone broth soup, French chicken salad, bread rolls and a feta, tomato and pasta bake which I left at her door.

When I arrived there was a parcel waiting for me. A beautiful framed print by Lore Pemberton. Many years ago I embroidered a cushion for Blossom which featured a little girl holding her mother's hand, and beneath it read "you always held my hand". Blossom treasures that cushion, and when she saw this print she knew I'd love it. So very blessed. 

On Thursday I was able to visit with Rosie and we had a wonderful morning, feasting on a delicious Pumpkin Spice cake she'd baked, and lots of hot tea because the early winter day began a little cool. 

When I came home it was time to tend the garden. It still amazes me how the roses come to life here in the winter, and I especially love the miniature white rose near our back door. This year I've been drawn to white and planted out white marigolds as well. All the white flowers create a striking background to the deep pink petunias and red geraniums...

The morning primrose (below) is a cutting from the large bush in the front garden which has grown beautifully in a pot, but next week it shall be planted in the back garden. The bees adore morning primrose and I can stand for ages watching them buzzing to and fro filling their pollen sacks with a tea cup in my hand.

There's also an abundance of blooms on the blue rose. I was asked in a comment recently if I'd share a photo of it, and here it is...

It's not a blue-blue, but is a deep pink with blue tones and the more it opens the more obvious the blue tones are. When the buds have not yet opened the colour is a much richer pink.

The Hydrangea blanket is coming along nicely, though not a lot was done this week, but as Rosie reminded me, its too hot to crochet blankets across our laps for most of the year in the tropics, so we crochet them through the winter. Suddenly I felt much better and am no longer rushing to complete it, but enjoy crocheting a couple of rows each evening before bed.

We ordered a new mattress about a month ago, and yesterday it arrived. We've returned to a Tempur memory foam as its the only one which helps alleviate some of my husband's physical pain so that he can sleep. We remembered from the last one that when it is removed from all the thick sealed plastic used for delivery (and storage in a warehouse I imagine) there's a very strong chemical odour which takes days to disappear, so we're camping out in the loungeroom on our old mattress in the meantime. 

Hopefully this will only be for a few nights, but for now I'm thinking it may just be a nice resting place mid afternoon to snuggle down with a new book.

I watched the movie of Ballet Shoes on Britbox last weekend and absolutely loved it so I bought the book from Amazon Australia on Monday. It arrived yesterday and my heart leaped at the beautiful cover with it's deep maroon velvet ribbon. I'm discovering that many classic children's books these days have the most artfully exquisite covers, which adds to my delight reading them.

We read many, many such classics when I homeschooled the children, and it's one of those pastimes I've really missed, so this year I began to purchase titles which we'd not read but had always wanted to. 

It's been a bit of a revelation for me to acknowledge my love for good children's literature, and that it wasn't just for reading to my family because there's an abiding love in my own heart even now for them. 

I'm still an Agatha Christie fan and am gradually listening to all her books through Scribd, but again, it's that classic style which draws me in. Good literature from simpler times. I used to use Audible but it became cost prohibitive. 

(NOTE: With Scribd I pay one low monthly fee (half that of audible) and can download as many audio books as I like to listen to. They rotate them often so each month I have a few more Christie audios to choose from as well as thousands of other books to read or listen to if I like. The difference is that with Audible you own the book you download, but with Scribd you are borrowing it, and this suits me better as I rarely re-listen or re-read a book.)

After finishing a slow and deep study of Mark's gospel, this past week I've been reading through 1 Thessalonians, and will move on to 2 Thessalonians tomorrow. The verse highlighted below became quite pivotal to the way I viewed homemaking a few years back and I thank the Lord always that He used it to bring clarity upon an area I'd not fully taken to heart previously.

Also in my week...

A new design in the making.

An abundance of herbs throughout the garden being added to many recipes and teas.

I've also popped some rosemary in my favourite (unusable) tea pot with a few baby chrysanthemums and a gerbera (which was attached to the wrapping of my gift from Blossom) and the fragrance through our kitchen is wonderful!

Making our own yoghurt for breakfast is back in my routine again, and it's so easy in the Easiyo container. 

Baking as self-care.

My dearly beloved is not a fan of cake, much preferring biscuits (cookies) or a slice (bar), so they are what I predominantly bake, but something he says to me every day when he leaves for work in response to my question, "Is there anything I can do for you today?" got me thinking yesterday.

You see, he always answers the same way, "Look after Jennifer."

It matters to him that I look after myself and not overdo things or take unnecessary risks, so that he doesn't have to worry as much when he's away from home for such long hours. And truly, I am more intentional, and more thoughtful, about all my activities at home since he made me promise this when beginning his current employment last December.

Yesterday when he drove off, I thought about ways I may not be looking after myself and after scrubbing out both fridges, sorting through the entire pantry for out-of-date ingredients or packages, and watering the vegetable garden, it occurred to me that I rarely bake a cake anymore, and friends, I love cake. Give me cake over a cookie or slice any day.

So I prepared dinner and while it was simmering on the stove I baked one of my favourite cakes, Blueberry Crumble. 

Cooling on the kitchen bench, I planned to enjoy a thick slice for morning tea the next day (which is today), and that's exactly what happened. Served with fresh strawberries and Cherry Splice tea, I luxuriated in spoiling myself for twenty minutes. 

I think perhaps, that we can sometimes spend so much time doing for others, or cooking what our loved ones enjoy, that we overlook making moments to treat ourselves. My quiet and delicious mid-morning treat today revived my tired mind and wearied body, and you know, it was such a small thing really, yet to me this was some needed self-care. 

I don't go in for a lot of that because there's an element of selfishness which can step in and I've seen a lot of evidence for that in social media, books and articles...but the occasional treat, that's what I shall pursue. For when a treat is occasional, it means much more than if it became an everyday thing. I hope I'm explaining myself here, as I realise sometimes what I write can be misconstrued. 

Morning or afternoon tea is a regular break for me each day,  and I need it so I can stop what I'm doing, get off my feet, and just relax for twenty minutes in a comfy chair with a nice cup of tea and perhaps a biscuit or scone. But taking time to bake a special cake, for myself, well, that was making an occasion and doing something for myself that otherwise wouldn't happen. 

I've divided the cake into quarters now, and there are two wrapped and stored in the freezer for the next time I need a little self-care treat. A third quarter is going to my elderly neighbour, and there's still plenty of the fourth quarter left for me to enjoy over the weekend. 

If you're after the recipe I'll share it inside the next issue of The Homemakers Heart magazine which I'm hoping to have written by the beginning of July. 

So tell me, how long since you made an occasion of treating yourself to some self-care? What did you do? Is it time to treat yourself again?

May the Father, from whom all blessings flow, be your strength, hope, shield and comfort in the days and weeks ahead.

hugs

Knitting, homemaking, a dress and a giveaway...

Do you remember last year when I knitted cardigans for Cully May and Rafaella?

Well, this year I knitted one for Charlie David. It's a cross over style that I knitted for all my own babies because they're the perfect snuggly cardie for crawling babies, and as Charlie is now 4.5 months old, it's fairly certain he'll be making his way around the tiled floors at Blossom's by July (our mid-winter). 

I'd been working on it for about a month on and off between other things, but yesterday with only the long neckband, sewing together and buttons to attach I sat down with Hercule Poirot and worked until all was done. 

Don't you feel a great sense of satisfaction when you complete a project?! I certainly did. In fact this was my second completion of the day. 

The first one was to sew curtains for the girl's cubby house, something Cully May has very patiently been waiting for since last year. I had wanted to do this sooner but just never found the right fabric. I'd considered using sheer netting but that seemed too grown up, and quilting cotton wouldn't allow enough light into the cubby (it has four windows), but earlier this month I found the prettiest cream and pink polka dot muslin and knew it would be perfect! 

Blossom and the children came over this morning and the girls were very excited (an understatement) with their curtains, and spent ages playing in their little house that Poppy built. 

We shared a morning tea of scones and pineapple fruit cake, with vanilla tea for mummy and nana, and chocolate oat milk for the girls. 

Afterwards Charlie wore his new cardigan and played next to the girls while they coloured in and pasted stickers.

The cardie is a size 6-12 months so it will see him through the rest of autumn, winter and into spring. I tried to get a photo of him laughing with Blossom but Charlie David is not a boy who sits still! Every photo was blurry except but this one, and I love it anyhow because you can clearly see the love his mummy has for him.

Around home these past days I've done a bit of bread baking, made a delicious French soup (Soupe au Pistou with this recipe), scrubbed some of the overlooked places - like the kitchen sink, louvre windows in the toilet, and the inside of the microwave - and hung washing all through the house as it rained for a week and we don't have a dryer...

I also gave my new cleaning glove a maiden workout and can tell you truthfully that I love it! We were getting pool salt at Bunnings a week ago and I saw this hanging on the end of an aisle. I'm really not that impulsive with purchases at Australia's largest hardware and garden store, but as soon as I saw this I imagined how easy it would be to dust around those hidden areas...and it really is. 

I actually cringed at how much dust I collected from behind the television and along the power cords. It's a Sabco Green Microfingers Dusting Glove and was $7.50, worth every penny.  If you're in Australia HERE is the link to find it at Bunnings just in case you need to easily clean behind things too.

I love deep cleaning days, normally every Friday, and play music from Youtube as I work. Lately hubby and I are enjoying a number of American composer Tim Janis's uploads, plus THIS relaxed Hygge compilation.

My desk got a makeover as well last Friday; in fact there were a lot of changes made here and there around the house. They would seem small to a guest, but to me they are big because I'm gradually moving out of one style and settling in one that's more me in this stage of life. 

One thing that will never change, though, is my love of flowers. I had roses on the table a few weeks back and they lasted longer than I'd hoped, but just before they began to drop I cut away the blooms and popped them in a bowl to enjoy longer.

Cully May held them carefully today, marvelling at how they were drying out yet still holding their shape. She's a flower lover too. 

Last week I replaced the roses with huge white chrysanthemums but they did not do well for long - possibly the sudden onset of constant rain as the house was damp and sticky because it's still warm and humid, though the nights are finally cooling. 

So I added them to compost heap and bought myself a bunch of old faithful carnations, which never let me down. They actually look lovely against our new tablecloth.

I'm continuing to read every day, and what a joy this is! After finishing The Secret Garden I began another Agatha Christie novel (Dumb Witness), plus a wonderful non-fiction book by neuroscientist Lisa Genova (she wrote the fictional novel Still Alice) called "Remember". 

I'm also reading a visually beautiful book on the life and art of Impressionist Berthe Morisot, and have almost finished the first of the Madame Chic series by Jennifer L Scott. 

I make mid-morning reading time special by using a favourite tea cup, brewing my favourite tea, slicing pieces of the latest cake I've baked, and settling in for half an hour of total relaxation. Ladies, I highly recommend this; after reducing my Elefantz workload and leaving Facebook, there's more time to keep house, learn new things, read, knit and explore different recipes. 

Making one special time each day to simply sit and read and enjoy a delicious treat has lifted my spirit enormously, especially if the day before was busy...and I'm discovering through Lisa Genova's book "Remember" that learning new things is the best way to create more neuropathways in your (aging) brain and thus help you remember. 

Blossom made this simply breath-taking dress for Rafaella the other day. You may not know, but children's clothing pattern designers have been enlisting our talented Blossom to pattern test their designs before they are sold to the public. She's been making the most exquisite items but I do think this may be my new favourite. Look at all those ruffled layers!

Rafaella wore it here today and I couldn't stop cuddling her.

Now, as you know, Blossom started her handmade children's clothing business early last year and soon after discovered she was pregnant with Charlie David. This brought everything to a halt and it's only lately that she's been able to carve out some 'me' time to sew again at night. Mostly testing for designers, but gradually making more items for her new Shop.

Well, she's wanting to get serious about this now and needs your help. If you pop over to her Instagram page (HERE) she's having a gorgeous GIVEAWAY of the sweetest little red and white Seaside Set.

The winner can choose the size they want between 0-3 months, right up to 18-24 months!

I have seen these darling sets and her sewing is exquisite, you won't be disappointed. Don't you love that pop of red gingham bias inside the sleeve?

All you need do is go to her Instagram page HERE, follow her and tag three friends. As a young mum, and just really starting out, I'd love for you to help Bloss by bringing her IG page to the attention of friends or family who may love to win one of these delightful Seaside Sets. 

(((thank you)))

Oh, and if you'd like to visit her new Lucy & May Shop, it's HERE and she posts worldwide. 

I think you must be tired of reading now. Sorry for such a long post, but perhaps it slowed you down long enough to take a breather from your day? I do hope so. 

Tell me, what are you reading at the moment? I'd love to know. Do you read one book at a time or a few? Do you read a mix of fiction and non-fiction or just one type? Post in the comments because we can all get some new suggestions that way. 

Bless your dear hearts, and thank you for dropping by here and being an encouragement to me for more than a decade...

hugs