Cheerfulness

'Suppose when you awake in the morning, before offering your morning prayer, you think of all the blessings with which you are surrounded. You reflect how many persons, during the past night, have tossed upon beds of pain. How many have died and find themselves this morning in the eternal world, unprepared for its awful scenes! My Heavenly Father has kept me alive, and another day is now given to me in which to prepare for Heaven. The Lord has provided me with all necessary clothes to wear, and food to eat. I have kind friends around me; opportunities for doing good open before me; and if I am faithful in duty this day, how happily may its hours glide along! And above all, --blissful thought,-- if the Lord should see fit to take me from the world today, I cannot doubt that He has, for my blessed Savior's sake, forgiven my sins, and that He will take me to Heaven. Every day is carrying me nearer to eternal holiness and happiness. O, how much occasion have I for a heart overflowing with gratitude! I shall indeed be inexcusably ungrateful to my Heavenly Father if, when crowned with all these blessings, I have a sad and murmuring Heart.
"Heavenly Father," you say, in meditative prayer, "help me this day to manifest my gratitude to Thee by happy love. May I so love Thee, and serve Thee, and have such confidence in Thy goodness, and so subdue all those passions which are sinful, and consequently disturb one's peace, and so perform all my duties that I may have a tranquil heart all the day long."'

~John S.C. Abbot, from The Mother at Home

~china art~

I have always loved blue and white patterned dishes, and so over the years I have collected different pieces to use in my home. Among these is a set of blue willow dishes that were gifted to me by a friend. I use them for my everyday dishes even though they are so lovely because it brings joy to me to set a lovely table. One consequence of this indulgence of my desire for everyday prettiness is breakage. And today was one of those days. I broke a pretty little blue and white bowl while cleaning up my kitchen after dinner. But I must admit to you that I did not sorrow over it, as, you see, I have a penchant for bits of broken pottery, glass and china. I had this idea to use the pieces as you would pretty rocks or glass beads to make something. And so I made a Pretty Hanging Thing for my kitchen. What exactly you'd call it, I'm not sure, but I do like it.

A Girlish Collage

Sister Time ...in the garden

Weeding onions and garlic...watering the rest of the garden because of the drought. Do you see my first beautiful little red tomato peeking out from behind the leaves?

Herman...a Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Herman emerged from his chrysalis this morning. He is now a beautiful Black Swallowtail. My sister O and I took him outside to a dill plant in my garden (hoping to make him feel at home). He saw the sunlight and knew to try to crawl out of the jar to get at it. O helped by planting his little dill sprig in the ground...being very careful not to touch his wings! He crawled around the plant till he found a spot that was to his liking and hung from it. There he will dry out and strengthen his wings and eventually fly off to find himself a new home. Goodbye, Herman!

Wodehouse Wednesday

'And then Lady Malvern came back, a good bit ahead of schedule. I hadn't been expecting her for days. I'd forgotten how time had been slipping along. She turned up one morning while I was still in bed sipping tea and thinking of this and that. Jeeves flowed in with the announcement that he had just loosed her into the sitting-room. I draped a few garments round me and went in.
There she was, sitting in the same arm-chair, looking as massive as ever. The only difference was that she didn't uncover the teeth as she had done the first time.
"Good morning," I said. "So you've got back, what?"
"I have got back"
There was something sort of bleak about her tone, rather as if she had swallowed an east wind. This I took to be due to the fact that she probably hadn't breakfasted. It's only after a bit of breakfast that I'm able to regard the world with that sunny cheeriness which makes a fellow the universal favorite. I'm never much of a lad till I've engulfed an egg or two and a beaker of coffee.
"I suppose you haven't breakfasted?"
"I have not yet breakfasted."
"Won't you have an egg or something? Or a sausage or something? Or something?"
"No, thank you."
She spoke as if she belonged to an anti-sausage society or a league for the suppression of eggs. There was a bit of a silence.'


~P.G. Wodehouse, "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest"

herb tea

There's nothing half so refreshing as cold herb tea drunk from a jar. No sweetener. If you want a bit of interest, add peppermint for its peculiar cooling, almost sweet, taste. I make my own tea bags for loose leaf herbs out of flour sack towel material and crocheting thread. As you use them they get a gentle tea stain to them, which I find delicious. You can, as I have done, make both larger more rectangular bags for steeping enough for a quart jar or half gallon pitcher, or smaller squarish ones for individual teacups or mugs. You should have some herb tea too!
~ ~ ~'::

::'~ Making Recipe Cards ~'::

Doe the Nexte Thyng

From an old English parsonage down by the sea
There came in the twilight a message to me;
Its quaint Saxon legend, deeply engraven,
Hath, as it seems to me, teaching from Heaven.
And on through the hours the quaint words ring
Like low inspiration--
"Doe the Nexte Thyng"

Many a questioning, many a fear,
Many a doubt, hath its quieting here.
Moment by Moment, let down from from Heaven,
Time, opportunity, guidance are given.
Fear not tomorrow, Child of the King,
Trust them with Jesus,
"Doe the Nexte Thyng"


Do it immediately; do it with prayer;
Do it reliantly, casting all care;
Do it with reverence, tracing His Hand
Who placed it before thee with earnest command.
Stayed on Omnipotence, safe 'neath His wing,
Leave all resultings
"Doe the Nexte Thyng"

Looking to Jesus, ever serener
(Working or suffering) be thy demeanor
In His dear presence, the rest of His calm,
The light of His countenance be thy psalm,
Strong in His faithfulness, praise and sing,
Then, as He beckons thee,
"Doe the Nexte Thyng"


~Author Unknown

Herman

Meet Herman. A Swallowtail butterfly. What variety of swallowtail butterfly, I'm not sure. He is residing at the moment in a nice big jar with a couple stems of his favorite plant, Dill. Can you see him? This arrangement makes it easy for me to watch his progress as he changes from a caterpillar to a butterfly. I was told that it would take weeks, even a month...so until then I enjoy having his jar on my table where I can see him. It's amazing to think of what changes are taking place under the greenness of his little shell. Herman was originally from some dill plants on my parents' farm; they rescued him from the dangers of the outside world and faithfully fed him dill until he wove his little cocoon. Then they brought him to me. Well, so now you've met him.

Alterations

Cookie Jar

This specimen of beauty was a gift to me from my dear sis. We were out browsing a great big thrift store in the cities (actually, it was the same day that I got my beautiful bedspread, if you recall) when I came upon this cookie jar and promptly was overcome by the blueness of it all. She got it for me as a sisterly present, and now it graces my kitchen counter top. Since last week it has been faithfully dispensing oatmeal peanut butter chocolate chip cookies (properly know as "Oatrageous Cookies"... a delicious recipe from my friend Rebekah). It even came with the proper seal on the lid so my cookies stay fresh! Hhmm...what kind of cookie should I put in there now?

Rain and Model Paint

So Be It

So be it; 'tis Thy plan not mine,
And being Thine is good;
My God, my will shall yield to Thine
Ere it is understood.

So be it; I a child of dust
Will not oppose Thy way,
Move on, mysterious Will, I trust,
I love, and will obey.

So be it; and do Thou, my heart,
No childish questions ask,
Thou in God's counsels hast no part,
Crave not so hard a task.

So be it; yes, so be it, Lord,
No word have I to say--
O be Thy gracious name adored--
I love and will obey.

~Elizabeth Payson Prentiss, Golden Hours

Things to pray for...~'::

"We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love that you have for all the saints, because of the hope laid up for you in heaven....And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption , the forgiveness of sins."
Colossians 1:3-5a, 9-14

Hallelujah!

Morning Omelet

My house has a lingering scent of freshly minced and sauted garlic...one of the best smells for a home to have, in my opinion. Omelets are probably silly things to post about. I was just captivated by the colors and smells and tastes. It is so pleasant to potter about a clean kitchen on a Saturday morning. Oh, yes...and the omelet tasted even better than it looks. So simple, but so tasty: oil/butter, onion (1/2), garlic (1 clove), fresh pepper (a small piece), eggs (3), a little bit of finely grated mozzarella cheese, salt and pepper...all wrapped up in a warm tortilla (three in this case). A perfect breakfast.

Evening Treasures

~my lovely little sugar snap peas~

Beauty

Quiet Evening ~'::

Collage notebooking...making an ankle bracelet with vintage buttons...visiting with sisters in law.

Wodehouse Wednesday

'The contrast between Lord Emsworth and the newcomer, as they stood there, was striking, almost dramatic. Lord Emsworth was so acutely spectacle-less; Rupert Baxter, his secretary, so pronouncedly spectacled. It was his spectacles that struck you first as you saw the man. They gleamed efficiently at you. If you had a guilty conscience, they pierced you through and through; and even if your conscience was one hundred per cent pure you could not ignore them. “Here,” you said to yourself, “is an efficient young man in spectacles.”

In describing Rupert Baxter as efficient, you did not over-estimate him. He was essentially that. Technically but a salaried subordinate, he had become by degrees, owing to the limp amiability of his employer, the real master of the house. He was the Brains of Blandings, the man at the switch, the person in charge, and the pilot, so to speak, who weathered the storm. Lord Emsworth left everything to Baxter, only asking to be allowed to potter in peace; and Baxter, more than equal to the task, shouldered it without wincing.'


~P.G. Wodehouse, Leave it to Psmith

~the one thing~

“She went out, closing the door softly. Outside in the passage that led to the garden she stood with her hands pressed to her aching temples and tried to think what she had to do next. Robin was bathed and in bed and Zelle comforted, the chicken was in the oven and the vegetables ready, and Mrs. Wilkes was laying the table and had promised to stay and wash up, providing they were punctual in coming to supper. Mr. Weber! He was the next thing. She didn’t look forward to him very much, but she must try and take him without fear, with no before or after. When one was well the next thing flowed in so easily and naturally, but when one was tired to death it sent before it a wave of nervous apprehension. Would one be able to manage? Would one make a mess of it? Was it going to be just the last straw which would break one down completely? Engulfed in this fear, Sally had taught herself to think of the next thing as though it were the last thing. Just this one more thing and then no more. If it were the last thing, then it did not seem too hard to rally one’s forces just once more. Obliteration of the future seemed to lead to obliteration of the past too, and there could be a sense, she knew, in which this living for the moment only could be evil. It could be license, and then the destruction of past and future was a betrayal of both. But when you took the moment in your hands as selflessly as you were able, past and future were not so much destroyed as gathered into it in one perfect whole, and living for it was not destructive but creative. The moment was no longer the last thing but the one thing, and so nothing else mattered and one would not fail.

She opened the garden door and went into a world which the wind and the rain had swept and cleansed and then left to a happy loneliness. Each flower, each leaf, burning with colour in the streaming light from the west, was held in such a stillness that it seemed alone, and yet by its very loneliness a more integral part of the immensity of light. Sally stood and bathed in light and felt herself made new. The loneliness of each leaf and flower was like the loneliness of each next thing. It was all there was, and yet it was part of a whole whose before and after was the circle of eternity.”

~From The Heart of the Family, By Elizabeth Goudge

Cheerfulness

"Cheerfulness is the support of our strength; in the joy of the Lord are we strong. It acts as the remover of difficulties. It is to our service what oil is to the wheels of a railway carriage. Without oil the axle soon grows hot, and accidents occur; and if there be not a holy cheerfulness to oil our wheels, our spirits will be clogged with weariness.... Reader, let us put this question--do you serve the Lord with gladness? Let us show to the people of the world, who think our religion to be slavery, that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our gladness proclaim that we serve a good Master."
~Charles H. Spurgeon

notebooking

Monday

"Queen of my tub, I merrily sing,
While the white foam raises high,
And sturdily wash, and rinse, and wring,
And fasten the clothes to dry;
Then out in the free fresh air they swing,
Under the sunny sky."

~Louisa May Alcott, "A Song from the Suds"









Listening to "Peace Like a River"

July 4th

It was a truly wonderful day. My man's family, my family, my dear Uncle Kevin and Aunt Emma (and their littlies), and my Grammy Rose were all together for a picnic supper at our house. My man grilled and there were delicious salads...everyone brought one that the rest of us always ask them to make. :) We set up the food buffet-style on our patio table and then sat under our big walnut tree canopy to eat. The food was delicious, and the fellowship brought such joy to my heart! After supper we gathered with others of our local church for hymn singing, open forum question & answer time, and prayer. Afterwards my Aunt Emma (upon our request) sang some of her favorite Ukrainian hymns for us...so hauntingly beautiful (melody and words...I need to learn them). Then it was time for cupcakes and bug spray and walking to the lake for fireworks! We spread out quilts on the hill at the edge of the lake and ooh-ed and ahh-ed through a half hour of lovely fireworks. The walk back home was a much more sleeping one than the walk there. ;) Then lots of girls made dishes go quickly (thanks everyone!). I think we all wished to linger around talking forever, but one by one families dispersed to get children (and themselves) off to bed. Emma and Kevin stayed at our house for the night (a real treat!!)...we eventually stopped talking and went to bed. ;) It was a day to be treasured and remembered.








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