Homemaking – Page 2 – The Welcome Home

Just one added thing each day

dishwashercupsup

[cp_dropcaps]T[/cp_dropcaps]his morning as I sat at my dining room table, I thought, what if I did one new thing each day for the rest of this year, how many things would I be able to do? How many additional things would be accomplished? Two Hundred Sixty Six. Imagine: 266 additional things. Instantly, I’m reminded of the significance of the number 266 — an average pregnancy is 266 days. Not anymore for this Sarah, but that’s a number I’ll never forget.

I considered: Purposefully learning and purposefully accomplishing one additional thing every day. Adding one more step, situp, pushup, crunch, squat—-one more whatever—-to my exercise routine. That’s a whole bunch. And that’s somewhere to begin! That, and it would create a dramatic change in strength and stamina.

Just adding clarity or purpose to my daily routines helps me be clearer on the concept. Otherwise, many of my efforts will not produce desired results. If I just do things hastily or haphazardly or without being clear on the concept, I won’t have much to show for all these days I’ve been given and if I don’t strive to better use the time I’ve been given I’ll continue to look back and see a whole bunch of busyness and not a whole lot of accomplishment. By way of illustration, the image I’ve chosen for today’s post is a picture of dirty cups loaded into the dishwasher. The child who did this chore, did what I asked. And I was pleased with the effort—but it became a teachable moment as I described the purpose of the soap and sprayer beneath the rack and how it accomplished the cleaning of the inside as well as the outside of the cups. [cp_quote style=”quote_left_dark”]It’s a clear picture of how ineffective some of our best efforts are when we’re not clear on the concept.[/cp_quote]

So I continued this morning, and throughout this afternoon, to consider the huge benefit I would realize in cleaning/doing/accomplishing one extra thing every day for 266 days (and beyond). I’m already cleaning every day anyway — one more thing might take one more or five more or thirty-five more minutes. What a blessing to my family–and to me: a clean and cozy home – on purpose just for them, just for me, not for or because of anyone else. What if I made one new recipe each week like I used to do? What if I did one extra load of laundry each day? You get the idea.

Then my mind swirled with a great idea pertinent to where I am right now: What if I eliminated one thing every day? Or a bag of things? Or a box of things? Every day. What if I organized a drawer one day, a cabinet another day, and a closet another day? I already do this to some extent — so adding one thing to my daily regimen seems doable. 🙂 I just haven’t done this with purpose every day. Then I imagined that I could pick an area to work on every day and if I sorted, in that one small area, items into boxes marked: keep/giveaway/throwaway. Well, I’d surely be very, very organized by the end of the year or sooner!

What if I read an extra chapter, wrote an extra journal entry, wrote a letter, a blog post, a list of dreams, plans, ideas? I’m already reading and writing things every day… so the ideas is something added to my normal course of daily routines — just one added thing every day.

Join me in doing one added thing today. Just one thing added. Think about it, if we do one additional thing every day until the end of the year—we’ll have done 266 extra things.

Think of it… just ONE added thing. Ready, steady, you Go, girl! ♥

Tip Time

♥ It’s Tip Time! ♥

These tips fall under the categories: I’m so glad I saved _____ ; and the category: Ooooo… saved myself a whole bunch of time and energy by planning for future needs! Yay!

Continually in the mindset of thinking efficiently, make a conscious effort to consider the needs of others–your husband, family, etc., etc. ♦ A kitchen log and/or a journal will help you put it down and out of your mind = eliminate worry. Pray the Lord will guide you as you plan, pray He will give you insight for what you need or what you will need.

♦ Planning for daily meals = eliminate mealtime shortfalls and stress; ♦ planning for events = more smoothly transitioning from whatever point a to be, etc.; ♦ planning for future needs/seasonal needs = not fearing for the snow for your household; and rainy days. Sorry, rainy days will come and you’ll necessarily face those with the Lord, on your knees and waiting on Him — maybe in tears, but as you set your days in His hands, you will find solace there.

So… tip time:

♦ Jar lids—-if a store-bought item has a flip lid and fits on a mason jar, save that lid! Consider, some plastic containers for parmesan cheese have flip-top lids that fit regular mason jars — Truvia jars, too… some salad dressings and some tomato/pasta sauce jars, too, just to name a few.

♦ Pumps for soaps/lotions/shampoo — some of these fit other bottles that you might want a pump for. Now, this is just friend to friend advice, as I’m sure there are purists who wouldn’t think of reusing a soap or conditioner pump for any food item–all the leeching etc., etc. = anathema! So, cover your ears and don’t listen to this. I use pumps or reuse pumps all the time———makes so many things easier! From the kitchen sink to the pantry to the bath! As an example, I use the pump from a (costco size) bottle of Pantene conditioner—thoroughly-thoroughly-thoroughly washed, soaked, rinsed, washed and rinsed again—for some bottles of oils I use in cooking. They fit perfectly and not a drop is wasted. I reuse pumps on bottles of shampoo, etc., and put them on bottles that didn’t originally come with a pump. Saves money from going down the drain in the family’s shower. Sometimes I use the pumps I’ve purchased for coffee syrups—I use them on the syrup bottle, but when the syrup’s gone, sometimes I use the bottle fitted with a pump for sauces, salad dressings, etc., etc. This has been simple for me since I was able to purchase a quantity of pumps for a low price. So, all this to say, if you purchase pumps or whatever other time/food-saver you purchase, be sure you save those items to reuse in the future.

♦ Flip lids to toothpaste or lotion or whatever—these are another saver! Flip lids from spice jars—some come without a flip lid/shaker and so I always save assorted jar lids that have a shaker/ flip top so I can replace the lid with the better/more effecient lid. Saving these sorts of lids, helps so much bcz there are so many uses for them. I save assorted sized bread ties and bags, too — along with other things that ♦ make food storage easier. Saving unique jars and bottles with lids is also a great way to plan for food storage — gallon jars with lids make organizing and storing foods in the pantry so much easier. You can also save bottles with lids for juice, syrups, gravy, salad dressings, etc., etc. In this way, you’ll be glad you planned ahead for future needs!! Instead of giant hodge-podge ~~mess~~ bin of “tupperware” or whatever-ware, you can reuse items your food came in in the first place and reuse them for other foods or left overs or whatever until the containers wear out. Or get lost. Or become a hodge-podge mess. Don’t be afraid to recycle. As in, throw away.

The big deal is that you continually learn (and re-tune/refine) to plan ahead and know when to be, and be determined to be, ♦ content with the amount of stash you have—too much and you’ll have oodles of chaos instead of contentment and all your planning will backfire as an unintended consequence. Too little planning and/or stash and you’ll have discontent and waste time and money over last-minute spending instead enjoying the contentment you originally longed for. ♦ Balance. That’s the big deal. Balance.

Motherhood: A Call to Carry On

Carry on. When you’re drop dead tired and there’re still several hours and as many chores left to do at the end of the day: Carry on. When you have so much to do you don’t know how you’ll do it all: Carry on. When you have so many needs to fill and seemingly not enough resources to fill them all: Carry on. When you’re weary and successes are few and failures are many: Carry on. When you feel all alone and as if no one cares for what you do: Carry on.

Carry on, Mother, carry on! Motherhood’s a call to carry on. No matter what you think, how you feel or how things seem to appear, as a mother, you’re called to carry on.

I was mulling over this message, I got to thinking about flying; the hustle and bustle of the airport, the waiting in line, the scans and the check-points. You board the plane and you prepare for the flight ahead and you sit back and either endure or enjoy the ride. You don’t really worry about your baggage, for at that point there’s really nothing you can do about it anyway. But there’s still your “carry on” stuff… the stuff you need to be responsible to take care of. All the while, it’s up to you to make the best of the flight or perhaps by default, just choose to snooze or endure the passage of miles and time.

Motherhood’s a lot like that… you may come into it with lots of baggage, but there comes a point that you need to put the baggage down and “check it” as it were, and deal with your carry-on’s. You know, it’s interesting how baggage goes… it’s all the stuff we think we’ll need for the trip; it’s all the stuff we thought we couldn’t live without; it’s all the stuff that follows us wherever we go and much of it doesn’t do us any good or isn’t actually useful or necessary for the trip –we usually find that out when we reach the destination. Actually, for most all of us, what’s really important is what’s in our carry-on’s. We usually pack the most important things in our carry-on’s – our valuables, our money, our credit, our identification, our appearance enhancing tools, and other necessities. Problem is, many mothers get bogged down with their heavy baggage and are consumed with looking at it, thinking about it, rifling through it, trying to carry it around –that they forget to hang on tight to their precious carry-on’s. Many mothers are more concerned with the baggage… the things, the what if’s, the furnishings, the styles, the weights of the world, the what-will-other-people-think’s in life.

It’s what’s in the carry-on that is most important —You keep the carry-on stuff intact, chances are good that no matter what happens to the baggage, you’ll still make it though the trip just fine. Your ‘carry-on’ is usually what you need for the trip… the stuff in the carry-on is your treasure. Well, this is sort of a description of motherhood, but as analogies usually do, this analogy breaks down at some point.

Motherhood’s a call to carry on. But we don’t carry on alone. O, the enemy may attempt to persuade us that we’re alone, that no one else is doing what we’re doing, that we have too much to carry or not enough help with what we’ve got to carry or that our load is heavier that other mother’s loads or worse: that our load or the work we carry is not all that important – that anyone can do it. Truth is, whatever the LORD’s given us to do is ours to do – not someone else’s to carry and do. That’s why the LORD has so faithfully preserved His Word, given us His direction and defined our roles as mothers. Many mothers attempt to carry baggage that’s not even theirs to carry –as if what they’ve got isn’t enough already. Many mothers think they’ve got to do all the lifting and carrying and, really, the LORD never intended mothers to do all that some do. O, some things are noble, even admirable, but they’re not necessarily what the LORD designed and called them to do.

So, how do we carry on? Well, I’ve come to see that carrying on is probably best defined as obedience – obedience to the will and way of the LORD and nothing else – for obedience sort of sums up the whole of the Christian walk. It’s hearing what you’re being told and doing it. And for mothers, it’s what we do (or ought to do) and what we teach (or ought to teach). As we walk with the LORD and live in obedience to Him, He enables us to hear Him and to obey Him –that’s the precious work of the Holy Spirit. As we live and walk in obedience to Him, we’re carrying on the call of motherhood. For God calls us to obey Him and He calls us teach our children as we rise up, as we lie down and as we walk along the way. A mother cannot lead children where she herself is not going; a mother cannot teach what she herself has not learned or is not learning. A mother cannot call her children to obedience if she’s not seeking that in and for herself –it’s part of that precious calling: the call to carry on.

So, precious mother, when the way is dark and the future seems bleak: carry on. When the path is rocky, windy and steep: carry on. When life seems to be endless piles –piles of papers, piles of dishes, piles of laundry, piles of toys and books and crayons, piles of dirt and piles of chores: carry on.

And when you feel you cannot go on, stop where you are, fall to your knees and carry on. Carry on to the LORD, He will be there, He will hear and He will carry you. And you will see that all the while you carry on, your cares are in the hand of Jesus and all your carrying on is in His strong hand. You will never find a time when you open the Word or fold your hands in prayer that He won’t already be there. You’ll never find a time where your prayers are not heard by the One who loves you. There will never ever be a time where you step out in faith or in obedience and not fin Him already there.

If it’s been a while since you stepped aside to pray or to read the Word or to write in your journal, taste and see: the LORD is good. He will already be there. He will welcome you with open arms – He won’t be looking at where you haven’t been, He will be looking at your “now.” In the moment you call upon His name, He will answer, He will be there. Taste and see.

Dear mother, faithful and wise, you’re called to carry on – one day at a time in the hand of the Saviour. He’s not looking at your yesterdays or even your worries about tomorrow; He’s looking at your “today” – at your “now.” All that stuff that in the baggage? Be done with fretting about it; be done with lesser things, be done with vain glory and all the trappings of the world. The enemy doesn’t want you to bask in the blessing and direction of the LORD –that’s why he seeks to distract you and weigh you down –reminding you of your failures, what you don’t have and what you haven’t done –or worse: that none of it matters, that it doesn’t matter what you do.

But today? O, today, dear mama, today’s your new beginning. Now is the day, now is the time to carry on in His name – His wonderfully strong name. Your children will see Him in you and they’ll see the Light on the path as you carry on. You have a most honourable, most noble calling: that of carrying on throughout motherhood. Be faithful. Finish well.

an entry from

Carrying on with you: in love and blessings… pamela

Chore sticks…

teacuppamela

A clean home is a happy home. I know, I know, if ever there was a guilt inducing statement, that is it! But, seriously, think with me for a moment… consider some of the very best homemaker feelings/accomplishments. Doesn’t a ship-shape-top-to-bottom tidy give you a great feeling? How about a thoroughly cleaned out garage, a freshly cleaned and ordered pantry, fridge or bedroom closet? If you stop and think about these sorts of things, you’ll probably quickly remember how great it felt and how smoothly things seemed to run in your home. Remember?

With the advent of our son getting married a couple of weeks ago, a bit of space was freed up in our home. And, well, as you can imagine (especially if you’ve got a lot of children still home), the ideas and possibilities seemed to explode and the enthusiasm to clean out, paint, rearrange and clean up bedrooms was at an all time high. And at the end of a few days, when the bulk of the work was completed, the bedrooms were nearly all set up. Fresh and clean… and happy.

I have an idea for you… something that might add a little fun to your cleaning schedule — and maybe even to help you set up a cleaning schedule and give you some time saving ideas, to give you some inspiration and to make it fun.

You’re going to need a few supplies, first. I’d suggest that you get a binder or a piece of paper that you’ll add to your kitchen binder / log / whatever. Make a list of all the different chores you know must be done. Then, go back an prioritize the list into groupings of least to most important (or vice versa). The reason I’m suggesting that you write this down in a binder is that you’ll then have a written record that you can consult every time you’re going to do seasonal chores or monthly chores. If you don’t have a kitchen binder or a home/time management binder, then, most sincerely, I’d suggest that you get one, and begin to load it up with your family/home information, plans, important lists, etc. And, yes, I do mean paper, pens and a plastic/metal 3-ring binder. You’ll keep this with your cookbooks, etc.

After you’ve written your necessary chores list and arranged them in some order of importance, then you’ll need to get some wide craft sticks or tongue depressors and two jars. Then, write the chores – individually – on the sticks. I have written with Sharpie pens so that the ink won’t run if the sticks get wet – and I can reuse them many times this way. I may give an estimated time to complete the chore – or an asterisk on the stick to indicate importance or priority.

It really doesn’t matter what you do, it’s just a matter of doing what you know you must do and determine to get those things done. This stick method is but one method you might use.

This isn’t meant to put you in some sort of chore bondage, or to dictate that you must do it this way — and, believe me, this method is not the key you’ve been searching for to get your house in order once and for all. The order — once and for all — deal doesn’t exist. But you can learn ways to bring about a semblance of order that makes for a more smoothly run home and a more orderly way of keeping and caring for the things we all need to have/use in our homes.

So, maybe you’ve got the idea of making the lists in the binder and you’ve even imagined that you could write out the chores on the sticks… now what? Simple put the sticks — as many as your chore load dictates — in a jar. And then, establish a cleaning segment of every day and pick sticks each time, do the task on the stick, move on to another and another as time allows. STOP working when your allotted cleaning time is up. Plan to work the next day and the next — starting and stopping at the planned time, and so on, until the jobs you need to complete have all been completed. Put the completed chore stick into the empty jar and see how quickly you can get the sticks transferred from the first jar to the next. After a few days, you’ll be amazed at how much you can do AND how much you’ve gotten done. Save the sticks in your cabinet for the next overall house deep-cleaning and a couple of months (you can also make chore sticks for daily work or weekly/monthly work).

This will go much faster if you’ll mobilize your troops! Seriously! Teach your children to love to work and to work hard at it! Your attitude and zeal will be very motivating for them. And the daily allotted time deal? It’s a real loving incentive and doesn’t break morale —if— you’ll but stick to it. God bless you and your clean, happy home.

Whose Plans?

teacuppamela It’s sure a beautiful Springtime day here in the Snohomish Valley — it’s the kind of day that puts thoughts of rains and flooding to a very distant memory — though such a great possibility only a few short months ago. It’s funny how quickly a current reality can totally erase or totally eclipse another, isn’t it?

As I walked around outside for the first time in a week, I stopped at each of the different garden beds and then on out to the vegetable garden where my initial delight was slightly dimmed by the vision of all the weeds… all that needs to be done. And you know what song came to mind? The House at Pooh Corner song: “… So help me if you can, I’ve got to get – Back to the house at Pooh Corner by one – You’d be surprised, there’s so much to be done – Count all the bees in the hive – Chase all the clouds from the sky – Back to the days of Christopher Robin and Pooh…”

And then it stuck me that there’s nothing more to be done than what’s been needed in years past. Same thing. From the beginning, year after year, it’s the same thing: we pull the weeds, we till the ground, we plant the seeds and water them well. Yet, each year I say the very same thing… sort of the inane, “you’d be surprised there’s so much to be done…” statement. And then I smiled at the thought of counting all the bees in the hive. But life’s like that — the surprising things that need to be done are generally more than we can do — like counting the bees in the hive. And yet, has God truly given us more than we can do? I think we’re the ones who lay on ourselves more than we can do and what God gives us to do is not more than we can do — because if we would remember: it is God that works in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure. In that same passage, the following verses admonish us to: “…do all things without murmurings and disputings: That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.” — Philippians 2.14-15

So what does the simple storybook song have to teach me in this? The things I fret over getting done: I cannot possibly get done. But what God gives me to do, I will seek to do without murmuring or complaining — for what He calls me to do: He will equip me to do. Ergo, if He hasn’t called me to do it, He hasn’t expected me to do it and, at this moment, hasn’t equipped me to do it and those frets and expectations came not from Him but from somewhere else! So then, I have to ask, if I’m fretting, murmuring or disputing over things I’m doing: am I doing what I’ supposed to be doing? Or, perhaps, am I doing things out of selfishness? fear? pride? envy? guilt?

Now, there are times when we do things or must do things that we feel we cannot possibly do but we know we’re to do them — I can think of many examples of this, and you probably can, too. These are steps we take in faith — but inherent in this is the fact that we lean on the everlasting Arms and trust in Him for His provision. These are the: “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” times. You see? If we’re doing we’ve been called to do, even if we feel as though we cannot do them, He’s already there, and by faith, we are IN Christ by the faith OF Christ and HE has said HE work in us to will and do to of His good pleasure. That’s great and blessed assurance.

So when I see all that needs to be done, when I think of the many other things that also need doing, I have a couple of options. I can (and very easily so!) become overwhelmed at all there is to be done –OR– I can observe all these things, and acknowledge they are out there and evaluate them for what they are. And then, the Lord being my helper (calling to mind again, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” –philippians 4.13), I will do that which He guides me to do and leave off doing those things which are motivated by those other sources that are not of Him. This is hard sometimes because the spirit is willing, but the flesh is so weak. We’re so often more controlled by what others think than what God thinks — but, truly, you and I must consider our motivation when we list out all that we (think) we must do.

It’s been brought to mind so many times for me over the last week as I’ve not been well and have spent so much time in bed… all my fretting over what I shouldda, couldda, wouldda been doing had I not been laid low all these days… all my fretting didn’t get those things done and didn’t get me out of that bed any sooner. I realized as I was reading in the Book of John several days ago that the Lord had something for me there (and for such a time as this)… something for me to let sink down in my ears, to really take in: Jesus repeated, on many occasions, that He did only the will of the Father. And so must I: for the express purpose of being Christlike: doing that which the Father directs–doing the will of God. As I purpose to concentrate on health, I must also concentrate on motivations — the what and why of all my doings. I hope you’ll be encouraged as I am for the will and work of the Lord in each of our lives… and that you’ll join me in waiting on His plan and purposes in His time. So let your light shine…

What’s Pulling On Your Apron Strings?

teacuppamela What’s Pulling on Your Apron Strings?

That might sound like a strange title to the message I want to share with you today, but perhaps by the time you finish reading this letter, you’ll have an idea and perhaps realize some things you’ve been wanting to take care of for some time.

So, what’s pulling on your apron strings? You know… the thing or things that nag at you or that seem to be pulling at you from one direction or many. You may be attempting to work around your home and keep having interruptions or distractions that prevent you from accomplishing what’s really needful. You may have plans or schedules, or wish you had plans or schedules, and yet every day something, or many things pull on your apron strings and prevent you from meaningful or notable accomplishment.

I know I have these same feelings or experiences from time to time –sort of as if nothing seems to go right or nothing measurable ever seems to get done. It’s as if at the end of each week I have relatively little to show for my efforts and certainly none for the fatigue I might be feeling. Yet, my apron’s dirty and the strings are raveled at the end.

Over the years I had great ambition for great things. I wanted to spend time individually with each of the children each day; I wanted to spend time reading aloud, fixing their hair, assisting them with schoolwork, chores and prayers. I had lofty aspirations that we would do projects, tell and record stories: that I would pass on valuable stories, life-lessons and a rich heritage…

But then, many days –most days– I would come to my bedside and realize that, once again, yet another day where I’d failed to reach my glorious ambitions. Instead, we had just spent another day –another hum-drum day. Together.

Pulling at my apron strings were all the wouldda, shouldda, couldda’s and few of the atta-girl’s, way-to-go’s and wahoo’s of life. At the point I realized that all those marvelous and coveted accolades were simply unrealistic, I also realized I truly was getting all those atta-girl’s, way-to-go’s and wahoo’s of life. I truly had them… I just wasn’t seeing them, that’s all. I wasn’t seeing the “atta-girl” in my son’s: “Mom, will you fix this for me? I can’t do it.” Or, in my daughter’s: “Mama, you’ve got to write down these recipes for me or I will not ever be able to cook like you!” Or, “O, my mom will do it for you, she’s right here!” Or, probably the sweetest gift of all I just received and it was contained in a letter, reading: “Mama… You are the best friend I’ve ever had.”

See, I missed the blessings by being concerned about the unimportant things or on my failings instead of what really was important for the day.

Often, pulling on my apron strings are all the things I’ve done wrong as a mother, wife or friend. Pulling on my apron strings are the things I don’t do well or the things I don’t have (as compared with my friends) or all the ways in which my children don’t *seem* to measure up (again, compared to others’ or compared with a high ideal or whatever).

Everyday, nagging thoughts creep in and occasionally pull me here and pull me there… and even get me all tied in knots sometimes over the silliest things – all tied up over things only the LORD can take care of or only the LORD knows about. Sometimes all tied up over things I *imagine* to be so. And then, I stop and think: wait a minute… should these things be pulling at my apron strings, pulling me down in despair? Should I be letting those thoughts come in and flood my mind, or should I take those thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.

I know this to be a truth: I have never given to the LORD –any thought, desire, motive, whatever that was then rejected by Him.

He has never yet, will never, can never: fail me. So then, I consider at thought or a pulling on my apron strings and I ask: is this of You, LORD? Or I say, I know this is not of You, LORD, and I ask You to take this thought, desire, fear (or whatever), from me and I ask You to guide my thoughts, guard my heart and mind and help me to see only You. Please hide me behind Your Cross, LORD.

O, sure, other women are going to have bigger, better, more than you or I; and sure, other families are going to have newer, brighter, more attractive homes, children, lives, accomplishments, etc., etc., than you or I. But you know what? They don’t get to be you—they don’t get to be me. You’re uniquely you created by God, saved by Him unto faith and good works. He loves you with an everlasting love and underneath you are His everlasting arms and in you is His eternal Spirit and surrounding you is His eternal joy of salvation in Christ Jesus. Wow. Now those are some pretty wonderful things. Did you know you had all those treasures tucked in the pockets of your apron?

So, next time something starts pulling on your apron strings and you know it’s not simply one of the little blessings the LORD has given you, you just reach in your pocket and pull out one of the Truths of God’s Word and His love for you.

The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. Jeremiah 31.3

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2Corinthians 10.3-6

I pray the LORD will just bless you and bless you over and over and that you will be assured of His great love for you and that He will guide your steps and guard your thoughts.

always in His hands,

from “Letters to my Sisters”

Springtime is coming…

teacuppamela I’ve been browsing the seed catalogs, the websites and books for “what to do this month” in (or about) the garden. I must admit: I’m anxious. Very anxious for Spring to come. But then, you probably already knew that. You know, though, I’m sure not as weary for Springtime as I have been in other years. Maybe so much has been going on that I’ve not noticed that there has been enough rain to completely fill the swimming pool. Or, maybe it’s been so busy around here that I haven’t stopped to notice (and lament) that there have only been a few — a very few — bright sunny days. I guess I’ve noticed.

I came across a number of sites — yes, I got tripped up by the beautiful foodie sites — that are focusing on gardening. Being in zone 8a, it might seem like there’s not much to do outside right now — O, but there is!! It’s time to spray, it’s time to plant, it’s time to mulch, it’s time to prune! And… it’s time to walk around and see the growth of all the lovely Spring bulbs! If for nothing else (but there is soooo much more!!), planting Spring bulbs is a wonderful thing to do in mid Autumn. The sweet surprise of crocuses coming up or in seeing the lovely hope of Spring in the crisp hyacinth or tulip leaves is truly a wonderful blessing! You’ll miss it, though, if you don’t walk around the yard from time to time… or, worse, if you never plant Spring bulbs.

Another wonderful serendipity this time of year is the brilliant beauty of primroses — they actually bloom a few times a year, but somehow the winter blooms are the prettiest and most needed!! In the wintertime, the explosion of colour from a pink or red or yellow primrose is like a bold exclamation point on the canvas — whereas in the summertime, blooming primroses are like a comma or an ellipsis…

Aluminum sulfate… I’ve been asked if it’s true that one can alter the colour of hydrangeas or that the colour depends on the ph level of the soil and: how to make hydrangeas blue? It’s a little more difficult than it might seem — but for blue-blue hydrangeas, you need Aluminum Sulfate (garden store or feed store) and you need to add it long before the blooms are set (so, early spring and in the late fall). Some people put the powder around the base or drip line of the hydrangea plant — but that has a tendency to put too much concentration on specific areas of the plant and might be too shallow. So, if you mix a couple of tablespoons in a gallon of water and pour it around (wet!) soil beneath the hydrangea plant, you should have good success with bluer blooms! Don’t get the aluminum sulfate on the leaves and you can repeat this process every three weeks until you have blooms. Note: I’m finding that all the (used) coffee grounds I dump on some of the hydrangeas are tending to make them pink(!) instead of the Blue that many report achieving after regularly applying coffee grounds. Maybe they’re using fresh grounds instead of used? I sure wouldn’t want to waste the coffee that way! O, and another Note: white hydrangeas (Annabelle or Wedding-gown) will stay white — but I always wonder why anyone would want to change a white one to blue, anyway.

So if you’re looking for some more encouragement, ideas and suggestions for the garden each month, take a look at this site! And, in the meantime, be sure to plan daily outings (even in the rain) to see what’s going on in the garden and to dream about what you’re going to do this year. Have you considered planting a tree? Now’s a great time to do it! Have you thought about planting a garden? Now’s the time to order seeds (ASAP!) and be sure to NOT order or purchase at your garden store GMO or Monsanto et al seeds. Jenn has a long list of reputable seed companies (though, like many of us, she hasn’t updated her list in awhile). It’s a great list here.

Also… when weather permits, do some tidying, weeding (what you do now will greatly help you reduce weeds later!!), and cleaning of tools, porch and walkways.

May you always be blessed.

Love what you do.

teacuppamela You’ve likely heard the phrase: “Do what you love, love what you do.” Well… I got to thinking about that phrase sometime back and thought: one can’t always do that. And then I thought, maybe I feel like I can’t always do what I love [to do], but I can learn to love what I do (and change my whole outlook in the process). And so there was a turning point in my journey. One of many turning points. :o)

Lemme give you an example. Just this morning, I came into the kitchen planning to unload/reload my dishwasher (and to check out the horrific noise it makes when it’s running) and, upon opening the door, immediately coming to mind was the thought that this dishwasher smells bad. Smells awful, really. So I emptied the dishwasher and took out the racks. There was gummy-dirt in the crevices – what?!?!? This is a dishwasher — a stainless-steel interior that has multiple sprayers in it. How could the rack’s crevices be dirty? I took the racks out and put them in the bathtub and sprayed them down with cleaner. I proceeded back to the offending dishwasher and began to dismantle the sprayer and the spinner deal. I sprayed them with cleaner, too. I scrubbed the gasket… gunk was in the gasket of the hinged part of the door. Well, bleck. And then I thought…. and thought…. and it dawned on me that I could love to do just about any job — because it struck me, I’m not necessarily doing these things because I love to do them specifically — I do them because I love who I do them for — I love to have things be taken care of — not just for myself, but for my family, I love for my family to have their things properly cared for and I want my husband’s home to be a blessing to him. So, essentially, I do what I love and I love what I do.

Maybe a couple of you remember when I needed an attitude adjustment regarding laundry a few years ago (yes, it’s been that long). My husband asked me to just do it as a service to our family, not murmuring, not reminding them they were told to put the laundry in the hamper, not counting the numerous items — just cheerfully do the laundry. And from that moment, I have sought to do it that way. And I marvel at how a simple decision completely changes one’s outlook (and thinking!). You see, I decided that’s exactly what I’d do. And I did… and do. And I type this to the hum and the click, click, clicking of rivets and snaps whirling around in the dryer. I do a lot of laundry every day, so I get a lot of time to consider the decisions I make.

On any given day, I fetch things for others, pray and sing songs, I mend things, wash and iron, pray and carry sorrows, plant and dig up, listen and advise, fill cracks, pick up shatters, pray and dream dreams, clean up messes, make bigger ones and clean them all up again. I’m home. I do what I love and love what I do.

A few minutes ago, I looked up on the “white-board” to see a freshly written note: “We love our mom…. WLOM” And I thought: this is why I do what I love. This is why I love what I do.

Empty Spaces

I don’t know what it is about “empty spaces” and my (and maybe your) insatiable need to fill them, but both are there: the empty spaces and the insatiable need to fill them. I guess I attempt to fill full spaces, too… but that’s another story for another day.

I was tempted to take the beautiful new calendar my daughter bought for me and insert it into the oak calendar frame and rehang it clean and fresh — empty — for awhile. But before I knew it, I was filling in birthdays — deciding to limit the notations to ‘family’ birthdays (and use my day-planner for these and everyone else’s birthdays) and other significant dates and events.

That’s when I began to think about the insatiable filling of space… spaces in rooms, on shelves, closets, cabinets… and: scheduling. While considering all this, it struck me: I cannot recall ever scheduling empty space — making time for nothing; read: no thing. Through all the many years of homeschooling, I’ve never scheduled time for “nothing.” I’ve scheduled “free time” but it was not for *no-thing* it was/is for all the stuff that couldn’t be done in a day and somehow the hope was to get it done during what’s loosely called free-time. I always find ways to fill and overload my “free time” so I’ll seem more productive.

Now, I know I’ve had days “off” with no real plans and I’ve frittered away the time doing nothing important and so I guess, to some, this would constitute a day of nothing — and — I have set aside days for which there are to be no “outside commitments” or no appointments, etc. But a day or a portion of time set aside for “nothing” on purpose?!?! — this, I don’t recall ever doing. Generally, when there’s down-time, it’s a result of cancelled plans or sickness or whatever — but not something scheduled on purpose — and it seems to immediately get filled.

My dear old friend, Florence, used to say that she scheduled a day of NO THINGS after each retreat or workshop for which she was the guest speaker. She’d do this to recharge — to rejuvenate — after speaking engagements that always tended to run long and require much “counseling” with attendees — generally coupled with long distance travel. I always knew this was her great joy and passion, but it took its toll on her — both physically and emotionally. I admired her careful planning and ordered life. But, truly, I also knew that her days of doing “no” thing were anything but days of *no* things. I know they were times of recharging, refocusing, resting in the Lord, thinking on His Word, listening to restful music and mulling over what all had transpired before the day of “no things.”

It was good for me to remember this as I was gathering my thoughts for this blog post… and I’m needing to consider this a bit more as I plan for the days ahead and all the different needs of this home and family. And… just like I’m trying to eliminate clutter from our home’s cabinets, closets and drawers, so also, I want to eliminate clutter from our schedules — AND — to plan for more *do no thing* times — scheduling some empty space times. I want us to be careful to follow the Lord in this so that it doesn’t become a time of silly things or a time for irresponsibility… I believe prayerful consideration and wisdom will be key in this.

And, as an aside, while I know there’s a good place for scheduling in different seasons of life — and some seasons will have some fairly intense scheduling — but when it’s all said and done, I’ve come to think it’s wisest to simply make a list of things that must be accomplished by certain times each day – and do them. And then a list of things that should be done at least every-other-day — and do them. And then a list of things that must be done weekly — and do them. You see? This way, we are trained and our children are trained to accomplish important things — decently and in order. I think it takes some times of *no* things to focus on, be ready for and appreciate the times of more things.

So… I’m working on creating some more ’empty spaces’ from time to time…

Gifts from your ♥ home

Each year, about this time, I refer to a “Christmas” page I created on our website and though it’s probably been up (and rarely updated) for the last ten or twelve years, it remains a great resource for me — and I hope it will be for you, too. Regardless how you spend the holidays or Christmastime, there are, no doubt, special things you like to incorporate into your days and evenings with your family. These special things might be traditions or celebrations, family recipes or gifts you prepare and send.

Whatever the case, as always, we mothers need to remember (and be often reminded) that it won’t matter so much to our children all the stuff we did, all the things we made, all the places we went… they’ll most remember how it all felt –– how we felt about them. This is a painful time of year for many women… it’s an anxious time of year for still more… but! But we can still have joy and we can still give our families the love and devotion they deserve from mama. Joy isn’t the absence of pain or regret or whatever —————– joy is the presence of Jesus. Joy is the present of Jesus. Be present.

more: A Christian Home Christmas Celebration Page
On my Pinterest boards you’ll see more decorating, gift and baking/recipe ideas

Gifts from your heart & home

bullet Cookies In A Jar
bullet More Unique Gifts in a Jar
bullet Gifts you can make
bullet Gift “Baskets” of all Kinds!
bullet Gifts from Your Pantry
bullet Gift Ideas for Any Occasion
bullet Make a Gallon Jar “Topper” for a Gallon Jar Gift