Autumn domesticity

This past Saturday, the weather was just right for line-drying some of my favorite wool afghans and two of my mother's new-to-her tablecloths. 

Our clothesline runs between two pecan trees, which are now yielding their fruit, so I also spent some pleasant time beginning the harvest.

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Genesis 8:22

The LORD hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad.

Psalm 126:3

"His Word my hope secures"



"The Lord has promis'd good to me,
His word my hope secures;"

(from Amazing Grace by John Newton)

 

 

And blessed is she that believed:

for there shall be a performance of those things

which were told her from the Lord. 

Luke 1:45

A little spring-ish luxury

On a Sunday afternoon earlier this spring, I pulled one of my favorite "list" books off the shelf.  I don't think I've tried the recipes in Chin Deep in Bubbles by Melissa Placzek, but her lists are charming . . .  like "Good Deeds," "Good Books For Your Quiet Time," and lists of "Little Luxuries" for each of the seasons. 
I turned to the spring list (page 101) for a bit of inspiration and found this little luxury suggested . . .   

* "Using 'Nantucket Briar' drawer liner paper by 'Crabtree & Evelyn.'"

Now, that made me smile, because we'd gotten *this* at the Thrift Store not so very long ago . . . 

With thanks to my heavenly Father,

. . . the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;

I Timothy 6:17b

 

Who once again, had already provided for my enjoyment!

 

And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer;

and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

Isaiah 65:24

Roses ~ someday~

 

My "old" roses with sprigs of Spanish lavender

I don't remember when I began the "Someday" list on the sidebar, but obviously no earlier than 2007. :)  Sometime, perhaps a decade or more, before I had seen a picture of "New Dawn" roses, probably in a magazine or book, and thought they were lovely.  I remembered (rather vaguely) pictures of pale pink, abundant, ever-blooming roses climbing over charming things.  Definitely the sort of roses I'd love to have!  And, so, on the list they went.

Then one day a few years ago, my mother and I were talking about my "someday" list, and on (what I thought was) a whim, I decided to look up New Dawn roses online.  It quickly dawned on me that our much -loved "old roses" looked remarkably like New Dawn roses.  I thought our "old roses" on the fence were simply lovely, but they usually only bloom for us once a year.   But, a little further reading yielded the tidbit that many people's New Dawns only bloomed once a season.  

We've once again enjoyed our blooms this spring, and once again, I've browsed some lovely photos of other's New Dawn roses. And, oh, how familiar they look! 



Could it be that perhaps God has already given me the New Dawn roses I'd hoped for "someday"?  That they were already waiting for me when I arrived at my new home more than a decade ago?  That they were already blooming while I was hoping for them?  It would be like Him.

And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer;

and while they are yet speaking, I will hear.

Isaiah 65:24

Tapestry wool

She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. 

Proverbs 31:13 

 

My aunt arrived at our door with a gift for me . . .   a big bag of tapestry wool in lovely, soft colors.  It's now in a vintage suitcase, waiting for a project. 

Needlepoint, perhaps?  Knitting, perhaps? 

The Bleak Midwinter

I've made some mild attempts over the past decade at "continuing education" for myself; for example, seeking out movies based on classic literature.  Now, it's not the same as reading the book, I know, but it's something my mother and I can do together, and it's given us a familiarity with famous characters and story lines.

Some years ago, we checked out "Bleak House" (filmed in 1985) from the library.  Now, I thought that the title "Bleak House" sounded exactly like my general impression of Charles Dickens' stories,  that is, that they were BLEAK.  Orphans, poverty, workhouses, villains, grime, sickness, despair, death . . .  So, we were going to watch it simply as a matter of educational discipline. :)

Ah, well, Mr. Dickens had indeed included plenty of "bleakness" in the story (orphans, poverty, villains, sickness, despair, and death), but I think I began to like this story when I discovered that Bleak House wasn't bleak at all, but was a warm, comfortable, loving home opened by a benevolent master to those in need of shelter and sanctuary.  I liked and respected the gentle heroine who came to be the housekeeper of Bleak House.  And, when it was over, we marveled at how much we enjoyed it. 

Then, we were delighted to learn that a new version of "Bleak House" was scheduled to air shortly (within a matter of weeks, if I remember correctly) on Masterpiece Theatre!  And, yes, we liked the new (2005) version, too.  So, we had a chance to watch two versions of an immediate favorite back-to-back . . . and the whole thing was such a pleasure to us, that, since then, we've tried to do a little "Bleak House" marathon as annual February event.

We've missed a few times over the years, but last weekend, we finished the first part of this February's marathon (the 1985 version).  It was a "just right" weekend for watching "Bleak House" . . . one night, it was pouring rain, and the next, it was overcast and chilling off, but we were safe and warm and comfortable at home.

Even all these years later, the story is still a favorite. I think the "new" version's production values are prettier, crisper, and more luxurious. But, for me, the sober, grainy, 1985 version has a great advantage -- its gentle, composed Esther, who, in the face of death, prays words of Scripture.


Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;  But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.
1 Peter 3:3-4