Wishing you Christmas blessings

 Hello Ladies,

It's that time of year that I find myself looking back and thinking of the things I've done, not done and still want to do. Sharing our Christmas is one of those things that I want to do.

My husband is very busy with our Church this time of year since we have several services to accommodate so many people. While he is coming and going I find such joy in making sure he has a hot meal, and I've taken care of our kittens and the house. Usually I sprinkle in some puttering too. 

Our youngest daughter (34) came up to share Christmas lunch with us. It was so much fun to hear all that she has going on. After lunch she drove back to her home, about 45 min from us, and we did another Christmas tradition.

Took a nap!

It was a quiet lovely day.

Today we woke to snow, and more snow.  I am sharing what we looked out to see this morning and our tree this year.  

The tree outside is a real one that didn't get used inside. Kittens. I will just say that.  

I like to put lights on it for the first day of Winter to remind us that Christ is our light. From the first day of Winter forward, the days are getting brighter. Just as Christ is in our hearts, the more we spend time reading what examples He gave, learning how to apply it to our life and doing God's will for us the brighter our hearts become.

Merry Christmas and Happy Epiphany (we celebrate that too, since that's the end of the Christmas season (12 days after Christmas) when the Wise men came.) 

Mrs Peterson

Our tree is a memory tree. Each ornament is from something we have done, somewhere we lived, or something that represented a major event from that year. It's always a joy to put our tree up.

Managing my Larder

image from Graphics Fairy

Hello Ladies~

This topic of Food and Larder will be in two posts, as this one is already a bit long. May my system bless you in some way.

Today I want to share how I manage our Larder.  

We believe in storing some , but not a ton. I like to call it a "prudent reserve."

The Bible speaks of the virgins and their oil lamps, and then there is the man who hoarded everything and sat back on his laurels.  As some point we have to Trust in the One who gives all this to us in the first place.

Stocking my Larder: Every now and then we are blessed with a bit of extra money, and it goes towards purchasing a larger amount of something I am working towards. 

Usually though, I set aside a portion of my weekly budget towards my Larder upkeep. 

I am able to keep track of those items, as they are separate, by putting those in the child's seat area, next to my list.  This way I can keep track of my budget for those separate from my weekly shopping. I pay for it all together, but it helps me to visually see what is stock and what is weekly.

Many years ago I found this system using the months assigned as a way to know what to work on that month:

Jan - Milk  Beverages  Water

Feb - Breakfast food

Mar - Toiletries  Cleaning Products

April - Legumes/Beans  Sweeteners  Soups/Meals

May - Condiments

June - Grains   Vitamins/Herbs

July - Snacks

Aug - Vegis  Fruit

Sept - Meats (canned and frzn)

Oct - Oils/Fats

Nov - Paper/Plastic

Dec - Baking/Spices   

Folks buy things on sale to stock their Larder, but I have found that the breakdown's listed above usually are on sale that month. ie - December baking so baking supplies and spices are in abundance and on sale.

I hope it makes a little sense. As homemakers we each have our own system. I have developed this after over 20 years of managing our Larder. 

Oh, just wanted to add that I don't go to the extreme long term thing. Just a couple months so as to get us through if we have too much snow, or some crazy world wide virus happens ;-)   Beyond that, my faith says to trust in Him. I provide what I can, and trust He will bless my efforts and provide us with what we need.

Peace be with you,

Mrs Peterson

Keeping up with the closet

Courtesy of Graphics Fairy

Hello Ladies~

This week I want to share how I keep my clothing uncluttered and manageable.  Confession here, I've never been a shoor having so many clothes they don't fit in my closet. I've just never been that kind of gal. If this is you and you want a different perspective, I encourage you to continue reading and consider the possibility of Courtney Carver's 3.33 challenge.

When my husband and I first did the 3.33 Challenge 10 years ago, it was eye opening for me.

First, being the retired Marine he is, he got out a notebook and a pen and made a list of the items he would use and roughly what he would need for the next 3 months. Then separated all his clothing into 3 piles: love & use, like and sometimes use, and don't wear - needs repaired- doesn't fit categories. Proceeded to sort through while considering his list and was done in 30 minutes.

I, on the other hand.  I pulled out all my clothes in the forementioned 3 piles and started to make decisions. I got about 3 items into it and my brain froze, I had a melt down and then felt ashamed. I was so attached to my clothing and I never knew it. 

Now I am a Christian woman who always try to keep material things in perspective. My Journey here on earth is only temporary.  So I KNOW all these clothes will not get me to heaven.

Yet I sat on the floor sobbing. 

Mainly because I realized how attached I was and how difficult it was to make the decision to let things go. 

I finally pulled up my bootstraps, had a conversation with the Lord, and went back to work with the mindset that some of my items will bless someone else.

Knowing many of these clothing items, especially the ones from say...my first date 33 years ago!, are only taking up space and moving with me all over. I would happen to come across one of those memory items while changing out seasonal clothes, notice it and say "oh, isn't that neat. I remember when I wore that." Then have a lovely time down memory lane.

I have learned to keep the 1 or 2 items that are truly meaningful, but not all 20. By letting go of the other 18 I felt a freedom and a sense of doing the right thing. 

The right thing being, making room in my heart for Jesus and not filling my heart with a love for clothing that can't be satisfied.

I never did the 33 portion, but I did do 50. It was remarkable how choosing clothes in the evening for the next day was so stress free it almost felt like I was missing something. I was! Stress of choices.

Today, I still do a modified version of 3.33. Every 3 months I take all my clothes and look at what I haven't worn in the past year or 2 and remove it. Then any item that I feel any kind of "eh, it's ok", out ya go! When I get down the the rest, I try to pray about what items I truly need and count roughly to 50 including my jackets for the season. 

It always amazes me how full my closet is, then after I remove the extras how much space there is. Hangers can actually move rather then fighting with the hooks to get them in just right.

Most of my clothing shopping is boutique or consignment shopping. Some items I only buy new. Such as undergarments, pajamas, and shoes.  That is a non-negotiable for me.

Any new items have to be on sale. A recent example is Eddie Bauer has long sleeve t-shirts that I wear under all my sweaters throughout the winter. They had a lovely green that was soft and yet enough color to go with almost any sweater I had. But it wasn't on sale. So I waited.

For 6 months!

It finally went on sale and I got the shirt, originally for $30, for $14, plus there was an additional discount that I qualified for. $12 total. Woo hoo!

I love a deal.

It's always fun to share this story. And yes, my husband does 3.33 for the most part. In his way.

Have a lovely week. We are finally getting rain here, Thanks be to God. No water from the sky since the last snow in February until this past week. So  we are very grateful.

Peace be with you,

Mrs. Peterson

I will add update pictures when I get mine done this season ;-)

Managing our things

Morning chat over breakfast

Hello Ladies,

Today I wanted to share what I do to manage our things in our home. There are many methods out there, this is just what I do. Hopefully you can glean a little something.

First, to clarify, I am often wanting to remove things that we don't use and have no problem returning something that, once I got it home, doesn't work.  

On with the topic.

As a homemaker, part of our job is to manage our things. Through the past few years I have let go of this and have started feeling like our things are managing me.

Let me give you an example. Too many house plants, piles of paper that I haven't take the time to decide what to do with them, craft projects & ideas that I collect, files that need cleaned out, and even the boxes of donation items...that still need to be taken down.

When I notice I am tense and stressful while trying to tend to too many plants, then I need to find a home for a few of them so I feel more peaceful while tending them.

Same with the craft projects. I can collect a TON of ideas and even supplies. Walking into Hobby Lobby, I have to stay focused on the one thing I am there for. When the supplies get to a point that I feel tense and I know I will never get to all these wonderful things, I need to pull out all those things that don't give me peace.  Jamming more in drawers or needing to find cute containers to to hold them all isn't helping me manage hour home.

Having peace has always been my marker, if you will.  If it doesn't give me peace then the Lord is not in it.

Moving DVD's around, or a ton of family pictures doesn't serve our home to be a peaceful, cozy home. A few of the best pictures and putting our favorite DVD's in a cabinet does.

I often use the container method too. I pick a space that something will be, say DVD's in a cabinet. If we start getting too many and they don't fit then it's time to reduce what we have so they stay contained in that space.  

I hope these ideas help.

Lately I have been removing 10 items a day. Usually from where ever I am standing and see something I don't use anymore or have never used. Out cha' go!!  Then I take a few minutes and remove 9 more items. 

It's been freeing. 

Wishing you God's peace,

Mrs. Peterson

More to Homemaking then cleaning

Peonies from a friends garden.

Hello Ladies, 

I am so excited for summer to be here. After the spring winds here in Colorado, it's the time to throw open the windows and let the sun in. At least until 10 o'clock, then I close them all to preserve the cool air in the house. 

Many people I talk with tell me "there is only so much cleaning you can do! Why are you still a housewife?" Well, that is the topic of my post today. What else is there besides cleaning? 

Cleaning our home is a matter of health for our family. In some of the older homemaking books I have that I had used when I first become a homemaker 20 years ago, state that it is the homemakers job to ensure a clean home for her family. Air quality would be making sure the dust is kept to a minimum (which is a challenge out here in the country and the wind blows often), sanitation would be the bathrooms kept clean and the kitchen, as well as providing clean clothes for sanitation, as well as making the home a home. 

With inviting comfort in mind. There are several ladies out there that can help give guidance with to develop your own system to managing this (Fly Lady, Diane in Denmark, A Better Life with Kat), so I won't be doing that here. 

Managing our home, though, also includes: managing "things" (clutter too), clothes, food, finances, family/social, gifts, dating your spouse, as well as keeping your Faith life alive in our home. 

Each of these could be a blog post by themselves, so I will write a short bit on what I do for each one twice a week for the rest of June. For now, I hope you will look at your home from a different perspective, that there is more to managing our homes then just cleaning. 

I hope you are doing something today that will preserve your energy and something that makes you happy. 

 Today, my "happy" is I hung a shade cloth on our Veranda so I can sit out the in the early morning and not get toasted from the sun, while I have my prayer time. Bonus: a visit from a wild bunny. 

Peace be with you, 

Mrs Peterson

Happy Eastertide! & little events at home

image from Graphics Fairy

Hello Ladies, 

I wanted to wish you a Happy Eastertide. This is the 7 days following Easter. So much fun. 

This is just a little note to share what we are up to lately. We are currently getting our roof replaced with a metal roof. 

Many folks here in Colorado have a metal roof and it has become a necessity for us. The ice forms on the north side of the house and creates an ice dam. This happens when we get snow, then a few warm days. 

Enough warmth to start to melt it from the roof but not quite since it never gets above 30 in the winter. The new roof will be metal and the sun warms the metal and snow goes "swoooosh" right off the roof. 

I am preparing the house for guests to arrive this Friday. As Lydia at Home Living calls them, "descendants". I just love that! They will be here for 3 days so we are planning a couple day trips to show them the mountains and area near us. 

Also a family get-together is planned for after church. I just love those. Everyone brings something tasty to go with a meat dish we make. 

Decluttering is on my mind a lot lately. I think Spring does this to most ladies. We get the urge to declutter and re-arrange. It's called "nesting". {big smile here}. I love nesting time. 

To clean out, wipe down and re-arrange. Sometimes new couch pillows too, but I've made some in recent past and I just change the fabric. They are very easy to make. No snaps, zippers or ties. It's like an envelop. 

My daily rest time is a highlight for me. A time to just rest, and I like to thank the Lord for the work I've been able to do and ask Him to guide me in the rest of the day and bless my efforts. 

I'm off to do an errand. There is a metal recycle place near us and there is a few things we "cleaned up" outside for our Spring cleaning around the property. 

I don't like to throw out anything that will not break down, so metal goes to the metal recycle and glass and plastics go to our recycle center. 

I was raised this way and think I've talked about it here on the blog before. 

Anyways, I'm off so I can get back in time for afternoon tea and a snack. 

Blessings, 

Mrs. Peterson

Hello Ladies~ I wanted to share some pictures of San Cristo. A small town south of Fort Garland, Co that is home to a famous path of art work. These statues are all from the Stations of the Cross. From Scripture each stop is a stop Jesus had on His way to Calvary. 

The trail goes up a mountain side up to a small, beautiful church. 

Jesus carries His cross

Jesus meets His mother

Jesus is nailed to the cross

Rosaries and rocks with deceased family members names.

There is 14 stations in all, but I didn't get a picture of them all. I hope you enjoy the journey.

Peace be with you,

Mrs Peterson

When more is not enough

 

From The Graphics Fairy vintage pictures.

Hello Ladies~

These are some early morning thoughts from our pastor's homily last weekend. As we enter into Holy Week and Good Friday, I am thinking a lot about this subject.

Books, internet, YouTube, FB, Instagram, etc - more, keep it short to keep attention, fast.

We want more and more, easier and short because we don't have time. We don't want to take time. We have so much to do. We want more.

Adam and Eve had everything, and wanted more.  They were told just not this one tree. That's it. Just one, don't touch it! But they wanted that too, to gain more knowledge then what they had.

Jesus had everything too - and gave it all up for you and me. In the end, all He had was His life and He gave that up too.

Why? For what?

Because God loves you and me so much - He wanted to give us a place in heaven with Him.

He just asks we follow His commandments. To believe in Jesus. And to change from our "old life" to put on a new one. 

This is our journey, daily. To practice living as we are asked. Is it hard? Yes! But the reward is awesome!

The alternative is as Adam & Eve - they had everything and wanted more. They wanted for themselves. 

Jesus had all and gave it up out of love.

Can we do that too? 

This Easter let us contemplate God's love. And when we mess up - Thank Jesus and say sorry. Ask for the fits of the Holy Spirit to try again. 

Blessings and peace be with you,

Mrs Peterson

Valentine's day thoughts

Husband set up my tea tray for when I woke up. The tea pot we bought when we lived in Okinawa, and the tea cup is one he got from the Notre Dame hotel in Jerusalem.

 Hello Ladies,

There was a time when exchanging a Valentine's was a sign of the desire to court you. The young man would find some way to leave you a little note and it would be a big deal.  Later, men would bring flowers and candy or small gifts. Sometimes the ladies would choose to do the same as a sort of "you are my love" sign.

I woke this morning to my favorites, carnations, in various jars my husband found and he placed them at each place where I sit or work through the day.  

Here is what I did with the buds that broke off or fell off when he was working with them. 

Watching some of my favorite You Tube videos for my Monday House Blessing inspiration, I ran across Denise at This and That with Denise. She talked today about the 50's housewife and what "she would do" when her husband came home. What I loved, was that Denise says she picks out a few and does these for her husband on Valentine's day or on special days of the year. NOT daily (smiling here). 

I hope you can click on it to read it. Some of it's fun and thoughtful.

I plan on doing a couple of them just to let him know today is different. 

It is my hope that each of us is able to take some time today to reflect on the Love that God has for you. The cross. And maybe take a few minutes to read something from The Greatest Love Story Ever Told (the Bible).

Have a lovely day,

Dee

Nurturing our whole being

image from: graphic fairy

Do you ever find your days or your months have melted together and you wonder where your time went?

Do you ever ponder about developing your intellectual or social side and that's about as far as it goes?

Today I want to present an idea that I have put together from past homemaking journals of many years ago.   Taking notice of these same things from movies such as Pride & Prejudice.

Things like making a plan to develop our whole being. We often hear about our physical goals, or maybe our social goals. But what about our spiritual, intellectual, emotional, mental, social, & physical?

Each of these make up our whole.

I recall scenes from many of Jane Austin's movies that they "take a turn around the room" or garden for physical movement. There are also many times the ladies are practicing their sewing, painting, piano etc. 

These all help us to be more rounded and balanced. I read one time that if we are missing even 1 or 2, we are missing part of who we were made to be.

Now, I tend to focus on my spiritual and physical. I try to work in social, though I am an introvert and I like my quiet time.  So those areas I am weak in, there is great virtue in practicing them as well as make you more interesting in conversations.

The intellectual is one that intrigues me. This can be visiting a museum and listening to talks, such as "the Last Lecture" talks. Or taking a book of great value and make lesson plans for yourself, and even just reading and taking notes so you recall - one of the classics. Lydia from Homeliving has spoken of this many times. 

Notice I do not speak of the latest news or even the latest Instagram or Facebook happenings. There is much controversy regarding those, but some scientist and dr.'s are starting to show our use of these, and excessive internet use, actually lessons our intellectual abilities. We start relying on the internet to do what our brains are capable of, but we want an easy way out.

As you go through and plan your month, then weeks, I encourage you to look at each of these. Which one could you work on this month? 

Let us pray and ask for guidance which one is for you to develop this month

Mine is social. 

Wish you God's peace,

Dee

Reflecting and Contemplating

"Bring me the sunshine in a up - Emily Dickenson"

Hello Ladies,

Each year about this time I start to look back, a review of sorts. Where I grew, what I accomplished, what virtues or shortcomings I need to work on and grow more in, and of course what things around our home I wanted to complete but haven't (yet). 

Along with the new year, my birthday is this week. And I have a tradition that I set aside time on my birthday or the day before, to review. I have a shoe box in the top of my closet with treasures in it. Things I only get out once a year during this week. Things like a crown - to remind me I am a daughter of the King, pictures from a magazine of a lovely woman walking through her garden - this reminds me to do what I love, what fills me with joy, something I've made by hand that makes me smile, and a few other little personal things along with a notebook. 

The notebook has some of the similar questions listed above, but I write them out and reflect. I make a cup of tea, have a wonderful treat and sit in the quiet to remember, and look forward. It's about answering the question: Am I growing? Am I doing what makes my insides excited? Am I fulfilling my role as a wife and homemaker? Have I put to good use my skills as an artist? What do I want to work on, specifically, this year?

There are so many vintage books, lessons and blogs of traditional homemaking that give me encouragement, but I found this just a couple days ago and wanted to share:

From On Living Simply - The Golden Voice of John Chrysostom

 

"Commerce in itself is not bad, indeed it is an intrinsic part of God's order. What matters is how we conduct our commerce.  The reason why commerce is necessary is that God created human beings with different ambitions and skills. One person is a good carpenter, another a good preacher, another can make crops grow in the poorest soil. Thus each person specializes in the work for which God has ordained him; and by selling his skills or goods he produces, he can obtain from others the goods which he needs."

When I read this, it moved me. I could see God's plan for our exchange of goods and talents. That each of us has a gift that is necessary for God's plan. To be able to get our "needs fulfilled". Our needs, not our wants. That is my goal this year is to discern each of my purchases as a need vs a want. To see if I am using our resources wisely, as in Proverbs, or foolishly. We are captivated online and drawn into purchasing things we really didn't intend. That topic is for another article.

John Chrysostom goes on in the next post to write about something near and dear to my husband and I. One of the main reasons I am still a homemaker with an empty nest, so to speak.

"In a family the husband needs the wife to prepare his food; to make, mend, and wash his clothes; to fetch water; and to keep the rooms and furniture in the house clean. The wife needs the husband to till the soil, to build and repair the house, and to earn money to buy the goods they need. God has put into a man's heart the capacity to love his wife, and into a woman's heart the capacity to love her husband. But their mutual dependence makes them love each other out of necessity also. At times love within the heart may not be sufficient to maintain the bond of marriage. But love which comes from material necessity will give that bond the strength it needs to endure times of difficulty. The same is true for society as a whole. God has put into every person's heart the capacity to love his neighbors. but that love is immeasurably strengthened by their dependence on one another's skills." 

Written somewhere around 390 AD.

This tells me my role as a wife is necessary as a part of the whole. And that depending on each other's skills, out of love, is part of God's plan for us. Thankfully I don't have to "fetch water", and I don't make his clothes - of which he is very grateful. But I do look to "the ways of the house". 

Even if your husband is gone, the house and family still need you. We need to tend the washing, dusting, cleaning, food, and using our creativity in some way for enjoyment and for the good of others. 

I hope you have found this interesting as I did. To see this written so very long ago and how true it is even today, really could use some reflecting. This is what I will be doing this week. Reflecting on how I can be the woman God created me to be, not the woman society or friends say I should be. That leads to confusion and a heart that is not aligned with the Peace offered to us by the One who loves us most.

Peace be with you,

Mrs. Peterson