When I Grow Up

Just can't think of anyone nicer. Susie Watson designs fabric items and pottery. Hello polka dots! Yummy looking table spreads in the garden. Lovely comforters on comfy beds inside an idyllic cottage. You must know she is from England. Where else?

Photograph from http://www.susiewatsondesigns.co.uk

History Essay Excerpt

"Though Betty remembers that the days were difficult, she also recalls enjoying several kinds of entertainment. Phillips Petroleum held big dance bands which were highlights during the war. Also a group of eight to twelve mothers formed a sewing club and met once a week. They met at each other's homes and served coffee and donuts. The ladies brought their handwork, which was usually mending. The hostess might call the other ladies and tell them not to bring any handwork, that she had the entertainment for the evening. Which usually turned out to be a stack of her family's much needed mending. They all counted the mending as "great fun". There were also "Mother Clubs", which were a group of women who got together to share information on an aspect of child development. Each night a different topic would be presented and discussed. These outings were great moral boosters for families, especially women".

Excerpt from "1940's Housewife Interview" essay due in my History since 1877 class (taught by a feminist...none the less).

Photo from flixster.com from The Magic of Ordinary Days

Betty Gram's Home Language

Hollyhock Child" Fine Art Print from Art.com

Betty Gram doesn't limit her art language to just one room. Nope! She decorates her home in many prints, most of children.

After telling Betty Gram that I have figured out what Mother's room language is, she promptly asked what I thought hers would be. Well you have lots of prints of children, they are reading, gathered around a bird cage, picking apples, playing at various activities, helping in the kitchen and swinging. I would say...hmm...your trying to relive the childhood you never enjoyed. You know? I think you are right. Then Betty Gram laughs and her eyes sparkle.

Happiness

Emma Bridewater's Black Toast Box Tea 1/2 Mug from emmabridgewater.com

May I share with you Romantic Homes magazine? You might think I am trying to sell you something all the time. But in reality I just want to pass on the "little gold mines" I have discovered.

I can't seem to find that perfect scone recipe. Perhaps you know of one which turns out crusty on the outside and tender on the inside? A scone recipe which is good served with clotted cream? There are a dozen to one recipes in books and on web-sites, but I don't have time for testing each one like in a chemistry lab.

Lillibeth can you help?

My Room Language

"The Soul of the Rose"

"God Speed" and "The Accolade" by Edmund Blair Leighton. Prints from Art.com

"Coral Bells" wall color. What does this all mean? Your welcome to diagnose.

Becca's Room Language

"Sheepstor, Dartmoor, Devon,England" print from Art.com

Becca's art speaks of her love of traveling, but always on the pathway homeward. Her home is surely where sheep are grazing and sheafs of wheat glisten in the warm sun. Birds twittle and chirp near the window where she is sitting.

"Pastoral View of Danish Farmland" Photographic print from Art.com

Still dressed from her journey, she looks out upon "her land" and reflects upon her travels and wonders what part she should include in a letter to a close friend.

Mother's Room Language

"Boy and Rabbit" Giclee Print from allposters.com

Several evening ago, I stood in Mother's bedroom doorway as she sat up in bed reading. My eyes scanned the room to see the pictures on her walls: a young boy holding a rabbit, a child sitting up in bed looking out an open window at a bluebird sitting in a tree, a young girl sitting beside a window reading a book, several photographs framed and set on the dressing table of family members sitting. Everyone is sitting, Mother. Yes I believe you are right, Amy. So what does that tell you? It tells me that as a person you like to sit still, enjoy life and observe the nature around you. Well that is what I do. I sit for a living, I have been a caregiver.

May I encourage you to look around and notice your surroundings? What is inspiring or discouraging you? Are there photographs, or pictures that make your heart sing for joy? Do you feel that you have entered a retreat-your home? Do you feel inspired to great things and to think noble thoughts?