One Day: A Little Beauty and Order in My Home

Dear friends,

It's been over a month since I posted on either this Come, Weary Moms blog or Virginia's Life, Such As It Is.  The only blog I've kept up with at all is Watch the Shepherd because of my weekly hymn series and an unexpected post on troubling issues in the home schooling movement, which has had nearly 3,800 pages visits in the last 16 days. Yikes!

Frankly, I'm sometimes a very Weary Mom and there's not as much time to write. It's a busy life raising several kids, homemaking, and teaching three days a week in a private Christian school...  Well, enough said there.  All in all, I think I'm doing pretty well. For the most part, I love what I do, and I do what I love.  So it's a good kind of tired.

Monday is my "breathing easier day" since my grading and lesson planning are done over the weekend, and I'm off school for the day.  Not that I'm sitting around twiddling my thumbs!  Usually, Monday is a mix of housework, errands, appointments, and a bit of writing if I'm lucky.  This particular Monday was one for pursuing "a little beauty and order."  I'm trying to make my home a haven and keep it that way.  I do a little here and a lot there, and sometimes a major breakthrough push, but never quite catch up. Yes, my kids do help out with the housework, but does it really have to be this difficult to enforce little things like not eating in the living room or computer room?  And will I ever get the laundry and paperwork and books completely under control?  Yeah, I've been purging, purging, purging the clutter.  I took out a huge pile of books yesterday to donate to the library book store.   However, even with all of the puttering around, I think I've decided that with six of my kids still living here, I'll just have to hold my breath and wait a decade until they're all grown and gone before I can keep my house consistently clean. :-)  

Anyway, Monday....

After I drove my youngest two to school, I transplanted about two dozen golden poppy seedlings into a patch next to our front walkway.  (This is Florida, folks!)  When I was a little girl in northern California, I grew poppies and pansies and all manner of other floral lovelies with my sweet mother.  One of my ways of honoring and remembering her is gardening.  I hope they thrive and that the kids don't step on them.  They're so small, they are hard to see! I'll be writing a post on gardening soon, too.

This past weekend, I found two very attractive books on homemaking in the discount bin at the grocery store.  I know I could probably have found the same information on-line, and I actually do most of my reading on the web, but sometimes it's nice to have a real book in my hands, all there in one spot.  Can I get an amen?  I am also inspired by visiting my daughter's apartment and seeing how simple and attractive she's keeping it.  (It helps that she just moved in and doesn't have much stuff yet, but she's been shopping IKEA and it all looks lovely so far!  She said it seems like she's buying kitchen stuff as if she had 10 kids.)

I also found another favorite volume, Mary Engelbreit's Home Companion, that I bought at my fav used bookstore a while back.  I didn't get too far into any of them before I had to get up and try out few of the ideas.  You know, put it into practice!

I read about foyers.  Fascinating, right?  Two of the books had wonderful pictures of entry ways, and some featured wooden benches.  I've been wanting to switch things up in my front hallway lately, and I happened to have a beautiful bench buried in the storage room under laundry baskets.  Here we go!  Socks and shoes underneath, and backpacks off to the side.  Sure, I wish I could convince my kids to take them all the way to their bedrooms, but hey, I'm willing to compromise a little if the backpacks actually make it into their designated corner by the door.

In order to put the bench there, I had to move a tall narrow table from that spot.  I knew what I'd do with it, though.  I'm always running out of flat space when I'm writing lesson plans and doing my grading.  I like to lay out my books and papers, and not perch them on my lap or squeeze them onto my desk with my computer.  So, as you can see in the photo below, I placed it perpendicular to my desk as an extra wing. (It's a bit longer than what shows in the photo.)  I like!  While I was at it, I took the time to reorganize my desk, get rid of a lot of extraneous papers, put my medicines back in the cabinet, and pin up a few new fancies on my bulletin board.

I also took the time to read through a basket of sympathy and birthday cards that thoughtful family and friends sent in the past few months.  So sweet!  I came across a few that my mother had sent to me before she passed away.  Sigh.  I'll treasure them all.  I mounted two of the Mary Engelbreit cards on the front of my supply cabinet.

This is the little raised shelf area in the right hand corner of my desk, with containers for hair brushes, pens, pencils and scissors.  The little butterfly dish holds sugar-free hard candies.  The doily hangs down and camouflages all of the electrical cords (for charging my computer, iPod, and phone) tucked under the shelf.

I left the house after lunch to go visit my counselor, who is helping me sort through my life, including strategizing how to more effectively thrive in my duties in and out of the home. (For the record, she says, "Don't ever stop writing!  Make time for it!")  On the way home, before I picked up kids from school, I stopped into an interior design store, Kim Coe Designs.  I didn't buy anything, just enjoyed the beauty as an inspiration to my homemaking efforts.  They're all decked out for Christmas, of course!  These light-up snowmen in a basket were tempting, but I'll just wait until I get all of my holiday decorations out in two weeks to see what I already have.  I do like a little something new each year, but it's not like I need anything right now.  Anyway, I'm trying to simplify! (I did buy a pair of Christmas salt and pepper shakers on clearance at Walgreens later!)

For dinner, I had a big package of boneless skinless chicken breasts in the fridge.  I cut them into smaller pieces, and baked half of them with barbecue sauce and the other half with rotisserie seasoning and red potatoes, adding some crunchy onion topping near the end.  Yummy scrumptious!  My family appreciates the two flavor options.  

The rest of the evening?  Shopping, putting away laundry, cleaning up some more, and chatting with my very lively and affectionate kids.  

I didn't get everything on my list done yesterday, but as I often say, "Well enough!" Today's another day!  (And it was!  Today I did a lot of paperwork after I got up, then drove kids to school / bus stop, made lunches for one son and me, taught three classes at school, took two kids to appointments and then went to the science night at their school.  The three of us ate fast food (gasp!) and the rest had leftover chicken for dinner.  Now I have some grading to do for tomorrow.  Another full day, different than yesterday, but just as good!)

Other related organizing and decorating posts you might enjoy...

• "The Blue Bowl" and Thoughts on Making a Home
• Refresh and Renew: Quilt and Pansies
• Busy & Creative at Home (with links to organization blogs)
• The Impulsive Decorator's Room Redo #1: The Front Hallway
• A Desk for Mom (Featuring Habitat for Humanity)
• A Space of My Own (My Desk Again)
• Easy Christmas Decorating on a Dime

What does your daily or weekly life rhythm look like?  Leave a comment for me!

Virginia Knowles
www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com

Welcome to Autumn 2013!

I love to decorate for autumn,

even though here in central Florida 

we don't have many 

beautiful colored leaves.

I like my autumn pretties 

to be up for a full two months

before I start decking the halls

for Christmas in early December.

I mostly used what I had, 

but added in some new-to-me items.

Let's start with the flowers above.

The plastic stem of my fake flowers 

looked a little funny in a clear vase,

so I filled the vase with autumn potpourri.

I used the leftover potpourri

in a crystal bowl from my mom's house,

with a candle in the middle.

The potpourri was $1 per bag 

at Dollar General.

Like the crystal bowl,
the outdoor flag below
is also from my mother.

After she passed away this summer,

I picked out what I wanted to take home.

She had all of her off-season
garden flags hanging neatly

in her basement storage room.
I love cardinals just like she did.

My older daughters 
made this wall hanging

for my 50th birthday last month.
Isn't it pretty?

Burlap on a frame,

with my initial painted on,

then bordered in embroidery,

and flourished with silk flowers.

Very nice!

When it comes to things I buy,

thrift is the name of the game here.

The cornucopia came from 
Salvation Army for $1.99.

 The candle holder below was $3

at another local thrift store.

It came with the two red thingies,

and a brown one in the middle

which I replaced with the votive candle.

A bookcase in the dining room 
(which doubles as our library)
features decorations that 
camouflage other items
that I need accessible 
but don't want to see.
The white ceramic dish 
holds facial tissues.
I stash a supply of 
hair brushes, combs, and such 
in the long basket underneath 
the garland of silk leaves,

My son taught me how to light candles 

by first lighting a piece of dry spaghetti,

and then using it to reach where 

a lighter or match can't go.

I originally lit the red candle on the right,

then moved it elsewhere.

Leaving it next to books and under a shelf

could have started a fire. Safety first!

Finally, since it is autumn,

I'm wearing scarves!

This one was a birthday gift 

from my friend Donna.

I'm not too skilled with fashion,

but this method is easy-peasy.

Fold the scarf in half

and lay it around your shoulders.

Take the two loose ends and draw them

through the loop on the other side,

then tighten.

Speaking of fashion,
it was also time to buy a new purse.
At Walmart, I debated between two.
The plaid one is definitely autumn!
However, I decided on the burgundy,
since it will work for the Christmas season, too.
There is something to be said for versatility.

I actually put out a lot more decorations

than you see in this blog post.

These are just my "new" items or

ones I used a different way.

I have two more complete autumn posts:

Easy Autumn Decorating on a Dime

Autumn: A Pretty Home and Yummy Food on a Budget

You will also like my new 
Autumn Breeze Haiku.

And, my other autumn links:

Thanksgiving Inspiration & Hospitality

Thankfulness: Observe, Appreciate, Express, Imitate

Give Us Grateful Hearts for Common Graces

Thankfulness?

 Our Thanksgiving Indians

Autumn Foods

Prepping Your Kitchen to Fix a Feast

Butternut-Yellow Squash Casserole

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins

Peach Pumpkin Muffins

Bread Pudding

Carrot Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Icing, Plus Redstone Cornbread with Maple Butter

Baked Oatmeal for a Crowd

Fresh Cranberries! and Serving Cranberry Sauce

Hot Chocolate for a Crowd

Holiday Wassail

Roasted Herbed Vegetables

Fall Harvest Quinoa with Butternut Squash {Vegan Recipe}

Enjoy the season!

Virginia Knowles

www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com

P.S. This time last year I was visiting family in Maryland with my oldest daughter and my two grandsons.  That's a true autumn! Take a peek at my pics!

• Apple Picking, Fritters, and Goofy Gourds
• Beauty and Diversity on an Autumn Sunday
• To Grandmother's House We Go

  

Hypothetical (Big Words)

Dear fellow mommies,

Did you ever have one of Those Shopping Trips?

Your kids bicker in the van and then decide to continue their Simmering Spat on into the produce aisle with subtle pinches and scowling looks when your back is turned.

You haven't been in the store for five minutes, and they are quietly yet subversively plotting the Overthrow of Your Sanity.

So you do the only Peaceable Yet Powerful thing you know to do. You leave the bag of peaches in the cart, and walk out with one child by the hand, trusting the others to follow closely behind. They do. They know you mean business.

You drive them home and leave them in the care of Another Adult, an older sister, say. It's for their own good. You know that. They don't. You are suddenly the Worst Mommy Ever.  

Then you drive back to Walmart, pick up the bag of peaches, and shop the aisles in peace, trying not to feel Guilty for Enjoying Yourself. You even buy yourself an impromptu present, a fuzzy soft blanket with a big bear on it. You are Mama Bear, after all, wanting the best for your cubs, ready to protect them, yet sometimes feeling a little growly yourself and trying not to roar.

You drive home, cranking up the music. You are tired, and not looking forward to Dealing with Cranky Children when you get home. You pray for grace.

When you pull into your driveway, the Most Offending Child comes bounding out to the van, apologizes for being an idiot at the store, and grabs two bags of groceries to bring inside. The Other Offending Child is already fast asleep in bed. You now believe in miracles.

So has this ever happened to you?

No?

Me neither!

This was hypothetical, of course! Hypothetical. Really.

Sweet peace and sweet peaches,
Virginia Knowles


P.S. #1: The sliced peach photo was edited with Picasa using the Ortonish feature.

P.S. #2: If you like the idea of gentle parenting, please check out my post, Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us, which has a lot of links on the topic. 

P.S. #3: This post is the third in my rather random Big Words series, the most recent of which, the sentimental Sacramental, was only posted a few hours ago. 

Sacramental (Big Words)

These tangible memories of my mother

are not just sentimental.

To me, they are almost sacramental:

symbolic of her essence and  

powerfully binding, in a good way.

It started simply as a place to display the bird figurines I brought home after my mother passed away in July.  I cleared the top shelf of one of my bedroom book cases and arranged to my heart's content.

Then the sympathy cards...

Then blanket made by church members 

while she was in the 

hospital those long weeks.

And her sewing box, 

which may also have been

my Grandma Hess's sewing box.

 Next, the vintage books.

I only brought several home this time,

but I had more from previous trips,

as well as a shelf full of my father's.

Many of the vintage books are inscribed

with the beautifully handwritten names

of my grandparents and great-grandparents.

I added their photos to the shelves today...

Charles and Mary Graves Hess

with two of their children

Coray and Olive Ransom

My great-grandmother Olive Wrislar Ransom 
and my grandmother Dorothy Ransom Hess

This pocket watch,

found in the sewing basket,

is etched with the initials OEW.

That would be Olive's.

From Mom's kitchen to mine,

the star shaped baking molds

which I've been using,

this time for blueberry muffins.

 And the mini-heart tins I gave her years ago...

And finally, in other places around the house,

the stained glass pieces,

all gifts from my mother...

The mirror, a college graduation present,

which I rehung today.

The rainbow dove, a first anniversary present

to match a window in the fellowship hall 

of the church where we were married

Nativity scene

The camellia and magnolia stained glass

There is more,

like her clothes and necklaces I've been wearing,

but that is enough to show for now.

As the months go by, I will rearrange again,

put things away from this makeshift shrine.

But I will never forget.

Her real legacy 

was her love.

My mother, Mary Graves Hess Quarrier
and my grandmother, Dorothy Ransom Hess,
in July 2013

Tributes to my Mom:

• In Memoriam: A Tribute to My Mother, Mary Quarrier
• A Eulogy is Also a Beginning
• Radiant Nurturer: Recent Photos of My Mother
• Vintage Photos of My Mother

Strength in Hymn

(all related to Mom)

• No More Night 

• His Eye is on the Sparrow
• Let There Be Peace on Earth
• Be Thou My Vision 
• For All the Faithful Women
• Sweet Hour of Prayer
• In the Garden (When the Caregiver Needs Care)

This post is the second in my new Big Words series.  The first: Sanctuary.

Grace and peace,

Virginia Knowles

www.ComeWearyMoms.blogspot.com