food, crochet, merriment
“Speak hopefully. Speak encouragingly, including about yourself. Try not to complain and moan incessantly. As someone once said, ‘Even in the golden age of civilization someone undoubtedly grumbled that everything looked too yellow.’ Yes, life has its problems, and yes, there are negative things to face, but please accept one of Elder Holland’s maxims for living—no misfortune is so bad that whining about it won’t make it worse.”
Jeffrey R. Holland
I ate some amazing Chocolate Caramel Cookies…
…and played with a pretty little baby doll…
and drank a peach smoothie…
and shared some with a little puddin’ head…
and read some more scary stuff…
and marveled at the love of fine literature around here…
and studied a ladybug…
and tried to get organized at last and once and for all…
so that we can gladly do it all again…
next week.
“We do not obtain our heavenly reward by punching a time clock. What is essential is that our labors in the workplace of the Lord have caused us to become something. For some of us, this requires a longer time than for others. What is important in the end is what we have become by our labors.”
Dallin H. Oaks
It all started when I decided to clean out the linen closet…
and found this old bottle of linen water. It made me remember the days when my babies were little, when I used to iron…every Tuesday. I can just see the long row of shirts and dresses lined up in the kitchen smelling of lavender and starch.
Yes, I know. People don’t actually do that anymore.
It’s a shame too, really.
There’s something comforting about taking a crumpled, wrinkly thing and making it smooth and crisp and warm and lovely, even when–perhaps especially when–you don’t really have to.
My mama knew that.
Years ago, she used to pay us five cents for every pillow case that we kids pressed and folded and stacked in the hall cupboard. Handkerchiefs were a penny. Of course, Laurie got the big money ironing daddy’s dress shirts—at twenty-five cents a piece. But I was the pillowcase girl.
We didn’t have Linen Water or anything fancy back then. Just a sprinkle jug and a big safety pin to keep the cord out of the way, and a note pad and pencil to add up all the nickles.
I earned a Twist & Turn Barbie just like that. She cost $3.69 and it took from May clear till fireworks before I had enough money to bring her home.
From that day on, I’ve loved the smell of ironing.
Mama told us a story once about a fancy lady she knew, when she was little, that loved ironing so much that she even ironed her sheets–just because she wanted to.
Sheets! Can you imagine?
That’s just silly.
But I discovered this very day, that even though you can, of course, get by without ironing anything–for a long, long time–there is a soothing rhythm to the motion and the warmth and the order…
that, for me, was worth finding again.
It smells curiously like a brand new Barbie…
and crisp, lavender sheets.
Guest Post by Bruce
“The Vision that you glorify in your mind, the Ideal that you enthrone in your heart-this you will build your life by, this you will become.”
James Allen (1864-1912)
The above principle, which others have called “The Secret” or the “Law of Attraction,” was clearly stated for the first time in “As a Man Thinketh” by James Allen.
As A Man Thinketh by James Allen. Buy it here.In “As a Man Thinketh,” James Allen reveals how our thoughts determine reality. Whether we are conscious of it or not, our underlying beliefs shape our character, our appearance and health, our circumstances, and our destinies. Allen teaches us how we can master our thoughts to create the life we want.
My advice is this simple: Buy it, read it, live it, love it.
Yes, it truly is that great.
