Hearts for Home

Hello friends, I hope you are all well today!

We have been quite busy here in our little 'cottage' lately.

New additions to the family arrived last week and are happily roosting in our backyard :-)

Our vegies are coming on wonderfully well with these warmer days, and seeing as the frosts are disappearing now, we should be able to plant out tomatoes pretty soon.

The fruit trees will need protecting from bugs and pests soon too..

at the moment they are blossoming and adding much Spring beauty to the backyard.

Ahh..such happy days!

I'm joining my friend Gae again this week for her lovely Hearts For Home meme.

If you have not visited her yet, I encourage you to pop over say hi!

She is a wonderful godly wife and mother to her hubby and 12 children; and she still finds time to host a weekly event for encouraging us to care for our homes and families!

Gae is an inspiration, to be sure!

The main areas I need to focus on in my home and heart over the coming week will be:

1. the installation of a new sink and vanity in our bathroom

2. arranging beds for guests

3. washing quilts

4. stocking the pantry and freezer for our visitor's needs

5. meeting with my spiritual director.

6. praying for my sister's safe-keeping while she is away fulfilling her long-held dream..

visiting Paris and traveling through France  :-)

Hope you're having a great time Barb!! :-D

May the coming week bring blessing and joy to us all as we focus on loving -

 our families,

our homes,

our neighbours

and our sweet Lord!!

love in Jesus..Trish

Hearts for Home

What a different Tuesday today is !
The wet and snowy days of last week are gone and the past few days have been so nice and sunny here that I've been able to catch up on the laundry, thank the good Lord!
My sweet hubby repaired my clothes-line so we are well and truly back in action now lol!
My Hearts for Home goals this week are..
1. Do more baking for hubby's lunches.
2. Plant out the strawberries.
3. Remember to water the neighbours potplants while they are away in Canada ( lucky them lol!).
4. Keep up with the ironing.
5. Keep up with the praying :-)
6. Write a letter to my eldest son.
If you would like to join Gae for her meme in which she encourages us to make a 'do-able' list of chores for the coming week, just click on the link and pop over. You'll be most welcome!
Gae is a wonderful role-model for christian wives and mothers and has an amazing gift for serving her family with dedication and joy!
Linked to Gae at Cherished Hearts at Home

Some Days..

Some days you just want to stay curled up indoors



and indulge yourself with steaming hot chocolate and something sweet.

Days when your vegetable seedlings are sent sleeping under the downy quilt of sudden snow

and your clothesline has surrendered to the gales of a fierce winter wind.

Yes, on those kind of days you need some sweetness to soothe the mind

and help you to remember that one season quickly passes on to another

 and soon enough, you will be taking tea again under the summer shade of a heady lilac hedge.

*
Let nothing trouble you.
Let nothing frighten you.
For everything passes but God will never change.
Patient endurance will obtain everything
Whoever has God, wants for nothing at all.
St Teresa of Avila
***

My Hearts for Home goal this week is to help the Woodman repair my clothesline, and to look for the chocolate-coated  side of every circumstance that comes my way!!

Linking with Gae at Cherished Hearts at Home

and Sandi at Rose Chintz Cottage

Hearts for Home~A Wood-burning Stove!

We are getting a wood-stove, yay!!

This is a photo of a wood burning stove that the Woodman spied living under a carport a few streets away from us.

When he first asked if it might be for sale the owner took quite a long time to give him an answer.

2 years in fact !

She didn't seem to know exactly what she wanted to do with it, but has now decided that it can be ours for $500.

It has the tank and all the attachments for heating water included and apparently it was these items that had  held her back from settling on a price.

She thought she might make more money selling them for the copper content.

But..it looks like we shall be remodelling our kitchen and dining area to accomodate this beauty before too long :-)

It will be a new experience to be cooking on it, but we are really looking forward to learning all that we can about using it.

And it will feel so good to have a heating and cooking source that's off-grid!

Our adventurous journey to simplicity continues..

***

I'm running quite late with my Hearts for Home post this week due to being in town all day yesterday.

But some goals I have for this week are:

1. Getting stuck into my pantry and clearing it out and possibly re-arranging the shelves.

2. Doing the same in the bathroom!

3. Cooking some new dish..my hubby will be grateful for that, I'm sure lol!

4. Spend some intense time with the Lord. There are decisions I need His guidance on.

I pray you are all having a great week tending your homes and families :-)

God bless you..Trish





Linking with our dear friend Gae for her weekly meme Hearts for Home



Hearts for Home & New Blog!

Hello my friends,

today I'm joining Gae for her 'Hearts for Home' meme from my newer family blog.

You are welcome to come over and visit me, if you like - I'd love to see you there :-)

Country Chook and the Woodman

Hearts for Home

I'm joining Gae again for her weekly home-loving meme, which she graciously hosts to help us focus on our tasks for the coming week.

But I have to tell you..today is so cold and grey, that it's very hard for me to move away from the warm wood-fire to do the housework!

Snow is forecast for our area of eastern Australia, and our mountain is doing it's best to beckon it right now, brrr!

So this means..I must put in real effort to get on with the job of taking care of my home :-)
*

My goals for the coming week will be:

1. to keep on top of the laundry - especially with this unpredictable weather.

2. spend more time reading the Word of God.

3. make sure I have the pantry stocked up with goodies for the Woodman.

4. pay the electricty bill ( I can't wait to get solar connected!).

5. pray for all my friends who are going through a rough time this week.

6. make cheesecake for tomorrow (Shavuot).

Sending blessings from my home to yours ..Trish
*

Hearts For Home~ Gae

Many of you lovely ladies probably already know my friend,

 Gae from Cherished Hearts At Home

and her Tuesday homemaking meme "Hearts For Home."

But perhaps you may not know that her 12th baby is about to arrive any day now!

Gae is a very special lady, who gives much of her time and energy to encouraging us to be happy, godly homekeeping wives and mothers.

Her gentle ways and inspiring words are indeed a true blessing, and I deeply appreciate knowing her friendship via the christian blogging world. 

Her example of loving motherhood is absolutely exemplary!

So instead of listing my homemaking goals today...

I want to thank Gae for hosting Hearts For Home so faithfully and in such a beautiful and encouraging way.

And to send my love and prayers through cyber-space to her and Stephen, as they await the imminent arrival of their precious blessing due tomorrow!!

God bless you, dear Gae.. as you and your family prepare your heart and home to welcome your already much-loved new baby.

May His Hand be upon you throughout the coming hours and His gentle Heart enfold you with deepest peace and joy!

Sweet Violets and Emeralds

Did I ever tell you how much I like violets and pretty china?

Or how well emeralds match my eyes?

Or how blessed I am to have a family that treats me like royalty?

It's all true, my dears!

I received such beautiful gifts from my lovely menfolk on Mother's Day, and my heart is so grateful for their thoughtfulness and consideration.

Yes indeed..I am truly a very blessed lady!

And as I sit here wearing emeralds and sipping from my pretty voilet covered teacup..

enjoying the fruits of my family's love for me..

I pray that your cup also, is running over with joy today.. and the sweet assurance of God's grace and tender love for you!

It's time to join my friend Gae for her homeloving meme at Cherished Hearts At Home

But I have to say,  my head is a bit slow in getting round to planning homemaking goals for this week's Hearts for Home.

It seems to want to linger on the loveliness of Sunday for a while longer...

Still..the garden is calling my name and this week hubby and I are well into digging a new veggie patch.

So there is where my focus will be for next few days :-).

blessings..Trish

I am also linking up to Sandi for her lovely Mother's Day Tea at  Rose Chintz Cottage

And enjoying the pretty things at Martha's Favourites

Hearts for Home~bedroom changes

It's funny how a 'domestic goddess' can come up with so many great decorating ideas while simply doing the dishes!

This very morning whilst standing at the sink, pondering away with my daydreaming fingers moving slowly through warm suds, I hit upon a plan to finally move out of our main bedroom.

You see, there's only two of us now to bed down for the night, and I've always fancied sleeping in the smallest bedroom which nestles in the centre of our home.

In the Summer..it's the coolest.

In the Winter.. it's the warmest.

All year round..it's the quietest as far as hearing street noises goes.

So why not?

Well, I quickly put the idea to the Woodman who (bless his heart) agreed in no time!!

I guess that's the fun of being 'Darby and Joan'..we can play around with our rooms now without worrying about discomforting anyone else :-)

All we need in this cosy room is our bed and two small side tables.

Simple as that!

And a big bonus of changing over, is that I will be able to sit up in bed and watch the sun and the clouds on our mountain from the window of this room :-D

So..my "Hearts For Home" plans for the next week are:

  1. Make the bedroom changeover :-)

2. Continue to prepare for my eldest son's visit this month.

3. Keep working in the yard.

4. Enjoy my book study of Fascinating Womanhood which I'm hosting for our Tuesday night ladies meetings.

5. Spend much more time in the Word of God!!

6. Start working on projects to keep me content indoors, as our seasons turn colder in our southern hemisphere!

To join our lovely hostess for this Tuesday homekeeping meme, visit Gae.

You'll always find a warm welcome waiting for you!

Hearts for Home~attitude change

Do you ever feel like this?

Do you have days when you'd rather do just about anything except housework?

Well if you do..let me assure you, you are not alone!

We all go through it to some degree or other.

It takes hard work to maintain a home - especially with a young family in tow.

It can all get on top of us if we don't take care, and we can succumb to lethargy and laziness.

Sometimes we look at our neighbour and compare ourselves unfavourably with her homemaking talents and abilities, and the result for us is discouragement and depression.

This is usually a fantasy we have fallen for, just because we don't see her on her 'bad days' - which she obviously does have!

None of us are Mrs Perfect Housewife with a consistantly tidy home.

But all of us are able to choose how we respond to the chores that fall to us within our own abode.

We can 'put off' what we dislike and sit down to find something to distract us for a while..but eventually, we find that task simply must be taken care of.

If we procrastinate too long we discover that some jobs that were boring, but simple to attend to in the beginning, have now become monumental in the end!

It's far better to deal with things as they arise -whether they are pleasant or not - than to always be running from the chores that are calling our name.

And the thing is..when we get down to work we often feel so much the better for it, as we see the changes in our environment brought about by our diligent and responsible attitude.

Housework is houseWORK.

If we want to be a happy homemaker..we  must be willing to do the housework!

And thus ends today's little sermon to moi! lol!

This week's goal for me is to take a good inventory of my attitude to the more unpleasant tasks of homemaking that I've been shirking lately.

My routines are "all over the place" and the frustration is building up :-(

So rather than list specific chores..I name my thoughts and emotions as the objects needing close attention this week!

linking with my lovely and inspiring homemaking friend Gae for her  Hearts for Home

Hearts For Home

Hello dear friends,

it's a cold Aussie, autumn day today and I confess to  feeling a little lazy!

When the skies over town are like this..

The temptation to just sit in front of this...

is mighty hard to resist :-)

Never-the-less..housework awaits!

So on with my list of homeloving goals for the coming week:

1. Looks like I'll be pulling out more cold weather clothing, as the days are getting a lot brisker and the wind sharper.

2. We were gifted with a steam cleaner, and I may try to use it on some carpets before the season becomes too damp for them to dry quickly.

3. I'll  begin re-arranging the bedrooms again - this time in expectation of our son's visit next month :-)

4. The cooking of  hearty stews and soups to warm our bones will certainly be on the agenda!

5. In all this..I will seek to keep my heart firmly centred on Christ as we journey towards Jerusalem together.

Wherever you are today..I hope you are warm and content and feeling the joy of being alive in God's glorious world!

grace & peace to you..Trish 

turning our Hearts for Home again with Gae, on a chilly autumn day.

Hearts for Home~guests

Hello friends,

This coming week I shall probably not be on line very often because of my family arriving for a week's stay with us. ((((happy dance))))

God-willing, I'm hoping to still have the linkup for A Little Bit of Lace tomorrow :-)

 In the meantime I must vacate my favourite chairs ..

and put this little lady to work!

My Hearts for Home goals today are to finish the final preparations for my guests who arrive on Thursday.

1. Making bedrooms cosy.

2. Getting food in.

3. Remembering to keep calm.

4. And get some sleep -we'll  probably have late nights while they're here!

5. And praise the Lord for FAMILY -what a blessing!!!!

May you all have a wonderful homeloving week, too :-)

love in Jesus..Trish

You can join Gae HERE for her lovely Tuesday meme Hearts For Home.

Hearts For Home

"I enjoy doing housework, ironing, washing, cooking, dishwashing. Whenever I get one of those questionaires and they ask what is your profession, I always put down housewife. It's an admirable profession, why apologize for it. You aren't stupid because you're a housewife. When you're stirring the jam you can read Shakespeare."  Tasha Tudor

Well..it's time to check in with Gae for Hearts for Home again, and I must say I am feeling a bit like dear Tasha Tudor in this photo.

Both hands full and a bit 'in the woods' lol!!

The kitchen is almost back to normal and looking so much nicer with the new paint job.

And I have to concentrate now, on the other rooms we'll be using for our VIPs ;-)

My family have decided to arrive a week earlier than first planned and I am going like the clappers to get everything ready for their visit.

Very challenging - but fun!

 My present focus is on setting up the bedrooms for our guests - a very pleasant chore indeed :-)

It's amazing how a room can get a bit out of control though.

I hadn't realised just how cluttered the 2 spare rooms had become while we worked on the kitchen! 

So now I'm arranging furniture in there and hanging fresh curtains and pictures, placing flowers on the tables and making sure the lamps are suitable for bedtime reading etc.

I love to re-arrange furniture and create a nice room for our visitors to relax in and feel comfy and welcome.

It's the part I enjoy the most after the hard work is done, a new look is such a nice reward for all the effort.

Oh..I'm getting so excited now.

Even the flowers I planted this weekend seem to know they are meant for a very special purpose.

Next week my house will be full of family - I can hardly wait lol!!

My goals for the coming week are: 

1. clean bedrooms

2. arrangethe beds

4. change curtains

5. clean the carpet

6. enjoy the tasks at hand and not get too stressed

Dear friends, I hope you are having a great week caring for your homes and families too!

blessings in Christ..Trish

linking with lovely Gae for her Tuesday meme Hearts for Home

Carrying on..

Dear friends, have you ever found yourself in a bit of a homekeeping slump?

I certainly have!

Perhaps it's the duller days affecting me or the worrying news of Japan's tragedy but..this week I'm finding it mentally harder to get my general housework done.

Especially while our kitchen is still disordered - but I know I can't give in to these feelings!

I must do all I can to finish working on the kitchen cupboards with my dear hardworking hubby.

It is so worth the effort -they are looking wonderful!

And I need to prepare two bedrooms for the upcoming visit from my family - yay!.

Praise the Lord, our wood arrived on the weekend, and we are now ready for these cooler days of Autumn.

Which is a good thing as every afternoon has been turning cold and grey and bringing thunderstorms for the past week.

I love rain...but I really don't love lightening :-(

It makes me nervous and agitated.

Nevertheless, things must be done regardless of the weather or my mental lethargy, so hopefully I'll be able to just  'keep calm and carry on' with what I need to do!

Time to take myself in hand, methinks !!lol!

I hope you are all having a great week as you care for your lovely homes and families :-)

I'm sure you are also holding Japan in your hearts and prayers - may the Lord have mercy on them and protect them (and us) from any further danger!!

Blessed be God forever!

grace & peace..Trish

joining Gae at Cherished Hearts at Home

Hearts for Home

kitchen cabinets with some undercoat

I have a confession to make, ladies.
My house is a mess today- well certain parts of it are at any rate!
This week has been a time spent concentrating on repainting our kitchen and that meant a bit of an upheaval for the accompanying rooms too.
It is taking a while to get through this project because we are painting over timber grain laminate.
Very careful preparation needed to be done to make sure the top coat will adhere properly to the laminate.. we have to go slowly to achieve that end result.
It's fiddly - but so worth it!
Already we are seeing so much more light reflected in the room just from the white undercoat!
We had thought about doing this years ago but were a little aprehensive, so the cupboards have remained a very dark brown 'woodgrain' which made the kitchen look dull and small.
I'm keen to see the finished result but I must be patient..for just a little while longer.
My husband is determined not to rush, but to do a proper job of it.
For that, I am very thankful!
I managed to accomplish most of my 'to do' list for last week's Hearts for Home, thank the good Lord :-)
This week, I am really concentrating on the kitchen.
I think that is going to take up most of my time (aside from the ordainary daily chores) and I want to be available to be my hubby's painting "help-meet".
Besides gaining all that extra lovely light, I have a special reason for wanting to get it finished as soon as possible.
My beautiful mother and my sister are coming to stay with us for a week next month.
I am soooo excited!!
It's not all that easy for my very elderly mum to travel long distances these days.
And we live about 4 hours drive away from her, in a rural town that can get very cold in autumn and winter. Minus zero temperatures are  normal for our wint'ry nights. I am hoping the weather stays mild for her visit - and that the autumn trees still have some of their red and gold leaf cover to greet her when she arrives :-)
We are very blessed with magnificent seasonal colours in our area and I love to see nature change her dress across our landscape.
Already the trees along the footpath in my street are turning amber and topaz!

If you would like to join Gae in her Tuesday meme Hearts for Home she would be delighted to see you!

You can pop over to her blog, and link up with the other lovely ladies there to be part of this weekly gathering of homekeepers!

Hearts for Home

It's time for me to join the lovely Gae again, for Hearts for Home. 

As you might recall, my hubby and I have been working on a few projects around our home - namely de-cluttering and freshening up with paint colours.

The loungeroom is now done and I must say, it is much nicer now that there's less furniture filling it up :-)

We are still working our way through the kitchen and are pleased with what we've done in there so far.

After putting the undercoat on the cupboards, to see what a light colour would look like in place of the dark timber veneer, we can't wait to finish it!! What a difference a little paint can make :-)

My Hearts for Home goals this week are:

1. Painting the kitchen

2. Choosing new handles for the cupboards and drawers.

3. Cleaning the carpets before the weather becomes too wet and cold.

4. Ordering in wood for the woodfire.

5. Stocking up on pantry items needed to make wintry soups and casseroles.

6. Watching that my hubby doesn't 'overdo' things as he works hard in the home - and out of it!

 grace..Trish

In my weekly 'Hearts for Home' post I am encouraging myself and others to commit to thinking about what 4-6 things we can do each week to bring our thoughts, prayers and actions to keeping our

 'Hearts for Home'.

If you'd like to join Gae in keeping a "do-able" homekeeping list for the week, just click on the link above..you'll be very welcome :-)