Happy Homemaker Monday

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The weather in my neck of the woods:

It's a wee bit chill.  The sleet and hail has been coming down on and off all day.

Here's the forecast for today (from BBC)

• Today
  After a locally icy start, it will be a cold and windy day with sunny intervals and frequent wintry showers. These will be a mixture of rain, hail, sleet and snow, the snow largely confined to higher ground.
• Tonight
  Showers feeding in off the Irish Sea, falling as sleet or snow away from coasts, and giving slight coverings in places. Occasional clearer spells allowing local frost and ice.

Max. Day 4 (°C)


Min. Mon Night 3 (°C)


Things that make me happy:

Sitting in my bedroom with a hot cup of coffee reading my Bible or praying.  I know that sounds a bit pious, but I really do enjoy it.  It's my 'me-time' with God.

Book I'm reading:

The Power of a Praying Wife
The Power of a Praying Woman

~Both by Stormie Omartian

What's on my TV today:

Not sure what I'll be watching today if anything.  It's my church group tonight.

Image from Flickr 

I am looking forward to the next episode of Living with the Amish on Channel 4 on Thursday though.  Six British teenagers go to stay with Amish families.  I loved last week's episode.  One of the girls who is a Christian was disturbed by what she saw as the inequality of Amish women and men.  She couldn't understand why the women only did domestic work whereas the men worked in the barn raising and in the workshop.  One of the Amish women, a lovely young woman, explained that she was happy.  She was happy serving just as Christ served.  And she genuinely looked happy.  As they chatted on the steps the Amish woman shared the scripture about Christ and the church and its relation to marriage.  The British girl stated that she believed that the Bible wasn't something to be taken literally because the world had changed (etc), yet she admitted she wished that she had the same faith, the same solid foundation.  At this point she broke down in tears because, she explained, she just wanted to know that  God was near and to feel His presence.  I cried too, lol, because I'm soppy.  Anyway, the Amish woman was so lovely.  She put her arm around her and said that at times like this we often look back and see that God's hand was upon us all along.

On the menu for dinner:

Pork chop risotto (one of my perennial favourites)

On my To Do List:

• Tidy house;
• Ironing;
• Work (also for those who don't know, I do 2 hours a day in the kitchen at my girls' school - yes, I'm a dinner lady!);
• Mend an old Blazer given to Squidge for her Christmas show, she's playing a reporter.
• Find an angel halo we have to lend to a friend for her daughter's Christmas show part.
• Church group tonight at our Pastor's house.

In the craft basket:

I'm rehashing a duvet given to me ages ago into a table runner and a cover for our tumble dryer.  I will be using my Nan's lovely old sewing machine.  See pictures.

The colours are just perfect for my kitchen right now.  I'll make one narrow runner for the table.  Which will leave me enough for the cover for the tumble dryer (see later picture)  and then I'm hoping the back of the duvet can be used for two curtains for two smaller windows in the kitchen.

The sewing machine is rather old, as you can see, but it is electric.

You can see the colours all together here.  I think it will go nicely when it's finished.

I don't have the largest kitchen and no utility room.  So the tumble dryer sits at the diner end of the kitchen.  I'm going to make a cover from the duvet cover.

Looking forward to this week:

Getting the kitchen/diner looking nice.  Putting pictures back up, etc.

Tips and Tricks:

Put old wallpaper, or other paper, on the top of cupboards in the kitchen, when they get mucky and greasy just chuck away.

My favourite blog post this week:

The Cross Speaks to Us by Michele at A Quiet Gracious Life.

No words needed (favourite photo or picture, yours or others you want to share):

Poor Boots.  She slunk into the living room yesterday looking not too impressed.  Squidge had made her a collar.  She sat on the window sill sulking so after taking some pictures I took it off. Poor old moggy.

Lesson learned the past few days:

That, although it is important to pray and seek God for Church and for other people, it is OK to talk to God about your own worries and concerns.  He wants us to cast our cares upon Him.  He's our Father and wants us to come to Him as little children.

On my mind:

• Some friends who are sick.
• Christmas.
• Things to do around the house
• My hubby, who has been so busy recently.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses:

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

Psalm 62:5

Happy Monday!