Monday, February 20, 2012

Oh Happy Day!

Today is Presidents Day. No one had to work or be anywhere in the morning so we spent the time together. My children are all in their early twenties (21 in May, 22, 24 in April, and 25 in May).  I am blessed to have them living at home for a little while longer. We decided to spend our time together playing ping pong, and we looked forward to going out to lunch. We played two on two at first then the boys decided we should have a tournament. We each took our turn and had a wonderful time. The ball went under the car now and then, (we play in our garage) and Cordie, our little dog, learned very quickly how to go and get it for us. She went under the car, grabbed the ball in her mouth, brought it out and wanted to keep it each time. Such fun.  Even Justine played after being coaxed. She had so much fun she didn't want to quit.
It was such an enjoyable morning. We don't get to do things all together very much any more. I usually end up doing something one on one with them or I spend time with the girls then another time with the boys.
Anthony couldn't go to lunch with us; he had to go to work. Justine, Elizabeth, Sergio J. and I went out and enjoyed soup and salad and great conversation.
When Justine was younger, she used to have an Old Movie Night every Wednesday. We always enjoyed it. She had us pay a dollar for "dues" and then she used the money to buy ingredients to make treats. She just mentioned that she would like to have a "Bridge Night". Retro things are fascinating for her right now. I'm ready to play cards! It will be nice to spend more leisure time with my kids young adults.

Sunday, February 19, 2012

The Wisdom in Vintage Books


The American Frugal Housewife.
Dedicated To Those Who Are Not Ashamed Of Economy.
By Mrs. Child
1833

The introductory chapter admonishes us to be very careful that "nothing be lost", and that the "true economy of housekeeping" includes the wise management of time as well as materials.
 Repurposing old items is very popular right now. There are books and blogs about old items being remade into useful things such as  vintage pillowcases and sheets cut into 12" x 12" squares and made into beautiful quilts on Elegant Musings  http://blog.caseybrowndesigns.com/2012/02/a-quilting-question/. You can find lots of ideas on maya*made  http://mayamade.blogspot.com/search/label/Reinvention.
The American Frugal Housewife states "Nothing should be thrown away so long as it is possible to make any use of it, however trifling that use may be".
"Time is money." Every family member can have a part in the earning or saving of money. Hands could be busy at odd moments of time knitting, sewing, etc. and taking care of the things we do have so they stay in good repair and don't have to be replaced. We can begin early teaching our children to care for their own things, and help out in various ways to save money.
I am fascinated with old books and the wisdom from the past. I think we could all learn a lot by listening to the wise counsel penned in days gone by.