Defective Compositions

Sep. 6, 2008 - A Jane Austen Giveaway!

If you know me, you know I like Jane Austen, and if you are like me, then you like Jane Austen, too!

Well, to satisfy that Jane Austen craving that comes every once in a while, at least for me, I would love to point you to a book giveaway. The book is A Walk With Jane Austen, by Lori Smith.

I haven't read the book yet, but I think it definitely sounds like one that I do want to read. From what I have seen, it tells about the author's journey through England, visiting Jane Austen sites, and the thoughts, events, and things that she learned.

Part of the reason I am excited about this book, is that there aren't a lot of Jane Austen sequels that I have any desire to read. I am very leary of browsing for books in the adult section of the library, because many adult books hold things that I do NOT need to read. I tried that once, and a Jane Austen sequel was what I picked up. After reading it for a while, I realized that it wasn't something that I really wanted to read.

Anyway, if you would like to enter to win this book, you can go here to the Giveaway, at Weak Weary Mom. You just have to leave a comment, and put a link to the giveaway onto your blog. It is as simple as that. However, the contest ends tonight, so you had better hurry!

• 1 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Sep. 4, 2008 - Homemaker-In-Training ~ Efficiency, Motion Study, and Multitasking

Posted in Homemaker-In-Training

If you want to know more about Homemaker-In-Training, then you can read the first post. Please feel free to join us, we would love to have you! This post has also been posted at Feelin' Feminine.

Ah, to be an efficient housewife. Or, at least an efficient Homemaker-In-Training! To be known among your acquaintances as a very efficient and capable woman. That's what you want right?

The word efficient is an adjective, and it's general meaning is to do something with little or no waste. Or, as Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary puts it, "productive without waste". The word also has a slightly different meaning, but if you want to know that one, you will have to look the word up yourself, I am only using the above meaning!

Being productive without waste. That sounds quite, well...efficient? However, how does this nifty term apply to our homes, and how we take care of them? How will this term help us even now with our chores and other daily tasks?

To be able to answer the above questions, I need to introduce you to another term. Motion Study. As you can read at this Wikipedia article, motion study is a process where the motions of a particular job are studied, and then evaluated, to see how efficient the job really is. After the job has been studied and evaluated, appropriate changes are made to increase productivity, and efficiency. It is quite an interesting subject really.

I think that you know why this would help housekeeping, or any job for that matter. If you can minimize the amount of motions in an activity, then you are also reducing the amount of effort and time it takes to do the task! It sounds pretty good, doesn't it, to be able to do your work with, well, less work.

However, I do believe there is a point where this could become ridiculous. If you became obsessed with studying every action, to see if you make it more efficient, then I think you taken motion study beyond usefulness. If this were to happen, then the whole idea would backfire. You would have no time to do the things you are supposed to be doing, because you were too busy making more time! I think that in a home, only the tasks that are time consuming, or unpleasant to do, are the ones that should be studied and worked on.

Another way to save time on things is to multitask. For some that may be harder than for others, but here are some ideas.

Do it while watching TV or a movie. Folding clothes or sorting something could easily be done without missing hardly anything of what you are watching.
Do it while talking on the phone. In this instance, where your eyes are not engaged with the TV, you can do a lot more, but you do want to cut down on the noise. Try dusting, or tidying your house, while chatting with your friend on the phone.
Do it while driving. Okay, not you personally driving, obviously, but for those times when you are a passenger (younger people specifically), bring something along to do. If you have to write a speech, or a dinner menu, or something else, take a notebook, pencil, and eraser along. This is something that only some people can do though, because many get carsick if they do anything like this in while in motion.
Do it while listening. If you like to listen to stories or sermons on tape or CD, then you probably already do something while listening to them. I knit or crochet while listening to stories. You could also do any other kind of handcraft, or clean your room. I also do the dishes while listening to my mp3 player, or while my sister reads aloud.

I am sure that you can think of many other things that you can, or already do, multitask. If you want to leave your ideas in a comment, I am sure they will be helpful for someone.

Efficiency, motion study, multitasking, they are all great time-management concepts. I just need to start using them!

If you wrote a HITT and posted it on your blog, please leave a comment and let us know!

• 3 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Aug. 27, 2008 - Homemaker-In-Training ~ Keepin' On Top of Your World

Posted in Homemaker-In-Training

This post has also been posted at Feelin' Feminine website, which I encourage all of my readers to visit.

You can read the first HITT post that explains the purpose of this meme, HERE.

You try organization, you try delegation, you try vaporization, yet all of the piles of stuff that you need to deal with keep coming back, infiltrating your life to a degree of madness. At least, that is the way it is in our family, many a time.

Take our coffee table for example. For a period of about a month, it will sit there, gather and collecting more and more various articles appearing to be magazines, mail, books, CD's, packages, papers, and any other general item that just hasn't made it home.

So, you ask, what is the secret to keeping the drop-off points in your house clean? What is the magic formula that will bring order from the old, frantic search for lost possesions?

The secret and magic formula is a trick that is said time and time again, but believe me, if you do it, it works. It something that is so simple in concept, yet extremely hard in practice.

Put things away. Do it quick, do it now, and you won't have to deal with later! Don't set it down, no, don't even think about setting it down.

In other cases, don't leave it forever. Dirty dishes, for instance, is something that you can't avoid, but you can prevent it from getting out of hand if you do it regularly.

The key is to keep on top of things. Here is a list of things you can do to prevent, and fix build-up.

Make it a priority to clean build-up spots at least once a day.
Sort through your mail while standing over the trash can. Throw junk mail away right then and there that way, you don't have to worry about cleaning it up later!
Put a thin folder in an appropriate place. Keep any papers that you need or want for the near future in it. Make sure to go through the folder every once in while, and weed out old papers that you don't need anymore.
Now, if you have to leave something laying out where it doesn't belong, in my opinion, books would be it! However, space, personal comfort, and order, may not permit that. All I can say is, only read a few books at a time, and only leave them in your areas. This means, when you are done reading for a while, go and set the book on your nightstand, or bed. Even your current book must have a home.
Get or make a magazine rack for your current magazines, and set it in an out of the way, yet easily accesable place. Of course, that is one of the most obvious tips of all time, but I am pretty sure it works. For all of those back issues that you just can't part with, get or make one of those nifty magazine holders. At Two Straight Lines, and The Chic Life you can get an idea of what I am talking about.
This tip is really for Mom's. Delegate certain areas of your home to your children, to clean every day. Then, every day, when you feel it is time, tell every one to mann, or clean, their stations! You can read more about that HERE.

I know that those tips really aren't a lot, and maybe aren't that helpful, but why don't you try working on one or more of them this week. I know that I am going to, because these are things that I really need to work on myself. So how do I know that keeping on top of things works? First of all, if you stop and think about it, logically you know it just does. Secondly, I have been working on it lately with one of my chores, and it sure does help a lot!

So, if you have written your own Homemaker-In-Training post, sign the Linky and share it with us, so that we can all learn and encourage one another.

• 7 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Aug. 22, 2008 - Oh To Sing The Night Away!

Posted in Thoughtful Thinks

A while back, my sister and I went to a really neat birthday part sleepover. It was neat because everyone there were Christians, and we had a rollicking good time riding 4-wheelers, building a large hay fort, and watching the birthday cake be lit by a blow torch. Slightly unusual, but extremely enjoyable!

However, I think that the best thing of all was that night, as we lay in the hay fort in our sleeping bags. A group of at least eleven girls singing their hearts out, is one of the neatest things that you can be a part of. We excitedly shared our favorite songs with one another. We sang until late into the night, simply enjoying and appreciating the words of each and every song.

That is a night that I hope I never forget, just because of that simple enjoyment. There was no TV, no movie, no entertainment whatsoever other than our voices. I often think of it still, and want to do it again. To be with those girls, to share the pleasure that most girls have of singing, with them, and to fellowship with them was very special.

• 7 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Aug. 15, 2008 - Contact with Contacts

Posted in Official Eyebright Updates!

I just recently got new glasses, and, for the first time ever, contacts! I was pretty excited about that, because I have been kind of wanting contacts for a while. I didn't think that glasses looked very good on me. I think that was because the glasses that I had before were much too small; I had them for three years.

So, when I finally got my contacts, it was kind of strange, because I felt like I was pretending that I didn't have bad eyesight! People can't really see the contacts in my eyes, so they can't know that my eyes really aren't all that great.

I really like my glasses, however. They are a little more colorful than my old ones, being bright blue on the inside and a dark purple on the outside. I am actually wearing them in my new avatar picture, which I think is pretty cool, by the way!

I am still getting used to putting the contacts in. My right eye is pretty easy now, but my left eyelid is actually pretty strong, because it does NOT want to let anything past it! It is getting easier, but let me tell you, I do feel rather silly trying to relax my eyelid!

I keep dropping them, too. They don't stay on my finger very well, but they have been relatively easy to find, so far.

One time, I was able to take my right contact out quickly, but then I forgot I was taking them out, and thought I was putting them in! I looked in the container for my left contact, and it wasn't there! I started to get somewhat worried. Great. I had only had them for two or three days, and already I had lost one. Then, with some slight embarassment, I realized that it was still in my eye. I hadn't even taken it out yet.

• 17 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Aug. 12, 2008 - Craft ~ Decorated Plastic Box

Posted in Crafts And Other Fun Activities!

I'm not sure, but I think this is my first craft tutorial, so bear with me!

Plastic drawers are pretty popular organizing tools, but they look so austere in my opinion. As I was organizing some things in my room, I changed the purpose of my plastic drawer to hold my rapidly accumulating cords, I decided to change it's look as well.

Before, my drawer had stickers and other things that little girls are fond of on it. If you follow this tutorial, you can have a unique drawer, that could even match your room design.

Materials

Clear, plastic box
A small piece of fabric big enough to cover the front of your box
Strong, transparent glue. I actually used a puzzle glue, which worked well
Scissors
Ruler

To start, measure your box to find out how big your fabric needs to be. Then, cut the fabric to those measurements. You can cut to the exact measurement. Since you are glueing, you don't need to worry about fraying.

Now is the time to add any embellishment. You can add ribbon, rick rack, embroidery, cross stitch, or whatever else is fairly thin, and strikes your fancy. I went to the computer and made a nice "t" and printed it on iron-on transfer paper. Following the instructions on the iron-on transfer, I fused it to my fabric to get this:

It winds up being a real subtle "T", don't you think? Sorry, I couldn't resist!

Next, clean the inside of your box, where the fabric is going to go. Glop the the glue on the surface, and spread it out. Carefully lay the fabric onto the plastic, and smooth out any bubbles, or wrinkles. If you want, you can also glue the backside as well.

As always, let it dry, and then you have a nice, new box front to look at! I am sure that if any of you do this to your boxes, it will be much cuter than mine, and I have some improvement ideas in color and embelishment, but I like what I have. Have fun!

• 3 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Aug. 8, 2008 - Susanna's Blanket

Posted in Knitting and Crocheting

Coming upon a year ago now, Bluejane and I had this great idea. Everyone knew that Mrs. Suarez, the TOS Publisher that we all know, was going to have a baby. In honor of the upcoming event, we thought that it would be fun, and create a neat gift, if we got together with other knitters on Homeschoolblogger, and make a blanket.

We began by finding the knitters, telling them of our idea, and asking if they would like to take part. Everyone had to knit about three squares of a specific color, with machine washable yarn. A good thing for a baby blanket.

Now, if you ever decide to do a project like this, make sure that you decide on a gauge. We didn't, and because of this, we wound up squares of different sizes. That was the one thing that we didn't specify, and that made things a little harder on us, the ones who had to sew it all together.

We also had to make more squares ourselves than we realized. The real delay was because of my slowness in sewing all of the squares together.

However, this past July, we finished it, just in time to give it to the little cupcake, in person! So, now, for the first time ever, here is the blanket that many of you worked on, finished and residing with Susanna Suarez!

We would like to thank those of you who participated. Also, if you name isn't mentioned in the list below, and you helped with this project, then we apologize profusely, and will add your name.

Thank you so much, everyone, for participating, and for your wonderful patience concerning our tardy gift-giving.

Welcome Susanna!

• 10 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Aug. 6, 2008 - Chris Walley Giveaway at The Daily Planet!

Posted in Reading, and Books

Now, I know that I haven't even heard of these books before, let alone read them, but Miss Amanda's review, description, and interview, were all done so well, that I am just going to have to find these books and give them a whirl.

The really cool thing, is that Miss Amanda is hosting a giveaway, the prize, or gift, or whatever you call it, being the last book in this trilogy by Chris Walley. I am almost always up for a chance at a free book, so I grabbed this one! You should too, because as I said above, these book sound fascinating. Just in case you don't win, you can buy the all three of the books at Amazon. They are published by Tyndale Publishing, but I couldn't get to their website to link, so you will just have to find it yourself.

• 3 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Jul. 31, 2008 - Homemaker-In-Training #5 ~ To Your Stations!

Posted in Homemaker-In-Training

If you are new, you can read the first Homemaker-In-Training post, HERE.

TO YOUR STATIONS!

This is probably a concept that many of you are familiar with, but I thought I might mention it all the same. One of the biggest parts of homemaking is keeping the home clean, so that it is easier to do things, and pleasant to live in. There are thousands of ways to do this, and I am sure that many HITT's will cover them, however, this is the method that we have been using lately.

Each of us children in the family has a particular room in the house, other than our own bedrooms, that is our clean-up area. This is the area that is our job to clean when the order is given. In our house this works rather well, because we have four main living areas, and four kids. I clean the kitchen, Bluejane takes care of the school-room, Kekoa picks up the living room, and Cheeko tidies the dining room.

So, every time Mommy shouts, "Clean you Stations", we all run to the designated area and clean it up. Then, we have a tidy house in only a few minutes!

Another method that Bluejane and I sometimes use in cleaning our room, is to set a timer for 15 minutes, and put on some fast-paced music. Then, we tidy and organize and put away, and clean like crazy until the timer goes off. It works very well, because in 15 minutes we can get a lot done in our room, and we hurry because we want to get more done before we run out of time! It is kind of a fun way to complete a rather distasteful task.

Did you post a HITT? Link it below, so that everyone else can read it!

• 11 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Jul. 28, 2008 - Ahh, Knitting

Posted in Knitting and Crocheting

Ahh, knitting. Such a peaceful pastime. Knitting is such a versatile hobby, as well. I mean, you can make pretty nearly anything, you can do it pretty much anywhere, and you can do many other things while doing it. Let me show you.

Point One ~ You can make pretty nearly anything. If you googled the word knitting for a while, you would find the strangest patterns amongst all of the normal stuff.

How about a knitted wig? There is even a bonus, it has curlers. Take a look.

Flowers anyone? Lilies are always beautiful, although, these are...knitted?

I am sure that all of you have studied bacteria at one point or another, now you need to try to knit them! Knitted bacteria is the way to go.

Just a side note, today is Beatrix Potter's birthday. How did I find out? Well, lets just say that Google is very informative.

Point Two ~ You can knit pretty nearly anywhere. How do I know? I know because I have done it! You can knit on the road while traveling, you can knit on the porch in the summer breeze. You could even do it while bungee jumping I suppose, but I think it probable that you would drop quite a few stitches! I knit while waiting for things, so sometimes I bring it to Dr. appointments, too.

Point Three ~ Take a look at my sidebar there, and gaze at my Goodreads book widget. (Oooh, I love widgets, don't you?) At all times there will be one book there that I don't physically read. You see, our lovely library has books that you can download and listen to, so that's what I do! While I am knitting. You can listen to books while doing lots of other things as well.

Knitting can be sociable. For a while some of the girls from my church, and ourselves, met every other week to knit together. While we knit, we talked, and it was a very pleasant way to spend some time. If you are a knitter and you know other knitters, I encourage you to get together and do two really fun things, knit and talk.

Some people can watch movies while they knit. Depending on the pattern, you don't have to watch what you are doing, and can concentrate on something else. Sometimes, if I am excited about the project I am working on, I will work on during the movie. I usually drop it a quarter of the way through, but at least I started.

Anyway, as I sat here trying to think of what to post, the frustration of my knitting project of just a few minutes earlier, came to mind. Thus, knitting became the theme of my post. I am trying to knit my first pair of socks, every knitter's dream, but when I actually got started, it became rather intimidating. I think I will work on something else for a while.

• 3 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Jul. 24, 2008 - Homemaker-In-Training #4

Posted in Homemaker-In-Training

That's right everyone, HITT is back! I don't know how exciting that is for you, but I'm excited. You can find the first HITT HERE. I won't be able to post HITT every week, but please feel free to post it yourself! There won't be a linky, but at least your own readers can benefit.

Conserving Water

This is an issue that not many people have to deal with, there are wells in abundance in the USA. However, my family has to deal with it, and maybe someday you will to.

My family's property does not have a usable well; we use a cistern to hold water. We have to pay every so often for a man to bring us water in a big truck.

Being able to make things last as long as possible is a good thing to learn. Someday, you could be in a situation where you didn't have enough money to buy what you need, so have to stretch it. I thought I would just share some of the ways that we do, have, or could, conserve water. Maybe they will be helpful for someone, and it gives a good example of what I mean.

Take fast showers. We have six people in our family, and having all of us take showers twice a week uses quite a bit of our water.
Reuse the shower water. We plug our bathtubs and then shower like normal. When we are done we scoop the water out and use pour it on our outdoor plants.
Use your dishwater for the same purpose as above.
When you get a glass of water, drink it all. Don't pour the rest down the sink, or leave it laying out where it could be spilled.
Check appliances that use water. Our dishwasher is one that we have to manually hook to the faucet, and it leaks. We make sure to turn it off soon after it finishes, or else it continues to leak.
Wash your car in town. I don't know how much money this really saves, but it saves your water!
Catch rain water in a barrel...no, just kidding! We don't go that far!

Many of these don't really save that much more water, but at least they make you feel like you are doing a little to help!

Did you post a HITT? Sign the Mr. Linky below, so everyone can read, learn from, and encourage you!

2008 Defective Compositions

• 4 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Jul. 20, 2008 - Washington State, Here We Come!

Posted in Official Eyebright Updates!

A couple of weeks ago, my family and I made an almost two week trip into the heart of some of the wettest territory in the Northwest. Yesiree, Washington State, the home of rain, rain, and road construction. People pictures are taboo, but I would love to share some other interesting photographs with my bloggie friends.

We started the facinating parts of our trip in Shaniko, Oregon. It took us a while to get there. The really neat schoolhouse had been closed for quite some time, but it had just recently opened up, and we got to go inside.

A really neat lady had set up a little "museum" of weaving, knitting, spinning, and crocheting. She also sold some of the things she had made, including these colorful hats.

I also caught an interesting picture of some wool that was dying to get away from the camera. (Sorry, the pun just slipped out.)

Our next sightseeing stop was on the WA side of the Colombia River. Do you know what we saw there? One of the most recognizable, and ancient structures in the world.

Yes, that's right! Stonehenge in all of it's glory! Okay, so it's only a small, one, and it's obviously not in England, where the British left it, but it was kind of cool to see it anyway.

I also took two really neat pictures of the American flag that was flying.

Finally, I leave you with the dreaded words, TO BE CONTINUED!

• 5 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Jul. 19, 2008 - VOM Prayer Band

Posted in Serving and Thinking About Him

As most of you probably know, the Olympics are coming up, and this time, they are in China. Voice of the Martyrs Persecution blog is inviting everyone to take part in the occasion by praying for the persecuted Christians in China. You can also get a free bracelet that can help remind you to pray. Even if you don't get a bracelet, remember to pray, because those people desperately need it. There is a button on my sidebar, with a link, just in case this post gets buried. (Yeah, right!) This isn't just any old freebie folks.

Thanks for stopping by!

• 2 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Jul. 16, 2008 - New Blog Widgets

Posted in Tags, Quizzes, and More

I doubt any of you have noticed this, since the button is way down at the bottom of my sidebar, but there is something new. Go on, take a look. Do you see it? No? Well, even if you did, I'll tell you.

Whilst searching for widgets today, I came across AnswersTips from Answers.com. After you insert the button on your blog, readers can double-click on any word in your posts, and a defintition will pop up in a bubble. Pretty neat, huh? I think it does way more than that, too, so make sure to check it out!

Just as a note, it doesn't work on the links, because when you double-click on links, it opens the links. Did that make sense?

Also, the post below this one is a Bible Search. You probably have already figured that out by now, or would have if you had looked at it. It is really nifty. Just type in a word that you want to find in the Bible, and it will do the work for you! My Mom got it a while back, and I thought it was kind of silly. Then, I found myself using it more and more. Finally, I had to get one for myself. There is also a Bible Search bar in my sidebar, so you don't have to search for the same post through all the rest of them.

The neat thing about the Bible Search, is it will also search certain parts of the Bible, such as Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, or even the books of history, poetry, and law.

Anyway, I thought I would point out these swell new features on my blog. I hope you use them!

• 5 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Jul. 15, 2008 - Bible Search

Posted in Serving and Thinking About Him

• 0 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Jul. 15, 2008 - Rosa Of Linden Castle ~ Chapters 7-9

Posted in Reading, and Books

I finally read the next three chapters in Rosa of Linden Castle. Three chapters is good I guess for a busy life. It is just enough to make reading it a treat.

The first thing that I noted was the way the small family lived. Oh, how I longed for a sweet and simple life like the one that Rosa had while she lived at the collier's. What a wholesome way to live.

Also, I noticed that the entire family showed deference to Rosa, remembering her position. Yet, she still willingly worked alongside the family, and learned so much from their ways.

The next thing that I noticed was that when Rosa arrived at Kunerick's Castle, she immediately befriended the stewards children. I was awed by the kindness and manner in which she treated them. I don't feel like I am very good with children, so "watching" Rosa was very interesting.

Finally, Rosa is such a hard worker! Even though she doesn't know how to do some of the things that are required of her, she is willing to learn. The other thing is that even though her mistress was always finding fault with her, Rosa bore it all in silence. What an example for me, who always thinks that I must keep a good name, and repair it where damage has been done. Next time, I should remember Rosa, and Jesus, and follow their example.

If you would like to join our discussion, or read other discussions, click here.

• 1 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Jul. 3, 2008 - Rosa of Linden Castle ~ Chapters 4-6

Posted in Reading, and Books

Arrg! While trying to post this just a few minutes ago, I accidentally clicked a button, and lost the whole thing. Since time is short, I will only post a tiny thought.

I loved what Gertrude said near the end of the sixth chapter, and really, it was the biggest thing that stuck out to me. She told Rosa, "When your father built this house for us, he little thought he was preparing a home for you; yet so mysterious and gracious are the ways of Providence, that he causes our acts of kindness to others, in many cases, to be the very means of blessing us in turn. Yes, yes, that passage of Scripture, 'He that watereth shall himself be watered,' is true in more than one sense."

Click here to join our discussion!

• 4 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Jul. 2, 2008 - A Long, Slow, Boring Read About My Quilt-in-Progress

Posted in Sewing

After my Mom wrote an facinating post on absolutely nothing, saying she wanted to start blogging on her personal blog more, I figured it was about time I come up with something that I hope sounds interesting. If not, which is what I expect, please don't sue me.

I am working on a quilt out of scraps of fabric that a friend gave me. I was excited when I first started, because I thought for sure it would beautiful. It is not anything fancy, just squares in a paricular pattern, but the example that I had seen was so cute, that I had wanted to try it.

I guess I should also say that this is going to be my first real quilt ever, if I ever finish it. The other day, Bluejane came in and told me "You should go work on your quilt". It baffled me, so I asked her, "Why?" She said, "Because, I can't wait for you to finish it, so that I can see it!"

That made me excited, because it's not very often that I can get her excited about any of my projects.

Yes, I do plan on posting pictures, but again, that depends on whether or not I finish it. You never know with me!

• 4 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Jun. 27, 2008 - Rosa of Linden Castle ~ Chapters 1-3

Posted in Reading, and Books

Yes, I am quite behind in the HSB Literary Club's discussions, but I think they are too! We are reading Rosa of Linden Castle, by Christoph von Schmid.

Wow. I have only read the first few chapters, and this story is impressive! Rosa's Mother is the perfect picture of how a mother should train her children. Her methods are definite and sure, and the best part of all is that practices what she teaches! What a beautiful example for Rosa to follow. In such a setting where she is taught to trace everything back to God, to care for the poor, to give up her own desires, and to obey every command, there is no doubting that Rosa grows up to be an estimable young woman. No doubt this is the most noted part of the first three chapters, because this is the way we all wish we lived our lives. Or at least I do!

Later when Rosa's mother dies, I thought it was quite a display of devotion and love for Rosa that, even though Rosa was a "practically perfect" child, Matilda still asked her husband to correct any faults that Rosa might have.

There are more events also, but even though they too were really good, I don't have any special comments on those.

Click here to join our discussion at the HSB Literary Club.

• 4 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Jun. 25, 2008 - Adorable Apron Giveaway!

Posted in Contests

I know that this isn't a real post, but when I saw this adorable apron that The Apronista was giving away, how could I not do all I could to enter?! You will start to salivate when you see the other adorable goodies the creater has to offer, as well!

So hurry over to the this giveaway to try and win this adorable apron!

• 3 Calling Cards • Leave a Calling Card • Permanent Link

Page 1 of 11
Last Page | Next Page