2021 New Year Goals

How are you feeling about this coming year? Hopeful? Concerned? I'm feeling pretty positive about 2021 and have come up with several important goals I'd like to meet. 

Health Goals: I think most everyone has a health goal, but I'll admit I've not had one for a couple years. Sickness and circumstances have taken a toll on my hopeful attitude about health and I've ignored things for far too long. This year I have a plan and a goal to stick to it!

Reading Goals: I believe self-education is so important so I read a lot of nonfiction: history, biography, geography---all these are important to understand the world we live in. I also enjoy some well-written historical fiction and most classics. This year my reading goal is 70 books, with a good mix of classics and children's literature added to my usual nonfiction fare.

Skills Goals: In 2020 my mother made 12 quilts!! One for each member of my family and one for herself. On top of that, she made pillowcases for each of us! I was so inspired that I've made a goal to learn some needlework skills I've been dreaming about. This year I plan to embroider some things, as well as learn to crochet. I also want to start working through my huge HUGE fabric stash by making gifts for people.

Spiritual Growth: This year I plan to copy out by hand the entire Torah (first five books of the Bible) and finish reading through the Bible in its entirety. I also have several studies to start or continue, including a very slow and in depth study of the early church that I've been doing with my kids every morning at breakfast.

Miscellaneous Goals: Add something to our savings account each pay check; go visit my parents in Oregon; travel to Western Oklahoma to seek out my grandparents' homestead; make myself three items of clothing; take "school photos" of my kids; keep from cutting or coloring my hair; print all my important online photos; transcribe my online book reviews into journals; print or publish my important blog posts

I'd love to hear about your 2021 goals! 

Our World Has Changed, God is Still Unchanging

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

Isaiah 40:8

Back in March I wrote a post titled, The World Looks Different Now, But It's Ok. We were 10 days into the unknown and many of us were wondering how long the changes were going to last. Was this a temporary thing? A new normal? We're now 10 months in and we still don't know.

We've just finished up a fun but very different Christmas weekend at our house. Almost everything about our celebration was outside our normal---part of that was due to "the pandemic" and part of it was due to changes within our family dynamic. We had to work around work schedules and celebrate on a different day than normal. We didn't participate in any sort of church Christmas program (probably a first for my 41 year old husband!) We didn't even drive around to look at Christmas lights this year and our whole community missed our yearly gathering on the square to watch the city lights come on. Instead of spending the rest of present-opening day putting together toys and helping the kids navigate a new game or puzzle, the youngers did all that themselves and the teens starting helping our oldest son move into his new townhouse---on Christmas!!!

In other years, I think this change in our Christmas routine would have really bummed me out, but in 2020, it's just par for the course. So much has changed and some things have become that "new normal" I talked about in March, yet there's one thing that hasn't changed, and that is the Lord. 

For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed. 

Malachi 3

God's Word, His promises, His truths, His plan, are all still very much the same. He knew our world would take a wonky turn in 2020---none of this caught Him off guard and it does not scare or threaten Him in the least. And if the One in charge isn't worried, why should we be?

The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid? 

Psalm 27

That's really the question many of us should be asking ourselves: why are we worried? In Anne of Green Gables, Marilla tells Anne: "God does not want you for a fair weather friend." That phrase has been running through my mind all morning. I think these past 10 months have given us a glimpse into what is meant in passages like Isaiah 40, Job 12:23, and Paul before the Areopagus in Acts 17---some of the many parts of Scripture that remind us God allows kingdoms to rise and fall but He remains unchanged. 

In God, we have a Friend who stays closer than a brother (Prov. 18:24). The more we get to know the nature of this Friend, the more we realize that we have nothing to fear in change. Some of us become really unnerved when we don't know the "next step", yet God's Word brings comfort that He will guide our steps:

The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and He delights in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

Psalm 37

One thing I'll always remember about my Mom is how she plays Pollyanna's "Glad Game" when things go wonky, choosing to think about the good things---counting her blessings. As a brooding teenager, it would sometimes bug me when she would say things like, "You make your own happiness," but she was right---and adding God's message of hope to the picture makes playing the Glad Game even easier. Things are still different...some things are forever changed...yet God is the same as He always was. As we go into 2021, let's hold on to the hope of our unchanging God and count our blessings. There's always something to be thankful for!

(This article was republished from my sister site, ClassicalHomemaking.com.)

Spiced Fruit Compote for Winter Morning Breakfast

 

This delectable compote not only tastes divine---it's gorgeous too! 
Serve with a simple sweet bread at breakfast or as an after dinner dessert with tea.

About fifteen years ago, we lived in a very tiny town in Eastern Oregon called Weston. There were a couple of plum trees, as well as an apple tree in our yard, and all the blackberries you could pick just down the street. At the end of the summer, someone gave me a huge bag of walnuts, so I began looking for ways I could use them and came across a recipe for fruit compote. 

I made a TON of jars and gave them as gifts, as well as stored many in the cold storage room off the side of the house. Since then, I've made compote a couple other times and I do it different every time! Here's a fast way to make a yummy topping for breakfast bread, biscuits, muffins, and more.

 One year I was in a hurry, so I did a quickie method and baked it in the oven instead of cooking it on the stovetop. Since there wasn't time for the fruit to cook down, I added some apricot jam to give it a better spreading consistency. Wonderful idea---it was great! If you want to skip the jam, just let the mixture cook in a saucepan with a little water until it's soft.

Give it a try and let me know what you think! It's great for the holidays---and all year round!

Oven Baked Fruit Compote (serves about 8)

6 apples, cored and diced

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup raisins

1½ cups coarsely chopped walnuts

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup water 

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 tsp. each cloves, nutmeg, ginger

1 c. apricot or peach jam

Preheat oven to 450º. Mix all ingredients, except jam, and spread into a greased 13x9 dish. Bake, uncovered, for 25-30 minutes. Mix in jam and serve over bread, or alone!

Addressing the Uproar Over Instagram / Facebook "New" Terms of Service

Dear Friends: on today's edition of "Let's All Not Freak Out Now with Sarah Coller" I'd like to address the newest trending freakout: Instagram Terms of Service. My kids, their friends, my friends, my enemies, almost EVERYONE is in an uproar about the new IG TOS. I don't claim to be an expert, but I'm married to one so that gives me secondhand wisdomy powers. Plus I worked in social media professionally for about 6 years where my entire life was on display for the whole world to download and I became very familiar with the different ways in which companies use, store, retrieve, and sell our information. AND….I'm a thinking-about-recovering addict so, you know… Anyway, most of what I'm going to say here is my OPINION---but it's based on some knowledge and a whole lot of that good ol' fashioned common sense you've come to adore in me.

First of all---yes, IG (and Facebook) can, will, and has been using your photos/info/contacts/location for all the nasty nefarious purposes. Without going into too much detail, let's just look at it from a common sense perspective: You are using their site for FREE. It might be hard to fathom how much time, cost and man/woman/undecided power goes into running a small little side gig like Instagram, but trust me: it's a lot. You are loading your photos to their site---what would be a better way to compensate them, do you think? Cash? I guarantee you that if IG asked you to pay $20 or even $5 per photo loaded, you'd sign off the rights to your stuff instead, without question. Furthermore, this is nothing new. It's just that now they're being more straightforward in telling you about it. Why? Well has anyone been paying attention to the Zuckerberg Senate Judiciary Committee stuff? Yeah, me neither. But, the powers-bigger-than-Zuck have been on him and my guess is that IG, FB, etc are going to be held more accountable to clearly define their Terms to users.

Here's the thing though...like I said, this kind of sharing, selling, using your info is not new. Why do you think you can be chatting with a friend on Messenger about changing your laundry detergent to Arm & Hammer and three minutes later, you see ads for it when you're browsing Amazon? You like cookies? Well in the internet world, cookies are bad bad bad. Every single internet-capable device that you own has the power to track your conversations, contacts list, location, etc. Some of these settings can be disabled---most can not. Which brings me to….

Instagram is tracking my movements through my front camera!!!!! Aaaaaahhhhhh!!!!! Are you on a laptop right now? Look up at the very tippy top middle of your screen. Camera? Camera on your phone? GPS in your car? Use a credit card online? Shop at Walmart? Ever seen the self-checkout cameras? Ever returned something at Walmart and had them say you no longer need your receipt as long as you paid by card? They just swipe it and can pull up all your shopping history. You'd literally need to live more primitive than the Amish to not have the potential of being tracked by someone. Does that mean they're actually doing it? Yes, probably, but. There is not some crew of bad guys sitting in some dark room chugging coffee and actually watching your movements. Companies usually store this information for a time so it can be retrieved for little things like targeting you in advertising (again, you're using their site FREE...and way too often, by the way) or for big things like catching sex offenders, kidnappers and thieves. Remember, you're talking to one of the top 10 antisocial, way-too-private, hermits in modern times---but if I ever had a child go missing, I'd be thanking God for Facebook or Instagram's "invasive" tracking methods.

So how can you keep your content from being used against your will? It's SO SIMPLE. You can stop posting it to a site owned by another entity. Listen, if you leave your stuff at my house and expect me to leave it out and display it to anyone who comes to my house, you'd better believe I'm going to do one of two things. Either I'm gonna chuck your stuff and tell you to go find your own place to display your stuff or I'm gonna find a way to make this stuff work for me. I might use it or keep it for my grandchildren or even *gasp* modify it to better fit my purposes. 'Cause I'm the one paying the big bucks to store and display it, right? You're using a service, you pay the price. IG's Terms have not changed so much as your understanding of them has changed. This is the case on every single site you visit. That's the way of the world right now, fellas. That's what this fantastic new technologically advanced civilization has given us. Woop Woop!

If we don't like it, we can leave. Will you leave? Probably not. A few might for a while, but those who do usually find that it's a lonely world when everyone else is having a digital relationship and you're over there trying to live like it's 1999. Just promise me this: if you're going to leave IG or FB over their tracking/selling/using policies, leave everything. Be consistent so you don't look foolish. Get rid of your cell phone, your internet, your GPS in your car, your credit and debit cards. Don't pay your bills online or even over the phone, and when you go out, be sure to avoid all "security" cameras in all drive-thrus, shops, ATMs, freeways... you get the picture. In the words of my parents: they can kill us but they can't eat us.

Yeah...I don't know what that means either.

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings -- A Frugal Stick-to-Your-Bones Supper

 

As a native of Eastern Oregon where there are four distinct seasons, I learned to change up my menus as the weather changed. Fresh salads and fancy sandwiches at springtime, grilled meat and watermelon in the summer, light soups and casseroles in fall, and thick stews with crusty bread in winter. We knew it was time to change seasons by the way things smelled---even when fall was ending and the bite of winter was coming, we could smell the snow in the air.

The South (we are in Arkansas now) likes to play the "let's change up everything with the seasons" game too---only nothing is distinct and there are no signs of a new season coming. I've been here seven years and I still can't read the clouds. We just roll with it day to day and pretend winter is real. Sometimes December is mostly 40s and 50s, other times it's 70s and even 80s.

Still, my kids must have a little northener left in them because they've been requesting chicken and dumplings for weeks now. According to my seven year old, I've not made this family favorite since the night we decorated Christmas sugar cookies---in 2018. She's probably not wrong. I just haven't been feeling it---the whole "do the exciting new season stuff"---but I'm determined to try harder. Especially in a crazy year like 2020 has been, a bit of normalcy is important. These are the things families are made of---the memories and traditions and faith that binds us together.

So tonight I made this hearty, stick-to-your-bones meal in a pot and everyone cheered. I fell asleep while the chicken was cooking but it was perfectly tender. I thought I dumped too much thyme in, but it was fantastic. I thought I went too fast on the veggies and feared I'd undercooked the carrots, but they were just right. Apparently, I've still got the knack. Here's roughly how I made it---I hope your family enjoys chicken and dumplings as much as we do.

Homemade Chicken and Dumplings (12 servings, 8 hours)

1 whole chicken
up to 3 quarts poultry broth (I used turkey broth from our Thanksgiving carcass)
6 bay leaves
3 carrots
3 celery stalks
onion to taste (I used 2 TB dried onions, you could use up to 1 whole, if you like)
thyme, garlic, salt to taste

4 c. flour

8 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. salt

2 c. water

Put the chicken in a large soup pot (mine is 14 qt.), and add all the broth. Add water until it covers to about an inch above the chicken. Add the bay leaves and a few teaspoons of salt. Cover the pot and bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and let it simmer for about 6 hours. 

After about 6 hours, remove the chicken from the pot. (I use a small handled strainer to scoop it out whole but always need to fish out the wings with a slotted spoon!) Make sure to use a slotted spoon to get out any bones. Then set your chicken aside to cool and keep the broth hot on the lowest setting, covered. The chicken will take 30-45 minutes to cool. Once it's cooled, pull the meat off the bones and put it back into the broth in small pieces. Be careful to feel for any small bones. Then cut up your vegetables and add them to the broth, along with the thyme and garlic. Taste to see if you want to add more salt. I end up adding quite a bit to get it just right. Finally, turn your pot back up to a higher setting to get the broth boiling again.

While the broth is heating back up, mix up the dumplings by combining the flour, baking powder and salt, then stir in the water. Use a spoon for this---you want the batter to look lumpy. Once the broth is boiling rapidly, drop spoonfuls of the batter into the boiling broth. The dumplings will cook quickly and rise to the top when they're done. Just keep dropping them in until you've got all the batter in there. It will look crowded but they'll figure it out. Ha!

I served ours with zucchini bread tonight (yay for summer harvest preservation!) but you could also do biscuits, rolls, or just eat it as a one-pot meal. Yum!

Looking For Persimmons in NW Arkansas -- The Homemaking Party

 

Good Morning Friends! How's everyone holding up? We're all doing well. Jamie is still working from home (going on nine months now!) but, other than that, the big things in life have been relatively normal. We've just gone on holiday break so I'm hoping for a lot more time to read, write, and create over these next couple months. We shall see...

Last year on my birthday (October 23) we discovered a persimmon tree near our property. Do you know about the South's legend of the persimmon seed? Well you're about to be educated! This season we got back to it a little late but we did happen to spy a couple fruit left on the very bare branches!

We started by shaking the tree real hard---one fell down. Then I grabbed the stick from Selah and went after the other one. It was a team effort but we managed to snag those last two.

The legend says one can tell what kind of winter is coming by slicing open the seed of a persimmon and seeing what shape is inside.

Here's Liam's (10) explanation: "So if you find a persimmon, this is what to do: so wash and dry the seeds. Then cut it open. If it's a fork, you will have a warm winter; if a spoon, lots of snow; if a knife, a cold winter."

We cut open these three seeds and saved the rest so the kids could try to grow one in our yard. The general consensus was that the majority of these are spoons. 

Kynthia (9) drew this diagram of the steps to making it to the inside of the seed. She came up with this idea so she wouldn't have to ask me how to spell everything---ha! Very smart!

Here is Avalon's (11) journal entry: "Me, my siblings, and Mom all found two persimmons, and nine seeds and the majority of the seeds were spoons. Hopefully the legend is true!"

Brenna (7) is really really hoping for some cold weather and snow this year. Me too!

Thanks for stopping by The Homemaking Party! I'm excited to see what everyone has got to share!

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We Must Pray for Mercy

By now most everyone has heard of the terrible destruction and loss of life and property due to the fires going on mainly in the Pacific Coast states. Add to that the realities and unrealities of Covid, the extreme weather events, the rioting and fear-mongering in big cities and small cities alike, and the laughable "news media" and we have ourselves a lot to pray about.

I wonder if we're really praying the right prayers though?

It seems like a given that we'd pray God would defeat the enemy, restore order, bring peace, thwart the plans of the devil, etc. Surely a loving God doesn't want us to face all this crazy. Surely He's on His way to save us. Surely He's just letting the devil have his way for a time but all will be well before long. 

Or maybe not?

What if this is judgement? (Pick your chin up off the floor---yes, I really said that.)

In Amos 4, God recounts corrections He gave to the children of Israel, trying to turn their hearts back to Him. Over and over again He says, "Yet you have not returned". Read this:

“Also I gave you cleanness of teeth (hunger) in all your cities,

And lack of bread in all your places;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the Lord.

 

“I also withheld rain from you,

When there were still three months to the harvest.

I made it rain on one city,

I withheld rain from another city.

One part was rained upon,

And where it did not rain the part withered.

 

So two or three cities wandered to another city to drink water,

But they were not satisfied;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the Lord.

 

“I blasted you with blight and mildew.

When your gardens increased,

Your vineyards,

Your fig trees,

And your olive trees,

The locust devoured them;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the Lord.

 

“I sent among you a plague after the manner of Egypt;

Your young men I killed with a sword,

Along with your captive horses;

I made the stench of your camps come up into your nostrils;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the Lord.

 

“I overthrew some of you,

As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah,

And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning;

Yet you have not returned to Me,”

Says the Lord.

 

“Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel;

Because I will do this to you,

Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!”

Listen, God isn't messing around. I was accused of being heartless this morning on Facebook when I used an example of a burnt out Oregon town to call the lukewarm to preparedness. Theories abound about the source of the west coast fires, but what is so evident to me is that God is giving us up to our own destruction. He's allowing us to feel pain that He may have even sent Himself so we will return to Him---yet, we have not returned.

If that last line of the Amos passage sounds sorta kitschy bad guy to you, be assured---God is no comic book character. Prepare to meet your God. Are you ready?

Many Christians have been caught off guard by the persecution that has gone on in recent months. Many, many more are still deluded that it couldn't happen to their church, their town. I mean, it's California... No, friends, it's Christians. Are you ready?

Maybe our prayers need to be for mercy. I was out in Oregon last week for several days and the smoke was bad. The fear was bad. I posted a "Pray for Oregon" meme and began writing a big thing about praying for the state and yadda yadda... I had to delete what I'd written because I couldn't bring myself to ask God to "vanquish all the fiery darts of the enemy." Because I knew. I knew it wasn't the enemy who allowed this. It was God. Instead, I asked for mercy for just a little longer. That He'd delay His judgement for the sake of the remnant and in the hope that even just a few more souls would turn to Him when pushed to the extreme.

With all the lawlessness and apathy Christians have bred in this nation, we have no right to be praying against judgement with some kind of haughty name it and claim it sort of attitude, casting out evil and declaring and decreeing all over the place. For crying out loud... If we are actually going to be so bold as to approach God on this matter, we'd better be humbly and fervently pleading for mercy. Amos 5 repeatedly states, "Seek Me and live; Seek the Lord and live; Seek good and not evil, that you may live". Everything is different now. Western Christianity as we know it is gasping its last breath. There's no time for denominational disputes and petty picking apart of Scripture. Seek the Lord while He may be found. Come to Him in humble repentance and make your requests known to Him. Plead with Him for mercy. Plead with Him to be set on a straight path. Don't be caught up in the "feel good Jesus movement". Our God is a Lamb---He's also a Lion. He's a jealous God and He will have no other idols before Him. We must pray for mercy.

A Voice in the Wilderness

Raw.

God is stripping away all my preconceived notions of what it means to follow Him. I feel an urgency to purge. Social media. All media. All influences. Clutter. All my stuff. Busyness. All our school work exchanged for Bible study. I go from one extreme to another, trying to find peace. There must be a middle ground here that allows us to still function in 21st century America, even though it is not our home. Even though there is so much here that I want to hide away from.

I don't have to explain where these feelings are coming from because every true believer is likely feeling similar things. There is a shifting taking place and it's both scary and exciting. I don't want to miss what God is doing...yet I don't want to be a part of so much of the world's hatefulness and hurt.

As much as I want to hermit away, God has called me to be a voice crying in the wilderness. I looked up that term a few minutes ago to find the exact Scripture reference and found this from Collins Dictionary: "a lone voice in the wilderness. Someone who is pointing out the dangers in a situation or the truth about it, but nobody is paying any attention." 

Nobody is paying attention. It often feels like that when you are speaking truth. It's a lonely place. I know I have hesitated and have shushed the voice of God for fear of being a weirdo, for fear of being the awkward one with no friends. However, that voice is becoming stronger and it's becoming the most important thing. I must make it the most important thing.

I want my countenance, my home, my priorities, everything around me to reflect the Lord and to draw people to Him. That's what Hope Cottage is all about. It's what I've named my home and my business. I include it in my mailing address. The "Cottage" part is for trendy, quirky, attention-catching purposes. The "Hope" part is what I really want you to grasp hold of. Many are hopeless now. Many more will become hopeless as the day of the Lord draws nearer. We who know Him must be the voices in the wilderness, speaking the truth of Christ and the message of hope and the warnings of eternal choices. Even if it seems nobody is paying attention.

2020 Themed Tea Party Blog Hop -- Vintage Paper Ephemera and Letters

Welcome to our first Themed Tea Party Blog Hop! I'm so excited to be hosting this fun event and I hope you'll take time to read through the posts that each lady has worked so hard on. You can find the complete list of participants at the end of this post.

In past years, I've done an elaborate spread of treats and creativity. They reflected where I was emotionally and were so much fun. I don't doubt I'll go back to similar themes in the future but this year I am in a different place, emotionally, and I wanted this post to reflect that, as well. I know we are all learning things about ourselves, others, and life through this pandemic and we will never be the same. These last six months, I've focused a lot on the kind of homemaker I want to be, as well as spent time helping others build long-distance friendships through my Victorian Letter Writers Guild. This year's tea party will be centered around home, relationships, and correspondence, with a vintage flair.

I'm serving a simple chocolate cake, shortbread cookies, and tea for my party. I've set up my table on our screened porch where I have a lovely view of our forest and can watch all kinds of wildlife like deer and birds. My children have a tree house on a nearby tree so it's fun to sit out there and listen to them play and imagine.

My chocolate mint tea was made from herbs grown in my front yard. It has a lovely scent and flavor and my kids can't get enough of it! We have such an abundance that I'll be sending some to my Mom early next week.

My last outing before COVID restrictions hit in March was to visit my friend Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage. She and I live less than an hour apart so Lynzie and I like to go up there now and then and spend time with her and her daughters. After enjoying lunch, dessert, and a wonderful visit, Lynzie and I stopped by one of our favorite antique stores on our way home. This shop has lots of antique paper ephemera and I love sifting through it for treasures. 

I've brought some of my purchases to share at this party so please grab some treats and a cup of tea and step into the past with me. There are happy bits and sad bits but all of them are treasures!

I began a fascination with the many World Fairs a few summers ago when I read through a run of books about carnivals, circuses, and World Fairs. I love collecting related memorabilia so it was a real treat to come across a little envelope of 10 souvenir photographs from the 1939 Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco. 

My favorite photo is the one on the bottom right because I'm curious about this man in the all-white uniform. He stands out among a sea of darkly-clad people, walking in the opposite direction as almost everyone else.

Underneath the photo envelope is a photograph that I've kept hidden on purpose. I believe I've found a very rare and precious Victorian Memento Mori. These Victorian death photos have always fascinated me but I've never seen one in person. While I can't imagine taking this sort of photo myself, I can understand why this would be something special for the remaining family who likely didn't have any other photo of their loved one. Since I know some people can be sensitive to this subject, I've opted to host the photo on another site. You can find that photo, as well as my comments, at a link at the end of this post. It is not a gruesome photo---it's beautiful and peaceful actually---but it does bring a bit of a shock if you understand what you're looking at.

Do you collect books? I have a pretty large antique book collection and I'm always looking for pretty ones to add to it. Here is a copy of John Ruskin's, Precious Thoughts, inscribed thus: To Johnnie from Bessie, Christmas 1913. I have several titles with a similar design. They're so pretty and great for staging photos too!

Next up is a collection of love letters written over the course of about four weeks during March-April 1930. (I know! Can you believe I found all this crazy cool stuff?!!) Just this handful of letters are very telling as engaged couple Maude and Walter plan their future, narrated by Maude. The first letter has her mooning on about the ring he bought her and all her friends' reactions. She talks of him working in Joplin and buying them a home. 

The second letter includes information on a home Maude wants Walter to go look at and some newspaper clippings about new railroads being built in the area. She uses all the normal not-so-sly wife tactics I use to get my husband to do something he's not 100% wanting to do. Ha! I call it "buttering up".

Letter number three mentions ex-girlfriend(?) Maggie and the surprise she'll receive at their marriage. Ms. Maude is quite the fiery one! In this letter she mentions "The Jew Lady" who told her fortune for 1930: marriage, giving Walter a son, and the death of two local women! Yikes! I wonder if any of that happened!

Letter four gives more of a glimpse into Maude's personal life. She includes a reply letter from her sister after asking if her sister would invite her to come visit---presumably so she could be closer to where Walter is? She says she'll bring her sister a pair of hose "since she has such a hard time" and talks about greasing her hair up with olive oil to make it grow faster. Putting two and two together, it sounds as if Maude has been secretive about her plans with Walter and they intend to surprise everyone with their marriage. I get the impression that the trip to her sister's is a ruse. Oh dear...

The final letter has Maude preparing to teach Sunday School and discussing her shopping trip the previous day to look for a white dress. She's anticipating her visit with Walter and wondering what kinds of tricks he plans to play on her while she's there. She talks about visiting Mrs. Whitwam (a regular character in almost every letter) and how her newest nurse is a "holy roller". Ha! I truly hope Walter and Maude had a long and lovely life together! In fact, after reading through these again today, I did a little digging online and found a pretty lengthy court document that sheds a lot of light on the life of Maude. It actually speaks to the trip in letter number four---but I'll let you figure out that mystery for yourself!

Finally, here is something very special. This letter dated April 25, 1906 was likely read once and put away, never to be revisited. The bits of cloth and hair were preserved within the folds of the letter and surely were long forgotten as I can't imagine someone not passing this precious package on to the next generation. The letter reads:

Dear Uncle,

     It has been such a long time since I wrote to you that I've forgotten whither I wrote to you last or not but I will write you again anyway. This leaves us only tolerably well.

     We have had so much work to do lately that we are all about worn out. I suppose you know everything about dear Mama's death. She passed away the 23rd of March and was burried (sic) the 25th. She had been very poorly all winter and was getting so she could not use her limbs and she wanted to go out to Belle's and stay awhile so we took her there thinking the change would do her good and she would be closer to the Dr. too. She was there only two weeks when the end came. She just gradually got worse and her sufferings were so great the last few days of her life yet she bore it patiently and was perfectly resigned to the Lord's will.

     She passed away very quickly and was gone before we hardly realized what had happened. I tell you Uncle it is the hardest thing we ever had to do was to give Mama up. She was so good to us and we miss her so much. Papa We had her funeral preached the 15th of this month. Bro. Richardson a Holiness preacher, preached the sermon from the 2nd chapter of Revelation and the last part of the tenth verse. His talk was real good and encouraging for us all to be faithful until this life was ended.

     I will send you and aunt Martha one of Mama's handkerchiefs and a lock of her hair and a piece of her burial dress. She was laid away in a white robe. She looked so natural and so sweet. I don't know whether it is right for us to weep for her or not for she is free from suffering now but it is lonely without her. We have broken up house keeping. Papa sold his farm and made a sale and sold off nearly every thing we had. He and I will make our home with Lizzie at present anyway. Uncle will stay at Belle's and Bro. Marshall has work out at Iola. We are scattered in a good many places already but such is death life. 

     Well Uncle I truly hope you will pardon me for not writing to you sooner but I've just been so busy and so many things to see too (sic) and moving up here and we haven't anything done up yet. I am about worked down but maybe we will get through after awhile. I must close now, please write to us soon and tell us all about the relations and your own family. I hope you are all well and prospering. With much love to everyone, I remain your Lov. Neice (sic),

Lillie West

Kincaid Kans.

I was very touched by Lillie's heartbreak over losing her mother, as well as her bravery at moving on. I love the voice of a past era and that the places named in the letter are so near to where I live now. This is a special treasure I will always cherish.

Well friends, my tea cup is empty and my plate has been cleaned of every crumb. I suppose it's time to wrap up this party. I hope you've enjoyed your stay! Here is the link to the Memento Mori photo and description, if you are interested. Click where it says "1 comment" at the bottom right to see what I've written about it.



 Thanks for stopping by and please don't forget to visit the other participants below!





Lynzie at Elegant Homemaking

Ricki at The Sketchy Reader

Debby at Sunflower House Art

Elizabeth at Ponderings From the Inglenook



Sara at Avidly Dreaming

Jean at Delightful Repast

Sherry at My Journey Back

The Homemaking Party: Sewing, Selling, Sweltering

Hi Friends! Welcome to The Homemaking Party! 

My goal this week was to spend some time sewing. Well...I really don't know where the first part of this week went, but I did get Avalon's dress done today! She wanted a plain charcoal gray dress so she could put together an outfit like Doctor Who's Amy Pond. I've learned to make their dresses a little roomy at this age and I think she'll get good use out of this one before it's too small.

My Pampered Chef business has been going pretty good the last few months. This month I'm helping hostesses earn an extra $100 in free products when they have a qualifying party. All my parties are held online which means you can invite your friends from anywhere to join! Let me know if you're interested in hosting.

Finally, I wanted to send a reminder about our Themed Tea Party Blog Hop! I've had several sign up already and I think it's gonna be great. Visit HERE if you are interested in participating! 

That's all for this week, folks! Hope you're staying happy and well! 

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The Homemaking Party: A Little Normalcy at VBS

Good Morning Friends! Welcome to The Homemaking Party!

Our family is experiencing a little bit of normal life this week as the kids are taking part in a very small evening VBS experience at a tiny local church. Last night was Pirate Night and kids and teens alike got into the spirit of things with fun costumes!

Miller Church was built around 1865 and is currently pastored by some sweet friends of our family. Each night this week they've shared the Gospel message with grade school age kids, and teens and young adults have assisted with games and crafts. 

Tuesday night was a hot dog cookout and tonight there will be hamburgers for the whole family. It's so fun to watch our kids run around, fellowship, and play games in the same grassy area that families have been doing so for at least 155 years! 

Hope you're all having a happy week and thanks for stopping by The Homemaking Party. 

Shabbat Shalom!

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The Homemaking Party: Overwhelmed in the Ozarks

When I was a kid, I loved to read the newspaper---especially Dear Abby. I'd love to read the newspaper now but every time I buy one it ends up in a clutter pile that I never get to for days. Clutter is taking over my life. If I didn't live in a little corner of the forest on a cul-de-sac with zero traffic, I'd have me a big yard sale. I need a Goodwill trip or fifty. Anyway, all that to say---if I was writing to Abby today, I'd sign my letter, "Overwhelmed in the Ozarks".

It's not a bad overwhelmed---just a "not the best" sort of overwhelmed. I have literally cut every. single. responsibility. out of my life that doesn't specifically pertain to wife-ing/mom-ing/homemaking. I am bound and determined to focus on the best things here at home---even if that means cutting out some good things. I know what I've got to do... I just need to be motivated enough to do it. My house is usually a peaceful place but I've been in a busy rut and things are literally stacking up.

For instance, a couple months ago I went on a massive book-buying spree at my favorite used book shop because I wanted to start making money online selling books. It's gone really well and, after selling most of the books, I went back last week for another round. I've sold most of those too. BUT...the small box of unsold books is sitting here beside my bed and blocking my closet door. It's been here for weeks. Maybe even a couple months. I can barely get in and out of my closet...but every time I do, I have to climb over this little box of books. So, more often than not, my clean laundry piles up on my desk chair because it's so annoying to get into my closet. Is it worth this annoyance to make $20 or so off of these last few books? NO! Will I just take them to Goodwill so I can have access to my closet? PROBABLY NOT. See folks---that's the level of crazy we're dealing with here.

In the last little bit, I've noticed some of my favorite bloggers returning to the block. Has anyone noticed JES is back at Strangers & Pilgrims on Earth? SO excited about that! I'm feeling inspired to be more active here on the blog. Maybe I should blog about all the junk I need to haul off and then I'll be motivated in both areas.

If you've read this far, you've realized this is just the overwhelmed ramblings of a maybe-too-long-quarantined housewife. Nothing too deep and wonderful today...Ha! But, I do wish you all a lovely week and I can't wait to see what you've got to share at The Homemaking Party!

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