My Return from England--Featuring Warwick Castle

Pultney Bridge selfie --- Bath, England

Hello Friends! Wow, it's been awhile since I've hosted our weekly Homemaking Party! I've returned from my England trip and am getting settled back into the regular routine. Some really fun things are in store for the next couple months---namely, I'll be releasing a book shortly!

There were lots of really amazing things to see and experience on this year's tour. I'm hoping to share them all with you over the next few weeks. One of the fun places we visited was Warwick Castle.

They've got a lovely exhibit called the Victorian House Party. The castle and grounds are owned by Madame Toussad's so there are some really amazing wax work exhibits throughout the castle.

Here are my friend Leta and I---punished for bad behaviour!

I feel so blessed to have been able to visit England once again. I'm hoping my husband can travel with me next time!

Thanks for stopping by the Homemaking Party. I'm excited to see what everyone's got to share!

Ideas for Bridging Generational Gaps

About once a month, a local assisted living facility asks for community members to come sing and play music for the residents. Our homeschool group participated last year and my teens loved bringing their guitars or piano music and playing songs the residents recognized and could sing along with.

It's important to me to teach our kids that they can have a big impact on their communities right where they are and in every stage of life. I want them to have the opportunity to learn from and be influenced by people of all generations. We live in a community that, until recently, served as mainly a retirement community for many years. There are a lot of opportunities here for the youngers and olders to mingle. Ministering at an assisted living center or to other people in our community is just as edifying for my children as it is for the residents.  As they see the joy they can bring to people, it gives them the chance to build relationships with them.

There are lots of ways to bridge generational gaps between the young and the aged. The main thing is to get over any preconceived ideas about one another's interests and, instead, open up dialogue. The older generations love to talk one on one so the best way to find out what they're in to is just ask!

Here are some more ideas to help younger people enjoy the wisdom and influence of the older generations:

• Take a nature walk together and collect items for a fairy pot. If the older person has difficulty outside, the younger person could bring all of the supplies to their room, open up a sunny window, and work on the project with them there.
• Cards, board games, and puzzles are always fun and challenging. Pick games that aren't super complicated but will require all players to strategize. These sort of mind builders are beneficial to every age level.
• Prepare a picnic to enjoy together in or out of doors. 
• Bake cookies or make and decorate a cake together. One of my favorite early memories was when our neighbor, Alice, invited me over to make oatmeal cookies. I was only about six years old and I remember she's the one who taught me to sift flour!
• Spend time looking at cloud or rock formations and use your imaginations to decide what they look like.
• Do a simple sport like badminton, ping pong, or bounce a ball back and forth while visiting.
• Visit a lake or river to go fishing or skip rocks in the water.
• Work on a project like repairing a small engine or building a birdhouse. 
• Have a conversation about something special like their father's tackle box or their mother's sewing box. 
• Look through photographs together.
• Do a service project together like preparing gifts or writing cards or making hats and blankets.
• Find some old newspapers or magazines and have the older person talk about events or ads from their point of view.
• Play with Legos or make a model car.
• Cut paper dolls from magazines or make scrapbooks from pretty pictures. My great-grandma loved to do this with me when I was little and I have several of our scrapbooks made from seed catalogs.

No matter the activity, the important thing for all generations is to know that we have true friends and are being loved and respected for the valuable people we are. Spending time in real relationships is important for all ages.

I'd love to hear your ideas for bridging generational gaps. Let me know in the comments below!

Second Regency Dress is Finished!

Sewing is coming along nicely for my Regency "trousseau". Ha! Yesterday I finished my second dress and now I can't decide if I want to wear this one in the promenade or the red one I showed you last week. 

I went with a higher neckline and long sleeves with this one---a morning dress look. I love the option this pattern has for adding a waistband. Even though I don't have a tie running through, it just looks so nice and much less "nightgownish" than some of my previous dresses.

I also chose to do a tie back. Several references say this was the most common way to close up the dress in Jane's day.

I've done so many hand-stitched eyelets lately that they're really growing on me. Only 15 more days until I leave! I'm super excited!