A Little Forced Spring Cleaning :)

Dear Friends,

Thank you so much for your sweet comments and well-wishes on our last post. We haven't been able to visit with you as much as we would like lately, being busy packing/sorting beavers, but you have been in our thoughts and prayers!

We are thankful that we have the motivation, with the future move, to clear out so many things that we would otherwise have procrastinated cleaning! So far, the number of given-away boxes of books and magazines (Who knew that "Highlights" could reproduce so quickly?) is up to sixteen, and we have packed away 21 boxes of books, papers, and binders that we hope we can do without until we are settled. We've lost track of the bags-full of garbage and recycling. The scary thing is, after moving the left-over books and binders into the parlor, it looks as though nothing had been removed at all! But we are undaunted and will continue until a dent is made and all is in order :) .

Meanwhile, the children have been enjoying playing outside when the sun shines (In case you thought differently, they have informed me that 46 degrees is "hot" and requires the removal of jackets, hats, and shoes), and making fun spring crafts when the weather looks like it does today~




I hope that you are enjoying time in your cottages, as well, dear friends, and can find the strength to clear out some of those things that may be weighing you down.

I will leave you with a little poem that I wrote for my children, for this time of year~

The Early Spring

Winter's silver fairyland is fading away fast,
And Jack Frost's frozen reign shall soon be truly past.
The bare, unlovely earth now wears a ruddy, muddy crown,
But soon she will sport daisies upon a verdant gown.

Though the winds may be chilly that blow both night and day,
They are only Nature's harbingers for a season warm and gay.
So bear your lot with patience, my little lad and lass,
For you'll soon enough be barefoot, and running through the grass!

Love,

Marqueta

Fun With Food and Family News

Dear Friends,

It is a cloudy, frosty day today~but we know that Mother Nature is just being coy, and that Spring is on its way! The snow is turning into muddy, mushy slush, the Brewer's blackbirds have returned, and the house finches have begun their springtime song. The days are getting lighter and longer, and our spirits are beginning to awaken to the prospects of the new growth which will soon be upon us!

Yesterday Mr. Graham was informed by his work that his job will be eliminated in one month. Strangely, this news came as a bit of a relief, since we had been praying for guidance in how to find him a new job and us a new home in the near future. Now we just have to find the new job and home ;) ! As some of you know, we are also expecting a baby in a few months, so that should make life interesting, indeed!

We know that whatever the future holds, we are in God's very capable hands, and that His plans are to bless us in every way. We do hope that we can find our dream cottage, with woods nearby, and perhaps a little creek or pond, as well.

Meanwhile, we have begun to go through and get rid of things already (No sense procrastinating!), including six boxes of books (sadly) and a large Christmas cactus to our local library. We wish our blog friends lived closer, as we would gift you with a few books and houseplants, too!

The girls have been looking at creative Bento (Japanese) lunches on the internet, and decided to come up with some creative meals, themselves~

Not bad for starters :) ~

The girls and I are also making monthly magazines for our dolls.

AnnaMarie's is for lady dolls, and is called "Apron Pockets".

Audrey's is for girls and is called "Anna Banana".

Tasha's is the "Nature Bature Newsletter"

And mine is an upside down/right side up magazine for children called "The Merry Little Housekeeper/Harry the Little Mousekeeper"(Illustrated by Audrey and Tasha).

That should keep us out of trouble for a while!

Here is a poem from our Commonplace Book we feel is fitting to our lives at the present:

Waiting
By John Burroughs

Serene, I fold my hands and wait,
Nor care for wind, nor tide, nor sea;
I rave no more 'gainst time or fate,
For lo! my own shall come to me.

I stay my haste, I make delays,
For what avails this eager pace?
I stand amid the eternal ways,
And what is mine shall know my face.

The waters know their own, and draw
The brook that springs in yonder heights.
So flowers the good with equal law
Unto the soul of pure delights.

The stars come nightly to the sky;
The tidal wave unto the sea;
Nor time, nor space, nor deep, nor high,
Can keep my own away from me.

We hope that spring is winging her way near you as well, our dear friends.

Until next time,

Love,

Marqueta

Cottage Life and "Marriage and Its Real Purpose"

Dear Friends,

A merry Friday to you, today! Thank you for coming over today; we might even have a bit of sunshine to share with you!

Let's see what's been going on around the cottage~ We would like to introduce two "new" members of the doll family; Meriweather and Fauna, who have been to the big, big city and have just been reunited with their big sister, Annabelle (Who is feeling a little quite the country bumpkin next to their fine clothes).



These two dolls belonged to my mother's younger sisters back in the early 1950s, and Annabelle for many years reigned supreme at the head of my grandmother's bed. So you can see that they go way back! I was very thankful that my mother trusted me to keep them here (on the very tippy-top shelf, of course).

And here are two Godey's plates that we tried to resist buying, but when they were marked down to $2.50 each, well. . .

See how much Grandma's old Dutch girl likes them!

AnnaMarie and I decided that instead of painting over this, ummm, lovely wallpaper that used to greet the eye upon entering the kitchen, we would wallpaper over with the same wallpaper we put up in the parlor three years ago~


It looks SO much more pleasing to the eye, that we wonder why we did not think of it sooner! And of course, it was very economical, coming from the thrift store :) .


We hope that you do not tire of our sharing little tidbits from our old books and magazines~ this little article jumped out at us so that we thought we'd finish off with it today (We will leave to our married friends to arrange sharing it with their spouses):

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Marriage and its Real Purpose

"Real marriage, ideal marriage, should mean the union of a man and a woman, living their lives together, and spending their entire lives learning to know each other." This is the statement of John Arthur Graves in one of his recent essays. "The man who has been married a week, a month, a year or five years, and who imagines that he knows his wife, is a man to be pitied.

"Each human soul represents the development of thousands and thousands of years back of us. Even the simplest human creatures cannot be really known except by years of study, lasting over a lifetime.

"The man and woman really married, and happily married, are the couple that each day and each week and each year find new attractions, new and charming characteristics, in each other. Nine-tenths of the troubles of married life are due to the fact that the average husband neglects to study his wife, fails to realize her beauty of character--ignores the wonderful gift that has been bestowed upon him.

"A woman gives herself, her entire life, everything that she has, to a man, staking her happiness upon his intelligence and appreciation, and expecting him, as the years pass, to study and know her as she strives to know him, until a perfect union of soul has been completed between them. This is real marriage."

~The Mother's Magazine, April 1908

Until next time, dear friends,

Love,

Marqueta

Happy Birthday, Mr. Washington

Dear Friends,

Thank you for coming by today, and we hope you had a lovely weekend. We DID survive ours, and everyone made it home safely, thank the Lord! Now the house is nice and noisy :) .

The girls took a few pictures for me so I wouldn't miss out on their trip to Utah~would you like to see them?

Cousins, cousins, and more cousins!

They even brought back these Raggedies that Mr. Graham's grandma made him when he was wee.

Today we have been having fun coloring pictures of George Washington, telling the story of the cherry tree, and making other various and sundry patriotic crafts.

We wish you a wonderful week, dear friends~Thank you as always for your sweet comments. Now we shall head out for some fresh air, and leave you with these words of wisdom from "The Perfect Woman" (which we have not become yet, sadly)~

Fresh Air Tonic Better Than Medicine

Too much cannot be said of the benefits derived from exercise in open, pure air and deep breathing. As a tonic, it is better than medicine. It gives tone to the appetite, aids digestion, and lends vigor to both mind and body. Invalids who suffer from nervous prostration or from uterine diseases should live much in the open sunshine. Outdoor life reinforces the strength, increases the appetite, repairs the blood, quiets the nerves and gives new life and health to the body. The great physicians are good water, sunlight, deep breathing, and exercise in pure air.

Love,

Marqueta

From the Stillness. . ..

A happy Saturday to you, sweet friends!

It is a beautiful, yet chilly day here at Merry Hearts Cottage, and we are spending the day ALONE! Mr. Graham and the children have all gone to visit in another state, and I shall be spending two days to myself, which I have not done since being married. Let me tell you, it's a little quieter around here! A little TOO quiet!

It has already been a blessing for me, though, to be able to appreciate just how wonderful it is to have the noises, little and big, each day of my life. The laundry, the dishes, and the books and bits of paper around the house have even been comforting things, reminding me just how much love there is contained in this little house, and how blessed I am to be at this point in my life.

May I remember these things the next time I feel overwhelmed with the little daily annoyances and interruptions!

I have been recording a tape of poetry for the children to listen to while they go to sleep at night, from a very old book I was blessed to find at the thrift store yesterday. I have made a few tapes here and there of books, poetry, and song, for the times when I cannot spend alone time with them, and they really love them. Some of my most treasured possessions are a few cassette tapes that my father made while dying of cancer, with his life story and the cowboy songs he loved to sing.

If you can spare a little time, I would encourage you to record your life history in your own voice, for your posterity, and make copies to keep in a safe place~ And to record the older members of the family, before they pass on to where we can hear their voices no more. You will be glad you did!

I have also been reading a book printed in the early 1900s by Dr. Mary R. Melendy, called "The Perfect Woman". Maybe I'll be perfect by the time everyone returns tomorrow evening, if I'm lucky ;) !



Here is an excerpt that I think you would like:

"Woman's Love Stronger Than Death"

Woman's love is stronger than death; it rises superior to adversity, and towers in sublime beauty above the niggardly selfishness of the world. Misfortune cannot suppress it; enmity cannot alienate it; temptation cannot enslave it. It is the guardian angel of the nursery and the sick bed; it gives an affectionate concord to the partnership of life and interest; circumstances cannot modify it; it ever remains the same to sweeten existence, to purify the cup of life on the rugged pathway to the grave, and melt to moral pliability the brittle nature of man. It is the ministering spirit of home, hovering in soothing caresses over the cradle, and the death-bed of the household, and filling up the urn of all its sacred memories.

Isn't that beautiful? May we strive to be true to the standard which the Good Lord has given us as women and homemakers, or whatever our lot in life.

A blessed weekend to you,

From the quiet cottage of

Marqueta :)