My Choices

I  wonder if anyone even notices the things around me that I consider special.
 

We don't use paper napkins and you will rarely find paper towels in my kitchen.


My liquid dish detergent is not in the DAWN bottle ..it's in a crystal looking  bottle dispenser that is actually an Avon bottle [No, I don't collect avon bottles-just spotted this and it had my name on it]  I scrub my kitchen sink and hand wash dishes with a natural loofah sponge, just like those I grew near the farmhouse in Texas. In my bathroom I no longer have the sweet little nylon net bath scrubbies..I have natural loofah sponges not because they are fancy, exclusive or expensive but because it's one of those natural things I love.  I no longer buy potpourri, I make my own [no perfumed scent] from flowers, petals and blooms from our yard or herbs from my own herb bed near the kitchen door. It's not a snob thing..it's a NATURAL THING.


We don't stock styrofoam cups for you to drink from and rarely ever  have disposable plates-even for a large crowd.  God has blessed me to have a wonderful stock of dishes and flatware so why in the world would I use 'throw away' for people I love to invite to spend time or share a meal with us?
 

Oh yes, you were likely wondering about the paper issues.  When our daughter was in first grade and the three boys were about 5-7th grades I noticed that I was spending an exorbitant amount of money on items we could not eat when I did my grocery shopping.  I began looking for napkins on sale, fabric on sale and started making sets of cloth napkins-we were not trying to show off just trying to save money.  Oftentimes guests have walked by napkins and ask where the napkins are.  Years later I discovered the wonderfully cheap and very practical packages of flour sack dish towels at the dollar stores and Wal Mart and today those white, simple, no lint dish towels are on my list of "Jonell's favorite things."  They will bleach clean and are inexpensive enough that it's easy to restock several times a year.  It just feels like such a luxury having the kitchen drawers full of enough and some to spare that I can use them just as freely as we would paper towels.  Still after all these years even my children will  ask : "Mom where are the paper towels."

 

Another change over the years has been a move to buying ALL WHITE TOWELS AND LINENS.  Everything matches, the towels all bleach and for me the all white towels give me the feel of luxury in my bathroom.  I have chosen in recent years to buy the best bed linens I can afford to purchase..even if that means I only have two sets of sheets. These choices give me a feel of quality, abundance and comfort in our home. 

 It just doesn't take much to make me happy -such simple things in my life feel like abundance.

This works perfectly in this house for my bathroom. You guessed it, All white cotton shower curtains and matching window curtain [ something of a 'spa look']

 

A new bride, a young mother on a tight budget,can make a difference in her quality of life by making some basic choices..perhaps like these

Please note, these are my preferences, my choices.   I will not be offended if you use paper napkins & paper towels or serve me food on disposable plates.  These choices have nothing to do with making judgements concerning how you do things  when you entertain.  These are choices that make me comfortable and enjoy  life. ..at the Harrison House. 

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Let's Talk About Aprons

I wonder if Ree thepioneerwoman wears these pretty aprons when she's creating those great recipes for us!

Below you'll see left to right my first cousin Ileen, Aunt Laura Mobley, Eulita Mobley and Rachel Lee Mobley our Grandmother.  Aunt Laura is Ileen and Eulita's Mother. Note the aprons ..this is about as fancy as I recall their aprons being. This was either a family gathering [They did the cooking] or Tobacco harvesting day [they did the cooking for everyone]

I cannot say for sure about Aunt Laura or Ileen
but I am fairly confident that Grandma's aprons
were IRONED...maybe even STARCHED.

These first two apron patterns are showing really fancy styles-from my recall I just don't think we often saw our grandmas,mothers and aunts wearing such fancy style aprons-perhaps if your station in life called for hostessing/entertaining guests for special gatherings?  They definitely were not apron styles worn out in the garden to gather the

vegetables

[above] I remember this style apron being worn by a  women in my life.  Oftentimes Grandma Mobley's apron [this style] would be without any colored trim or patterned fabric..that was often determined by what kind of feedsacks she ended up with.  The prettier patterns or colors were often 'saved" for some special sewing project..like a child's Easter Dress.

One of our Grandchildren might ask at this point: Why would you wear one of these aprons? What were they used for? Some of the list of uses I have heard are: Drying the hands, carrying vegetables from the garden, keeping her dress clean while working in the kitchen or housecleaning, wiping perspiration from the face, wiping the runny nose of a small child, waving it to get the attention of her husband working out in the field-perhaps to let him know "dinner's ready." I imagine there are more you can think of-would you share with us?



FAMILIES

FAMILIES..don't begin and end with Mother, Father and child; they began many years before you and spread out all around you [family CIRCLE?] Don't hold so tightly to that small inner circle that you miss all the loving and joy of the extended circle.


 

Yard Sale Post its

Second from the top picture is a hairpin curve going down the mountain. It took my breath away-I am such a wimp sometimes. You can see  Pop considering making an offer on the antique phone booth.  The shot of all the colorful birdhouse is an area where I almost got lost.  Truly there were so many vendors on each side of the highway Ted and I got separated -no continous cell phone service and in the midst of so many vendors I became a bit disoriented for a few minutes..sure was good to hear his distinct whistle trying to get my attention. I didn't admit to him that I had about lost my way! The "lovely" wagon was a modern day "covered wagon" I guess. The seats looked like two leather covered, lavender bucket seats taken from an automobile. So Funny~As crowded and bumper to bumper traffic as there was it really wasn't difficult.  One could cross the highway anywhere along the way because people knew what they were dealing with and continously paused to let walkers cross over. Only one crazy [oops can we cross that out] we observed who was bulldozing his way at a rude if not unlawful speed...not smart. I guess there's gotta be one in the crowd.  The roads along signal mountain , the scenery were not easy to describe..AWESOME,MAJESTIC are appropriate for so much of creation we were seeing. God you surely did a a great job with this CREATION thing! And Just think friends, He did all that just for us.

I Needed This Today

Psalms 62: 5-8 My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, My stronghold; I shall not be shaken. On God my salvation and my Glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. TRUST IN HIM AT ALL TIMES, O PEOPLE; POUR OUR YOUR HEART BEFORE HIM; GOD IS A REFUGE FOR US.

Memo to Me

Busy, Busy, Busy...."You have to Live Life " in order to have anything worth writing about- we'll be out of the office briefly~In search of inspiration. Come on, laugh with me! I know you hate boring posts as much as I do.


I just hope by the time we get back home into our routine I can REMEMBER all that inspiration-perhaps pictures will help, after all I often say that I am a visual learner.

If this proves not to be true [pictures help me remember] then I just don't know what my excuses will be.

Wish me luck...or fun or perfect 'recall ', ok !?