The Art of Husbandry....

Thank you for your comments and emails on the previous post and the book! I have also read "The Surrendered Wife" and I thought that there were a lot of interesting points made,but the fundamental thing that I had difficulty with was the idea of 'surrendering', as it is not a relationship built on equality - which is surely the foundation for any good relationship? But I did think that the subject of roles was an interesting one..anyone else have any thoughts?

Anyway, on to the book below...

I thought it was both thought provoking and very ,very reassuring!! As I do not have children I have always felt a certain pressure to work (from parents, peers, society generally) and as you know, have recently been at home not through choice but circumstance - and what do I find?? That despite the financial hardships of living on one salary our lives have become easier, more settled, calmer and HAPPIER!! Yes, happier despite the hardships, so finding this book has come at a very interesting time. I don't want to give too much of the book away in case some of you choose to read it - I warn you that it is somewhat controversial in places - but if you can read it with an open mind, I think that you may enjoy it as much as I did.

One of the main threads of course, is one that we all know - sometimes we just forget to be kind! We get so bogged down with our busy lives, children, jobs, hobbies - we forget to just be thankful to the one special person who shoulders the burden with us - our husband/partner.

 So those that are lucky enough to have a special someone, let's remember to appreciate them and that sometimes a smile, a hug or a thank you can go a very long way!

And on the subject of gratitude...

 Now I would like to show some gratitude to my 'followers' to thank YOU for all your lovely comments and support - I am going to do an Easter Giveaway...

I will photograph the goodies for my next post which will then be March 1st!! So if you would like to be included in the giveaway, leave a comment on THAT post when you can see what's up for grabs and remember, you need to be a follower to enter so if you are one of the lovely bloggers who regularly leave me comments sign up to be included wont you?

So until then, should you be interested in "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands", I see that it is also available on Amazon ..so happy reading and feeding!!!!

Warmest Wishes for a Wonderful Week,

Husbandry - the science of feeding....

Ok ladies, I know that I don't usually do my posts until Monday but I HAD to share this with you!!

Thought you may be interested in the book that I will be reading this weekend....

Now before you all judge me too harshly and accuse me of setting feminism back years, I haven't read it yet so cannot comment on its content.Having fallen about in fits of the giggles when I read the title- I then read the back and thought - mmm am I mad or does this woman make a lot of sense????

I am so interested to know if any of you have read it and what your thoughts are, but in the mean time I will be reading it over the weekend and will hand in my homework to you all on Monday...

Have a Happy Weekend ,

Treats and Eats.....

Hope that you all had a lovely weekend!!  Happy New Year too - the Chinese year of the tiger, mmm..... could be an interesting year, depending on your sign of course!

Thank you for the kind messages for our Anniversary, we went out on Saturday evening to our lovely friends J & S who cooked for us, what a treat.....as we are not in a position to able to afford to eat out, it was lovely to have a meal cooked for us - and no danger of falling off my Dottie Angel Challenge wagon either!!

So, that was EATS - now on to TREATS.....

My darling found this for me....

As I am a HUGE Tilda fan this has been on my list for a while and he found it on ebay!!! I have investigated if ebay is allowed on the challenge and it is, so phew.....

I did squeal in the most unbecoming fashion when I opened it!!  I have already identified a few projects I would like to do, though I am not sure how they will turn out; if you want to see fab Tilda things you should check out the lovely Pixie at Faerie Nuff (she is on my blog list), she is very talented and makes very needful things!

Then my Mother and Grandmother produced the lovely bottle below!!

 

Treats!!!

Oh my goodness, they know that I have a weakness for the bubbly stuff - but not the means.....So we were very grateful!!  

I hope that you all had a lovely Valentine's day too.....

Warmest Wishes for a Wonderful Week,

Home and Heart.....

As some of you know Valentine's Day is pretty special here, as it is also our Wedding Anniversary - I know, I know - but we really are just a couple of old fashioned romantics.....we got engaged on Valentine's Day 1996 which was so magical and special we decided to stick with the date.....

Wedding Sampler.....

.....as on both our Engagement and Wedding we had glorious sunshine, we spent three days on Tresco when we got engaged and the sun shone everyday and then when we married (very quietly one Wednesday, having lived together for six years) the sun shone again for us.....

Anyway as I have been spring cleaning recently, looking out things for charity, things to sell and things to repair, it occured to me that we live in a home that is not only full of love but full of hearts too.....

 

Love Plaque.....

 Even the kitchen is bedecked.....

Love Shelf...

Kitchen Blessings......

The sitting room has a certain theme going on too......

 

Handmade cushion.....

 Scandinavian Home.....

Then upstairs to the boudoir...

 Happily Ever After.....

Button Heart and Handmade Bag.....

 

Yes Please.....

Even the handmade things are along the same theme.....

 Handmade bag and heart.....

As this Valentine's Day I am going to carry on my Dottie Angel challenge there will be no grand gestures, just homemade goodies - and I will give thanks for the love I have in my life, not just the fact that I am blessed with a truly wonderful husband but that I love my home, my gorgeous pussycats, family and friends....

And I wish the same for all of you, that you all have someone or something to give thanks for this Valentine's Day.....

Warmest Wishes for a Wonderful Week

x x x 

I Love Tea........

One of the delights I find about being at home more is the ability to sit and enjoy a cup of tea!! I never realised all those years working that you never get the chance to sit and savour a few restful moments with a cuppa.  And I rarely got a warm one let alone a hot one...especially when I had my little shop, it was some kind of unwritten law - that you wouldn't see a customer for hours but the minute you made a cup of tea, in they would trot...Not that I am really complaining about that; I had some wonderful customers who have become good friends and I usually made them a cuppa too.....but anyway where was I ? Oh, yes - tea.

I love it!!! I have always liked to keep a variety in our cupboard but my husband would complain that all these teas would sit here month after month and never get opened - not anymore!!  I have made it my mission to try every tea I have had squirreled away in there and then some.

Even Country Living are in on the act this month - the photograph below is from this month's edition.....

Here are a few of the delicious choices we have in our collection.....

The green Jasmine tea is lovely after a meal.....

Chai is warming on a cold afternoon......

These two I picked up as they are on special offer, the slim tea (ha ha) is fennel-based which I think is a love or hate flavour - I love it which is why I picked it up.....

One of the things that I make to sell on my stall is a little envelope with a tea bag inside and a poem.  It always goes down well if you have a friend that you want to send a little good wish to.....

So lovely bloggers - sit down, make yourself a cup of tea and have a few moments of me time! ENJOY......

Warm Wishes for a Wonderful Week