I’ll admit it, I have an absolute love affair with household linens. From starched vintage pillow cases, vibrant printed top sheets, plush white towels, crocheted tablecloths and damask napkins. I love them all. Possibly though, the linens that serve me the best are my paper towel substitute, flannel rags. When I think back to my…
About a year ago, I had to say goodbye to my Gracie. She had been with me for over 15 years. Gracie had been my constant companion, following closely at my feet as I go through the house and yard, she was always ready to take a drive or a nap. Her presence was huge…
As we travel into midlife, many of us tend to carry a lot of baggage with us. We bring negative self-talk and self-doubt, in spite of a lifetime of successes. We have an inexplicable need to apologize for things that don’t require apologies. We bring with us a trunk full of bad habits that self-sabotage…
“And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves…”Virginia Woolf When I come into my sweet little home after a long work day, it is like stepping back in time. Things are simple here. I leave the sounds of the radio in the car,…
“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘Thank you,’ that would suffice.” —Meister Eckhart Do you keep a gratitude journal? Studies show that keeping one can increase our mental health up to 25%. How in the world could this be possible? How could the ritual of writing down three things that…
I have found myself unpacking my sewing machine far more in recent months. I have mended a few items. Last weekend I made a flannelette nightgown from fabric that has been in my fabric box for about 20 years. Yesterday, I spent a blissful day making winter pillow covers for my living room.I have to…
It is the first Monday of the New Year, a chance to psychologically reboot, to start over. The New Year is like an empty book, with a story not yet written. With every new beginning, many of us set our goals, plan the next phase of our lives and hope that this time will be…
I flipped my Moleskine to a fresh page, and titled my journaling exercise ,“What Makes Me Happy?” I began to number down the page, over 100 things, many of these things were on my list then, but this is my list today. These are in no particular order. What made this exercise so transformative was…
“The home is the centre and circumference, the start and the finish of most of our lives.” –Charlotte Perkins Gilman Our homes are a visible manifestation of our inward world. Because of this, we need to fill them with things that are soul-building. To paraphrase Marie Kondo, keep only those things that speak to our…
