Tuesday, September 12, 2017

Living a Quiet Life

Humble flower garden at Mrs. White's Vermont Estate

A few weeks ago, I bought three potted geraniums on clearance.  One had pretty red flowers. The other two were a gentle pink. The cost was $4.00 for all three.  I wanted to brighten up our front garden to add some cheer to our yard.  I am often looking out the second story window of our parlour and wanted to see some flowers. This was just what I needed.

It was inevitable that I would neglect them.  Once I put them in the homemade garden, I ignored them. I never visited them. (gentle smiles)  I never watered them. I left them alone because I am a terrible gardener. 

Despite my failures, the flowers thrived.  The red geraniums have constantly kept pretty flowers for me to see.  The pink ones look like they will soon produce more flowers very soon. I noticed it just today, when I finally ventured over to see how they were doing. I was delighted.

The sun on the lush green grass somehow makes the property look elegant. It is lovely to walk the grounds and enjoy the sounds of birds and nature.  It is a quiet way of life to walk the gardens and see the sights.

I have been settled comfortably here at home. My summer journeys and adventures are coming to a close.  It is time to get back to preparations for a rapidly approaching Vermont winter and enjoy the indoors for a season. 

I have been cleaning with the help of my little 3 year old granddaughter. She delights in clearing the table and doing little household errands. I will say, "Will you close that door please?"  She stands up straighter and says sweetly, as she walks toward the door, "Yes I will."  I will ask her to bring me the children's lunch dishes, help me put away puzzles, and make my bed.  She is a charming little housekeeper.

Last week we had a wonderful day on the front grounds.  There was a birthday for one of the children.  There were homemade activities created by the mother of the birthday child.  Most of the time, I was holding an 11 month old grandbaby. 

Mrs. White with one of her grandchildren

There was cake and juice and candy.  The games included ring toss, throwing water balloons into buckets, playing with bubbles, and going on the slides.  We all had such a lovely time hosted by one of my daughters here at the Estate.

This afternoon, as my lunch guests (grandchildren) were eating, I held the youngest baby and sang "Precious Memories" from the hymn book.  It is a lullaby for our life.

Being settled at home, doing all the many duties,  hearing angels cry, and the noise of family, to me, is quiet.  It is peaceful.  There is no anxiety from the world's materialism here. There are no advertisements and sales pitches coming at us while we are at the Estate.  Home is quiet. It is a quiet life focused on holy living and a happy family.

Blessings
Mrs.White

From the Archives -

D.L. Moody's Mother - Poverty in the 1800's.

In Case you wondered - Retirement Planning for the Poor.

It means everything - Just a Housewife.

 - To find out more about this blog, or Mrs. White, please visit our About page. -




Mrs. White's special book for Homemakers
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 "Mother's Book of Home Economics."


312 pages, paperback.





11 comments:

Deanna said...

Blessings to you! I think geraniums are wonderful. We have some and they add hours of beauty to one's home. I am hoping that we can Winter them inside this year then when the weather permits put them back outside for another Summer. Shall see. I, too am a terrible gardener. My middle name is Fern. I should have a green thumb, but don't. However , I LOVE flowers. God's nature is to be admired.

Sweet baby you have there. Grand babies are precious.
All the best,
d

Frugal in the USA said...

You look too young to be a grandmother.
Children and grandchildren are so special. Gifts from God.
Years ago, you gave me some advice that helped me over a particularly rough spot. A belated thank you.

Karen Andreola said...

A birthday party on the estate sounds delightful. Simply pleasures and celebrations are the happiest. You sound like an "involved" grandmother, giving opportunity and direction to the little ones as you go about your day.

My geraniums are being eaten by something (hidden under their leave I expect). Meanwhile they are well-guarded from my pruning by large spiders. So I won't touch them. The marigolds, however, are bushes now. I've clipped and brought some inside.

Anonymous said...

What a delightful birthday! I love simple birthdays, where it's good ole-fashioned fun and not the over-the-top birthdays, where people are trying to continually "top" the years prior birthday. Makes me think of the Berenstain Bears book I read to my youngest the other day "Too Much Birthday"!

I loved my simple birthdays as a child, having mostly family there. Lunch was something simple like hot dogs and fresh veggies from the garden. We always played the "dress up game", where we had to quickly dress from head to toe in my grandfather's clothing. It was so much fun because we all looked so funny!

We played simple games and often would swim the majority of the time, since that was one of my favorite things to do. While I always got a nice cake, I don't remember a lot being spent on goody bags or gifts for the guests. It sure was simple, yet so very special!

Since my children were little, we've always had simple and special birthdays too! At the last birthday party we had, one of the favorite games was musical chairs. We played it so many times because the kids could not get enough of it, they thought it was so fun!! We also played the cookie game, where you take small cookies (bought at Dollar Tree) and put them on your nose and then try to get them in your mouth. That was a lot of fun! As well as playing a basketball game, where we draw lines with chalk as "levels" you're trying to reach. The boys love that game and the girls too!

Well now that I have written a novel, I hope I have shared some tips others can use. May you have a wonderful day!

Deborah Montgomery said...

Love your gentle and peaceful posts. Nice to see a picture of you too. You are as lovely on the outside as you are on the inside! Blessings, Deborah

Unknown said...

Sweet little baby! One of my son's bought me two geraniums this year.I am like you with gardening, I always get a giggle out of your posts about plants. My geranium has grown too! Glad yours did as well.
Blessings
Mrs.O

Amelia said...

Such darling photos you have posted lately! : )

I so enjoy your blog entries, it's truly like having a sweet friend to have some coffee with... I recently bought two more copies of 'Living on His Income' for my two married daughters and we have a copy here too! Such an encouragement to read nice books written in such a sweet way by a fellow Christian Homemaker!

Blessings to you! -Amelia

Lana said...

I have geraniums that are at least 10 years old. They would love to be in pots on your kitchen window sill over the winter and go back outside come Spring! In the Spring you can cut them back and put the cuttings in dirt to easily root them and you can increase them every year. I started with 6 and now have 40 pots of geraniums! Enjoy!

Tammy said...

Wonderful post!
I neglect plants, too, and have definitely lost my fair share of them to forgetfulness.

You have a lovely home, and a beautiful family.
Thanks for sharing the pic of you and your grandbaby.
You look 25! How do you do it??

Mrs. Laura Lane said...

You painted a lovely picture of life at the Estate.
You looked happy and radiant in that picture.
I told my 16 year old daughter the picture was of Mrs. White.
She said, "She's pretty. It looks like she's in her twenties!"

Just had to tell you!
Loved seeing your smiling face,
Laura of Harvest Lane Cottage.

Chrystal said...

You Look so young! Nice to see a picture of you> I look forward to seeing more YOutube videos and hearing your sweet and soothing voice!