"The farm wife hoists the family flag"

A friend read this poem at our women's retreat in March, and I loved it so much.  It speaks so gently of traditions and generational differences.

I thought I'd add the photos of my new "Sweet Honesty" hankie that I found at my favorite thrift store.  I love its colors and vintage charm so much that I'm using it as a scarf for now.

The farm wife hoists the family flag

Eve got off the bus in tears the day her third grade teacher
scolded her for using a hankie.  "It's not sanitary," she said.
Miss Pauley had no notion of what a handkerchief means to us:
reusable tissue, wash cloth, gripper of lids, wiper of smudgy
glasses, emergency bandage, keepsake we carry to the grave.
Peekaboo with a hankie triggered Eve's first laugh, and later she
sat through sermons watching Grandma Yoder fold a flat square
into a butterfly or a mouse.  Now Eve does that for her sister
and knots Ruth's Sunday pennies in a corner like a hobo's sack.
She irons and stacks all the hankies in our drawers
and brings a bandanna drenched with cold water to her dad
who ties it round his neck. Last Christmas she gave me
a set of four lacy kerchiefs embroidered by her own hand,
each with my initials and a leaf or flower to signify the season.
Straight from a city college, Miss Pauley could only count
the virtues of a Kleenex. "Like a lot of things, hankies
grow softer as they age," I said, using one to wipe Eve's tears.

--Shari Wagner, printed in the Christian Century, September 16, 2015

Why I Love MCC Gift &Thrift Shops

I don't know about yours, but our local Salvation Army and Goodwill Stores are junky, crowded, and disorganized.  There is lots of sheer junk stirred in - and there's no need to tell me that one man's trash is another man's treasure because I am a dedicated thrift shopper, but I'm complaining about broken things, half-used things, missing parts that render the object unusable. . . .  Plus, some of the items are priced disproportionately high, and then there is the rack of new clothes - cheap junk discarded from a retail store and given prominence in the thrift store because it is new. I realize I sound cranky.

I am willing to go a few miles out of my way to stop at any MCC Gift &Thrift store or any store owned and run by Mennonites or their ilk.  Here, they seem to have a limitless supply of cheerful volunteers who love to tidy up, organize, and iron.  Items are sorted by use and similarity, carefully labeled with pertinent information (the number of pieces in a set of dishes, size of tablecloth, size of clothing, etc.). Everything is so clean!  I've even seen those ladies dusting the shelves.  Their prices are low or reasonable - they have a sharp eye for the valuable stuff and they set it aside in a section, priced accordingly.

ironed and tied with a ribbon - all 4 for $.50!!

Look, here's the list of things I bought recently at an MCC Gift and Thrift store.  Everything was in perfect condition.  I am very pleased!

$2.50 - red linen tablecloth for my dining room table
$.50 - set of 4 linen napkins
$.35 and $.50 - 2 sweet hankies
$1.75 - navy Limited Too cardigan for G for school
$.75 - 2 hand-dipped gold tapers
$.25 - small glass votive cup
$.50 - 2 juice glasses
$.75 - 3 wooden hangers

$8.19 total (with tax)

I stopped by this store because I was driving to someone's house to purchase a stroller system from Craigslist (this one, for the unbelievably low price of $30!!!), so I took the opportunity to stop in a nearby thrift store with my lists in hand. I hate shopping as entertainment, but if I have items on my lists, I combine errands like this all the time.  I keep a groceries/toiletries list, as well as an other things list (currently on it: fabric for class set of birthday napkins, oil & vinegar cruets, regular mouth canning lids).

Because I'm the homemaker and I have my finger on the pulse of the household, there are some standard things I look for as well as some ideas I might check into.  All the things shown here were on my mental list.  All of these things are immediately useful and have a place in my house (I usually figure out where I'm keeping something before I bring it home - I no longer buy things for the sole reason that I love them because the love turns to loathing when the things clutter up the house waiting to be used or placed).

I think I'm going on and on about this stuff because I've sorted a mountain of baby things from storage as well as helped the children sort their rooms as we switched bedrooms around.  Anyone else share my sentiments?

A Mended Hanky

Hankies get ragged pretty fast around here, seeing as most of them start out vintage already and some people approach this life as a vale of tears (someone small sobbed all through breakfast this morning - oh my).  When the hankies start to look shredded, I remove them from the drawers and stash them in a dark corner of a shelf.  They've got such interesting colors and pretty patterns that I want to use them somehow in the future - I have several ideas on my Pinterest boards.

But for some reason, I wanted to mend this hanky and keep using it.

 It's a plain white cotton one, so I used soft blue-grey striped cotton and pale yellow perle cotton.  I enjoyed myself.  I thought maybe I wanted to add just a little something more to the mending job. . . maybe a running stitch on the edge. . . green leaves and a stem to the yellow starbursts. . . . But I couldn't decide.  So I stopped, based on the mantra that a dear sister at church explained:  when she's deciding something, she moves from clarity to clarity.  If she doesn't have clarity, she doesn't move.

I'm sure most people would apply this idea to much larger decisions, but I have found it incredibly helpful in the dozens of decisions in my path every day.

I saw a cast-iron skillet this weekend and I thought of buying it, but I didn't have clarity, so I didn't.  I wanted to try spiritual direction, but after two sessions, I have only murkiness, not clarity, about continuing, so I'm not going to.

Sometimes the murkiness only means "wait" and then the decision comes into sharp focus with a little more time.  This process has brought me such peace in large and small decisions, including, yes, whether or not I am "done" with the design of my mended hanky.

A Hankie as Bandage

We went on a hike and Ben ran down the trail so hard he fell.  This is typical.  My sister the nurse just looks at him and shakes her head and wishes he would wear a helmet all the time. 

Well. 

On this hike, I had bravely taken nothing with me.  Normally, I like to be prepared for every contingency, but for once I thought, oh, it's just a short hike, I'll leave my water bottle and knitting and bag in the car.  But after the bad fall, Ben's elbow was bleeding and he was under the impression that a band-aid would cure the pain.  I hesitatingly offered to tie my hankie-from-winter that was still lurking in my jeans around his elbow.  He was instantly comforted - why would he care if the hanky was partially used and linty?  I knew I could soak the blood out of the hankie in cold water.  We were all cheerful again. 

I am quite sure a tissue would not have been big enough or sturdy enough to tie around his elbow - let's hear it for cloth hankies in every pocket!

Summer Goals for the Children

 I want my children to be equipped with a good work ethic and the skills to live a pleasant, responsible life when they leave home (which seems imminent some days! how quickly they grow!). 

I've noticed, too, that when they have free play time all day, they can get a little crazy and naughty.  So I want to deliberately teach them some more chores this summer, thinking that the school year will be too scheduled to allow for much instruction.  I like this balance of work and play for them.  And I've noticed that friends with older children reap the reward of real help around the house, too.

I might make a new chore chart for these things, or maybe just post the lists where the adults can refer to them. 

What the 6-year-old can do with minimal assistance:
1.  make her bed
2.  sort, fold and put away laundry
3.  iron hankies and napkins
4.  dry dishes
5.  set the table, pour water
6.  wash the bathroom floor
7.  shake rugs
8.  put away toys
9.  dust/wipe the steps

Goals for the 6-year old to learn:
1. clean sinks
2. spray and clean mirrors/windows
3. use sewing machine [I need to find an owner's manual for her machine first]
4. vacuum a room
5. dust a room
6. sweep a sidewalk
7. wipe a counter or table - wringing a cloth
8. organize an area such as a drawer or desk of art supplies

What the 4-year-old can do with minimal assistance:
1.  make his bed
2.  set the table
3.  put away toys
4.  dust baseboards
5.  put away the trashcans
6.  sort laundry

Goals for the 4-year-old
1.  dust/wipe the steps
2.  fold laundry
3.  sweep a sidewalk

So these chores will be put in the day whenever it seems reasonable.  The other structure we have is a one-hour quiet time some time after lunch.  The children are required to be on a bed or sofa with books, no toys.  They may sleep or read or daydream, but they must indubitably be quiet.

I hope this makes a good summer for us!

The Ironing Catch-All

Why didn't I realize that having my sewing machine set up all the time would make me whiz-bang projects out one after another? 

I used to sew at the dining room table - our only table - so I was constantly setting up or taking down my machine.  Now, it's so efficient - I just run up to my machine, sew a few minutes, and run back to whatever.  The birds are waking me up early now, and I can easily sew for a little bit while I sip my tea, turning off my machine whenever I hear roars from the children.

I took an old eyelet dresser scarf and turned it into a catch-all in the laundry room.  Now the hankies and napkins have a decent place to wait for Genevieve, instead of handfuls hanging off the ironing board holder.

Then I took the best scraps from that project and made little soap totes for my etsy shop.  More to come - they're so fun to make.

Everyday Life

A stack of pretty hankies and napkins, folded, fresh from the line.  Ben adores his "Jack be nimble" hanky.

My happy boy, absorbed in a new book about cars from Marilou.

And also happy with the "people price."  This is a vintage Fisher Price set from ebay, not from my childhood.  I had to watch and patiently for a long time to get a set at a reasonable price - and that because the A-frame house door is a little broken.

I had some funny cooking trials recently.  Pictured here are "buckeyes" - supposed to be a fried egg in a middle of a pancake.  They were tasty, yes, but difficult to flip and unattractive.  I think my batter should have been thinner so I could have controlled it more when I poured it around the egg.

And one morning I forgot to put baking powder in the Cinnamon Flop.  A true flop.  The children didn't mind, but my husband and I realized we do really prefer a good chemical leavening agent.

The real part of this sewing project was wondering if it was worth it.  My husband had a broken separating zipper in his biking jacket and both of us, confident in my zipper prowess, thought I could fix it.

Ha. It was not easy. 

There was a wind flap behind the zipper.  There were 5 seams holding in each side of the zipper (meaning I had to rip out 10 seams to get the zipper out).  The zipper I got was not as long and also opened on the other side - but I didn't realize that it opened on the other side until I had already put one side in backwards.  (Are you confused?  I was - and disgruntled).

The zipper did get done.  And it does work and look fine.  But I still begrudge all my time in that project - makes me remember my old life where I just threw things away when they broke!

Joining Leila and Rosie's collection of everyday contentment.  An excellent way to look at my days.

Little Treats

A new hankie for me ($1).

As I bought it, a lady leaned over and asked me conspiratorially what I do with my hankies?  I think she was looking for craft ideas.  I looked her straight in the eye and told her I blow my nose in them.

Another treat: a new bar of soap, from Cypress Lake Soap; smells heavenly and feels so good in my hand. 

And then a cup of tea I requested from my husband, which he embellished with orange slices and a saucer. 

It keeps me going while I take an online master's class in special education.  It's the final step before a state teaching certificate and it's keeping me very busy writing papers, reading, and commenting on discussions.  I cannot say I am enjoying the online format, but the final goal is a good one, so I'm moving forward.

 Little treats help!

A Little Boy's Hankies

Not only does Genevieve have a runny nose, hankies, and a little fabric envelope for the hankies, now Ben does too.

I collected a few vintage hankies this fall and made him a fabric envelope of sorts to corral them.  It was in his Christmas stocking.  Although the hanky envelopes are on their bedroom dresser right now, I want to relocate them downstairs, sort of like personal tissue boxes. 

I used a pocket from an old pair of jeans for the back, red plaid for the lining. I eeked out a few more scraps of the great cowboy print for the front. All topstitched in red.   It's designed a little differently from Genevieve's:  more like a pillow sham with the overlapping flaps.

He likes the squirrel hanky the best.

Doing Something About the BP Oil Crisis

(thanks to Emily at Little House on the Southern Prairie for the post that inspired this one; mind you, she cusses a bit)

I am depressed about the BP oil spewing into the Gulf and spreading everywhere. I've stopped following the news because it's so devastating to me. I won't go on: you know what I'm talking about.

I am in some measure culpable for this disaster. I buy and use plastic. I burn gas in my car going mindlessly and endlessly everywhere. I turn up the heat, fly on planes, buy products and produce shipped on trucks that use diesel.

But this post is not to paralyze you with guilt and hopelessness: it is to take some power into our hands. We can stop doing those things that demand oil. I believe firmly that little things matter, they add up. I'll list the things I do below and please, add your ideas and methods in the comments. Also, bear in mind as you read my list that I've been doing some of these things for a while and others only for weeks. . .and sometimes I don't do any of these things because I'm lazy or tired or grouchy. But let's focus on the positive!

Ways I try to avoid plastic/oil:

1. I try not to buy plastic containers - I use refrigerator dishes or canning jars in the kitchen, and baskets or metal buckets elsewhere (toys, crafts, etc.)

2. I usually wash and reuse plastic bags when I can't avoid them. My sis even got me this handy bag dryer, but I used to drape them over my cooking utensils next to the stove. I try to avoid plastic wrap.

3. I buy milk in reusable glass jugs and I'm sure it tastes better too. Our eggs come in reused cartons, which I return to the farmer's market or to friends with chickens.

4. I shun the plastic bags at the farmer's market when I can, instead putting the produce in my own old bags at home or into glass jars (thanks to my friend Rebecca for inspiring this). I buy bulk grains and flours in paper when I can, which freezes just fine as it is - no loss of flavor or freshness.

5. We use cloth hankies, cloth napkins, rags (not paper towels), cloth diapers, cloth wipes. To my embarrassment, I still do use rubber pants for Ben; since he's started potty training, I'm not sure it's worth switching to wool soakers.

6. I recycle what I can, even the stuff that doesn't get picked up curbside (paper, cardboard, household hazardous waste, styrofoam, metal).

7. I rarely accept a plastic bag from a store: I carry my own cloth bag or I just carry the item to the car trunk or chuck it in the stroller bin.

8. We use a reel mower for our small back yard.

Making this list and anticipating your additional ideas in the comments has been such a hopeful thing for me! I don't feel so helpless or puny.

I couldn't figure out a photo to treat your eyes, but here is a verse from a lovely song in my church hymnal, Sing the Story . . . (written music and the other two verses here)


Nothing is lost to the heart of God,
nothing is lost for ever;
God's heart is love, and that love will remain,
holding the world for ever.
No impulse of love, no office of care,
no moment of life in its fulness;
no beginning too late, no ending too soon,
but is gathered and known in God's goodness.
Music and lyrics by Colin Gibson, copyright 1994

"The Battle of the Blind Hankies"

The hymn for Genevieve's backyard church service was "The Battle of the Blind Hankies." She gave me a leaf for a hymnal and hopped up on a table to lead singing.

I could not make this up if I tried.



To the point of this blog, her shorts are a quick fun fix I did recently. Genevieve was given two pairs of jeans with ripped out knees. Rather than patch the knees and buy her summer shorts, I cut off the legs and put the pretty woven ribbon on top of the hem I made. I do like cutoffs, rest assured, but these shorts provided such an ideal blank slate for the delicious ribbon. Bonus: I got to experiment and manage the ribbon for a small project before trying to apply it to big project.



Genevieve was with me when I bought the ribbon and she insisted on something with pink or, to my dismay, purple. We compromised: I chose the red ribbon and she chose the pink flowered one. I then paired her choice with green ric rac because it was so narrow. I got the ribbon at a local fabric outlet where it was so ridiculously cheap - I think I got 4 yards for a total of $2.



Someday, if she's a songleader or a pastor, I hope to remind her of this day and this quote. . .

Fabric Envelope

As I incorporated more hankies, I separated a collection of hankies just for Genevieve. Recently when I sent her to get a hanky for herself from my drawer, she returned with a gorgeous sheer one with elaborate tatting. Oops. I let her use it for the day, albeit anxiously watching over it.



I can't remember how I came to possess these little fabric envelopes (on the left), but I keep my hankies in them. My aunt who knows a lot about vintage linens told me they could be lingerie bags. I decided to make one for my girl.

I turned out my scraps for Genevieve and told her to pick two fabrics she liked. Same thing with buttons. Don't you just admire her choices? I must say, I am rather proud of her blend of patterns and colors.



I flipped up the corners of the envelope flap to further show off the pretty contrast. She is enchanted with her own little stack of hankies in a fabric envelope she helped design (but not sew - I'm still building up patience for that).

Updated: A Tiny Tutorial

1. Cut 2 rectangles about double the height you want the finished envelope to be (but I play around with it, folding it to see what looks right).
2. Sew the rectangles together, right sides facing, leaving a few inches unstitched.
3. Turn the rectangle right side out through the open inches, and press.
4. Topstitch close to the end the whole way around, closing the hole.
5. Just fold up one end to make the envelope and sew the side seams.
6. Now fold down the other end - that's the flap. You can decide to turn up the edges and put decorative buttons on (like I did) or do other fancy stuff: a real closure of some kind like snaps or button/loop, ric rac or lace, etc., or a RUFFLE (wouldn't that be cute?). It's so fun to play with colors and ideas in this way! By the way, I first made my own envelopes with paper years ago, which is another creative option to fiddle with.

Hankies

I like to be environmentally correct, but I am not fond of change. So I am creeping through some changes, setting one goal at a time, to not freak myself out. This fall, I vowed to switch from tissues to hankies.

I stopped in the middle of ironing to show you these three lovelies that came home with me recently. Apparently hankies are not highly sought after, because these cost all of $.75 apiece.



I take a little secret thrill in the colors of my hanky with the colors of my clothes. Who knew that being environmentally correct could be color play? I love it!



I had a hard time resisting the post title "hanky panky." Just so you know.

Little Sewing Projects

I didn't plan to have three quilts in progress now, but I do. Quilts are enormous projects, so I turned to some quick fixes to satisfy my need for some closure.

First up was some attention to my Genevieve. I felt like I said no constantly to her yesterday and I resolved today would be different from my end.

I told her to choose a decorative stitch from my Bernina, and then we sewed a decorative edges on plain cotton batiste hankies. I had blue thread in the machine for another project (you can just glimpse the pattern envelope behind my machine). It tickled me to watch her pick the stitches, bypassing flowers and hearts for geometric shapes.





When her mom-attention tank was filled up (whew), I turned my attention to other sewing. A few weeks ago I chose and cut out 11"x17" flannel pairs for baby burpcloths. Last night, in a quick 15-minute snatch before dinner, I sewed them together with a spot left for turning. While talking weather with my dad on the phone after dinner, I turned them right side out. This morning, finally, I topstitched them. Now I have two baby shower gifts for little sweetie girls coming up.

In life before children, I would have sewed these in one fell swoop, but now I have to seize pockets of time. I feel even more victorious for getting things done in such midget bites!