I almost got sidetracked by my “curated abundance”; January fog; links!
January for me always has the same arc, I’ve come to realize: around the second week I find, after the holiday busyness and socializing, that I’m so cold and so sleepy. I used to wonder if I was sick, and of course sometimes I am, but not always.
I’m just actually… hibernating!
So this past week was a bit like that.
It would have been good to take a walk but there was an icy wind for days and I just couldn’t. I took solace in some targeted, limited, focused tidying and a bit of bread-baking and then spent the rest of the time knitting!
When I had kids around I’d just try to do what I could early in the day and then we’d read lots of chapter books and Mama would have to put her head back for a little snooze while they played with their new Legos and what have you.
I’ve learned that in another week or two I’ll be okay!
(And actually next week I’ll be going to visit Rosie and family in Texas, so we’ll have a little break here as well).
Or if you’re not a knitter or even really that interested, perhaps if I chitchat about it, you can transfer the organizing principles to whatever craft you are called to?
I have been thinking about minimizing vs. curating and I have to say, I really appreciate having materials to work with all around me.
Whether it’s a dowel, a scrap of fabric, or a box of old cards, this is actually how I live! And always have.
Whenever I have purged the random bits and bobs, I’ve regretted it later. I am certainly not the most creative or crafty person I’ve ever met, but when the urge seizes me, I appreciate having materials to execute.
The latest thing is to bandy about the idea that you have seasons of life and some of them require minimalism. It’s so often said that maybe it would be worthwhile to think about it just a little before accepting all its implications.
Is a busy time of life the time to get rid of everything, rather than reasonably assess what you have, with an eye to creativity? Actually, it’s when your kids are young, boisterous, and draining that having random stuff to create with — for you and for them — means the most.
The thought of deciding beforehand what my gang will make (and am I deciding? I find they decide, inspired by what they see) and then going out to shop for it is what exhausted me. Later you still have a lot of stuff to deal with — and it cost you time and money to boot.
Unless the idea is you are outsourcing all that to school… Then your house will be tidy, sure, but also lacking in busy hands, laughter, and a connection between creativity and home.
Granted I have a big house (and enormous cavern of a garage). You can only keep what you can fit!
And organizing the things — or as I like to think of it, curating — is very important. If something is trash, throw it away. If it was a silly trend, probably not good to store it. If it’s broken and not worth fixing, toss it.
But good things with which to make other things merit baskets, sturdy shoeboxes, plastic bins, and jars. There are plenty of busy moms who also knit! and quilt! and make things with wood! Don’t let the time to be creative slip you by because some other people think it’s not worth it.
For something to be handy when you need it, you have to know where it is — where to look. I admit I’m not the best at this aspect. Right now, in the middle of winter when it’s too cold to do anything about it all, certain areas are looking pretty darn hoard-y!
The other day, the Chief asked me if now (meaning post-gift-shipping-season) he could burn or discard boxes out in the garage. I am that person who clasps all the boxes to her heaving bosom, but I relented just a bit.
Anyway, having finished knitting and blocking the little sleeveless cardigan for my granddaughter*, all I had to do was bop up to my sewing room** to find three buttons.
*The yarn for which was in my stash and actually was from my mother’s stash so we’re talking generational stashing here.†
** Not everyone has a sewing room! But we’re talking about a jar or two of buttons…
†My yarn stash comprises not much more than one of those little three-drawer plastic organizers. Well, two of those… and my mother’s yarn is in a few small plastic bins. She really liked putting things into other things…
Well, I almost got fatally sidetracked…
I do have them roughly organized into jars of multi-colored + metal, white, and shell/bone (also white). The latter are quite precious, actually, really finishing off a garment in an elegant and timeless way.
But finding three lavender, purple, or white buttons the right size was a bit of a challenge!
Here is where a determined young child would have come in handy. It’s like doing a jigsaw puzzle but has a real purpose: sorting through the shapes, sizes, and colors to find the matches.
If you went out and bought buttons (or ordered them) for each project, it would take a lot of time and be much more expensive.
And honestly I’ve tried — and the nice variety just isn’t there anymore. Sewing used to be a much more serious occupation, with much more variety and quality than exists today.
After being sorely tempted to sit down and sort these all out, I decided I don’t have three lavender buttons (close, though; and if I had a 7-year-old to do the search, I bet he would come up with them) and needed to stay on mission.
So in the interest of not getting sidetracked but posting this post, I settled on these white ones:
I used a bit of the mohair to sew them on.
If you too would simply prefer to have your own “store” of things like buttons, I recommend starting with a button jar. Eventually you’ll branch out with your categories.
When anything is worn out and you are tossing it, first take off the buttons. (For instance, if a flannel shirt is on its last legs, you can cut the fabric up for great rags and harvest the buttons.)
Lots of men’s dress shirts have basically the same buttons anyway! So you can replace one down at the bottom, where it will be tucked in, moving the matching one from there up higher. Some come with extra buttons in a little plastic bag — toss it in the button jar if you don’t want to take the time to sew it on the inside of the shirt for safe-keeping.
It’s helpful for the future hunt if you take a needle and thread, or safety pin if there aren’t many of them, and get them all connected.
When you’re out thrifting, pay attention to garments with buttons even if you don’t want the item itself. It’s worth paying $3 or $4 for a set of shell buttons or a few really pretty brass or pewter ones!
Sometimes a sweater with fancy buttons loses one, and you have to replace them all so they’ll match. Take the old ones you’re removing and pop them in the jar, again, somehow securing them together.
I want to also mention that not only will an older child profitably sort them for you, a very young child (2-4 for instance, but even older) will be entertained for a long time if you set him up with a tray or pan and let him pour the buttons out. Heck, even the stray husband has been known to sift through buttons on a tray! Buttons are pleasing to touch and look at! Nothing bad will happen.
bits & piecesMy friend Mary Eileen pointed me to this wonderful lecture, Dr. Andrew Dinan Makes the Case for Virgil’s Aeneid. Home educators can be encouraged by it and everyone will learn something profound from its deep and well reasoned argument. You can prepare your young children for the later challenge of the poem by having them read the story first — there’s this one.Tony Esolen on the new theology of sex and why it’s no good
An excellent article on how modern mothers are perplexed by having a young child at home and what they could do (instead of worrying about pre-school or curriculum); I’m gratified at the mention of my work!
Pine trees have great medicinal value and an amazing healing substance that can be collected and used as medicine! The bees collect it and make propolis, which we try to harvest but need to get better at. It’s so interesting that some speculate that the reason bees don’t have much of an internal immune system is their reliance on pine resin, which offers a sort of externalized one for them instead. I found this video helpful to visualize collecting it, even though Natalie lives in the Pacific Northwest and I don’t think there are many Douglas Firs here in New England. But I think there are fine substitutes.
Speaking of general health, do you make kefir? I have started making it (thanks to grains given to me by my friend and knitting comrade Kathryn) and it’s so much easier than yogurt! Here’s a primer on the benefits. I generally make a smoothie with frozen fruit and some honey syrup (honey dissolved in warm water so it mixes rather than clumps). Do you have any good tips for me?
from the archivesVisualize Curated AbundanceToddler lifeDinner every day when the kids are little
liturgical living
Pope St. Hyginus, St. Theodosius, Abbot or Cenobiarch
The Feast of the Baptism of the Lord is celebrated tomorrow in the Novus Ordo and commemorated on the 13th in the Traditional Latin Mass.
follow us everywhere!
Here is all the info:
Visit me at The School for Housewives and recommend it to your young friends!
My “random thoughts no pictures” blog, Happy Despite Them has moved over to Substack! — receive it by email if you like, or bookmark, so you don’t miss a thing! The old one is still up if you want to look at the comments on past posts. It will take me a while to get things organized, but you’ll be patient, I know!
There you will find the weekly podcast done by Phil and me, called On the Home Front. Do let us know what you think!
My book, The Summa Domestica: Order and Wonder in Family Life is available from Sophia Press! Also in paperback now! All the thoughts from this blog collected into three volumes, beautifully presented with illustrations from Deirdre, an index in each volume, and ribbons!
My podcast, The Home Truths Society, can be found on the Restoration of Christian Culture website (and you can find it where you listen to such things) — be sure to check out the other offerings there!
Stay abreast of the posts here at LMLD, when they happen:
Consider subscribing to this blog by email. We would love to pop into your inbox! The subscription box is on this page on the sidebar!
We share pretty pictures: Auntie Leila’s Instagram, Rosie’s Instagram, Deirdre’s Instagram. Bridget’s Instagram.
Auntie Leila’s Facebook (you can just follow)
The boards of the others: Rosie’s Pinterest. Sukie’s Pinterest. Deirdre’s Pinterest. Habou’s Pinterest
Here is my affiliate link to my Amazon page — the only affiliate thing that goes on here on LMLD, which is why the blog loads quickly and you don’t have to keep closing pop-ups etc! It opens up an Amazon tab and anything you purchase using that tab for 24 hours sends a bit over my way without cost to you. Thank you for opening it and shopping if you are so minded — as some have asked me. If not, don’t worry one bit.
