In hot water!

This morning, I was very happy to see our plumber walking up the drive.  Our hot water supply has been intermittent for a few weeks.  He came and diagnosed the problem last week, and at last the offending part has been replaced.  I'm looking forward to a nice deep, hot bath tonight.

(Google images)

This is not actually my bath, although mine is the same size and shape.  In fact, I now feel inspired to dig out all the candles leftover from Christmas, and the Sanctuary toiletries given to me by my lovely sister-in-love, and hang some fluffy towels on the radiator to get nice and warm, and put my dab radio onto Classic fm.  Oh yes, I'm looking forward to bath-time tonight.

I will lie in the bath and think about those wonderful 'cleansing' Bible verses, such as "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9),  and "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin" (verse 7).

"The Word of God is the water that washes us. Ephesians 5:26 says, “Christ loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

The word ‘washing’ in this Scripture is the Greek word, loutron (the verb is louo) and it means, “to take a bath, to wash the whole body and not just a part of it.” It speaks metaphorically of washing every part of the inward man—our heart, soul, spirit, mind and emotions. It’s a whole bath, not just a face wash.

I find that if I do not personally read God’s Word each day that sin can build up in my life and I am not even aware of it. But when I read the Word, the Holy Spirit reveals the things that grieve Him and which pollute my soul. I am convicted to repent and cast them from my life so I can keep my inward man clean. 2 Corinthians 7:1 says, “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.” (From Above Rubies.  http://www.aboverubies.com/)

Above Rubies is a lovely website that I heartily recommend.

Today, I have stayed indoors, as the rain pattered on the window pane, and I had a knitting day.  I've knitted my second beanie hat of the winter, this time for eldest son.  Now I am knitting youngest son some fingerless gloves, to pop into a little parcel for him, and to let him know we haven't forgetten him entirely!  I had better do some crochet too, or my crochet hook may start to feel neglected and overlooked!

I'll get my camera out later and take some pics of my work-in-progress for you to see.

Have a lovely weekend my friend, and take some time out to pamper yourself.

A Lovely Day

Today I finished work a little early and had time to walk to the wool shop and buy eight balls of the softest, scrummiest merino wool to knit a little coat as a present for someone.  I made a start on it as soon as I arrived home.  It's so soft and lovely, it practically knits itself. I felt cosy, sitting by the fire with my needles.

I've been reading "Candles in the Dark" by Amy Carmichael this week.  She was a missionary in India for 55 years, and in all those years she never returned home to the UK for a break.  She opened an orphanage and a mission there, where many children were loved and cared for over the years.  They were rescued from either death or a life of prostitution.  Children were always close to her heart.  I read this lovely piece of prose, to be taken to heart by every mother, grandmother, auntie and by every mother to be.

"To a young mother.  This morning, I was reading in Luke, and as I read of the angels' joy over the birth of our Saviour and thought of their joy over everyone born again into the Kingdom, I felt sure they rejoice over every precious little life born into a family of true lovers of our Lord.  And I thought how to each little one an angel is given.  How little we know of these heavenly things, but I do like to think of the angel prepared for your little treasure and, above all, to think of what has been prepared for that little one 'before the foundation of the world'.  How much more there is in a baby than just sweetness and the appealing innocence of baby days.  All the great thoughts of God lie behind that little life, all the great purposes.  Ephesians chapters 1 and 2 tell of these.  The more one ponders, the more one wonders."

May you have opportunities to phone, visit, or even give a hug to those who are precious to you.

It made me think also about youngest son, back at university now for another term.  On Monday morning, when I was praying for him, God gave me these wonderful words, as if they were printed in gold, just for me.

"Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall."

Instead of 'burdens', I inserted the names of my children here, as I prayed for them, and had a real sense of God protecting each one of them - and their parents!

God bless you my friend.

A trip to York

Last weekend, we took youngest son back to University, and  had some fun in beautiful York.  The weather was unbelievably sunny, although a bit cold and windy, and we did some lovely 'touristy' things.

We walked around the Minster.......

It really was as sunny as it looks.  The above pic is a view from the Roman Walls.

We walked along the Shambles, which date back to the 14th century.  The shops seem unreal, like wandering into fairyland.

We had some retail therapy, in the form of bookshops.  I bought some lovely old books from Oxfam books.

I can't wait to a start reading these, but I need to finish Middlemarch first, and I'm not even halfway through yet!

This is the timber-framed National Trust shop...

There are lots of shops and buildings just like this in York.

Then we went to Betty's Tea Rooms, one of the most wonderful tea rooms in the world.  We stocked up on our supplies of Betty's Earl Grey tea.

Betty's tea shop is a wonderful building.

This is Betty's flagship cafe, inspired in the 1930's by the RMS Queen Mary cruise liner.

It's wildly expensive, a cup of tea starts at about £3, and the atmosphere is very traditional, but that's what makes Betty's so fabulous and unique.  I love it!

I can't take you all to Betty's, so instead I will give you a recipe for Fat Rascals, which are Betty's most famous cakes.

Fat Rascals

8 oz Self-Raising flour
half tsp. salt
4 oz lard
3 oz caster sugar
2 oz currants
1 oz sultanas
1 egg, beaten
milk to mix.

Pre-heat the oven to 425F or Mark 7.  Grease baking sheets.  Sift the flour and salt together in a bowl and rub in the lard until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Stir in the sugar, currants and sultanas and mix to a soft dough with the beaten egg and a little milk if necessary.  Transfer to a lightly floured surface and roll or press out to a good half inch thick and cut into 2 and a half inch rounds with a cutter.  Place apart on the baking sheet and bake for about 10 to 15 minutes until golden.  Transfer to a wire rack to cool.  Eat fresh with butter.  Makes about 12 scones. 

These cost about £3 each at Betty's, so you can save a lot of money and bake yourself a treat by making them at home!

Today I have been back at work, which was a shock to the system after a three week holiday.  I got up early, got ready, drove to the Park and Ride bus stop, then a quick bus journey to my loooong working day.  It has been lovely to spend time at home, being with my family, cooking and baking, knitting, crocheting, reading, doing all the things I enjoy!  I do like my work though, it's very rewarding and I work with great people.

Thank you so much to everyone who takes the time to read these pages, and especially to those of you who take he trouble to send a kind word in an encouraging comment.

I may not be blogging quite so often for the next few weeks, but please do drop by and say hello.

Chocolate Crunch!

I won't be signing in tomorrow, as I'll be busy helping youngest son prepare for his return to university.  We are having a very happy, busy Saturday here.  The sun has been shining and I've pegged shirts and pillowcases outside on the washing line for the first time this year.  They smell heavenly. 

We had a big fry-up for lunch - bacon, sausages, eggs, beans, toast, the whole works!  Five of us ate together, DH and I, both sons and DH's sister, it was a lovely family feast around the table.  Then I baked a batch of Chocolate Crunches for my son to take back to uni with him.  In fact, he always take a boxfull with him, I think his housemates would be disappointed if he didn't now!

I've had this Chocolate Crunch recipe for many years.  They are quick, easy and inexpensive to bake, and everybody loves them.

Chocolate Crunch

Ingredients:

10 ozs margarine
10ozs sugar
14 ozs flour
1 oz cocoa
A splash of good vanilla essence

Method:

1.  Melt margarine gently in a saucepan and add vanilla essence.

2.  Mix the sugar, cocoa and flour in a large bowl and add the melted margarine.

The big, muscly hands in this pic belong to youngest son, they're not mine!  He's my kitchen assistant when he's at home!

At this stage, the mixture tastes gorgeous, irresistable, as you can see!

3.  Press into a greased swiss roll tin about half an inch thick.

4.  Brush the top with water and sprinkle with sugar.

5.  Bake at Gas Mark 4, 180C or 360F for 20 minutes.

6.  Cut into squares while warm, but leave to cool in the tin.

As soon as they are cool, they can be easily boxed up and taken anywhere.



I often increase the quantities stated, today I have increased all the ingredients by 50% to ensure there will be plenty to go around the whole houseful of hungry students!

Do try this recipe, it's so simple, and yet everyone will think you are so clever! 

Here are some Restful Thoughts for you to think about tomorrow, while I am away from blogland. 

"If you know the love of Jesus - as the deer pants for streams of water (Psalm 42) - so you will pant for deeper draughts of His love.  Absence from Christ is hell; but the presence of Jesus is heaven.  Rest not then content without an increasing acquaintance with Jesus.  Seek to know more of Him in His divine nature, in His human relationship, in His finished work, in His death, in His resurrection, in His present, glorious intercession, and in His future, royal advent.  Abide hard by the cross, and search the mystery of His wounds.  An increase of love to Jesus, and a more perfect apprehension of His love to us is one of the best tests of growth in grace."  (C. H. Spurgeon)

II Peter 3:18 "Grow in the grace and knowlege of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ"

If you love to read Spurgeon too, you can go here to read more like this every day.

I love Spurgeon's writings, and as two of my loved ones are members of a church he planted, I feel practically related to him!

Enjoy your weekend my friend.

The Gift

When my 21st birthday was approaching, many years ago, when dinosaurs roamed the earth, my husband wanted to buy me a gift that I could keep for always.

I wasn't bothered about jewellery, I had a bright, shiny new wedding ring, which
 represented all the happiness in my heart.

After some thought and a little shopping, I decided I would like a Royal Doulton bone china cup and saucer, to start a tea set that could grow over the years.  The design I chose was called 'Flirtation', and it was commissioned in 1976.  My lovely husband bought me TWO cups and saucers, which I loved.

For every birthday and Christmas after that year, for several years, family members always knew what I wanted, another addition to my tea set.  By 1988, I had eight cups, saucers and tea-plates, a large sandwich plate and a milk jug.

By this time, we were living in Paris.  The tea set had been lovingly wrapped in tissue paper and was residing in a friend's attic, awaiting a future time when it would be used.  However, I wanted to complete the set

I really wanted the sweet little lidded sugar bowl to complete my tea set!  It wasn't available in Paris, so when my birthday approached, my husband rang family in England and asked them to buy the sugar bowl and keep it for me.

It was quite a while before we were back in the UK again and I was able to enjoy my gift.  As I unwrapped it with trembling fingers, my heart took a deep lurch - this was NOT what I had asked for. 

Instead of getting the sugar bowl, somewhere along the line the wires had got crossed, and I ended up with another milk jug  :(

By the time we were living back in the UK for good, we had two lively children, with no respect for fine china!  So the uncompleted tea set was placed in a cupboard and hardly ever used, only on high days and holidays.  Whenever I brought it out, I always explained to friends why we had the two jugs, and I had a story to tell at my husband's expense!

We have contacted several china search companies over the years, but they seemed very expensive.  But THIS YEAR, thanks to the wonders of eBay, my wonderful husband has finally, 23 years after buying that second jug, managed to track down my long-awaited sugar bowl, and I love it!  Here is the full tea-set, still with two jugs!

And for pure eye candy, here is a delicious close up of my new sugar bowl...

Do you think it was worth waiting 23 years for?  I do, and I love it.  Also, those children - and the third one who followed later! - are all grown up now, so I can get the tea set out and use it as often as I like, and I fully intend to!

My husband is happy, because I can't use this story against him any more, in fact he comes out of this story very well, doesn't he?!

Thank you for rising to my challenge, and thank you for all your kind comments.  I hope my story was worth the wait. 

Brenda has a lot more lovely china eye candy here.

Today I am savouring the last few hours with youngest son before he goes back to university, so we will be out and about, just enjoying each other's company, as well as making sure all his clothes etc. are packed.  I'm ironing his clothes the best I can, knowing they will probably not see an iron again until the next time he comes home!

Enjoy your day, and enjoy the company of any family and friends you have the privilege of spending time with today.  

The challenge

I thought it would be good to expand a little on yesterday's post.

One thing I really enjoy reading is 'Cosy Books'.  There is a brilliant list of suggested cosy reads compiled by Brenda over at Coffee, Tea, Books and Me right here.
In fact her whole blog is a really cosy read in itself.

Another thing I wanted to add from yesterday, remember the mirror?

Yesterday I said look in the mirror and see yourself, a fellow blogger, you are one of the writers I love to read. 

Well, today I want to expand on that.  If you are looking in this mirror and reading my Letters From Home, then you are a wonderful source of encouragement. I know from my stats that this page is being read in the UK, USA, Canada, Australia and other countries. How amazing is that!

But here is the challenge.  Recently, I celebrated a birthday.  I received beautiful flowers that make my heart sing.....

And a lovely Birthday Cake.....

(Google images)

Not actually this one, mine had a LOT more candles on it!  Anyway, I also received a very special gift from my husband that I had been hoping and waiting for for 23 years!  Yes, you read that right, 23 years!  In fact I had sometimes given up hope.

Now for the challenge.  I have put together a post all about this special gift, with pictures of it, and it tells the funny story of why I had to wait for it so long.  HOWEVER, I have decided not to post this particular story unless I receive 5 comments, not including the comments I post myself!

So if you are reading this and are intrigued by my little story, please be sweet and leave a little comment.  You don't need to be a blogger yourself in order to comment.  Just say 'Hi' and brighten my day.  You will be rewarded with my funny birthday story. 

And if you would like to recommend some good books yourself, that will be even better!  I look forward to reading your recommendations.

Thank you so much!

Review of 2010: Books and Reading

No review of 2010 could be complete without mentioning what I've been reading.

First of all, my Bible. 

The very best and best-loved of books.  It was written by over 40 different people, over 1500 years, in different countries, time-zones and languages, and in different genres such as law, poetry, history, prophecy and narrative, and yet study reveals the Bible to be entirely consistent in every part.  God has mercifully given us a book that provides "the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 3:15)  By reading this Book, we may learn what to believe, what to be, and what to do; how to live with comfort, and how to die in peace. 

I bought this bookmark - one of my favourites - from the Priory Church at Bolton Abbey near Skipton, during our summer holiday, when I met Lucy from Attic 24

And then on to books.  My all-time favourite books are those written by Miss Read.  Miss Read, real name Dora Saint was born in 1913, and had books published most years from 1955 up to the late 1990's.  Over the years I've been collecting her books, and now I have all her novels and a few other of her books too on my bookshelf.

This is only some of them!  I have a lot more in my bedroom, and have some of them on cd or tape too.

A wider shot of our bookshelves...



Other fictional works that stood out for me in 2010 are 'Hearts and Minds' by Amanda Craig (the children's fiction reviewer of The Times) and 'The Help' by Kathryn Stockett.  I recommend them both to you.

I also love to read magazines from time to time, such as Country Living, and then another area of reading that provides me with much joy, refreshment and great interest is here...

Yes, look into the mirror my friend, I mean all your wonderful, inspiring, entertaining blogs!  Thank you for cheering my days!

Christ-centred Motherhood.

I've just been listening this morning to a sermon by John Piper on Christ-centred motherhood here.  It is very different to any other approach towards motherhood.  He says:
"Remembering the character of your godly mother is a great incentive to holding fast to the scriptures she taught you. Let’s read it so you can see this. 2 Timothy Chapter 3, Verse 14: “But as for you [Timothy], continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed”—that is, don’t give up your faith, don’t give up the scriptures, don’t give up your salvation. Then comes these crucial words referring back to Eunice and Lois: “knowing from whom you learned it.”

"In other words, Timothy, one of the ways—not the only way—one of the ways to strengthen your faith and persevere through hard times and not give up on the scriptures is to remember who introduced you to word of God and the way of salvation. Remember your mother, and your grandmother."

"So let’s make very clear: the apostle of Jesus Christ in this text bestows on motherhood and grandmotherhood a great honor. You have a calling that can become the long-remembered ground of faith, not just for your children—mark this—but for the untold numbers who will be affected by your children. And that’s in addition to all the other thousands of ripple effects of faith in your life."

John Piper ends his sermon with this lovely definition of home management:

"Home-management-  the creation of a beautiful and simple place and living organism which becomes a refuge of Christ’s peace and launching pad for God’s righteousness."

What a noble goal, to create a refuge of Christ's peace and a launching pad for god's righteousness in our busy, harried world.

Have a lovely day my friend.