It's been a strange few months for me. I am usually busy doing, thinking and getting things done, but I've found myself just wanting to sit still and be quiet. It's been a good thing. In all my sitting still I've come across a few books that have fed my needy soul. Every time I go to Karen Andreola's blog, Moments with Mother Culture, I come away with a new book I want to read or am inspired to start a new craft. Not that I have time to start a new craft, but I have found time for the new books. Grace is still nursing and I've begun reading while she eats. I wasn't always able to do that with her.
Back in December, Karen recommended the book Christmas at Fairacre. As I was checking it out on Amazon, I realized that it is part of a series. Being the all-or-nothing woman that I am, I just had to start with the first book in the series, Village School. I'm so glad I did. It has been encouraging for me to read about the ups-and-downs of life in a small English village and its even smaller school.
The second book in the series is Village Diary. Life in the village as recorded by the school's headmistress. Reading what she wrote about one of the busy housewives in the village made me think of my job here at home...
Mrs. Willet is small and pale and yet she is 'always on the go,' as she herself will tell you. The fact that she can do so many things, and takes enormous pride in doing them well, is, I think, the secret of this apparently inexhaustible energy. There are so many different activities to engage her, that when she tires of one, there is another to which she can turn and get refreshment. From turning her heavy old mangle in the wash-house, she will come in and sit down to stitch a new skirt. She will prepare a stew, and while it simmers on the hob, filling the little house with its fragrance, she will practice her part in Mr. Annett's new anthem, ready for the next church festival. And - this perhaps is the most important thing - she sees a satisfying result from her labours. The clothes blow on the line, the skirt is folded and put away in the drawer ready for next Sunday; Mr. Willet will come in 'sharp-set' and praise her bubbling stew; and, with any luck, Mr. Annett will congratulate her on her grasp of that difficult passage just before the basses come in.
It is a creative life. There is something worth while to show for energy expended which engenders the desire to accomplish more. Small wonder that the Mrs. Willets of this world are happy, and deserve to be so.
Back in December, Karen recommended the book Christmas at Fairacre. As I was checking it out on Amazon, I realized that it is part of a series. Being the all-or-nothing woman that I am, I just had to start with the first book in the series, Village School. I'm so glad I did. It has been encouraging for me to read about the ups-and-downs of life in a small English village and its even smaller school.
The second book in the series is Village Diary. Life in the village as recorded by the school's headmistress. Reading what she wrote about one of the busy housewives in the village made me think of my job here at home...
Mrs. Willet is small and pale and yet she is 'always on the go,' as she herself will tell you. The fact that she can do so many things, and takes enormous pride in doing them well, is, I think, the secret of this apparently inexhaustible energy. There are so many different activities to engage her, that when she tires of one, there is another to which she can turn and get refreshment. From turning her heavy old mangle in the wash-house, she will come in and sit down to stitch a new skirt. She will prepare a stew, and while it simmers on the hob, filling the little house with its fragrance, she will practice her part in Mr. Annett's new anthem, ready for the next church festival. And - this perhaps is the most important thing - she sees a satisfying result from her labours. The clothes blow on the line, the skirt is folded and put away in the drawer ready for next Sunday; Mr. Willet will come in 'sharp-set' and praise her bubbling stew; and, with any luck, Mr. Annett will congratulate her on her grasp of that difficult passage just before the basses come in.
It is a creative life. There is something worth while to show for energy expended which engenders the desire to accomplish more. Small wonder that the Mrs. Willets of this world are happy, and deserve to be so.
