Spark Joy

Shooting star tree (Clerodendrum quadriloculare)

Every new year I begin with an announcement: This year, I am going to get organized! Usually, I will read a book or two to get me motivated, and start cleaning the kitchen. Last year I laid out a plan and shared it with you here on Daily Divertissements. In case you missed them, my previous posts on organization can be found HERE, or by clicking on the "organization" label on the right. These include my experiment with the ten item wardrobe, as well as my series from last January. Hint: if you start at the bottom of the page and work your way up, you will see them in chronological order.

The plan I put together is a good one. When implemented, it really works. The trouble is, usually after awhile, life happens, and the whole routine is forgotten. Papers start to pile up, clutter starts to accumulate, and before I know it, I'm right back where I started. So I thought it might be a good time to revisit the ideas I wrote about, evaluate the process, and get back on track.

Meanwhile, I am reading two books to get me going: David Allen's best seller Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity, and Marie Kondo's book Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up. I have read David Allen's book before; I am going through it now as a refresher course in his method, which I have applied, to some extent, in my own strategy for organizing my life. The other book is the second one written by the Japanese decluttering guru -- a continuation, if you will, of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo. While some of her ideas are a little unusual, the main concept she promotes is intriguing. Marie teaches that we should only keep those things which "spark joy" in our lives. And that goes for everything -- clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous stuff, and sentimental items. Why keep them, if they don't bring us joy?

So with that in mind, I will set to work. I will look at my things with new eyes. As I work my way through my belongings, I am going to keep only that which I truly love. In other words, I will only keep those things that spark joy!

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, 

or believe to be beautiful. 

William Morris

A Dream and an Inspiration

I had a dream a few weeks ago in which the book The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady came to mind. Many years ago, I had seen this book and admired its beautifully illustrated pages. Edith Holden started her diary in 1906, and filled it with poetry, quotes, and observations of her surroundings. She painted the birds, butterflies, and flowers in her little village with detail and delicacy, her love of nature obvious with each stroke. Edith's lovely book was her own personal treasure until it was published in 1977, many years after her death.

I searched the online catalog of the public library to see if the book was still available. To my delight, there was one copy of it, and I promptly made a trip to the appropriate branch to check it out. Edith's book is still just as enchanting as I remembered, and it has inspired me to try something similar. I purchased a new planner to use for my art journal this year, and I like the idea of focusing on a theme. While I will probably include other items in my book, the wildlife in my own backyard is always there to be observed, written about, and illustrated.

I recently discovered another book, The Laws Guide to Nature Drawing and Journaling by John Muir Laws. Here is a book packed with information, illustrations, and inspiration. It takes the idea of a "country diary" and guides the reader through the process of awareness, observation, and inquiry, while teaching techniques for drawing the wonders of nature. This book brings together perfectly the disciplines of science and art.

This year I hope to keep a record of God's creation by observing the flora and fauna in my garden. Although South Florida lacks the drastic change in seasons that exist in other places, there are subtle differences that occur with the passing of the months. Each day brings something new to discover, if we take the time to notice. Unlike Edith's diary, my little book will probably never be published for all the world to see. It will be my own personal treasure to enjoy. I am looking forward to the journey.

Hello Summer!

This morning I woke up to see these lovely little rain lilies cheerfully blooming -- the summer rains have begun! As another school year comes to a close, it's time to think about my plans for the next few months. Every year, I make a list of projects I hope to complete. And every year, the summer flies by with only a few things checked off. But if I don't make any plans at all, then nothing will get done! At least this way, I will (hopefully) accomplish something, and have some fun, too! So without further ado, here is a list of ideas I have for summer:

• Revisit the list I made back in September in my post, Come Along With Me. Now that berries are in season and more reasonably priced, perhaps I'll try making those mini fruit tarts!
• Lose ten pounds. Last week I started working on this, as described in my post, Going on a Diet. I found the four-day jumpstart very difficult to do this time. The first time I did it, I was pretty run down by the last day. But this time, I had absolutely no energy and just felt drained the first three days. By the fourth day, I was feeling a little better. Perhaps part of the problem was eliminating caffeine  (I do like my coffee and tea!). I certainly wouldn't recommend doing this jumpstart when one has a lot of physical work to do! But I am happy to report that I lost 2 pounds during those four days. Now on to phase two!
• Start walking again. My husband and I used to walk 2 1/2 miles several days a week, but with his busy work schedule we haven't kept up with it lately. I suspect that has something to do with our weight gain. So now that school is out and he has more time, we want to get back into our exercise routine. 
• Finish tiling the master bathroom. This project was started last summer, and we just haven't gotten it finished yet. We are using larger tiles than we used in our guest bathroom, and they are heavier and harder to work with.  But if we keep plugging away at it, I am confident we can complete the job!
• Work on baking the perfect loaf of bread. This is something I have attempted from time to time and, for some reason, I usually do it in the summer. I know what I am aiming for -- a healthy, flavorful bread with a tender crumb and a crispy, but not hard, crust. I have made some delicious loaves, but I still haven't come up with that elusive ideal. I will be working with recipes from Peter Reinhart's books Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads, and The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread as well as In Search of the Perfect Loaf: A Home Baker's Odyssey by Samuel Fromartz. I may even look up Kathleen Weber's Della Fattoria Bread: 63 Foolproof Recipes for Yeasted, Enriched & Naturally Levened Breads, or Nancy Silverton's Breads from the La Brea Bakery: Recipes for the Connoisseur. How can you eat bread while on a diet, you ask? The secret is in portion control -- plain and simple.
• Do something creative each day. Whether it's drawing, painting, sewing, or playing my flute, I would like to make art, even if it's only for 15 minutes (which may be all I can squeeze in after doing all these other things!). 
• Spend time with my sweet husband. He is my best friend and the love of my life. It's always nice to have him home for the summer!

This is certainly not a comprehensive list, but a sampling of what is on my agenda for summer. What plans do you have for the months to come?

Going on a Diet

About five or six years ago, my husband and I decided to go a diet. Too many chips and too little exercise had resulted in too many pounds. They had crept up on us slowly. And before we knew it our clothes were too tight, his back was bothering him, and walking up a flight of stairs was becoming increasingly strenuous for me. Something had to be done. So together, we resolved to lose the extra weight. That Christmas, before consuming a large dinner with all the fixings and a few Christmas cookies, I opened a gift from my husband: The Flat Belly Diet Cookbook by Liz Vaccariello and Cynthia Sass. We started on New Year's Day.

The first 65 pages explain the diet and how it works. In a nutshell, you eat three 400-calorie meals and one 400-calorie snack each day, making sure that you have "a MUFA with every meal". "MUFAs" are monounsaturated fatty acids -- those good-for-you, plant-based fats found in things like olives, avocados, nuts, seeds, legumes, and -- get this -- chocolate! The book has many delicious recipes, as well as helpful information like serving sizes and calorie counts. The authors start you out with a four day anti-bloat jumpstart, which does take some willpower to stick with. But after those first four days, in which we lost a few pounds to start the momentum, the food we ate didn't leave us feeling deprived at all. In fact, it was quite delicious, and healthy to boot! We changed our eating habits completely, and our efforts were successful. My husband gradually lost over 50 pounds, and I lost 15. We both achieved a healthy weight and started walking several times a week. My clothes fit me again, my husband's back stopped hurting, and he bought a whole new wardrobe in a size he hadn't worn since before I knew him. 

Lately, however, we have been careless in our eating, and we haven't gone walking much lately. Sometimes life just happens. As a result, the pounds have begun to sneak up on us again. Just a few, but enough for us to notice. On Friday I got all the groceries I need for the four day jumpstart (pictured above), and today we started with day one, determined to get back on track. It won't take us long to reach our goals, and this time I know we can do it! 

Come back again  for a progress report!

Lentil Stew

Over thirty years ago, my husband and I decided to try a vegetarian diet. I'm not even sure what prompted it. I believe I had seen a magazine article documenting the treatment of animals in the meat industry. And being a person who loves anything with feathers or fur, it made an impression on me. As with everything new that I decide to do, I did some research on the subject to find out if a vegetarian diet could provide the nutrition one needs to live a healthy life. I had been taught the common dietary wisdom at the time -- a diet must consist of the four food groups: Meat, Dairy, Fruits and Vegetables, and Grains. But could a person live without meat?

Among the material I read were three books that convinced me to give vegetarianism a try. I started with France Moore Lappe's classic Diet for a Small Planet, in which the author shares her views on the subject of world hunger, addresses the issue of protein in the diet, and gives the reader lots of good recipes. Eating for the Eighties: A Complete Guide to Vegetarian Nutrition, by Janie Coulter Hartbarger and Neil J. Hartbarger, gives a valid argument for the health benefits of a meatless diet. And Laurel's Kitchen: A Handbook for Vegetarian Cookery and Nutrition, by Laurel Robertson, Carol Flinders, and Bronwen Godfrey, comes at the subject from a more "spiritual" point of view, but is filled with information on nutrition and many tempting recipes. There are plenty of books on the subject and a multitude of cookbooks with colorful pictures of mouth-watering dishes. But these three were the first ones I read on the subject, and each had a different philosophy.

We no longer follow a strict vegetarian diet, but we do continue to eat many meatless meals. Whether it's ethics, economics, or health, more and more people are trying to limit their consumption of animal products, with positive results. Recently, I was asked if I had any good, tried-and-true vegetarian recipes to share. This is one of our favorites, adapted from Lappe's recipe "Lentils, Monastery Style". Her version is more of a soup; mine is thicker, so I call it "Lentil Stew". I often serve it over rice, but I have also added potatoes, used larger carrot chunks, and cooked dumplings on top. As with so many recipes, there is plenty of room for creativity.The recipe can easily be doubled for large families, as I used to do when the kids were growing up. This dish isn't fancy, but it's cheap, easy, nutritious, and delicious!

Lentil Stew

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 or 3 carrots, chopped

1 stalk celery, sliced

4 1/2 cups water

8 oz. dried brown lentils, rinsed

1/2 of a 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes 

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon dried basil

pepper to taste

Heat oil in large pot and saute vegetables 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer about 45 minutes. 

Serves 4 to 6

A Homeschool Journey, Part 6: Starting School

The years had flown by, and here we were, ready to begin our new adventure. In my last post in this series, A Homeschool Journey, Part 5: Choosing Curriculum, I shared some of what went into our decision about what materials to use in our school. We had settled on a simple spiral-bound guide, filled with ideas for teaching young children. There were no textbooks. Each day's lesson plan had recommendations for library books that related to what we were learning about. These were real books, filled with pictures and stories and fascinating facts. And they were free! 

The second component of our curriculum was The Writing Road to Reading by Romalda Spalding, originally published in 1957. A complete guide to teaching phonics for speech, writing, spelling, and reading, this book has no bells or whistles. It is a manual for the teacher. The book teaches 70 phonograms and spelling rules (some of which I, myself, had never learned), and contains a spelling list that begins with "me" and ends with "rendezvous". Obviously, this is not a book just for teaching kindergarten -- it would be used for many years. Additionally, it includes a list of books for children to read all the way through sixth grade -- well-written children's books and classic children's literature, rather than those mediocre readers that I had been subjected to in school. Some homeschooling parents are intimidated by The Writing Road to Reading, but I studied it carefully beforehand, and our kindergarten curriculum included a step-by-step, simplified approach to using it. 

As we eagerly awaited the big day, we went shopping for school supplies. Our daughter chose a pretty three ring binder to keep her papers organized. And we bought fun things, such as colored paper, crayons, glue, and scissors just for her. We already had the obligatory globe, and we had a small American flag. Our children would learn the Pledge of Allegiance and the Star-Spangled Banner, even if they didn't go to a "real" school. And so it began.

Four days each week were school days, and Fridays were reserved for field trips and the library. Our subject areas were Bible, Reading (including writing and spelling), Arithmetic, God's World (science and social studies), Health and Manners, Art and Music, Physical Education, Character Building, Story Time, and Bible Memory. Some subjects were covered every day; others, we did twice a week. It was a very well-rounded education for a child in kindergarten. And it only took 90 minutes a day! 

Be sure to come back for part 7 of A Homeschool Journey!

A Homeschool Journey, Part 5: Choosing Curriculum

We had made the decision. After years of reading about homeschooling, and having met a few people who were actually doing it, we knew that we would be teaching our kids at home. We had been reading to the children since they were born and provided lots of learning experiences in their early years. In my previous post in this series, A Homeschool Journey, Part 4: Early Education, I described some of the things we did. School attendance was not compulsory until age six, and children were required to be five years old before entering kindergarten. But our precocious four-year-old had known her letters since she was two and was eager to learn to read so that she could (in her words) read her Bible. She was ready for school. And so we came to The Question: What curriculum would we use?

We had seen a few advertisements in Christian magazines for some of the most commonly used curricula at the time: A Beka Book, Bob Jones University Press, Alpha Omega, and Accelerated Christian Education. The first two had lots of colorful materials that looked much like what most school children use. The other two were designed for children to use at their own pace, but they were less colorful and, in fact, looked rather dull. All of them were used in Christian schools.

We also consulted a few books that were invaluable in our decision: The Christian Home Educators' Curriculum Manual: Elementary Grades by Cathy Duffy, Mary Pride's Big Book of Home Learning Volume 1: Getting Started, and Teaching Children: A Curriculum Guide to What Children Need to Know at Each Level Through Sixth Grade by Diane Lopez. I carefully read and considered what each author had to say. Mary Pride's book was packed with information about homeschooling and included descriptions of the available curricula. Cathy Duffy's book was very thorough in its descriptions, but we noticed that she personally did not recommend the Bob Jones or A Beka Book materials. Although they were colorful and enticing, these materials were developed for classroom teaching, she said, and were not geared toward home education.

After a great deal of thought and prayer, I was still not sure what to do. Somehow, my husband managed to find a phone number for Cathy Duffy and gave her a call. He spoke with her for quite some time and came away with her recommendation: a spiral-bound manual by Ann Ward called Learning at Home Preschool & Kindergarten: A Christian Parents' Guide with Day-By-Day Lesson Plans Using the Library as a Resource. Unlike some of the other curricula we had looked at, this was inexpensive and was geared specifically toward homeschoolers, with young children in mind. We decided to take her advice. It was the best decision we ever made in beginning this new adventure!

Be sure to come back for Part 6 of my homeschooling series!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

Well, here it is! My first dress made with the templates from the book Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time: The Ultimate Dressmaking Guide by Tanya Whelan. In my post, Two Hundred Dresses, I shared my excitement about the possibility of designing my own dresses with guidance from this book. My first effort has a basic bodice with a straight skirt, back vent, and invisible zipper in the back, which I inserted by hand. It is also fully lined. The most  laborious part of this project was getting the fit right. You must take accurate measurements and use Tanya's size chart, since the sizes are nothing like standard pattern sizes. Add to that, adjustments for being two different sizes -- one on top and one on the bottom -- and modifications had to be made. This was not difficult to do, but not a job for a beginning seamstress. I made a mock-up first with an old sheet in order to get it just right before cutting the dress fabric. Now that I have the adjustments made, subsequent creations should be much easier (that is, if I don't gain weight!). Now, to choose my next design!

In keeping with the "wearing of the green", I thought I'd share a little poem that my mother wrote many years ago (for more of her poetry, see A Little Word of Kindness). 

My grandpap came from Ireland

Many years ago

I'll wear a big green shamrock

So everyone will know

That I'm a bit of Irish,

And I'm certain that it shows

In the blarney that I'm speakin'

And the freckles on my nose!

Wilma Thompson, 1967

The Luck of the Irish to You!

A Homeschool Journey, Part 4: Early Education

In my previous post in this series, A Homeschool Journey, Part 3: The Research Begins, I related some of what we learned while investigating the idea of homeschooling. Meanwhile, we were blessed with two children. Right from the start, we wanted our children to have the best education we could provide. And that started at home, no matter what our ultimate decision would be concerning school. We read to the kids from the time they were babies, beginning with soft books and board books with lots of pictures. From there, we progressed to Little Golden Books, classic picture books, and nursery rhymes. The public library was a favorite destination, and we went there often. The children never sat in front of the TV. In fact, we didn't even own a television!

Instead of staring at a screen for countless hours, we did things. We went to parks to play. We went to nature centers to learn about and enjoy God's creation. We went to the beach, or had picnics of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the backyard. We went for walks around the neighborhood and met people. The baby rode in the stroller while his older sister held onto the handle with Mommy. (We continued to teach our kids to do this as more children came along, preventing little ones from running off and getting hurt or lost in stores). We didn't just wait until they misbehaved and then punish them for it; we taught them how to behave. We explained to them what to expect if they were going to encounter a new situation. Our kids learned to sit quietly and enjoy concerts. They memorized nursery rhymes and Bible verses and songs. They colored and made crafts and played with puzzles. And after a busy day we had bedtime stories and prayers, and then the kids drifted off to sleep with classical music playing softly on the stereo.

On Sundays, we went to church. The Lord led us to a little storefront church with lots of young families who loved Jesus (someone we met on one of those walks had invited us). The pastor's wife even had a Sunday school class for infants. The babies sat in their car seats or "sassy seats" that hooked onto a table, and had a little lesson with songs, puppets, pictures, and baby-sized Bibles with pictures of Jesus. The children learned that church was a fun place to go, with people who loved them. And there were even a couple families who homeschooled their children!

I had been a little nervous about the whole thing. I knew that I was capable of teaching my kids; after all, I had been teaching them since they were born. But I didn't know what legal issues we might encounter. Did the school district give homeschoolers a hard time, or were they easy to work with? After talking to one of the couples at church about my fears, they assured me that they had never had a problem. The homeschooling law that had been passed in 1985 was a good one; the requirements were easy to meet. That encouragement was all I needed. We were going to homeschool! Now, all we needed was the answer to The Question: What curriculum would we use?

Stay tuned for Part 5 of our homeschool adventure! 

A Homeschool Journey, Part 3: The Research Begins

I walked into the public library on a mission. I had decided to find out all I could about home education. Our experiences in school and our personal beliefs as related in my previous post, The Decision: Why We Considered Homeschool, had sparked an idea. And we intended to investigate the possibility of pursuing this path for educating our children. Our library is a large, county-wide one with many branches. Surely they would have plenty of books on the subject. The only problem was, the modern homeschool movement was relatively new and not nearly as common as it is now. I was a little disappointed in the selection, but there were some very informative books on the shelves. I eagerly took them to the desk, checked them out, and went home with my homework for the month.

Author and educator John Holt had several books on the subject. Holt started the nation's first home education newsletter, Growing Without Schooling, and was a proponent of "unschooling" -- the belief that, given the freedom to follow their interests, children will learn. His book Teach Your Own was one of the earliest books on homeschooling to be published. Written from an entirely secular point of view, some of his ideas were not in line with our thinking. But although we felt that children need a little more guidance than what Mr. Holt suggested, his ideas opened our minds to possibilities beyond the classroom setting. Maybe kids don't have to sit at a desk for six hours a day in order to learn!

Most of the other books available on the subject at the time were written by Raymond and Dorothy Moore. Two of the earliest pioneers of today's homeschool movement, the Moores were Christian educators who advocated delaying formal studies in their book Better Late Than Early. While we didn't agree with all of their ideas either, their books Home Grown Kids and Home School Burnout supported the thought that "homeschooling" didn't have to mean "school-at-home".

There were other books, as well. I read everything I could get my hands on about home education. As the years went by, more families were pursuing this path and more books were published. What wasn't available in the library, I purchased (the books in the picture above are just the tip of a very large iceberg!). As I read the success stories of others, I became convinced that we could do this! Meanwhile, God blessed us with one child and then another. And before long, it was time to really take it seriously. If we were going to homeschool, we had to make the commitment. If only we could overcome our fears!

Come back next week for Part 4 of our story!

Sewing and Tea

Yesterday a sweet friend sent me a little message on Facebook: "May your day be full of happy things such as sewing and tea." What a nice idea! It has been a while since I have gotten any sewing done. My dress project, mentioned in an earlier post, Two Hundred Dresses, had gone by the wayside during the holidays. And you know how difficult it can be to get going again on something once you've stopped. As they say, out of sight, out of mind. So I decided to get out my fabric and scissors, and start on a new dress.

Using the book Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time: The Ultimate Dressmaking Guide by Tanya Whelan, I am starting off with a very basic design. Once I am satisfied with the fit, I will get a little more adventuresome and try something more complicated. Hopefully, this dress will turn out well, and maybe I will be brave and post a picture when it's finished!

I put on some music by John Dowland and got busy. I cut out the dress and the lining (today I will begin stitching the pieces together), and then it was time for tea. A couple shortbread cookies accompanied a nice cup of tea, with a little agave nectar and a lemon slice. As I sat on the patio sipping my beverage, I thanked God for lovely friends and happy things, such as sewing and tea.

Shortbread cookies

3/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix butter and sugar in large bowl. Stir in flour.
Roll dough 1/2 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into small shapes by hand or use cookie cutters.
Place 1/2 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake about 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack.
Decorate or frost, if desired.
Makes about 2 dozen 1 1/2 inch cookies.

Words of Wisdom from Anne of Green Gables

I didn’t have red hair like Anne Shirley, but I did have curly hair and freckles at a time when straight tresses and a flawless, tanned complexion was the ideal. I never smashed a slate over a boy’s head at school, but I did whack my best friend over the head with a cigar box in a fit of anger. I never read Anne of Green Gables, by Lucy Maude Montgomery, until I was an adult. But as soon as I opened the book and took in the first few words I knew I had discovered a treasure -- and a kindred spirit.

Anne had a talent for getting herself into predicaments. Usually, it was a result of her sometimes overactive imagination. But no matter what happened, there was always some important lesson to learn from the experience. Here are some of my favorites: 

• Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it. Mistakes are inevitable. The only way to never make a mistake is to never do anything -- and that would be a mistake! But no matter how badly you mess up today, there is always tomorrow. The sun will rise again, and you can start anew. Even a completely ruined life can be saved by the grace of God. As the Bible says, If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 2 Corinthians 5:17 
• The truth will set you free. Sometimes, there are misunderstandings. Sometimes there is deceit. But in the end, the truth will always be discovered, and things will be made right. Jesus said, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. John 8:31-32
• Life's too short to hold grudges. When someone hurts you, it's easy to be angry. But holding on to that anger doesn't make things better. While you are fuming and unhappy, that other person has probably forgotten all about the incident and is enjoying a lovely day. Don't waste your time with bitter grudges. Forgive the offending party, let it go, and move on. The Bible says, Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Ephesians 4:26
• You don't make an important call in kitchen clothes. This little gem might seem silly, but it is a matter of respect. Whether you are visiting someone to make an apology (as in Anne's case), or simply meeting for lunch, it's always a nice gesture to try to be presentable. Be considerate and show your appreciation for others. Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Philippians 2:3-4 
• It's not what the world holds for you, it's what you bring to it. You can spend your life endlessly looking for happiness and complaining about what you don't have, or you can make the best of every opportunity. Just remember, Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men. Colossians 3:23  But most importantly, count your blessings! 

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 118:1

A New Year, A Fresh Start

It's a new year! And, like many people so often do when the date changes from one year to the next, I like to set new goals. Resolutions may be too strong a term for me. After all, I can resolve to do something really important any time. But there is something about flipping that calendar and seeing a new year that makes me think of new beginnings and a fresh start. Just think of the possibilities! Maybe it has something to do with taking down the Christmas tree and putting the holiday decorations back into storage. Suddenly, the living room is so much bigger! And it makes me want to tidy up the house. Every year, I make the announcement: This year, I'm going to get organized! And every year, we all just kind of laugh. Usually, I read a book to get me motivated, and then I begin to clean, sort, and throw away the useless junk that has accumulated. But it doesn't last long. Life gets busy again, and before you know it, my determination wanes and things get back to normal. Nevertheless, it doesn't stop me from once again setting a goal to get my house in order. This year, I'm going to get organized!

These next few weeks, I will share some of the ideas I have gleaned from the most helpful books I have read on the subject of organization and household management. And perhaps by doing so, I will actually make some progress in my own life. Maybe you have some great ideas or things that have worked for you. Please feel free to share them in the comments below. 

The first thing I recommend is that you set aside some time each day for Bible reading and prayer. After all, God is the most organized person I know, and He certainly has some great advice for getting your life in order. 

Have you ever read through the whole Bible? If not, that would be a great goal for the new year! It may sound like a daunting task, but it can be done. Find a good Bible reading plan or checklist and get started! I use Professor Horner's Bible Reading System, and have 10 bookmarks to keep my place as I read. You may prefer a different method. Some of these systems promise that you will get through the Bible in one year. But what if you don't? What if you miss a day or a week or more? Don't give up! Just pick up where you left off. You can do this! 

Prayer is another important element that will help you to stay focused on what is really important. Keeping a prayer journal can be very encouraging as you see what the Lord has done in your life and how He answers prayer. Just get yourself a notebook and write down the things you are praying about. You will be amazed when you see the results! A recent movie, War Room, (now on DVD) is about the power of prayer and will motivate you to get serious about talking to God.

As you begin to focus on that which is most important, the rest will begin to fall into place. This month, as others fret about losing weight, paying off debts, and yes, organizing their homes, I encourage you to renew your relationship with God by spending more time with Him. Now that's a resolution worth keeping!

Baked Brie

A couple years ago, my husband and I went on a little vacation to Saint Petersburg, Florida -- just the two of us. It was the first time we had done such a thing since our honeymoon, over 30 years earlier. We spent the week visiting art museums and shops, strolling through botanical gardens, and relaxing on our hotel balcony with coffee and pastries. One day, we visited Florida's largest new and used bookstore, Haslam's, which has over 300,000 books in 30,000 square feet. Book lovers that we are, it was almost like being in Heaven. We ate at local restaurants and tried new foods. But one restaurant, in particular, had something on their menu that lured us through their doors every single day.

The Moon Under Water, located on Beach Drive, serves British Colonial cuisine in the atmosphere of a cozy English tavern. For those who prefer dining outdoors, there is seating on the porch and at tables along the sidewalk. The first time we ate there, we decided to try the baked brie, listed among the appetizers. Wrapped in puff pastry and served with crackers and a delicious spicy raspberry sauce, this delicacy had us returning again and again for more.

This recipe is very simple and will give you impressive results. As you slice into the papery layers of pastry, you will discover a luscious, melted cheese that can be spread on crackers along with warm apricot preserves or seedless raspberry jam. The recipe calls for an 8 ounce round brie. I only had on hand a 16 ounce brie, which I cut in half, so the brie in the picture above is wrapped a little differently than it would be, had I used a circle-shaped one. No matter how you wrap it, the flavor is heavenly.

Baked Brie in Puff Pastry

1/2 (17 oz.) package frozen puff pastry, thawed
1 (8 oz.) round brie
1/8 Cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted in skillet
1/4 Cup preserves (apricot, raspberry, etc.)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Roll thawed pastry until large enough to wrap around brie.
Place cheese in center of pastry, and sprinkle almonds on top.
Wrap or bundle up the pastry around brie and press to seal.
Bake 20-25 minutes, until puffed and golden.
Cool 5 minutes before serving.
Serve with crackers and warmed preserves.
Serves about 4.

Two Hundred Dresses

Wanda Petronski was a little girl who wore the same dress to school every day. But when teased by her classmates, she claimed that she had one hundred dresses at home, all lined up in her closet. The children's book The Hundred Dresses, written by Eleanor Estes and illustrated by Louis Slobodkin, won a Newbery Honor in 1945. It is a timeless story that teaches about compassion and courage, and the impact of our words. One thing is certain, though. Wanda was an imaginative little girl who drew pictures of her hundred dresses, each a unique design and beautifully colored.

Recently, my husband gave me a book that  promises to be quite inspiring. Sew Many Dresses, Sew Little Time; The Ultimate Dressmaking Guide is written by designer Tanya Whelan. With simple, interchangeable templates and step-by-step instructions, Tanya shows how to make over 200 possible combinations! I have always wanted to design my own clothes, but never had the nerve to try it. I have had to rely on patterns designed by someone else. Now, with this book, I have the guidance I need to be more creative when I sew. I am starting with a very basic design, in a captivating fabric.

Once I get the fit right and become more courageous, I will try some other styles. I won't be making two hundred dresses, but perhaps, like Wanda, I can use my imagination and make some designs that are uniquely mine.

I must be careful to plan my dresses so that they can join my other clothes and become part of my ten item wardrobe. And now that my closet is under control and the needles and thread are being used again, perhaps my next organizing project will be my sewing supplies!

Into the Wardrobe

C.S. Lewis readers will remember the story of the little girl who climbed into a wardrobe and entered another world. The Chronicles of Narnia describes this magical land, where animals talk and good clashes with evil. My wardrobe doesn't lead to the fantasy land of Narnia, and there certainly aren't talking animals inside. But there was a battle, of sorts, going on behind those doors. Skirts and blouses were fighting with dresses and jackets for room to breathe. Boots tried to get a foothold among the shoes. Sweaters and tee shirts struggled to hold their ground as handbags advanced on their territory. So I decided to combat the chaos by attacking the mess head-on. I took the ten item wardrobe challenge.

After I emptied the whole closet, I realized that I had made a tactical error. I had no idea what I was going to do with my clothes while I was in the process of reorganizing them. This wasn't a job that could be completed in one afternoon. So that night, before I went to bed, I piled the clothes in front of the closet. Each time I worked on this project, I found myself moving piles from here to there -- not a very efficient way to work. So for those of you who wish to join me in this endeavor, here are a few tips:

• Have a bag or box handy for those things that you are going to give away. Perhaps you know someone who can use them, or you can donate them to a charity. I won't give the common advice about discarding anything you haven't worn for a year. If you are like me, you may have simply forgotten about some of those items. But do look at each article of clothing with fresh eyes. If a piece doesn't feel right, or if it is stained or worn out, get rid of it! 
• Know what you are going to do with your out-of-season clothes. Do you have another closet that can be used for this purpose? Maybe you can simply box them up and place them on the top shelf. Either way, they will not be taking up space and adding confusion to the clothing you will be wearing this season. 
• Choose the shoes and handbags that coordinate with your ten item wardrobe, and put the other ones away. This will make getting dressed so much easier, when you don't have to wade through 20 pairs of shoes. The same goes for belts and scarves. There is no need to have your white sandals in your closet in January, or black boots taking up precious space in July (unless, of course, you live in the Southern Hemisphere!).
• Try to use matching hangers. It will make the whole closet look so much nicer! They don't have to be expensive. Remember, you will be limiting the number of items that will need hangers, so you won't need many.
• Take measurements of shelf space before you go out shopping for organizational paraphernalia. And take a tape measure with you when you shop, so that you will be sure the things you buy will fit in your closet.
• Be creative! You don't need to spend a fortune on this. If you have the money for a beautiful, customized closet system, that's great! But with a little thought, you  can use what you already have to get things under control and looking nice. For example, boxes can be covered with contact paper, or even wrapping paper, to make them pretty. Labels will let you know what each box contains. Everyone's needs and resources are different. Your closet belongs to you, so make it yours! 

It will be so much easier to get dressed in the morning, once your choices are narrowed down to only the things that make you look and feel good. No more rummaging through a forest of garments or rooting around in a pile of shoes. And you will probably save money by not purchasing clothes that you don't need. Your next trip to the mall may be for just one dress to replace one that has worn out. Or perhaps you only need a blouse in a particular color to complete your capsule of clothing. You won't be tempted to buy everything in sight. You will be in control! Are you ready for the challenge?

Next week: A peek inside my closet for a glimpse of my ten item wardrobe.

The Ten Item Wardrobe

We've all seen them -- those pictures of beautifully organized closets filled with perfectly coordinated clothing that hangs freely from matching hangers. Sweaters are neatly folded, shoes are meticulously lined up, and handbags stand at attention in a neat row. But when we open the door of our own closets, we find a mess of mismatched garments shoved in so tightly that they hardly need hangers to stay in place. Sweaters are piled up so that, when we pull one out to wear, the whole bunch falls over in a heap. Shoes are strewn about looking for their mates, and purses are thrown in wherever they will fit. Perhaps your closet is properly organized. But for those of us who are organizationally challenged, or just don't have enough room for our clothes, that beautiful wardrobe seems like a dream. If only we could find a way to straighten things out! Well, I may have found a solution.

Recently I discovered two books by best-selling author Jennifer L. Scott: Lessons From Madame Chic; 20 Stylish Secrets I Learned While Living in Paris, and At Home With Madame Chic; Becoming a Connoisseur of Daily Life. When Jennifer was in college, she lived in Paris for six months as an exchange student. The lessons she learned while living with her host family were life changing. She has written these two books based on her experience in Paris, and a new book, Polish Your Poise With Madame Chic; Lessons in Everyday Elegance, is set to be released later this month. Jennifer's blog, The Daily Connoisseur, is filled with ideas on how to achieve that je ne sais quoi possessed by her hostess and others that she met during her study abroad. I am impressed by the way Jennifer turned that six-month experience into a career that she is able to maintain while staying at home with her children. One thing, in particular, that made an impact on her was the fact that, in spite of having tiny closets, French women always seemed to be dressed so nicely! It was then that she learned the concept of the ten item wardrobe.

The idea is to have ten quality pieces that are worn throughout the week, with the addition of tee shirts, outer wear, and accessories. By limiting yourself to ten key items, the closet is not packed with clothes that are rarely worn. This makes getting dressed so much easier, since you don't have to wade through a forest of garments in your wardrobe. Because I am always searching for ways to be more organized, I found this idea intriguing. I have so many clothes, but I always seem to grab the same couple outfits to throw on in my haste to get dressed and get on with my day. And since the weather is always warm here, with the exception of a few chilly winter days, I can wear the same clothes year round. The trouble with that is, it can get rather boring. So I have decided to try this concept of the ten item wardrobe.

I am sure it will be a challenge to choose which things to keep, which ones to store away, and what to get rid of altogether. But I think that, by choosing wisely, I will be able to put together a practical wardrobe that looks nice and serves me well. Perhaps I might even achieve that picture perfect closet I have coveted for so long. So stay tuned for updates on my progress! Meanwhile, perhaps you would like to give it a try, as well!