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Donna, 

I always look forward to your posts. This post teaches so much and draws us back to truth. Thank you.

Many blessings to you,

Glenda

Hello Grandma Donna ~

You are so right about today's world.  I've been feeling quite anxious, and when I am, I always find comfort setting things right about the home.  I go out and weed and water, have a cup of tea on the front porch with one of the cats, or tidy inside the house.  When our home is clean and organized I feel a bit better about life.  

Today my husband patched a small hole in the roof, I did laundry and then we enjoyed homemade egg salad sandwiches with potato chips.  A humble, yet tasty lunch ;)  I'm so glad the prices of eggs are finally coming down so we can enjoy them again!  I hope you and Charles have a wonderful day.  Take care, Donna in Dallas

Such a valuable message~ digging in the dirt and listening to the music of nature is definately a balm to the soul.

I just love how you tie things into the little "happenings" around us. Sometimes a cup of tea and a 5 minute "reset" will not only calm the system, but clear the brain and we notice those little things. They just tickle me.

I would love a tour of your garden. :-)   We are just getting the beds ready here, still down to 25 at night, so no planting yet (unless you have a cover, which I don't).  I am planning some herbs in a couple of the oval steel tank type beds, and some vegies in the other two. I don't have too many pots, I just LOVE yours. Where do you find such large ones to grow in?  Do you have to drill a hole in the bottom? 

The smell of things lined dried...oh!! Love it. When it's not winter, or Spring winds of 40mph, I like to hang mine out. One year after we moved to Co from Ohio, I always hung everything out unless it was freezing. Then I learned about the Co. winds. I found my laundry around the yard and sheets wrapped around the line so many times, it was a chore to undo. 

I also put a few drops of lavender in my spray bottle so when I iron the little fragrance makes me smile. 

Hugs,

Dee

Thank you for always giving me peace in my day.  I noticed linen areas don't smell good anymore - stale, stuffy. Why is that?  And the perfumey smells of soaps is just gagging!  Why is that when it's all supposed to be natural?  But as I write this, my clothes are hanging on the line!  Mmmm yummy! 

Grandma Donna wrote, thank you Glenda H_2.  

Donna W, yum, egg salad and potato chips sounds really good, now I want to make that this week. :)

Good to hear from you Lady L :)

Homemakersheart D, we went from 47 this a.m. to 83 this afternoon, I am sure the garden is confused. The black pots I have have been purchased on amazon over the years.  I watch for them to go on sale and buy in bulk. The larger colored ones, I have found at different places from Dollar General, Walmart or other places when they have them.  I do have to drill holes in the bottom of them and also tractor supply is where we purchase our larger containers and again yes, we do have to drill holes as these are made to hold water to feed animals.  We invested in them and have not had to buy pots in several years now. 

Ann E, If I am out of my homemade laundry soap I always buy unscented liquid soap.  When I make my laundry powder soap I grate the laundry bar and add equal washing soda and Borax. If I do not have any laundry bar I will grate Kirks bar soap, that works well too.  I normally then take a tablespoon of the mixture and add to a jar of water and stir and wait a bit and then add it to the laundry if I am doing darks. I feel the scented soap somehow makes the laundry stale so I stay clear of that.  Rhonda Hetzel has laundry soap recipes on her blog for her homemade liquid & dry soap. https://down---to---earth.blogspot.com/  just go to her search and type in homemade laundry soap.  She has powdered and liquid.  

Thank you Donna. A post that brings peace and is a good message to ponder on. Bless you

All good suggestions.  Down to earth and with a great deal of common sense involved.  Have you noticed lately how uncommon common sense is these days?

Anne E. If you buy new linens or clothes then you need to wash them...maybe more than once...as they have all been sprayed with formaldehyde.  

Formaldehyde is used in the embalming process.

We have had swarms of cluster flies here in NZ. I keep my teatowels I'm using inside the pantry on the door but recently decided to BOIL them in water on the stove top to clean them and then rinsed and hung them out. What a big difference from washing them in the washing machine where in my thinking the water doesn't get hot enough. I always wash tea towels by themselves

Grandma Donna wrote, Victoria W, I have noticed and it is very concerning.  Hi Karen S, I have also read before that new clothing should be washed before wearing.  It is concerning that pesticides may be sprayed on new clothing before transporting them overseas.  I have never been able to find proof but there are many warnings about this matter so I always wash new clothing or new fabric before wearing or sewing.  I feel that our nose can be our guide because I can smell chemicals on so many things including new shoes.

Hi, Grandma Donna!

I, too, needed to read this.

Sometimes I get stuck in the past, on the Why's and Why Dont's and forget to live the present and do my best to change and do my part.

This world is scary sometimes, but like you say, if every one of us does her or his part, we will be contributing to a better world, even if our part is small. :)

I have to confess that I dry my laundry in the dryer, because I live in an apartment building and although we have lines to dry the clothes in one of our balconies, we also have lots of seaguls, crows, pigeons and other birds flying around ant i isn't pretty sometimes! ;)

What a lovely and true post today, thank you.  I have realized that all sides are using the media to manipulate us, or rather, they amplify negative things in order to get our attention.  So I am pulling away from the news and working on creating an environment like you have…creating a restful and lovely home.   Thank you for reinforcing the message of how peaceful it can be when we focus on our small world and don’t get distracted by things we can’t control or even influence.   

I love this post, Hilogene!

Thank you Grandma Donna for the soap info.  I've tried to find Fels Naptha, but I can't find it anymore and Zote for me doesn't work. It's very waxy. I'll try Kirks.  But that is what I'm missing... letting it dissolve in a jar first.  I need a static release as well, since it's so dry in AZ and they all stink. LOL. Nothing can replace that outdoor smell. 

That darling wren caught my eye.  We have Carolina wrens nesting around us every year, and the babies (that survive the snakes) are adorable.  They have the funniest haircuts when they first fledge.  

Thanks for a thoughtful post.  I have recently stopped turning on commentary and news every night - I actually had started waking up at night, stressing over things going on in this world.  I still care, but I'm trying to not obsess over this.  I like the idea of starting at home.

My grown kids live where they don't have clotheslines now, but they reminisce fondly about the line-dried sheets they slept on growing up.  I still hang my laundry out, and when they are visiting on pretty, breezy laundry days, they are happy to bring it in for me. 

Another one who appreciated line-drying sheets was a sweet border collie mix we had for many years.  When I hung out sheets on hot days, she would go lie in the grassy areas between the sheets and let the natural cooling effect of evaporation cool her off.  She would do this even though she had access to air conditioning at all times via a pet door.   

What a lovely message! Many years ago I was told that we reflect the values and personalities of the five people we spend the most time with. We can look at that through the self-centered lens of surrounding ourselves with only good people so we will be good people, or we can look at it through a lens of serving others by being a good person and influence for those whom we are one of their main five. I've also begun treating the world at large as though it is already working to match my ideals of kindness and community, and that really helps. It's easier to extend grace to someone if you assume they are trying their best. And by extending that grace, they are less likely to react out of fear, anger, or hate. Whether I'm with my friends and family, or simply rubbing elbows with strangers while running errands, I expect people to be kind and be attempting to do their best. And the strange thing is, they actually are! I don't know if it has always been the case or if we receive what we put out, but off the internet and out in the real world I have been met so many more kind and good people since I changed my world view to a positive one. 

A supportive, community-oriented world begins at home. Effecting cultural change in our own circles and communities will eventually shift the culture of society. Bemoaning the bad is useless and will result in the bad gaining more power in our culture. But if we are focusing on uplifting the good -- community spirit, diversity, and above all else, kindness -- then we begin to build a culture that values those once more, and hopefully more thoroughly and equitably than in the past.

I second that! That's what were doing. We are trying to do one hour of news of any kind replaced with two hours of good ole laughing. 

Thank you GDonna for the much needed post. This post really really made me think about many things. We found out recently that some people we know just quit on their marriage (the wife left the husband) and some others we know have been so extremely negative it's been beyond difficult to express the words of the hate they are carrying in their hearts for others political views. I remember a time which wasn't long ago at all where people used to be generally kind, compassionate,  and caring, but something has gone terribly wrong in our society. We choose to focus on taking care of the things that can't talk to us in a way we understand like the birds. It seems as though were always noticing what they've done or built at our house too. We have a crow that has adopted us that we greatly enjoy. When were in the garden he's flying above us like a protector. He frequently walks around our yard and comes very close to us. Last fall we had a very large Buck with a full rack appear in our driveway as we were pulling in. We told him we have all day to wait for him to move and he's free to stay as long as he wants. LOL. We'd rather enjoy him and his beauty than have him on the dinner plate if it's not necessary. Nature can be so calming in a confused world. I'd like to add that we recently found a new maple leaf that had just fallen and it was incredibly soft.

for those asking about the colored pots they were either at Walmart or Lowe’s I believe. I have them too.  They are made of some kind of foam I think and so are very lightweight for moving around and it was very easy to drill holes in the bottom.  They come in many sizes. I like that the foam tends to insulate the roots and holds the moisture in better than clay pots.      One thing about the sorry and getting sorrier state of the world is that because we are focusing on simplifying, preparing, learning, and distressing the home environment we are a step ahead of the vast majority of Earth dwellers. We can’t prepare for everything of course.  We can’t foresee the bizarre turns our world is taking.  But every little thing we do at home and in our lives now gives our families a tiny bit more insulation from whatever is coming whether that is a personal challenge like major surgery or illness or the world going weird.  I take great comfort in that at night. Chaos may hit, but at least this box of our life is a haven of peace.

I needed to read this article today.  Where I live, many of the homes are turning into hoarder houses.  The front yards are filled with cars, trach, and junk.  It is so depressing.  Like you, I have been tending my cottage garden and cleaning everything up for spring.  It feels good to pull the weeds, mulch the soil, and get rid of the dead wood and overgrown branches.  I wish people where I live still took pride in their homes.  I am worried about the tent cities that we have here in CA.  I spoke with the county today, and they plan to come out and help.  Your place and birds are gorgeous!

I took my news bookmark off my phone a while ago as I found myself mindlessly scrolling the news too many times. On reflection I realised that largely most of it wasn't worthwhile to me and depressing. I have noticed that most news that is worthwhile gets to me eventually. I like to remain socially aware and not live in a bubble but the other content I read is from this likeminded community and is enriching and enabling. I am training myself not to go online before I get on with my day and to limit my online time too. It feels so good. So much is out of our hands that I would rather focus on the things that can flourish in a loving and positive manner. Thank you so much for this post Donna. I love seeing people in their home surrounds, it is soothing, inspiring, grounding and real. I have followed Rhonda at Down to Earth for many years and she mentions you as a dear friend. I can see why.

thank you! Love your thoughts, so true. Very inspirin

Hi Donna,

Thanks for this lovely post, I am feeling so peaceful at home, finally spring, winter is very long here in Vermont. Birds are singing, daffodils and forsythia are blooming. 
For everyone who is looking for Fels Naptha soap there’s an excellent website and catalog called www.Lehmans.com that carries it and many other excellent home products.

Dal

Hello GD

Hi Donna, 

I just wanted to tell you that I truly loved this post, especially:

"God gave us free will and everyone makes mistakes, it is part of being human.  We should not think of ourselves above or better than someone else, that is when we have lost our way. "

Thank you for writing it. 

Agreed!!!