The Real Ones After All

"It is the sweet, simple things in life which are the real ones after all." ~Laura Ingalls Wilder

We could all stand to be a bit more attentive to the simple things in life. The numerous blessings God scatters in our lives that we take for granted. All the beauty that we never stop and notice while it's here, but would miss painfully if it were suddenly gone.

So I've started "The Real Ones After All": a weekly, Wednesday blog event. I'd be pleased if you'd do it on your own blog!
The Lord takes pleasure in showering up with little gifts. I'm sure He'd be pleased if we took a little time each week to thank Him! :)

The simple things I'm thankful for today:

A dash to the mailbox in pouring rain without an umbrella. Because sometimes we need to stop worrying about getting wet, and feel raindrops against our skin.

Sweet, chubby, Gracie arms reaching around my neck for a hug- need I say more? :)

Homemade hot cocoa where the mugful is as dark and deep as the Black Hole of Calcutta :)

The purring of my black pussy. If someone were to ask me where in creation God placed leisure and domestic comfort, I'd answer "in the purring of a cat by the fireside on a rainy evening" :)

Feeling the baby kick and wiggle when I put cold hands on Mama's tummy.

~Rachel

How To Choke, Cry, and Laugh Simultaneously: Otherwise known as "The Name Game"

If you want to laugh harder than you have for a long time...
If you want to prove that sisterly minds think alike.....
If you want to play a game that doesn't involve finding dice or a deck of cards with four whole suits....
Or if you simply are tired of all the games you generally play, this game is for you! :)

It has an innocent title that scarcely belies it's hilarious propensity: The Name Game

Here are the rules:

• Divide all the players into two teams- if you have two different families, it's hilarious to put siblings on the same team. We communicate with almost a different language, and the points really rack up :D
• Each player takes four (or more) different slips of paper and writes a different name on each- These can be names of friends, famous people, people from history, well-known characters from books or movies, etc.
• Put all the names into a bowl
• First Round starts- Choose which team goes first. A player on the opposite team has a stopwatch, egg-timer, etc. Set for one minute.
  The team going first chooses one player to start. That player takes the bowl of names and picks a slip of paper, and once the timer starts, begins to describe the person on the slip of paper. They cannot use any part of the person's name. When the teammates guess correctly, the player picks up another piece of paper and continues.
  This goes on until the time is up. Save out your pieces of paper- they're important! :)
  Play moves on to Team Two. Keep playing this way until all the scraps of paper are used up.
  When the bowl is empty, count your slips of paper- these are you points. Replace slips of paper in bowl and get ready for Round Two! :)
• Second Round starts- In this round, the rules are the same as charades. You have to get your teammates to guess the name on the slip of paper without using any words, sounds, or props.
  Play continues with same rules as first round, until the bowl is empty. Tally points again. Replace slips of paper in bowl and prepare for the last and Final Round! :)
• Third and Final Round starts- In this round, you play the same general rules as former rounds, only this time you have to get your team to guess the names by saying one word. Example: (I draw a slip of paper that says "Collin Firth" and I could say "Darcy", hoping my teammates would understand.) Once more, play till the bowl is empty. Tally up points, and whichever team has the highest score, wins! :)

There! It's an easy game, and absolutely hilarious! :) By the third round it's pretty easy because you are simply recycling the same names through all the rounds. :)
If you are anything like our family, you will find yourselves yelling and shouting out answers, and looking ridiculous! The charades round is definitely the funniest. Let's just say we were crying we were laughing so hard when we played it this afternoon! :)
At the beginning I mentioned that playing with siblings on a team is the most fun. It is also a disadvantage to other players, because especially with the one-word round, you have associations with people that might afford you a quick way out and other players wouldn't understand! :D
Example: One time the name on my slip of paper was "Doug Philips". Earlier in the game someone had misheard the name and thought it was "Bug so-and-so", so that by the third round all I had to say was "bug" and Sarah could guess correctly! :)

Historical Hair: The Ada Clare Pull-Back Tutorial

Per the votes so far on the polls, I have figured out and taken step by step pictures of two historical hairstyles: The Ada Clare Pull-Back, and The Belle Gardiner Coiffure. Please realize that these are the versions I came up with- I am not saying they are identical to the styles worn by the characters in the movies, but they are as similar as I could get them to be with the limited views I had of the styles. (Try getting a scene in Bleak House light enough to see the back of Ada's hair! :D)
So without further ado, I present the first of, I hope, many tutorials: The Ada Clare Pull-Back! :)


Step One: Set hair in Bandanna Waves- inspiration courtesy of Rapunzel's Resource
These waves give hair the perfect volume and texture for many of the early to mid-eighteen-hundreds styles. I started by spraying Sarah' hair with water and combing it out.

Then I rolled up three bandannas, lengthwise. Not tip to tip.

I separated her hair into thirds, and then twisted the sections around the bandannas that I had folded in half (once more, lengthwise) in a figure-eight fashion, securing the ends with hair bands.
She slept in these overnight, much to Gracie's delight, who told her she "looks like a mooser" (moose) You can actually see Gracie cracking up in the background.



Step Two: In the morning, unravel the hair and finger through it: I combed the top of her hair to smooth it out a little, because it was fuzzy from overnight.

You will see Sarah in a different shirt in a minute- I asked her to change so that the hairstyle would show to better effect! :)

Step Three: Gently pull back hair from face, letting the curls fall gently over the ears. The idea in this style is a soft effect. Do not stretch the curls, do not worry about it being a little poufy. In fact, you want that look. Just coax the hair back and pin with bobby pins.

See, she is visiting the bloggy world while I slave over her hair! ;)

You want the front and top part of the hair to look like loose waves. I wasn't happy with one side, so I took the curling iron and crimped the top a little to make it wavier. Next time I hope to start the bandanna waves a little higher on her head to get more volume at the roots. Here is a side-view of this step:
At this point in the style, you could just stop and put a clip or comb over the bobby pins. This style is more of the "Young Ada" and is very pretty too.

Step Four: Gather the rest of the hair into your hand. Leave out two sections, as thick as you would like them to be for the side curls, one on either side of where the coiffure will be. Very gently twist into a coiffure or very loose bun. Again, leave the curls and waves to fall softly where they will. Pin in place with hairpins. My camera would not focus as well as I wished it to. In these pictures the bun looks rather messy, but it was very pretty in real life :)




Step Five: Now you will curl the side-curls. Depending on how well your bandanna waves set up, you may not need to use a curling iron. I wanted to get ringlets though, so I dampened the sections I had left out so that I could re-curl them, using the iron. I ended up splitting each section in half and making two curls out of it, then finger-combing through them so that they would be looser and join. The idea is to make it look natural, not set in stone! :)


Step Six: The style is now technically finished. Play around with the hair, add more pins if the bun is slipping, and fix the side-curls to your taste. Spray style in place, if desired.
At this point you may add a comb above the bun, but I preferred leaving the style natural. Actually this would be a really sweet style to use fresh flowers in. A wild rose or two would look beautiful tucked by the side of the bun :)

So there you have it: The Ada Clare Pull-Back. It is not a hard style, and it is absolutely beautiful! The more it relaxes, the prettier it looks, which is a plus: who wants to work on a hairstyle and have it last only an hour? :) Thank you Sarah for being patient with me and making a loverly model! ;)

Please leave a comment and tell me what you think, and if you think I ought to make tutorials a regular thing :) ~Rachel

Great Expectations....Or What I Would Do With Them :)

You know how people always ask you what you would do if you inherited a million dollars?
I for one have never been able to answer that to my satisfaction. What would I do with a million dollars? I'm not sure I even have the concept of what I would do with a thousand dollars (of my own) down! :)
However, as I was randomly thinking of it last night, I decided on what I'd do. After tithing it, and paying off Mama and Dad's mortgage and things like that.....what would I do with it?
Well, it starts with a "hire" and ends with a "historical seamstress"! :D I love sewing, of course. But since my machine is broken, and I truly don't have time, wouldn't it be lovely to have someone making costumes for me? :) Of course it's frivolous, but I for one would wear the clothes, so it would not be a waste. But for now I'll just sigh happily as I look at pictures of gorgeous historical clothing....no one feels like bequeathing me a million dollars anytime soon, do they? ;)

Love this one! :)

This one almost looks like lace over a different material, doesn't it? :)

Velvety! :) And gorgeous

I wish I had this dress! Isn't it beautiful? Of course, I'd have to pay the seamstress extra to follow me around and adjust the train! ;)

And this is a really cool Regency dress with beautiful embroidery on the skirt and sleeves.

Well, I think you get the point now! :) ~Rachel

Who I am in God's eyes Series: Week 6

Who I am in God's Eyes: Week 6

I am.........

His

Delight!

(Proverbs 8:30, Psalm 18:19, Isaiah 62:4b)

I hope all of you have a great week! :)

-Sarah

Historical Hair...the inspiration behind a new idea...

I thought that it would be a fun idea to do some hair-style tutorials on this blog, since I have had plenty of practice with 5 younger sisters! :) I love doing unusual and pretty hairstyles, and of course some of the best are historically inspired! :) For a long time I have been wanting to figure out some particular hairstyles from period movies, so I will be working on those. But I wanted to know which ones you girls would like me to figure out and do tutorials on. Here are the choices. You can vote on the sidebar for your favorites and I'll do my utmost best to figure them out! :)

Belle Gardiner's hairstyle for the ball (and this was the single picture I could find of it- I'm sorry!)

Anne's Shirley's classic Gibson-girl pompadour....

Ada Clare's (Bleak House) sweet hairstyle- so pretty for a young girl!

I really like this hairstyle of Harriet Smith's in the 2009 Emma. All her other hair-days are horrible, but this one is actually really cute! :)

I guess Barbara Spooner's hair (Amazing Grace) is slightly too ambitious at this point, isn't it? Not to mention I'd be hard-pressed to find a girl with enough hair to be the model! :)

Well, go ahead and vote! :) ~Rachel

In Mr. MacGregor's Garden ;)

Today was a gardening day...true gardening. For the past month or two we have been cultivating little plants from seed to sprout, babying them and coaxing them to grow. I happen to have very little patience for such things. I much prefer the real gardening with hearty plants.
So this afternoon we got out in the garden and pulled weeds amongst the onions and thinned radishes, and then we got the task of planting new peas among the carnage of the few that sprouted after all our rain. Tell me, how do peas wash up two inches through soil that has been packed on top of them?!? Amazing. Truly. Though I do begrudge them their talent.

But this day was the best that dear, capricious March has to offer. Balmy breezes without a hint of cold in them, birdsong, moist earth and green things a'growing in every corner. I found myself singing "Will ye go, lassie, go?" and "Leezie Lindsay" almost without knowing it. For some reason when I'm happiest Scottish songs spring to mind...I must have highland blood in me somewhere! ;)
I am continually blessed that the Lord led us out to the country. The changing of seasons was barely perceptible in the city, but here in the beautiful Virginia countryside everything is beautiful! :)
Down the road Miss Virginia's redbud had burst forth in its full glory surrounded by the ever cheerful forsythia. Here's a picture of redbud for those of you who aren't sure what it is. Once you see the brilliant magenta blossoms you'd never forget it!

The sight so coaxed me towards it that I had the gumption to go pick some at 6:00 after our work was finally done! I recently found out that redbud is edible, and our salad with dinner simply screamed for some blossoms to finish out the teensy radish tops we had thinned! I braved the rough road barefooted (because my feet insist on wearing no shoes!) and went to Miss Virginia's yard, entirely intent upon gathering the blossoms for dinner.
But I was not the only person who wished to have some redbud with their supper. There was a myriad of busy little men in yellow and black striped suits who hummed angrily over my presence and pushed me aside rudely. They were not gentlemanly in the slightest, and simply would not allow me to get within ten feet of their beautiful supper!

So I had to go home without the blossoms. :(

But I didn't mind too terribly, and I picked dozens of Quaker Ladies on the way home to press.

That wasn't such a bad exchange, was it? :) ~Rachel

A Post Every Follower Should Read :)

I have left our poor readers in the dark long enough. I have mentioned this topic far too many times to leave you without an explanation. I blush at what some of you must think. And now I must put your minds to rest on a certain subject. I've meant to do it for ages, but the topic is so integrated into my daily life that I forget. This ought to be an interesting post for some of you who have had the wrong ideas the whole time we've kept this blog. Get ready to have your minds at ease about us now! :)

Ready?

Okay. I'll build up gently to the stunning climax.

Most of you know that The Gentleman From Virginia

Is our dearly beloved brother, Daniel. (And that's a cookie he's eating, by the way! :)

But we have left you wondering, doubting, and finally jumping to conclusions about the other young man who frequents this blog. He leaves very familiar comments, calling us by nicknames like "Rach", and others. You know him as Oldest of Many, and to make things more shocking, he isn't our brother...

No, Matthew is....

Our cousin! :) (This is his Mr. Thornton pose, courtesy of Sarah ;)

So there you have it. We haven't gone off the deep end and got any sort of beau. It's only Matthew...as harmless and honorable a personage as our Gentleman. I just sorta thought I should explain that for any inquiring minds! ;) ~Rachel

"Who I am in God's Eyes" Series: Week 5

Who I am in God's Eyes: Week 5

I am......

"Full of wisdom
and perfect beauty."

(Ezekiel 28:12)

Have a blessed week everyone! :)
-Sarah

Homemaking with Calamity Jane :)

Hey everyone! :) This song amused me, and I thought I'd share it with you all! :) It was a little stereotyped in a couple parts,(like with the kitchen chairs! ;) but over all a cute song! :)Anyway, I thought it was one of the rare cases in which homemaking is lauded as worthwhile and needful! You gotta' love Doris Day! :) ~Rachel
"The pies and cakes
A woman makes
Can make a feller tell her
That he loves her very much
So never underestimate a woman's touch!" :D

Operation Beautiful! :)

I stumbled across this website last night. :) Operation Beautiful :) I just thought that the idea of women encouraging each other in remembering that they were beautiful, no matter who they are was neat. It is not a Christian organization, as far as I could tell, which is sad because God has so much to say on the subject, but it is still a very good cause! :) Wouldn't you love to find one of these notes in a random grocery store bathroom or something? :) ~Rachel

Sunrise, Sunset!

I read this beautiful verse of poetry this morning in my Bible:

"You make the outgoings of the morning and evening rejoice...." Psalm 65:8b

It may have another meaning, but I took this to be a beautiful description of the sunrises and sunsets. The morning and evening rejoicing. Isn't that a breathtaking picture? How blessed I am that we have "big sky" at our land and an uninhibited view of the sunset each day! :) Since Gracie was very little she and I have a tradition of stopping our work in the evening just long enough to go out on the porch and "Look at the sun-set God made". I am ever more and more astounded at the Master Artist's imagination. Here are some pictures of the beautiful skies we are treated to regularly:

A rather ominous, but beautiful sunset after a storm

This is one of my favorites :)

And another view of the same. Aren't the colors stunning?

This reminds me of some Serengeti Plains picture! ;) Or a pink-lemonade sky! :)

And I love this last picture. So regal and gold and blue! :)
Isn't God's handiwork amazing? ~Rachel

Further Adventures in Teaching Abby

Yet another story about Abby's schooling, but this time it isn't so much our accent as her rather inventive little mind. :) Sarah had to go with Mama to the dentist the other day to watch the younger ones while Mama went back into the appointments with the child whose turn it was. Abby was getting bored and restless, so Sarah had her pick up a book and try to read words out of it.
We happen to own this particular book, so Abby knew the storyline. When she came to the word "sandwiches" she started to sound it out.

"Sa...and..sand...Sand?"

She appeared puzzled over the mention of sand, since this book has nothing to do with the beach. Sarah reached over and pointed at the word. Now, I must admit here that went we say the word "sandwich" quickly, you don't really hear the "nd" part...it comes out more like "samwich". :P
So Sarah set out to help Abby finish reading the word:

"See, sand....wiches....Sandwiches."

Abby gasped and looked frightened. Her eyes were very wide as she asked, "Sand-Witches? What are those?" :)

As you can see, she's just a teensy bit random at times, but SO adorable! :) It's great fun teaching her to read! ~Rachel