Little Women Home Companion-August 2003

Little Women Home Companion

Autumn 2003
That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, keepers at home,
good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Titus 2: 4-5
Autumn
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A Visit With Marmee
Sharing A Mother's Thoughts
Somehow autumn always feels like a time of preparation for me. Our days are filled with schoolwork and the usual household maintenance but there are also the fun outdoor trips and campfires. Inside we do little things to began to prepare for Christmas. There are lots of crafts items to be made and planning to be done for purchases need for the season. It is nice to put an extra turkey in the freezer to be pulled out one cold February and roasted till we all are in a festive mood just thinking about the dinner to come. It is a time when we want to gather our families together and hold each member dearly and let them know how much we care for them. I truly hope that each of you are enjoying your family and your home and most of all treasuring your relationship with our Lord.
Jenny
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Poems
November
November is a spinner
Spinning in the mist,
Weaving such a lovely web
Of gold and amethyst.
In among the shadows
She spins till close of day,
The quietly she filds her hands
And put her work away.
Margaret Rose
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Little Women Companion
The P.C. and the P.O.
Just the name of this chapter was so interesting to me. I think every young girl at some point dreams of being a writer. That is just what we find that the young March girls doing on long evenings as the chapter opens.They have each taken the time to write a story or commentary. They have a little newspaper ( The Pickwick Portfolio) that they produce together the name of course being taken from Dickens. Every Saturday evening the girls dress as the men in Dicken's The Pickwick Papers would have. They all come together in the big garret which was their clubroom and share their entires for that week to the newspaper. What fun and what a jolly good joke Jo had when she introduced the idea of letting Laurie join their little group while he was all the time hiding within the room. Of course Laurie's gift of the Post Office for them to share secret notes with one another was greatly welcomed by all. Sometimes I would love to go back and share a few of those playful hours with these almost real fictional characters.
Jenny
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Tea Thyme
There are so many lovely things that we can do to make our tea times cozy and relaxing. One of my favorite is the addition of calming music. The following list is a few of our favorite teatimes selections.
Carolan's Cup
Music of Turlough O'Carolan on the hammered dulicmer by Joemy Wilson Produced by Dargason Music
Winter in New England
Unison Music Produced by Daniel Fulton
Sense and Sensibility (Original Music Soundtrack)
Music by Patrick Doyle
Little Women (Original Music Soundtrack)
Music by Thomas Newman
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The Work Basket
Cloth Pumpkins
These are so sweet. This idea is from a Debbie Mumm's Seasonal Samplers book 2 Autumn and Winter. I will give you the basic idea of how they are done if you do not have access to the book. You will need to cut a fabric circle about 9-10 inches in diameter. For bigger ones just add a few inches to this measurement. Gather the edges with a running stitch. Pull the threads to gather slightly and add some pellet bean bag fill, rice, beans, or flax seed. In your smallest one 1/4 to 1/2 a cup should be enough. add a little polyester fiberfill on top of this. Gather your edges around a short twig and tie. Use a hot glue gun to hold this in place. Bend some wire around a pencil and then cut to the length that you want it. Add this around the twig. I tear a strip of green fabric and tie it around the top to make it look like leaves. Make a whole pumpkin patch to decorate your home with. I think they would make great place card holder for your Thanksgiving table and a nice little take home gift for your guests.
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Thimbles and Threads
Garters For Your Baskets
Recently I noticed little garters for baskets and decided to make some for my own. This is a fairly simple project and would make a great Christmas gift. It also dresses up your baskets for the holiday in a very lovely way. Begin by measuring the outside circumference of your basket and double that number. For example if your basket is 30 inches around you will need a piece of fabric 60 inches long. Just to let you know you may have to use 2 pieces and sew them together to get the length needed. You will need to make the width of the fabric 8 inches wide. Once you have your fabric cut fold it in half lengthwise with wrong sides together and press. Pin the edges together and then sew together the length using an 3/8 inch seam. This will make a long tube. You will need to turn this tube inside out so that the right sides show. Press carefully. Begin sewing 5/8 inch from the edge of the length. Sew another seam 5/8 inches from the seam just made. If you want a ruffle around the top do another 5/8 inch seam from the last seam. Cut 2 peices of elastic that same circumference as your basket plus one inch. Thread these through the top two channels if you do not desire a ruffle and did not make the extra seam or through the second and third channels if you made the extra seam. Secure the elastic on each end as you tread it through. When finished take the two ends of your long tube of fabric and sew them together.
Enjoy
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The Cottage Pantry
Spicy Autumn Beef Stew
I like to put one onion chopped fine and one pound of beef stew meat into my crockpot with one can of chicken broth and cook till falling apart. I take ithe meat out and chop it fine, remove any fat and return it to the pot. I then cut and peel patatoes and cook them on my stovetop until they are just the right texture and then add them to the pot. I use the leftover hot water from the potatoes to defrost a cup of frozen corn, peas and carrots. These are then added to the pot. Now to spice it all up I add three or four beef bouillon cubes, one half a bottle of catsup, and one teaspoon of minced garlic. I also like to add Chef Paul Prudhomme's blackened steak magic and pepper. I usually throw in a little of any spice that happens to "smell" good to me that day. I sometimes will add 2 cups of water and a little cornstarch to get the thickness that I like with my stews. I cook a little longer and then serve. It does not usually last long. I hope your family will enjoy it.
Jenny
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Sparrow Post
As the crisp autumn leaves crunched beneath her feet, Jo March gazed up into the sky. What a beautiful clear sky it was. She had all afternoon to enjoy herself and reflect on her day. Jo had expected to enjoy a wonderful day at home enjoying the autumn air. But to her disappointment, Aunt March had a sniffling cold and had requested for Jo to come and read aloud to her so that it might "calm her nerves." After much criticism about father joining the army, Jo walked out onto the street never wishing to see her aunt again. And now here she was standing in the woods. She sat down to lean upon a decaying log. Moss covered some of the trees. Jo felt herself calming down. She took a small blank book from her big coat pocket and quickly recorded her thoughts about the woods. Thoughts were always important for plays or stories. Words flowed from her mind onto the crisp, cream colored paper. Writing was comforting to Jo. She thought of what marmie might tell her if she told marmie what had happened. "Well," Marmie would say. "Aunt March is a rich old woman who does not have many friends. But it might not be that she wishes to criticize father, she probably does not realize that she is doing it. It might be an old habit of Aunt March. God would not want you to hold grudges against her but to love her as you love yourself." Loving someone as yourself, especially Aunt March would certainly be hard to do. "Dear Lord," Jo prayed. "Please forgive me of holding grudges against my aunt. Help be to love Aunt March as myself and more. Amen." And with the Lord's help Jo began to love Aunt March more than herself
Caiti
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Our Window Seat
Book Reviews
I love sweet little books and thisis one that I think both mothers and daughters will enjoy. Let's Have Tea Together text by Paul Kortepeter is a collection of recipes and celebrations for every season of the year. I am sure you have all seen many tea books but this one is really special because of the illustrations that are done by Susan Wheeler. The watercolors of little rabbits having tea at Holly Pond Hill are a treasure. However, the information is truly wonderful too! And who can resist reading the little Holy Hill Gazette pages where intriguing questions about tea and manners have been answered by Primrose Lapin. I honestly feel this book is a must have for all young and older daughters. It will be a real help to them when they began homemaking in their own homes.
Jenny
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The Rose Garden
Websites that you may enjoy. We may or may not agree with everything that you find on these pages!
Templates by Donovan
A place to get help with all those neat cards and labels we all make this time of the year. I think this had been a favorite link for everyone since it showns up on many email lists.
http://www.bydonovan.com/templates.html
Highland Heritage Home School
A great place to find lots of unit study helps.
http://highland.hitcho.com.au/
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Marmee's Nature Journal
The weather is crisp and cool outside and I am enjoying the beautiful colors that God paints the world with each autumn. This time of year I pull out the warm, spicy scented candles that we have and burn them. We make apple cider and let it simmer on the stove. I add little colorful leaves to all our little shelves and to the mantletop for decoration. There are lots of stews on the crockpot and homemade bread fresh from the oven. I watch the geese as they fly overhead and I am so thankful to our Lord for the beauty around me.
Jenny
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Till Next Thyme
Dear Mothers and Daughters,
We hope that your homes are filled with warmth and love, peace and joy.
Blessings
Jenny and Caiti
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Little Women Home Companion is a monthly (when possible) bimonthly (when not) and occassionally quarterly
newsletter for mothers and daughters.
Copyright 2003-2004 Little Women Home Companion
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~Blessings~
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