Monthly Theme for July, 2010

This Month's Theme Is . . . 

Summer!

This Month's Theme (June, 2010)

The theme for June is . . .

Laundering!

This Month's Theme: May, 2010

This month's theme is Gardening!

You don't have to be a gardener to appreciate it though, so stop by even if you don't have a teaspoon of dirt to your name.

Theme for April, 2010

This month's theme is. . .

Spring!

Let's enjoy this wonderful season while we learn and grow this month!


Here's a springy picture for you. It's the inside of a white hellebore.

Fun Food Fabrics

For all you fabric lovers!

From Robert Kaufman 

Modern and fruity Metro Market

This collection isn't my style but I do like this one.  

Fruit Basket

I like this one and this one the best.


From Benartex

An Apple a Day

It's near the top of the list.

From Timeless Treasures

Farm Fresh

You will need to search for the collection.

From Red Rooster Fabrics

Harvest Town

From South Sea Imports

Apple Harvest

First Course

Enjoy! 

March, 2010 Theme

Welcome to March!

This month's theme is . . .

Cooking! 

Learning how to cook is absolutely necessary and sometimes fun (at least I'm going to try to make it fun this month here at The Hope Chest).

Join me, and call your friends!

Psst . . .

I've added a section in the sidebar called "Specials at Keeping Home". Here you'll find any current specials at my online shop that relate to the month's theme in some way. And maybe some that don't.

You'll also find special deals just for readers of The Hope Chest. There's one there now. Shh. Don't tell anybody. *grin* Actually, go ahead and tell as many people as you want to, just send them here to get the coupon code, okay?

This Month's Theme: February 2010

This month at The Hope Chest . . .

This month's theme is (so original!) Love and Romance. Why waste a good opportunity? :-)

Join me throughout February for thematic thoughts from many years ago (Thoughts from Yesteryear), challenges, ideas, fun posts, serious posts, and more.

Theme for the Week of September 2

. . . which I didn't figure out until Sept. 5. Didn't even think about it. Someday I need to post about "how to remember what it is you are supposed to be doing" but I'll have to find out first.

Anyway, this week's theme is another area of the house: "Library and Home Office." Ohhhhhh! Does this ever make me want to go buy books for my hope chest. Alas, I have no money. I do have a list of books I want though. Do you have a list of books you want to put in your hope chest? I can't remember where I put my list (imagine that!) but I do have one. I suspect I shall have a large library if I can afford it because books are so useful.

Here are some of my favorite useful books:

Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson

Prescription for Nutritional Healing by James F. Balch, M.D. And Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C.

The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaffer

Life Management for Busy Women by Elizabeth George

This week's theme also make me "EEEK!" a little bit because I know if history repeats itself I shall have a messy office (although my desk is relatively clear ~"relatively" being a very significant word~ since I bought six stackable trays. Good storage for all of my essential stuff is crucial and it would behoove me to get that in order before my life gets even more complicated.

Theme for the Week of August 26, 2007

Another room theme—or rather, multiple rooms. This week's theme is the cleaning closet and other storage facilities (reminds me of my unfinished closet again!).

Good storage facilities are a necessity, but so are good storage habits. While one must have “a place for everything” in order to keep “everything in it's place,” having a place for everything won't do any good if things are not put away. This is a reminder to me! As I acquire better storage facilities (which I desperately need) I must make sure that I use those facilities and squash all lazy habits. This is so important for marriage preparation as well. I wish I could impress every girl with the necessity of forming habits of neatness!

Another thing I have been thinking about in reference to this week's theme is housecleaning and its associated storage. I would love to have a nice cleaning closet in my home (or several)! I don't know whether I will or not, but again, a nice cleaning closet by itself would not make a clean house. I need . . .

The right attitudes

The right knowledge

The right skills

The right habits

The right tools

And preferably, the right home (some dwelling places are simply easier to clean and keep clean than others).

I think I have mostly the right attitudes ( I would have to, to be writing a positive post about housecleaning!). I'm lacking in the right knowledge though. I want my cleaning methods to be safe, effective, and economical. I hardly think every cleaning agent available is safe, but I simply don't know what is and what isn't. I think I must have an enormous amount of research to do in this area (and they say homemaking squashes women intellectually—this is not squashing me, this is stretching me!). The right skills? Truthfully, I'm a terrible floor mopper. This is something that I would prefer not to remedy until I am married. The right habits? Ahem. Moving on . . . . Now, for the right tools. This is a subject that interests me greatly. One's tools make a difference in one's ability to perform one's work. The tools need not necessarily be expensive (one of the most useful tools is a toothbrush) but they must be quality, durable, and truly useful. I don't suppose I will be collecting brooms or mops or anything like that in my hope chest, but I have seriously considered collecting cleaning cloths.

Most of all, though, I must fully embrace the virtues of neatness, order, and faithfulness in the little daily duties of life. May God help me, for I will surely need it!

Last Week's Theme

This should be this week's theme but I didn't get around to posting when the theme was current!

Last week's weekly theme (which is a new thing I've started) was the kitchen. I did some researching and planning in preparation for learning to cook the things I want to know how to cook. I decided to try making pancakes and picked out a recipe, but didn't make them until Sunday evening. They turned out well and that recipe will be going into my recipe collection for my hope chest. I'm not sure what is next, but since this week's theme is not the kitchen and I am very busy, I may not try another recipe this week. We shall see.

I also made a "lid lifter." A lid lifter is something I have recently decided needs to exist. It's a small, thin potholder use to lift lids off pots or hold spoons that are too warm to comfortably touch but not hot enough to demand more insulation. The smallness and thinness of the lid lifter makes it easier to grip things with. I made one out of leftover cotton yarn. It turned out larger than I anticipated so I hope to make the next one smaller.