Sometimes I get to the end of the day and have to stop and think if I actually achieved anything.  So a couple of weeks ago I decided I would write down everything I did during the day in a journal.  It's not meant to be anything significant or soul searching writings, just a record of the day.  It actually turns out I do more than I think I do and it's a good way to keep track of what I've cooked for dinner or done in the garden, family events that have happened etc.  I've had this pretty notebook for quite a while so now it's being put to good use.  I can barely read my own chook scratchings though and my writing use to be so neat.

 

Charlotte had a birthday on Wednesday and she is now the ripe old age of 24.  How did that happen?  We are going out today to have lunch to celebrate but on the day she requested lasagne for dinner to which I was able to add this beautiful, healthy, home grown organic perpetual spinach.

I scrounged around in the garden and found enough flowers to make a little floating display to put on the table.

Candles, serviettes and a glass or two of bubbly turned our evening into a lovely little celebration.  For dessert Charlotte requested meringues with fresh fruit so strawberries, kiwi fruit and passion fruit was well accepted.  Adding some ice cream and cream made it rather indulgent but then birthdays only come around once a year.

 

 It's been mostly a pleasant week although saddened by the death of hubby's elderly aunt who was 91.  She has been mostly well in body and definitely in mind into her old age so for that we can be grateful.  Issues relating to a younger extended family member have been bubbling away under the surface, things that are troubling and keeping me awake at night.  In amongst this though there is much to be grateful for which I will endeavour to focus on.

Enjoy your weekend.

Anne  xx

Letter writing and card set

While I was out and about yesterday I found this lovely letter writing and card set.  I don't write many letters these days as most of my correspondence is by email but as it was so pretty and inexpensive (only $7.00 in Kmart), I bought it.

It contained two sets of cards large and small with envelopes, two writing pads large and small, a memo note pad, pen and some pretty stickers.  Aren't they lovely!

While catching upon my blog reading list last night, I read a delightful post by Marigold Jam

about communication and the demise of the good old fashioned letter delivered to the mailbox.  After reading her post I was doubly glad I bought my pretty writing set and thought it would be nice to correspond with friends now and again by letter.  I must say I really enjoy receiving and sending Christmas cards in the mail, perhaps it's because you know someone has taken the time to hand write them that makes it so special.  Emailed Christmas cards aren't quite the same, you can't display them around the house adding to the Christmas cheer that's for sure.

 Think of all the times we send a card and imagine if it were an email, it just wouldn't be the same.  Get well soon, Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary, Congratulations on the birth of your new baby, With Sympathy, Happy Fathers/Mothers Day (I have been guilty of sending one by email tch tch), Congratulations on your new job, new home, retirement, Bon Voyage etc.  

Letter writing almost use to be a ritual in the olden days.  Doesn't that sound funny, the olden days, relative to one's age I suppose.  Sorry, I digress.  I've been doing a little research into how the old fashioned quill pens

were made and thankfully only the flight feathers discarded during a bird's moult were used.  Apparently goose feathers were most commonly used, swan feathers being somewhat more expensive.  Then there is the use of  ink.  It use to be a very complicated process to make ink, something I'm sure we wouldn't have the patience with today.  Can you imagine how long it must have taken to write a letter?  First acquiring a quill from a quill maker or perhaps make one yourself, a skill that probably took quite a while to master and then the continual dipping of the pen in the ink.  Then there was the problem of the ink smudging  and the need for blotting paper and before that, the blotting sand to help overcome this problem.  If it was sand you were using, a little box would sit on the desk.  Goodness only what happened if it got knocked on the floor. And let's not forget way back, there was sealing wax.
It seems such a romantic thing to seal a letter, envelope or document.  Apparently the Romans used bitumen for this purpose before sealing wax was available or invented. 

Of course no writing experience would have been complete without a writing desk perhaps something like these below might have been used.  How lovely to have a special place for writing and storing writing essentials.

Source:  http://www.housetohome.co.uk/home-office/picture/vintage-style-home-office

Source:    http://blog.builddirect.com/9-back-to-school-inspired-home-decor-ideas/

This is an old writing set that belonged to my Great Grandmother and sits on my dressing table.

 The illustration on the front of the writing pad is quite gorgeous. 

In the photo below you can see a label that would have been wrapped around the envelopes and below that,  a sample of my Great Grandmother's writing.  The word is graciously and I'm wondering if she was writing it out to see if it was spelt correctly or was perhaps sending me a message.  :) My name does mean grace.

 
It's lovely to have a sample of her handwriting.  I suspect she would have used a fountain pen rather than a quill though.  Here is a photo of some of her used blotting paper.

My Great Grandmother use to be a parlour maid in a Manor House in England before she came to Australia, something I can't begin to imagine how different and difficult it must have been for her.  Whether or not the writing set was something she brought with her from England, I don't know.  I do know her hand writing is lovely though.

Hubby and I find that we don't hand write as well as we use to because we type mostly for communicating now.  Have you found your handwriting skills have diminished with the use of computers?

Have a wonderful day everyone.  I hope the sun is shining wherever you are.

Anne  xx

P.S. Mum, if you can shed any light on the details of Great Grandma's writing set, could you add a comment.  Thanks. :)