The Good Wife Guide

Coming across this little gem, I just had to post about it. It's from a magazine called Housekeeping Monthly. Or so I have read. Whether there really was a magazine of that name and whether or not this article really was published in a magazine of some sixty plus years ago in a magazine that may or may not have existed, I have no doubt that young girls were taught their place was in the home and they didn't need to fill their heads with science, mathematics and other hard to understand "stuff", they wouldn't need it! They would get married and raise a family and their place was in the home.

1. Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return. This is a way of letting him know that you have be thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they get home and the prospect of a good meal is part of the warm welcome needed.

2. Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people.

3. Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it.

4. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives.

5. Gather up schoolbooks, toys, paper etc. and then run a dustcloth over the tables.

6. During the cooler months of the year you should prepare and light a fire for him to unwind by. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too. After all, catering to his comfort will provide you with immense personal satisfaction.

7. Prepare the children. Take a few minutes to wash the children’s hands and faces, comb their hair and, if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part. Minimise all noise. At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet.

8. Be happy to see him.

9. Greet him with a warm smile and show sincerity in your desire to please him.

10. Listen to him. You may have a dozen important things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first - remember, his topics of conversation are more important than yours.

11. Make the evening his. Never complain if he comes home late or goes out to dinner, or other places of entertainment without you. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure and his very real need to be at home and relax.
12. Your goal: Try to make sure your home is a place of peace, order and tranquillity where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

13. Don't greet him with complaints and problems.

14. Don't complain if he's late for dinner or even if he stays out all night. Count this as minor compared to what he might have gone through at work.

15. Make him comfortable. Have him lean back in a comfortable chair or lie him down in the bedroom. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him.

16. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soothing and pleasant voice.

17. Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgement or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.

And remember - A good wife always knows her place.

Quote of the day ~ A Good Wife always forgives her husband when she's wrong.

Celebrating Spring

It is Spring, the birds are singing, the daffs are nodding their heads, the trees sway in the gentle breeze, the sky is  gently blue with white fluffy clouds, the first ladybird has ventured out, the lacewings are hovering and the bees are busy flitting from flower to flower to make honey. Sounds wonderful yes?

HAH! It may be Spring but the reality is one day of lovely blue skies, then rain, freezing cold wind, the type that bites when Mister Wind snakes his way around and finds every bit of exposed skin, the daffs are not swaying their pretty heads, they have decided they are either too shy, or the bloody cold wind decapitated them! And as for the birds! Birds do what they always do.

Yes friends, it may Spring down here in Terra Australis or "Downunder" but it doesn't make a bit of difference to the weather. Not until late October and then only for a bit here and there. The fact of the matter is (as Mary Poppins was wont to say), the fact of the matter is, spring in Melbourne is usually bloody cold and wet with cold strong winds.

Anyway just to remind me it IS spring, here's my favourite song to celebrate Spring.

Buying Souvenirs

Do you buy things for family and friends when you travel? When you go overseas? Or when you go on holiday locally? Me? I have learnt by experience what not to do.

I remember being asked by a family member's friend could I please bring back an ashtray, preferably of wood. Took quite a while to find one. Never again.

On my first trip to SEA, I bought back some lovely hand-made silk items - spectacle glass cases, coin purses etc. One of the coin purses was left on son's desk. His girlfriend didn't want it. I did think that was rather rude - she should at least have taken the damn gift, even if she didn't use it.

Now, I just buy fridge magnets. There are specific members who say I don't want any fridge magnets. They get nothing.

I love fridge magnets and will always buy myself one from each country I visit. I have quite a collection now, in fact there are so many on my fridge, the fridge looks downright messy. I really should have bought ones that matched but then I wasn't that smart, I just bought the one that caught my eye at the time.

Quite a few are those chunky breakable ones only because I wasn't able to find another kind. They are lovely but they do break if they fall. My Viet Nam magnet is still sitting on the shelf in two pieces waiting to be glued back together!