11 September 2009

What motivates you to work?


All these photos are of ginger beer being made yesterday.

I have noticed something about myself since I started reading blogs and again when I started the forum. I wonder if some of you feel it too. It is that when I see productive work in others, it motivates me towards similar work here in my home. I see many photos of beautiful sewing and knitting and it inspires me to pick up my needles and knit, or start cutting out a project to sew. When I read about women (and sometimes men) canning or making jam, I want to do it too. The most mundane and simple tasks, when shared, make me want to join in and do my fair share of the work. Of course, my work is being done here, yours is done in your home, but blogging and writing about it on the forums moves me away from the computer and towards the broom.

I wonder why that is.



Yesterday when we shared what our collective days would hold, it motivated me to bottle my ginger beer, test wash up with my newly made liquid soap (more about that next week) and rearrange recycled jars and bottles in the cupboard. I had planned on spending some time posting on the forum but those words compelled me to scrub and bottle those drinks and organise my spaces better. Why?

I wonder if others feel it too.



I've been thinking about this overnight and I wonder if seeing the work of others or reading about productive work being carried out in homes stirs something deep inside that has been buried so long that it struggles to see the light of day. Maybe this motivation I feel is a remnant of those times when we - women and men - worked together in fields, or when women joined together for sewing and quilting bees, maybe it's something akin to the Amish and their barn raising. Is it the knowledge that when many hands work for the same cause, the work is done faster and the work itself is lighter? Do we have an inclination to work in groups?



Or is it more simple than that? Is it that seeing others work reminds us to get our own house in order. Maybe it's similar to the nesting instinct that many woman experience in the last stages of their pregnancy when they start rearranging, planning and fluffing the nest ready for a new baby.



I doubt I'm the only one who feels this motivation because I often have emails from some of you saying you love to know what I'm doing because it inspires productivity. This is not a one way street, I feel it too! So do you feel this pull towards work when you see or read of others working? And if you do, tell me, why is it so?

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61 comments

  1. Yes yes yes! :) I'm very much inspired by reading what other people are doing - so much so that I'm trying NOT to read too many crafting blogs while I finish my writing... ;)

    I've actually got a quote of yours, Rhonda, pinned up above my desk. It says something about how we don't organise our time to be slaves to our work, we organise it to get our necessary work done and have time to do what we love.

    I'm learning, through you, and many others, to love working in my home, as well as elsewhere, and to be more mindful when doing anything.

    Thanks for the reminder :)

    Jenni
    x

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  2. Yes! Today you wrote exactly what I have been thinking over the past few days. Great minds think alike :-)

    Whenever I am in a "funk" or just in a bad mood and I don't feel like dealing with the bother of housework, I find that reading blogs about homemaking really help to lift my spirits and motivate me to do better.

    Your blog has pulled me out of a funk many a time!

    Although I do believe that some people are born with a tendency toward neatness, I am not one of them. I have to remind myself constantly that I need to tidy up. But, at least I know that much. Reading articles and blogs keeps my motivation high so that I get more done around my home.

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  3. I'm inspired by the work of others who enjoy their work. The productivity and the fruits of their labor give me the desire to see what I can do too.
    I don't know if it's a feeling of joining but more having light shined on something old and dreary changing it's appearance to something more appealing.
    I'm inspired when I read bogs to try new things...most especially when I hear about first attempts and that not all projects began as beautifully as they ended up. I love the process of learning practical things that I can put to use to improve the quality of life for my family.
    Reading what you and others are doing helps me to see something I could do to add to my life that I might otherwise have not known about.

    Because of things I've read from others I canned for the first time, I have been trying to do some composting, I've worked up a routine in my day that's helping me accomplish even more than I was before. I've been given inspiration to reuse things in new ways that I might have just discarded before.

    I'm even inspired to learn skills I never thought I'd have interest in. :)

    Thanks everyone!
    Alex

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  4. The power of influence is such a strong thing. I get the odd email saying thank you for a particular post as they never thought to do that with their child. Even great photos of tasks can be a big influence too. Its amazing how much impact a blog can make.
    Melissa

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  5. Definitely. I am very much inspired by what others are doing. I especially search to read about ladies' productivity in their homes which I know always helps me to accomplish in my own. Why? I don't really know. I just want to get my own house in order I guess. It's so rewarding. Thanks to you and all the women who share their experiences; many benefit. From, Linda

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  6. Yes, Rhonda, I feel the same kingship with other ladies ~ using your words ~ "just like the Amish and their barn-raising.

    It is a sense of community that gives you encouragement and inspiration to go ahead and try something new, or share with others what you have accomplished.

    When I stop by your blog, I become inspired to try embroidery, or to just look at my job as a keeper of my home in a more positive and enjoyable way.

    I would also like to say thank you to you Rhonda, for beginning the revolution...sort to speak :)

    Have a blessed day!

    lady m

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  7. Absolutely. I also find that when you do start you get a momentum going.Then when it lulls back to some more reading and off you go again. I guess it really is like being in a village we just don't see each other face to face.

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  8. I was criticized recently for 'spending all my time on the computer' (not by someone very close to me, fortunately)....which if you take a look at our pantry and garden couldn't be further from the truth.

    But the thing is, I do spend quite a bit of time reading and gathering information, recipes, canning techniques, seed-saving, animal care...just name it. Our entire lifestyle has changed significantly since I found 'homesteading' blogs....and to my and my husbands eyes, it's all been for the better. In the past year our mindset has gone from trying to figure out how to increase our income to becoming self-sufficient so we need LESS money, and what a relief that simple change has been.

    I feel a part of a community of like-minded souls and I love it!

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  9. I think sometimes it is just plain simple inspiration, seeing the finished product or hearing the satisfied words from someone who has completed something, inspires us to do it to, maybe in a hope of feeling that same satisfaction ?
    Sometimes it is the stirring of a memory. I am reminded recently that my Mum used to make ginger beer, I'm not inspired to do it myself at this time though. I read about reading here for a long time before I started knitting again and I believe it could have been a post where you wrote about the satisfaction of using a hand knitted dishcloth that inspired me to try it myself.
    Regarding the Forum, I have found myself a little more productive, but also working a little differently since being there and I think that is possibly more to do with the feeling of pulling my weight in the community, doing my share ... the feeling of belonging I guess.

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  10. Like Alex, I am inspired by your blog (and others) to make and mend. Your blog often reminds me of things I had "forgotten" I knew how to do - sew, knit, tend to chickens, etc. I hadn't realized how much I missed doing those things because I was too "busy."

    Thanks for sharing your days with us. :>)

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  11. I have not been motivated to do much of anything the past 6+ months, health issues. I used to be a fairly neat home maker but the past few years....no way! I am not quilting like I would, and have time for, like no other time in my life. I don't even feel much like blogging.

    But, then YOU post a new thought, idea or just a new, "this is me today".

    I have only known about and contributed to blogging since Jan of this year. It (and you) motivates me to step outside my comfort zone and be me.

    I have made lye soap (with my dil) for the first time. I canned tomatoes, made raspberry and strawberry freezer jam (the jam was a first for me), taught myself how to machine quilt and have made friends on every continent. I am cleaning house now because I WANT to and because I FEEL THE NEED. I do clean more then once a year, lol, but never with joy and purpose.

    I can't have everything but I can have pride knowing there are others that feel just like me. Your blog and the contributions of the other bloggers oout there...they are inspiring me to grow as a woman, wife, mother, friend to others.

    Thanks for asking, Elaine

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  12. I think women have always come together to work as a group. Inspiration is sown in so many ways through this coming together...be it physically or here reading your diary and on the forum (which i have just joined). Its wonderful to come together with a common goal, learn new things and share the things we have knowledge/skills with. Thank you Rhonda for such a wonderful community you have built here..:)

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  13. Yes,I get inspired to "get up and move" when I read about what someone else is doing.I think for me it is because when I see what others are doing the thought comes into my mind,"hey,I can do that,too!" And in the "doing" I get such a nice feeling of accomplishment! It feels so good at the close of a day to look back and see all you got done in that day.Such a good feeling to go to sleep on.Darlene

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  14. Reminds me of talking on the phone. Nice to share common things with others. I catch myself "thinking in blog" -- how would I say it in print. The simplest things become more interesting as I anticipate sharing them. I enjoy hearing and seeing how other people live. I know that the challenges we face now are faced by people around the globe.

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  15. MStump in North CarolinaSeptember 11, 2009 9:38 am

    Omigosh!! If your name weren't on that post, I would have thought I wrote it! I also find inspiration reading about the Amish and their day-to-day activities. There are days when I can't wait to read your blog just for motivation to get started and when I get started, it's hard for me to stop! Thank you for sharing your feelings; it makes me feel we are kindred spirits!!!!

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  16. I will have to agree with you totally. I've always had some type of craft project going on: knitting, sewing, quilting. But once I started reading blogs, I've been quilting and sewing more. I've gotten alot of UFO projects done.
    I've made bread from scratch, started a garden this year and even put up a clothesline.
    Your blog has inspired me to learn how to make jam. Can't wait!
    Thanks for the inspiration, love your blog.

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  17. The best work in my life, is when I work side-by-side with my husband and we can hear our daughter playing in the background.

    There is nothing sweeter and nothing more motivating to get the job done!

    I also love reading blogs about what other people are doing. It does inspire me to try new things, or to get of me bum and organise things better. :)

    My husband has his own form of inspiration also - listening to audio books on his way to work. He'll tell me about it when we're working together, and sometimes we'll even impliment their ideas into our jobs.

    He gets the audio books from our local library.

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  18. I definately feel inspired by reading about what other people have been doing, it's one of my main reasons for reading blogs.

    When I'm feeling uninspired, nothing inspires me more than to look through gardening, craft or simple living blogs. I'm not sure why, maybe because seeing someone else do it makes it seem easier, or maybe it just gets my creative juices flowing. Either way, it definately seems to work.

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  19. For many years my friends and I have had a running silent competition going,sewing projects,cooking,house keeping ect.My quilt is more complicated,my bread is lighter you get the idea.But not once has any of this been openly talked about,it's just how we work.We all laugh about it because we keep silently doing it,we know we are doing it but don't know why.
    I think it is because of the way women's brains are wired.We have since the beginning of time, done our work as a group and now our brains are wired to be that way.It's only recent history that has caused women to be more alone and self reliant.Work used to be done side by side and I guess we now have to find a more modern way to do that.Maybe all of our blogs fill that need that sits deep in our hearts.

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  20. I remember well as a small child listening to mum chatting over the backfence to 2 neighbours after the men had left for work - talking about their plans for the day or week while hanging out the washing. Then the work would start in earnest. We've moved recently and there are hardly any neighbours at home and we're a little out of sync with the new community. Rhonda's blog and others bring comfort that I belong to a group of women going about their day in the same way - I always feel energised and more motivated after plugging into my new 'tribe'! Not to mention all the new wonderful knowledge I've gained in the process. Thanks for being my 'backfence'.. blessings, Jen x

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  21. I started blogging because I was trying to find some new ideas for cross stitching. I found many cross stitchers out there who shared the work they had done and I loved seeing the possibilities. I then found others who had the same interests as I, and joined them daily to see what they had accomplished. I get new ideas from my blogging friends and learn new techniques and often see that there are others who struggle with the same things I do.
    It's just nice to be a part of something and people who share in the same day to day things!

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  22. Youre not the only one who feels like this but possible the only person who's ever written about it! Yes, I feel more motivated after reading the blogs and when I see what others are doing or it gives me wonderful ideas on what to tackle be it new things or just a new way of doing something I've done before!

    Winterwood

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  23. I agree with you,Rhonda. One thing that I find I do differently since reading your blog is bed-making. For years I have blessed doonas that can be just dragged up and...voila!...the beds made. Since reading of your way I began stripping and fluffing up doonas and pillows and shaking and smoothing sheets and I had forgotten the pleasure of getting into a well made bed.
    Quite often when reading of someones way you think "What a good idea, I can do that"

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  24. I am inspired because I feel the connection with others. I don't feel alone in my work or in my other homemaking pursuits. Plus there is the way creativity feeds off creativity ~ I see a gorgeous knit hat and I think of a way I can do something similar with what I have,

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  25. Yes, I am inspired by you, Rhonda, and all the other bloggers out there that share what they do. I think in many ways its the 21st century way of leaning over the backyard fence and talking to the neighbor lady about our kids, housework, sewing, gardening,etc.

    It's also a good feeling to know that there are others out there trying to do what I'm doing, living simply and making a haven that my family loves to come home to. Being a SAHM can be a little isolating at times and blogging and forums can be a way of feeling less isolated.

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  26. I agree with your feelings of being motivated by others. I am also motivated when I see beautiful breads or foods, hand work and craftsmanship. It inspired creativity within me to create wonderful things for my family to enjoy. For me it's a feeling of home. Those items to me represent a cozy home that is full of love and nurtured by the person baking, or sewing or making things. It's a visual sign of our feelings toward our loved ones. I think we are reminded of love for our own families and for me stimulates me to act upon it and go do! I enjoy your blog so much and read it every day. Thank you for sharing so much with all of us. I appreciate it. It is hard in todays age to have a positive role model that has the same interests that I do. I love being home loving and caring for my family baking, cooking, even yes cleaning lol and sewing knitting gardening and I cherish the recipes and ideas and helpful hints you give. You are a great example and you are fulfilling the goal you had for your blog, to be an elder and help the younger generation and for that I am so thankful to you.

    Blessings,

    Amy :)
    USA

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  27. Yes! I am inspired by you.If I don't want to get out of bed in the morning I think..I bet rhonda wouldn't lay here,and if I don't want to make the bed or clean the bathroom,I think about how even though you feel the same you still get up and do it.I too love a made bed or a clean bathroom but sometimes you just need some motivation and you give me that.

    I can't wait to sit down at night after the baby's asleep and the husband has gone to bed.I get comfy on the couch and read your latest post and then search through past ones for inspiration for the following day or week.Thanks so much for all you do,you really do help so many people.

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  28. Rhonda, I feel a sense of 'togetherness' when I read these fantastic blogs and the creative and simply beautiful things that people all over the world are doing. It inspires me to join my local neighbours in the pursuits of anything - especially conversations that further turn in to other adventures of the spirit.
    I have shared your blog, for example, with others from Australia, and found that those people have used the inspiration that you give out to then do things themselves and to in turn, tell others why they became inspired.
    I am currently nesting myself, preparing my baby's room and about to start my first sewing project when ever I can get in to the room and measure and plan once the fixings are done (dh just finished painting the room). That's my next adventure, that I hope, I can proudly share with my friends and inspire them to make, and not buy.

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  29. There is no doubt that inspiration from others motivates us to do better things. Guess it must be due to something deep in our genes. Response to inspiration has probably been a major factor in our evolution. How high-flown-sounding is that?? But yes, people like yourself Rhona cause us to try new things, encourage us to think seriously about our choices etc. I think a human being who doesn´t or can´t come in contact with a person or a source (other internet users) which gives inspiration will become like a plant without water.
    Today after reading your blog and the responses, I am inspired to get a move on and preserve the last of the plums and try new recipes for my zucchini glut.
    Greetings from Uppsala, Sweden where we have the most perfect autumn day.

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  30. I think I get a kick out of reading what people with similar values to my own are doing -- especially when they come up with good ideas that are going to save me time, for example, or when I learn something new.

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  31. What an interesting post Rhonda! From my personal experience , I started out reading blogs and got huge motivation from it and begun to change my life for the better, namely your blog was my biggest influence. Now also when I wish to be productive, I think about being able to write about on my blog all the things I was productive with! So it makes me get on with it so I'm able to write about it. It's become quite a useful way of tricking myself into the jobs I would rather put off until another day.

    Also it's always nice to read about a 'normal' person doing what they do and learn from them, and see what they do in pictures and tutorials like blogs can give you.

    Thank you Rhonda for everything you give ;&hearts

    Chantel from Ashfield

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  32. Yes I often feel it.

    Although sometimes I wonder how much is inspiration and how much is guilt that I should be doing something work/chores-related instead of relaxing and enjoying some free time.

    I think women have to guard against that.

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  33. You are so right, that's why I keep coming here, to find inspiration.
    Alfazema

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  34. My Mum told me once that when she was a new housewife she hated the mundane chores and constantly feeling alone while working in the home... a friend of hers started coming around and they would do houshold chores together chatting and laughing while they went and then another day mum would spend around the friends house and they woudl do the same there... it was a good way to spend a day with a friend and a days worth of chores took half the time with half the effort... I think we are programmed to work as a team and althought some can work well alone many need support, with this in mind many use the virtual friends and supportive blogs to help them along.. also I think a generation of Knowledge has been lost.. my mum has passed little homemaking hints and tips onto me as she moved into a town house at the onset of ready this and that and the new throwaway era with all the mod cons... traditional practices have missed a generation and some of the 30 somethings are craving knowledge of how to return to a simpler healthier way of life... thank you for helping me re-learn what has been lost to me...

    x Alex

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  35. For me, it helps a lot to see other women (and men) share the same values and tastes in life. I'm a very busy person (with a professional career) but I enjoy very much my home life - and most of my friends do not share these interests. Sometimes I feel like an alien - I don't know, maybe it's a cultural thing...
    So, it makes more sense to me if I know someone else who understands and shares this way of life.

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  36. Since I started a blog and I'm oh still so new to it all I have found so much inspiration. I use the Google reader to catch up with my favourite blogs now because I don’t want to miss a thing!

    What I loved about your post is the way you interspersed the photos during your chat, I felt like I was stood in the kitchen with you having a conversation while you were busying away making your ginger beer (that's was ginger beer wasn’t it?)
    Just reading your post it like a Saturday morning at home when a friend is round and we are chatting away drinking tea while I am preparing a lunch or dinner.

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  37. First-time commenter, here! yes, absolutely, we inspire each other. I visited a peaceful, lovely blog with lots of photos of beautiful vignettes in a woman's home - and looked up to see the beauty in my own.

    Yes, we need to work together at times. A friend is coming over Sunday for our second communal cooking day, our "new tradition" we're trying.

    Watched "Lars And The Real Girl" last night - a movie about community. The scene that spoke to me most strongly was when 3 church ladies sit with a young man whose beloved is ill. The ladies are knitting or doing embroidery as they visit.

    When I read your post this morning, I thought of that scene and knew it was time to write here, finally.

    May blessings continue to be yours, dear Rhonda.

    DJ in Missouri, USA

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  38. I think your posts and those I read on other forums make me remember that we're low on bread, or how my menfolk would enjoy an apple pie, or how I can't really ignore those cobwebs or that dust any more (you had me cleaning out cupboards recently Rhonda!) With the sewing and crafts, I only have to SEE some embroidery thread or some wool and needles or a pretty piece of patchwork and my fingers start aching to go do something too . . . Perhaps it is like sneezing, which I think it auto suggestion? Perhaps with the pleasurable skills it is the knowledge that we can make something and we have that little frisson of pleasure from seeing someone else's work which evokes the pleasurable satisfying memories in us again.

    As for the kitchen cupboards - well, that was just plain GUILT!

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  39. I started reading blogs only about a year ago and since then my life has changed. I picked up knitting again which I had not done since I was a teenager. Everyone received a knitted gift last year and I think they enjoyed it as much as I did. I started baking and realized how important it was to keep my home in order and how that affected my family's mood. With both my husband and I working full-time with two children the house would sometimes get into chaos. Through blogs I read about spacing chores throughout the week and delegating some of those tasks to make those chores seem less daunting. I also learned better money management and have watched my savings grow and benefit from sinking funds. Reading blogs has changed my life for the better!

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  40. I love to see what other people are doing in their lives, especially on blogs. People give more information on blogs it seems. When I read and see it, it changes the way I live my life.

    I think people used to get this sort of information from their mothers and grandmothers, but it seems; at least here in America, the last couple of generations before mine have been brainwashed (by advertising and big companies)into believing that we don't need to work so hard anymore....just sit back...we will make things for you and you can buy it from us. So,so much information has been lost and not passed on.

    I really feel we have lost so many simple survival skills because of it. I am amazed at how simple some of the things are to make myself that I used to think I could only get from the store.

    thanks for your blog....it is one of them that changes the way I live my life!

    Suzanne
    Kansas, USA

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  41. There are many things that inspire me to try, just the fact that others can do it makes me want to try too. I might fail, but I will try again and usually succeed.

    It is nice to know that there is a quiet revolution to get back to basics and that I'm not the odd duck out. There is no one on the other side of the fence to talk to here, but having global friends makes it easier to go it alone.

    Inspiration for me comes from seeing what others can and have done. I now regularly read my electric meter. When we go camping I knit dishcloths. I also knit in the evenings to relax before going to bed.

    I now have the mind set that even though I live alone, I have earned the right to make my home any way I want it.

    Thank you every one for all the help and inspiration to get my butt moving!

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  42. I too, find motivation when reading what others are accomplishing, but the motivation also comes when watching the people around me.

    For example, my 80 year old neighbor has been outside all week tending to the last of her garden and preparing her yard for the upcoming winter. While I have been just as busy doing inside work, I have found myself stopping by the window to see what she is has accomplished. This has motivated me to get my 40 year old butt outside this weekend and get some yard work done.

    Wish me well,

    Melanie

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  43. I agree, I think most of us are motivated by others. I have just found your lovely blog today and enjoy it very much!! I will be back for more visits.
    ♥ Rebecca

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  44. Yes, I read that and thought how I used to make ginger beer when the kids were growing up. I must make some more, though I see you use any type of bottles. How does pastic go? I used to use large beer bottles. We didnt drink the beer..I used to get the bottles from a recylcing thing and clean and sterilise them but that is no longer available so was wondering can I use any bottles?

    Love your blog, so informative

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  45. Michelle, I always use plastic bottles because it lessens the risk of the bottles exploding. I leave the bottles out on the bench to continue fermenting for a few days, then put them in the fridge.

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  46. I know exactly what you mean. When I discovered blogs a couple of years ago I was shocked to discover a whole population of women (and a few men) of all ages who were not only interested in, but actually DOING things that I thought our fast-paced world had forgotten. It was liberating, and I began again to do those things and to learn new ones. I love it!

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  47. I think a lot of us that are home feel alone living on streets with empty houses during the day as everyone else is working outside of the home it seems. Reading about others that feel about life as you do is so inspiring. You do feel a sense of community. When I was growing up and most all the mothers stayed home they worked together often. Off and on they would get together to jointly clean one house then switch later to do the other's. At times they would do a double cooking so both familys had a meal or a desert to give the other mother some time off from cooking. Shop with each other and such. Whole groups of women would join together to make things for the churches to sell and such. Now it seems women don't get together like that...least not where I am. Yes reading blogs is very inspiring and gets you thinking and makes you want to get up and do things!! You get a new slant on an old recipe, or a new way of using something you already have, information you have been wondering about and on and on. It gets exciting!! :) You keep thinking...I could do that!...Why I have one of those and could do this and that too!.. I never thought of adding that to that recipe!! Sometimes you find an answer to anothers question and can help some one. All this to say...Yes. .. I don't just why but it is very inspiring and motovating! Jody

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  48. Hello Rhonda,
    I belong to a blog group called Pink Saturday. Each week we introduce a new blog so everyone else can go visit someone's blog they have never read before. This week I introduced you and I just wanted to let you know and make sure it was okay.
    ♥ Rebecca

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  49. Hi Rebecca, that's fine. I hope your readers find something they like here.

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  50. Dear Rhonda,

    I have been thinking abut this post for the last two days. It struck a very deep chord with me.

    Yes indeed, I am influenced by what I read in blogs. I subscribe to a few, those blogs which influence me for good and to work well.

    On the path to simplifying I am full of self-criticism but I am also encouraged by good women such as you.

    This week we have been given an enormous opportunity. It's not about dollars, it's about stewardship. We have been offered the chance to move our business into a heritage building. We have been back and forth on the decision -- can we, can't we, should we???

    I've learned through women such as you that we all have different paths and responsibilities. I am brave enough to take this on. I can be responsible enough to give this building the stewardship it deserves.

    Our business is tiny and the ramifications are huge. But we can do it.

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  51. I feel it missy! I just found your blog , way of Belle masion . I am a 21 year old from VA and I live in a century old home I spend my time fixing and scrubbing and making and of course dreaming! I already love your blog and everyone in this blog world Inspires me, just like you, to pick up something and do. blessed be -Sarahlynn

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  52. wow! can you sell on etsy! you're work is amazing!

    i do get inspired alot from every's blogs. i love seeing what comes out of people.

    ever need a photographer i'm your girl...
    http://www.sherrardphotography.com
    http://www.jemappelles-christa.blogspot.com

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  53. WOW!! my friend and I (over in the UK) have just started our own food blog - i stumbled across you when looking for CORDIAL recipes. SO glad we found you x

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  54. I couldn't say. All I know is that work done together with friends is never really work. Some of the most pleasant moments I've ever had were spent working together with friends.

    Tracy

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  55. This made me chuckle because I've never really wanted to have children, but when ALL of my siblings had babies within a year of each other I was SHOCKED by how badly I wanted to have a baby, too. (I didn't. Not yet anyway).

    But yes, I totally agree. We're social creatures and working together builds bonds like nothing else.

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  56. G'Day, I do sometimes drop in on you for a read and even though I don't often comment always enjoy my visits. You always show me something interesting but I go away jealous as I don't have my own little patch of dirt to play in anymore.Let alone the time to try the things you show. But inspire me to action is what you do very well.Ooooh home made ginger beer I haven't had that since I was a kid and my grandfather used to make it.

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  57. This is why I'm passionate about blogging: it creates a virtual community where shared ideas can grow - they can grow into bigger and better project here, or inspire motivation there. But I am a little bit perplexed by the unfruitful comparison and envy even that occasionally this kind of sharing seems to create. And so my question is: can bloggers all over the world become a virtual community?

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  58. Hi!

    I have been trying to post a comment on the forum for days, but wasn't authorized to do so even though i had set up an account. I finally realized that my email address has a typo in it, so i keep trying to change my email account info with Yuku, but it won't change the address, maybe because there is only one letter out of place? Can anyone help me?

    thanks!

    Angie

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  59. Hi Ange, Yuku sent up all the accounts so I can't look to see what has happened. Can you set up a new account with another email address? That might bypass all the hassles. Let me know how you get on.

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  60. I just love your blog. You do encourage so many to do that which the world today seems unimportant.

    You let everyone know it is those very things that ARE important. :)

    You are an inspiration.

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  61. I love this post, it made me think, and think about myself. And as some other readers said, it's inspiring to read about what other people are doing, too, because it not only makes me feel connected, it gives me ideas!

    And with that said, may I put a link to your blog on my blog, so that I can share you with my friends?

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