Stress And The Modern Woman

We all have to deal with stress at one time on our life, however, I believe that modern society contributes greatly to this problem by the demands it places upon us.

In the times past, people generally were aware of the fact that there existed certain differences between the sexes rooted in biology. Women were on average considered more fragile, "the weaker vessel". Though they didn't discuss various female conditions such as menopause during dinner parties, like they are doing now, everybody was well aware of the fact that female reproductive system is more complicated than male and basically affect the woman's whole life.

Then the feminists came along and started their song about "strong independent women" and how they had been always kept down by men, without explaining how it was possible for one sex to oppress the other if those sexes are equal. Women were told to "man up", and female weaknesses became the incessant object of ridicule, like the proverbial Victorian fainting couch.

Now, granted, some exceptional women probably profited from certain restrictions being removed and went out and achieved in the male world and stuff, however, I'm fairly certain that the majority of average women lost society's understanding and protection when it comes to certain specific female vulnerabilities.

The simple fact of nature is that while I don't entirely agree with the statement that biology is destiny, it certainly affects us to a much greater degree than egalitarians allow us to believe. For instance, women have about 20-25% lower lung capacity than men which means that a female in her prime will have lung capacity comparable to a man in his fifties and sixties. PMS has its own Wiki article 
and hot flashes can be so debilitating that they require treatment. You may consider this information sexist, but it's a plain fact of life that women are, on average, weaker than men and can suffer from the whole range of conditions because of their biological makeup.

Since we collectively choose to ignore these uncomfortable facts, women are taught not to whine, to pop a pill and continue performing their duty to economy, which, I'm sure, is the chief cause of so much stress among modern women. The whole life pattern of a modern woman is based on this of a man. First she goes to school where she is expected to perform on the high level, because otherwise she won't be able to get higher education and to compete with men in the workplace.

Then comes the college and university, years working at a job 40 hours a week, then you are allowed to take a break for a couple of kids, than back to work you go, until 65 (in some countries 67 and 68). Ambitious parents push their daughters into competitive sports even though the girls suffer sport~related injuries more often than young men.The madness went so far that we now have pregnant women running marathons, never mind the fact that they may suffer incontinence later.

We are told that it´s OK because some (dirt poor) women delivered their babies in the field, though those pushing it conveniently forget to tell us how many of them died from sepsis, bleedings and various complications.

I could go on and on but I guess you see the picture. Women are supposed to be exactly like men and just keep on going until...well, I guess until they break down completely, mentally and physically. Christian sites aren´t much better as they keep convincing women how they must all have 10 kids, homeschool, make all their meals from scratch and run profitable home businesses inbetween making all their own clothes and changing diapers.

With the exception of Lady Lydia I hardly know anyone who is advocating for women to rest and set some time apart every day for just enjoying life instead of making money or serving in some ministry. Men don´t show much understanding, either, which is not surprising, when we consider the conditioning they undergo in modern society. I always chuckle when I read how yet another man says that all women with children of the school age should start working because there is really nothing to do at home, `since housework is so easy`.

First, they freely admit that they do less housework because they see some of it as pointless. Second, of course, it´easier for a man, since he is also much stronger.

I know I´m not going to convince those who don´t believe in the `gender` differences to agree with me, but that wasn´t my original point in writing this post. I just want to support those ladies who feel they can´t keep up with the insane modern pace of life and allow themselves to sit in the garden on a sunny day, to drink a cup of tea with a dear friend and to stay in bed an hour longer when it´s possible. You may feel attacked by the neo~puritan `Arbeit macht frei` brigade, but your health will thank you years later.

Finally...It is So Far

As with all my craft projects, it took me several months but finally I finished it:

I changed the pattern slightly as I was supposed to knit a separate band, to twist it in a particular manner and to sew it to the lower part of the vest. It was a lot of headache so I gave up and added the finishing touch with the help of a crochet hook.

Here is how it was supposed to look:

Not exactly the same thing, but in general, I'm content!

Are Men Doing Their Fair Share?

If you probably remember, we had to put down our cat last February, after about three weeks of fighting for his life. Since my husband works, this whole affair was solely my business and I had to take the final decision (though I phoned my husband at his work, just to share the responsibility a little).

I did feel somewhat resentful because it wasn't mine cat, it was our cat and my husband probably loved him more than me. It wasn't the first time, either, since it was the same story with our previous cat. When I was talking about it with a close relative, she said: "How typical for men. They are never doing their fair share, always letting women deal with all the unpleasant things."

At that time I didn't know what to say, but I kept pondering her words and then I thought that my husband was doing his fair share. He went to work every day so that there was enough money to pay the vet bills (which were very much on the high side) and that I could stay at home and deal with this and other problems. Men providing the income are doing their fair share!

When you are the one staying home it's easy to feel resentful sometimes. Since the husband is away during the day, managing the household and dealing with the children, relatives and pets is largely your responsibility. Feminists have used this discontent to create discord between husbands and wives, and men and women in general.


Our society keeps criticising men for being "workaholics" and that they are never there for their families and children, and thus are lousy husbands and fathers. Just yesterday we were watching a TV series about WWI where one character was telling his story to someone and mentioned how unhappy his mother had been and how she had left her husband in the end because he was only interested in working and making money. Never mind that with this money he paid for his son's expensive education while other boys had to start working at 12 in those times. We are supposed to sympathise with his wife who broke her wedding vows.

Here is a novel thought: men and women are different and they contribute to the welfare of the family in different ways!

An Introduction

Some new members of our household:

Since we still have to wait several weeks for our new kitten, my husband went and bought me some guinea pigs. He says there is a girl who made a lot of money by posting YouTube videos about the life of guinea pigs, so may be by posting these pics I'll find a new source of income:)

Here are close-ups. This is Vigga:

She has red eyes and is very naughty.

This is Freya, there in the corner:

She didn't like being photographed. She also bites and damages wallpaper, as you can see. All my friends like them, they are really funny if somewhat (or even a lot) stupid. Guinea pigs are easy to take care of and don't cost much. Children usually like them too, though I never noticed they return the affection:)

Can be ideal pets for a busy family. Don't you  all think mine are like super cute?:)))

"A Cat Would Be A Better Mother..."

That I believe is what Rhett Butler once said about Scarlett O'Hara. I remembered these words while looking for a kitten on the internet. Most people who are trying to sell kittens mention in their advertisements what a wonderful mother their cat is. She takes good care of the little ones, never leaves them alone etc etc.

I thought how crazy it was that our society understands very well what makes a good mother when talking of cats and yet encourages young mothers to leave their babies in the care of others and go back to work as soon as possible.

The other thing which folks mentioned in their ads, was that the father was present or known, and you could even see his picture if you wished to. Again, we seem to understand the importance of fathers when it comes to dealing with animals, yet women are told by the liberal society that fathers aren't important when it comes to human children.

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark.

Ganz Schoen Pastell

A book review.

Ganz Schoen Pastell is a German title of a book on interior decoration which originally was published under the name Pretty Pastel Style in 2013. I bought it last year in Aachen. The authors are Selina Lake and Joanna Simmons, the photographs were made by Catherine Gratwicke.

As its name says, the book deals with decorating your house in pastel colours, and it is divided into three parts. Part 1 gives examples of how pastels can fit with different styles, such as modern, vintage, minimalistic and so on.

Example of Pastel Vintage:

Part 2 discusses such things as the choice of furniture and accessories, the fabrics, the lighting and how you can combine all these details into one whole.

In Part 3 the reader is taken through different parts of the house, with suggestions for every room: kitchen, living room, bedroom, home office, bathroom, children´s room and finally the garden:

Some of the pictures were taken in private people´s houses while others were staged specially for the purposes of giving an example of a certain style. The book provides links to the blogs and websites of the individuals and businesses featured in it (though some of them disappeared or were deleted). Most were/are Scandinavians which is not surprising when we consider how popular Scandinavian style in interior decoration is nowadays.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the book and it gave me some nice ideas on changing things in my own house. The photographs are great and the text is down to the point. The only two drawbacks were the book´s price (it was quite expensive) and the fact that I had to deal with the German edition of it and my German is not so good, though I could read it.

I could recommend this book to everyone interested in modern trends in interior decorating.

Are You Sure You Want A Traditional Marriage?

It has become rather fashionable nowadays to complain about the females of the species and their unsuitability for marriage, and also about the fact that marriage itself has changed as an institution.

It's true that traditional marriage had certain specific "gender" obligations, but they didn't apply only to women, but to men as well. Namely, a man seeking to marry had to prove to the girl's father that he belonged to a good family, was healthy and capable of providing an income.

Here is an extract from a Dutch 1930s book on the rules of decorum concerning marriage proposal (translation mine):

If both young people agree, the young man has to ask permission by the girl's father...
Sir, says he, I came to ask your permission to get engaged to Marietje. I understand that you, of course, want to know everything about myself, my family and my circumstances.

The young man sums up: names on father's and mother's side of grandparents and parents, the profession of father and grandfather, and the possible famous personalities which belong to the family. Further, his age, health, religion, education...diploma's, work, income, future prospects and names of persons with good reputation who can vouchsafe for him. 

It wasn't just a formality, either, since you weren't allowed to marry without the parents' permission till the age of 30. The law was abolished only in the 1960s.

Feminism emancipated women from their traditional obligations, but it emancipated the men also, as the majority of them get married nowadays with the full expectation that their future wife will help provide, at least, until children come. As I have previously pointed out, you can't have your cake and eat it, too.

Science Proves What We Know

Men don´t like doing housework.

According to the latest research done in this egalitarian paradise, Sweden, as married men take on the traditional feminine chores, they grow dissatisfied and tend to view it as unfair. Even though in all those `egalitarian` countries women report on average that they are still doing about 75% of all the housework. According to men, though, their share is 31% . As you see, the numbers don´t add up and both sexes feel themselves put upon.

I´m glad to report that my country didn´t make it to the list of the top feminist countries where men report doing their 50%:) Of course, USA, UK, Australia, Sweden and strangely enough, Poland and Mexico appear to be the countries with the most feminised men. The more egalitarian the country is, the more dissatisfaction the men show with the division of domestic chores and the more they complain about unfairness. Men in more traditional countries, like Japan, don´t complain that much if they have to help around the house. According to a feminist researcher, the reason for this is that Japanese men are less aware that housework exists.

Personally I believe that in Western countries people tend to be much more obsessed with fairness and equality. Of course, it could also be that men feel themselves more emasculated by the society in general, hence they protest.

Women in egalitarian countries aren´t happy, either. They are less satisfied with their family life, which is logical, since they have to juggle their traditional responsibilities with earning a living and nagging their husbands into doing their fair share of housework. So here you have it, straight out of the mouth of the feminist itself: egalitarian family life is lousy, leaves both men and women dissatisfied (and will eventually bring you to the divorce court), but it´s apparently a small price to pay for the building of an utopia.

The god of gender equality is a jealous one. 

 men are more likely to be unsatisfied with their share of household duties as they report taking on a greater share of household chores,

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-02-men-unsatisfied-extra-chores-gender.html#jCp

married men are more likely to be unsatisfied with their share of household duties as they report taking on a greater share of household chores,

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-02-men-unsatisfied-extra-chores-gender.html#jCp

married men are more likely to be unsatisfied with their share of household duties as they report taking on a greater share of household chores,

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-02-men-unsatisfied-extra-chores-gender.html#jCp

married men are more likely to be unsatisfied with their share of household duties as they report taking on a greater share of household chores,

Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2015-02-men-unsatisfied-extra-chores-gender.html#jCp

Allow Yourself To Be Domestic

My new centerpiece.

Here is a close-up:

The wood pieces were all grey originally, so I painted them using some old watercolours.

Domesticity is so much more than simple housekeeping. One can keep a decent house and to cook regularly and still miss something, something which makes the house really feel like home. Women nowadays aren't supposed to be overtly domestic. I once joined a ladies' craft group in a friend's church, and all the ladies with one exception were in their 60s and older. In fact, I was the youngest.

Domesticity isn't only knitting or cross-stitching, of course. It's just taking a general pleasure in making your home beautiful and cosy, attending to small details, arranging flowers, lighting the candles when your husband comes home in the evening, stuff like that. My friend tells me it was quite normal for women in the 1950s and 60s to be interested in beautifying their homes and their lives, until you-know-who arrived and started telling women it was silly.

Nowadays men are taught to discover their soft feminine side, while women are taught to be strong and independent, which apparently means wearing ugly clothes, having messy homes and avoiding any traditional feminine occupations and hobbies as a vampire avoids garlic.

Another friend once told me how she was alone at home knitting when a postman came along to deliver a package. She felt embarrassed that he saw her sitting there with her knitting needles "as an old lady." Of course, young ladies aren't supposed to be home at all during the day-time, they must be working at a job, so it's only logical they won't have time for creative hobbies.

Even many Christian homemaking sites only write about the practical side of homemaking and child-rearing and encourage women to use their free hours for establishing home businesses. The truth is you won't really enjoy your life at home if you never allow yourself any time for a more creative part of housekeeping, namely, establishing a cosy and beautiful home. It doesn't have to cost much money, either.

One of the blogs promoting domesticity is Mias Landliv, which I link to. Another one is Home Living from Lydia Sherman. Domesticity isn't boring or silly, it's essential for a good home life. Remember, man makes a living, woman makes life worth living.