Novelist Katherine Anne Porter wrote, “Human life itself may be almost pure chaos, but the work of the artist-the only thing he’s good for- is to take these handfuls of confusion and disparate things, things that seem to be irreconcilable, and put them together in a frame to give them some kind of shape and meaning.”
“There are lots of things to see, unwrapped gifts and free surprises. The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But-and this is the point-who gets excited by a mere penny?”
“It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won’t stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted in pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is simple. What you see is what you get.”
~Annie Dillard, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, p. 17, emphasis mine
What pennies are lying around just waiting for us to pick up? ☀️💕🥰☕️🌿🍄
I was so inspired Chantel’s DIY Literature Degree that I’ve been thinking about how to incorporate something similar. I’ve been feeling the pull (again) to be purposeful about certain areas of my life. I need some home education, spiritual, and life inspiration! I put together a stack of books to pull from, resources, and habits to especially focus on this summer. I’m sure this will extend far beyond 3 months 😉, but I love sharing in case it encourages/inspires someone else and as a bit of accountability for me. Firstly, here are some of the books. I am going to be dipping into these, and/or finishing, or rereading. My Bible and Fire Bible notes are a biggie as well plus various devotionals I dip into!
~ Formation of Character by Mason (life/ home learning)
~ Learning All the Time by Holt (home learning)
~ Get Your Life Back by John Eldredge ✔️
~ Women by Edith Stein ( spiritual/creativity/life)
~ The Cloud of Witness by various (ongoing)
~Slowing Time and Motherprayer by Mahany (spiritual/life)
~ poetry from different poets (spiritual/life)
~Know and Tell by Glass (home learning) ✔️
~ Real Learning Revisited by Foss (life/home learning) ✔️
~Pilgrim at Tinker Creekby Dillard (nature/life) ✔️
~Jane & Dorothy by Marean Veevers
Some of these are on my Summer ABC list too, which works well!
Our last co op Picture Study artist! Fascinating!
The next area is my health. I’ve been floundering a bit in the program I was in and have gained a lot of weight back. I prayed about it and talked with a few close people and made some modifications. I’ve started back in and am feeling hopeful. I am prioritizing getting outside/walks, drinking water, trying to sleep, journaling, healthy food, and a biggie is limiting social media. I also have to have margin around our busy summer schedule. The key to these things is just a little bit everyday. I know it sounds like a lot, but I’m keeping it VERY simple to set myself up for success. 🙏🏻❤️🔥
Multiplication with Beans
Lastly, I really want to focus on real life relationships. I have a lot of people here at home and around me that I want to pray for and keep in touch with. Soooo, I’m focusing on s-l-o-w media…like penpals, this blog (it takes me a lot of work to post as I’m working from my phone), and an occasional reading wrap up on Booktube (super slow because it’s a lot of work to film and edit)! This means I won’t be around Instagram this summer, and limiting how much Booktube I watch! I have plans to connect with church and local homeschool moms this summer and I’m excited and a good nervous. 😅 I’ve been seeing that I need to break some covid-era dependency on online friends. Not that I’ll forget them entirely, my Victorian Reading friends through Kate Howe’s Patreon are dear to me! 😍 I’m really focusing on reading aloud to my younger kids and dates with my hubby, too.
Recent library picture books that we loved! 🥰
How ‘bout you? How is your summer shaping up? If you could create a DIY degree for yourself, what would it be? I’d love to hear! Chat below! 😍♥️🏡🌿🍄📝📚
I’ve been thinking, praying, and starting to research/plan for our next formal home-learning year. It’s so fun to pull off treasures from the past…ahem, books my older kids loved and share them with my youngers. We had so much fun listening to this old Jim Weiss retelling of a few of the fables plus there’s a few other stories for another day. ♥️
Hi 👋 friends! One of my little projects this summer will be to read/reread from my shelves! I also have a learning project that I will post about later, but for now, these are ones I’d love to pick up sooner than later! I’ll come back and cross off as I finish and hopefully I can chat a bit about the ones that really spoke to me. Even if it takes me the rest of the year that’s ok, too. Do you have projects like this for yourself? 😍♥️📚
A – Apple Bough by Noel Streatfield ✔️
B – Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope
C – ICheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger ✔️
D – Danny the Champion of the World by Roald Dahl (with my kids)
E – The Ember Blade by Chris Wooding
F – The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien (reread)
G – A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
H – Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry (reread)
I – Martha’s Vineyard : Isle of Dreams by Susan Branch (reread)
J – Jane & Dorothy by Marian Veevers and/or Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery (reread, with my kids) ✔️or Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (reread)✔️
K – Kristin Lavransdatter1:The Wreath, ✔️2:The Wife, ✔️3: The Cross by Sigurd Undset (online buddy read group) ✔️
L – Sylvia’s Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell ✔️
M – Barbara Mahany titles and/or Memories of Childhood Marcel Pagnols
N – Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens and North & South by Elizabeth Gaskell ✔️ (reread)
O – Orion & the Starborn by K. B. Hoyle (with my kids)
P – Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard ( reread, buddy read with my friend Kim! 😁♥️🌿)✔️
Q –
R- Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey (buddy read with Deea, Penny, and Sandy ✔️
S – Sense of Wonder by Rachel Carson ✔️
T – A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
U – Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington ✔️
V – Linnets and Valerians by Elizabeth Goudge (reread, with my kids)
W – Essays on Woman by Edith Stein
X –Ox Cart Man by Barbara Cooney ✔️
Y –
Z – Oz books by L. Frank Baum (some rereads, with my kids) and/or Zen in the Art of Writing by Ray Bradbury.
What are excited to be learning, reading, doing this summer? 😄♥️📚
Today so far I’ve: read my Bible/journaled while sipping black coffee from my lovely 🥰 pastel thrifted woodland creature mug, read some things I’m studying (more about my DIY Women’s Well Refresh later, hopefully), sent a reminder email for our local mom’s homeschool group, listened to Studio Ghibli soundtracks, took a short walk among the cool morning sunshine while listening to Magyk by Angie Sage audiobook (I’m loving it). I took a shower and dug out a comfy sweatshirt because it’s chilly today, I made myself a breakfast of plain yogurt, banana, cashew butter, cinnamon, and oats! I supervised children doing their maths and found sweatshirts for little kids planting the garden with their 15yo sister. I talked about dyeing things with dye made from dandelions and tried to figure out what to cook for meals today since the stove is getting a little TLC. I sent three older ‘kids’ off to various jobs, one having to borrow my van, because a car battery needed jumping. I talked about drawing books, schedules, and What is Poetry? by Michael Rosen with various family members. My 15 yo and I talked about how we can secretly make my hubby’s favorite mint bars for his upcoming birthday. I helped same child find wrapping paper for her gift. I’ve been praying and finalizing the book discussion, Scriptures, and end of year stuff to share with my mom friends tonight at the last meeting, I ended up dumping potatoes in the Instapot for a baked potato bar lunch. I’ve been listening with (thankfully) an amused heart to a recorder being played upstairs. I’ve been putting books on hold to read aloud and for planning our new home learning year. I’ve been digging into this blog for all her WONDERFUL inspiration and resources. I’ve been listening to this and something is stewing in my heart to share in my next article for Sisters of the Wooden Spoon. I’ve been reevaluating my health and my media usage, setting up accountability for both…
And it’s noon, now. 😁♥️ Time to return to this wonderful life I’ve been gifted, lunch, and the Winnie-the-Pooh audiobook, Pictures of HollisWoods, On the Banks of Plum Creek, and narrations. I think I’ll cook some sausage on my pancake griddle 🤣 and put taco soup in the crockpot for dinner.
I share this because I’m just SO grateful for life and I love reading about other women’s days. 😄♥️ Bless your Tuesday. I’d love if you’d share below your day! 😍🌿
The world is bursting with wonder, and yet it’s the rare productivity guru who seems to have considered the possibility that the ultimate point of all our frenetic doing might be to experience more of that wonder.
Oliver Burkeman
The Professor never really seemed to care whether we figured out the right answer to a problem. He preferred our wild, desperate guesses to silence, and he was even more delighted when those guesses led to new problems that took us beyond the original one. He had a special feeling for what he called the “correct miscalculation,” for he believed that mistakes were often as revealing as the right answers.
Yoko Ogawa
These two very different books have converged in my heart recently. I’m not finished with Four Thousand Weeks, but the sense I’m getting from both books is THIS moment you are in is what you have. Be grateful. Relish it. Wallow in it. Enjoy. I absolutely adored the audiobook of The Housekeeper and The Professor. How would you live if you had 80 minutes of memory before it starts over? What really matters in a person’s life? What is happiness? Do we need more, more, more of anything? Just bursting with gratitude for THIS moment.
What’s on your heart today? I’d love to hear! ♥️🌿🌸🪺🪴🌷
Hello Friends! I trust the new year is easing in kindly for you. ☺️💗☕️📚💌 ❄️🌛It was hard to narrow down my favs, but here they are {not really in any particular order} with a small snippet to celebrate each one! I definitely picked the books and characters I keep thinking 🤔 about. How do you pick your favorites?
~2023~
1. Klara & the Sun ☀️by Kazau Ishiguro ~ 5 🌟 a sympathetic story that considers what makes us human from the viewpoint of Klara, an Artificial Friend (AI) to an ill teenager, Josie. I keep thinking about all the themes and questions brought up in this one. I loved the audiobook! (Possibly my favorite of the year?! 😱)
2. TheSword of Kaigen ⚔️ by M. L. Wang ~ 4 🌟 The set up to this Asian -inspired fantasy world was very (too) slow, but you find yourself gripped by a mother and son trapped in an insular community that is holding onto the old ways. They face danger and questions from within and without. Extremely violent, FYI, check trigger warnings. This is such a beautiful story about standing tall in the face of adversity and self-sacrifice.
3. Wormwood Abbey 🐉by Christina Baehr ~ 4 🌟 This was a cozy, Victorian-time period, family-centric fantasy story. I looooved the main protagonist, Edith Worms. She has a few secrets of her own, not unlike the new abbey her father has inherited. Looking forward to next in series!
4. Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 🥔by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows ~ 5🌟 (reread) I adored visiting again with these characters through the letters they exchanged. WWII historical fiction set on the island of Guernsey 🇬🇬. The audiobook was fantastic.
5. Disenchanted: The Trials of Cinderella 👑 by Megan Morrison ~ 4 🌟 This MG/YA retelling was deeper and more thoughtful than I expected. It felt like the themes of Elizabeth Gaskell’s North & South except with fairies. 😂 There were a few things I didn’t love, but overall, I sooo enjoyed this story of standing up for the suffering people in the world.
6. Evelina by Francis Burney 👗 ~ 4 🌟 Honestly, not a lot really happens in this coming-of-age Regency story. I found the excessive formality hilarious and enjoyed following teenager Evelina as she grows. I listened to this long novel and really enjoyed being along for the ride.
7. Gods, Graves, & Scholars 🗿 by C. W. Ceram~ 4 🌟 I found this nonfiction fascinating about the beginnings of archaeology and I loved how it made my Old Testament reading come alive. A bit dated, but a fascinating read!
8. Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth 👧🏻👨🏼🦳 by Sheila O’Conner ~ 5 🌟 Heartwarming and heart wrenching story about a young girl who befriends an ostracized Quaker on her paper route. Her and her brothers navigate the world of conscientious objectors during the Vietnam 🇻🇳 War.
9. Marilla of Green Gables 🏡 by Sarah McCoy ~ 4 🌟 I keep thinking about this one that my daughter’s friend recommended to me. Fun retelling of sorts for Anne fans, but I wasn’t expecting the historical fiction side about the Canadian Underground Railroad. Fascinating!
10. Ourselves, School Education, both by Charlotte Mason, and Parents are Peacemakers by Essex Cholmondeley 🎭🎨📚 ✏️~ 5 🌟(rereads) This was my cheat, lumping all these nonfiction educational beauties together. Powerful encouragement for raising children- educational philosophy at it’s finest.
11. Unearthing the Secret Garden 🪴 by Marta McDowell ~ 5 🌟 Beautiful and truly lovely look at the 3 gardens created by Frances Hodgson Burnett in her lifetime that definitely shaped her life and writing.
12. Katherine Wentworth 🏴 by D. E Stevenson ~ 5 🌟so gentle, full of peace, hope, nature, and a charming cottage. Second chance story with lovely mother & children. This reminds me slightly of The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery, although not quite as quirky!
13. Mrs. Lorimer’s Quiet Summer 🏴by Molly Clavering ~ 5 🌟A sweet family tale set in beautiful Scottish scenery. I found out that Clavering and D.E. Stevenson were friends and that this is semi autobiographical.
14. Grapes of Wrath 🍇by John Steinbeck ~ 4 🌟 This is a Great Depression/Dust Bowl era historical fiction. This was gorgeously written, raw, heartfelt, and disturbing. Ma Joad was my favorite! Adult content and language.
15. Everything Sad is Untrue 🇮🇷by Daniel Nayeri ~ 4 🌟 A slow, but heart-wrenching stream-of-conscious nonlinear fictionalized memoir of a young Iranian’s experience as a religious refugee in Oklahoma. It took me a long time to get into this as it had a very unconventional writing style , but then I loved the thought-provoking themes it brought up.
16. Seasons of Your Heart 💖 by Macrina Wiederkehr ~ 5 🌟beautiful poetry and short Christian devotional entries. A bit unorthodox and slightly mystical, but really spoke to my weird, word lover side. My friend gave this to me as a gift and it was such a blessing!
17. The Belton Estate 🎹by Anthony Trollope ~ 5🌟A super interesting story about a Victorian woman who bucks tradition in a situation involving male entailment of property. This had so many interesting themes around marriage of convenience and friendship with a woman of “dubious” character.
18. The Historian 🕌 by Elizabeth Kostova ~ 4 🌟A deep, rich historical thriller with a slight fantastical twist. The atmospheric setting of this was a amazing! Told through multiple timelines and flashbacks, the story of a daughter tracing her father’s discovery of a strange book with connections to Dracula. This has a lot of travel, Balkan culture, history, and so much more.
19. The Last Cuentista 🪐 by Donna Barbara Higuera ~ 4 🌟This was a darker, dystopian, scifi middle grade book and coming of age story. I loved the main character Petra and how she kept hope alive through storytelling.
20. Pat of the Silverbush 🌲 by L.M. Montgomery ~ 4 🌟wow! So beautifully atmospheric! I loved this book for the writing, but overall, this was not a happy book. It felt sad and lonely. However, it was full of interesting, quirky characters that Montgomery does so well. I really enjoyed discussing this book with Chantel Reads All Day YouTube channel.
21. Grace of Wild Things 🧙♀️ by Heather Fawcett ~ 5 🌟This was a charming middle grade fantasy twist on Anne of Green Gables. A young girl has nowhere to go and attempts to apprentice herself to the local, grumpy witch. I loved the found family, adventures, and gorgeous writing style.
22. Dune 🪱 by Frank Herbert ~ 4 🌟I listened to the audiobook of this one and was so pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this political, sci-fi family story. It moved EXTREMELY slowly, but it was just what I needed at the time. I loved thinking of the influence this had on Star Wars. I loved Lady Jessica’s perspective.
23. Julie 🏚️ by Catherine Marshall ~ 4 🌟A buddy read with my penpal via Voxer. This was a wonderful Depression era historical fiction story set in Pennsylvania. I loved the male characters in this book, and Julie and her father’s relationship was such an interesting dynamic. Julie and her family take over a failing newspaper in this coming of age story that brought up so many thought-provoking themes.
A few honorable mentions: The Corinthian by Georgette Heyer (ridiculously hilarious),Hinds’ Feet On High Places by Hannah Hurnard (faith-building reread), All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor (heartwarming), Two Old Women by Velma Wallis (inspiring), Distilled Genius by Susan Branch (inspiring), and Cottage Fairy Companion by Paola Merrill (inspiring). All the poetry I read was also SO enriching!
2023 was a “Year of Change” for me and I found myself drawn to darker stories that show the protagonist overcoming! I had a wonderful reading year mostly due to narrating, interacting, and discussing what I was reading with so many wonderful friends (Voxer and Zoom for the win!), writing in my journals (here and in the regular paper & ink kind 🤣), and sharing a little on Booktube. Engaging deeply instead of just inhaling mindlessly. Granted I still read my fair share of fluff, 🥰 but my reading life felt more life-giving this year. How about you? How was your reading in 2023? I’d love to chat below!
Hi 👋 friends! Trying to close out my yearly reads here. It’s so fun to go back and see all the years of great reading lists. ♥️
~October~
Pillars of the House Volume 2 by Charlotte Mary Yonge – 4 ⭐️ I had read the first Volume in the 3rd quarter and honestly, the Voxer/Zoom discussion group through Booktuber Kate Howe’s Patreon made this book come alive. The two volumes were over 1,000 pages combined! 😳😂 This followed generations of a large, orphaned family in England and it was heartwarming and inspiring. I learned a lot about the Oxford Movement from the group discussions which I found fascinating. The community aspect kept me going and I’m so glad I did!
Grace of Wild Things by Heather Fawcett- 4 ⭐️ This was a charming middle grade fantasy twist on Anne of Green Gables. A young girl has nowhere to go and attempts to apprentice herself to the local, grumpy witch. I loved the found family, adventures, and gorgeous writing style. Fawcett has been very hit or miss for me, but I did enjoy this one a lot!
Wives & Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell – 5 ⭐️ This has become something of a yearly reread for me and this past Victober was no exception. I absolutely loved listening to this favorite Victorian classic again. So many great characters in this story of a widowed country doctor and his daughter and everything surrounding his remarriage. All of the lovely villagers, class tensions, and life drama makes for a wonderful story. The BBC film adaptation is wonderful, too!!!
~November~
Keturah & Lord Death by Martine Leavitt – 4 ⭐️ An YA clean fantasy w/ light romance, this was so unique. Keturah has made a deal and she has a short time to complete her end of the bargain! I found the setting so compelling and I loved Keturah as a character. I’m still thinking about this one.
Parents are Peacemakers by Essex Cholmondeley- 5⭐️ I love this short nonfiction pamphlet on parenting from a friend of Charlotte Mason. I have reread this multiple times. I love the focus on the needs of each person in a family. So good! Great way to refresh your parenting and/or homeschooling.
Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah – 4 ⭐️ Honestly, this was such a fun adventure…think Arabian nights and a gorgeously, immersive setting. Treasure, djinn, and treachery lurks around every corner! Older YA as it’s violent, but pretty clean. I’m worried about the others in the trilogy ruining my reading experience with this one. 😂 I may just stop here. 🛑
Dune by Frank Herbert – 4⭐️ I listened to the audiobook of this one and was so pleasantly surprised how much I enjoyed this political, sci-fi family story. It moved EXTREMELY slowly, but it was just what I needed at the time. I loved thinking of the influence this had on Star Wars.
~December~
Julie by Catherine Marshall- 4 ⭐️ A buddy read with my penpal via Voxer. This was a wonderful Depression era historical fiction story set in Pennsylvania. I loved the male characters in this book, and Julie and her father’s relationship was such an interesting dynamic. Julie and her family take over a failing newspaper in this coming of age story that brought up so many thought-provoking themes.
Wormwood Abbey by Christina Baehr – 4⭐️ I thought this clean Victorian era fantasy with a side of dragons was extremely fun and I loved the main character, Edith Worms. This had Jane Eyre- vibes. I’m looking forward to the second coming out this month?! The author is a mother of a large family. 😍
Absolutely Truly by Heather Vogel Frederick – 4⭐️ This lovely, small town story follows 12 yo Truly Lovejoy as she adjusts to her family’s move after her dad had a terrible accident in the military. PTSD, family, new friends, Shakespeare, and birding are just a few things in this charming middle grade.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows – 5 ⭐️ This was a reread, but I listened and I adored being back with these characters even more than the first time. An unique look at WWII from a different perspective, told through letters, and so very real and humorous.
Dombey & Son by Charles Dickens – 4 ⭐️ I just finished this, but read/listened to most of it in December. It dragged just a wee bit at about 3/4th the way through, but just what you’d expect from Mr. Dickens. Amazing, quirky cast of characters and a deeper conversation on so many issues/levels. This focused a lot on parental and child relationships. It was very good! I loved so many characters!
How was your last quarter of reading for 2023? Any plans for this year? I’m thinking about how to share my reading in the new year. May change it up? Not sure. Watch soon for my 23 favorite reads of ‘23 list! Happy Reading! ♥️😁
A.M. Pine - Hearth Ridge Reflections 