Happy Monday! โฅ๏ธ๐ฒ๐
Monday Ponderings ๐ฆ {Day 25}
Category: Create
Favorite Blogs and Booktube Channels to check out! {Day 22} ๐ฝ๏ธ๐
Happy Thursday! I โtriedโ to group these by main genre topic. โฅ๏ธ Iโm hoping to add more for reference! A few of these donโt regularly update, but there is a TREASURE TROVE of back posts!
Writing/General Memoir/Nature:
Poetry (among other gems):
Essays/Articles:
Home/Domestic/Family:
Reading/Homeschool:
Booktube Absolute Favorites:
Happy reading/watching! This would be a perfect place to dive into on your next rainy day! So thankful for creativity and words! ๐ฒโฅ๏ธ๐
Itโs ok to be always beginningโฆ {Day 1}
Hello Friends! New fresh month, no mistakes in it yet! Iโm hopping on to share that Iโm going to attempt to do a bit of a 100 Day Project here! Iโm excited to have a little something to challenge myself with and a place to dump all the beautiful ideas Iโm gleaning. I have no format for what I will be sharing, it may be little more than a brain dump some days๐คช๐ , lists, a photo, a quote, and so on. My hope is that it will encourage and inspire you. What am I doing with the little Iโve been given? That is the question Iโm asking myself currently. โบ๏ธโฅ๏ธ๐ฟ
Soooo, what prompted this plan? A couple things! My oldest child, my daughter, is engaged to be married later this year! ๐ณ๐ญ๐โฅ๏ธNothing like a family wedding to celebrate and work towards in multiple areas. Secondly, my sister kindly gifted me this book and we are going through it together:
Iโm already a pretty established journal-er, but wanted to step it up a notch! By journaling HERE, my poor dark, quiet blog friend, ๐คฃ and using it as a catalyst for little writing creative projects. I see these as offerings of worship. ๐๐ฟ
I also love my little to do/gratitude daily journal so will be keeping up with that! Another strange combo that works well for me!
My absolute favorite journaling is my reading journal and I have two buddy reads beginning this month! ๐๐
I will be using the prompts in The Book of Alchemy and also continuing The Body Revelation questions, both with my sister. โบ๏ธโฅ๏ธThose are most likely private prayers/entries etc that go into my spiritual journal.
How โbout you? How do you โbegin againโ? How do you breathe life into creative or life projects? Having some sort of paper/stickers/glue and pens always motivates me! ๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ๐โฅ๏ธ Iโll leave you with a quote that I saw that has me thinking deeply!
โโฆthey fear love because it creates a world they canโt control.โ
โขGeorge Orwellโข
๐ฌ๐ณโ ๏ธ๐โฅ๏ธ๐ Chew on that, my friends! Bless you all!
Coffee & Ink: ~be small, drive slow~
tucked myself into the smallest corner of Dunkinโ
cast, humble, kneel, prostrate
be a dewdrop
drive slow
savor flipping sweaters at Goodwill
thank the lady for noticing my butterfly tote
be a dust mote
drive slow
eyes close, commend my spirit to God
swirl the ice of my latte, sip
be a bubble
drive slow
smile about ridiculous puns written on paper plate to hubby
touch, smile wide, look up, look down, listen deeply
be a crumb
drive slow
keep scribbling with dull, cheap Amazon pencil
quiet and calm yourself
be a salt grain
drive slow
the dipped not drenched sumac
the crumble-y, yeast-y clouds
be a kernel
drive slow
mind your own business and butterflies
hum along with the hummingbirds
be a bean
drive slow
keep wishing on the still-here-swallows
wave goodbye and good luck to the geese
be a seed
drive slow
no place to go
know your God-go, Spirit-stay
be a pebble
drive slow
A.M.Pine ๐ฒโฅ๏ธ
Consider: Second Chances ๐ฟ
If the old earth could wash herself and begin again so often and so humbly, why could not a man do the same?
- A City of Bells, Elizabeth Goudge
What are motherhood, art, our very life but second chances, beginning again, over and over? โSecond-chanceโ is a term that the book industry labels romances that have the same couple making another attempt at a relationship. This is a very narrow definition. We take second-go-arounds at multiple things DAILY. Our faith walk, being kind, loving on those tough to love, and asking forgiveness over and over again. There are so many wonderful stories and art that when you dig deep, focus on a chance to begin again. I want to focus my attention on a few of these with an expectant heart for what truth the Lord wants to show me. Iโm not sure how this will play out as I have so much swirling in my heart. A couple of stories that really jump out to me are Marilla, Matthew, and Anneโs from Anne of Green Gables, Valency from The Blue Castle, Jocelyn from A City of Bells, and Mary from The Scent of Water. All these people have been given a chance to start again or at least begin to truly live. I actually made a huge list of stories from books and films that mean a do-over and fresh mercies to me. I was so surprised by how many of my favorites fall into that category!
2nd ~
my hundredth and one
second chance,
leaves curl into bud
faithfully once again
A.M.Pine ๐ฒโฅ๏ธ
Advent Diaries ~::๐โ๏ธโฅ๏ธPages 16-21โฅ๏ธโ๏ธ๐::~ CANDLELIGHT through SCRIPTURE ~ {Day 57}
Dear Friends, hello again! I thought Iโd catch up on my prompts by using them for more introspection and planning. Most of these areas, besides the marriage-focused ones, I will be including my children as we learn together. You are invited to join me in spirit or in your own planningโฆread on, if interested. โฅ๏ธโ๏ธ๐
In the New Year ~2025~ Iโd like tooโฆ
Light Candlelight in my marriage relationship and invest in my friendships deeply:
โข planning dates, trips, times of prayer together with my husband, Iโd love to jot down memories from these times and print off photos etc as a memorial of gratitude for Godโs faithfulness.
โขIโd like to reprioritize pen pal notes of encouragement, coffee dates with family and other friends, texting people who come to mind in prayer, local, and church womenโs groups Iโm in. We need one another more than ever.
The color of Green reminds me of hope, health, and creativity! Itโs my favorite color ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐๐ชด
โขIโm planning on a few set creative challenges, especially using Bella Grace and Conscious Creativity for ideas.
โขFiguring out a healthy way of living tailored to my needs and season of life and then being faithful to it.
โขvisiting my creative โheart homesโ, if I can, occasionally or at least once next year. A special coffee shop, cabin, specific nature spots, and yes, Barnes & Noble. ๐ I love dreaming and planning at these places and it gives me something to look forward to! Yes, my major heart homes are the Lake District, Cumbria, England ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ฅ๓ ฎ๓ ง๓ ฟ and P.E.I., Canada, ๐จ๐ฆ but no plans soon for returning there. ๐๐ฅฐ๐๐
My Reading life is a life-giving to me. Iโm intentionally keeping it simple this year with two challenges and open-ended possibilities.
โขmy first challenge is to start reading all Kate Howeโs current Victorian Literature Favorites as a project for myself. I actually havenโt finished or read many of these and thought it would be fun to challenge myself with some deeper reading.
โข I absolutely love Chantelโs open-ended word categories this year, so hoping to plug in what I read there. I may not do them in the months assigned, but will look at them throughout the year.
โข I was so inspired by this video talking about ideas for this galโs reading journal. I donโt pre set up most of my journal pages except in the opening, preferring to work on them as the year progresses. Iโm hoping to tweak some of her ideas to work for my journal.
โขI want to tie on my Apron of home keeping and hospitality in a new, fresh way this year. Sometimes this means making a meal for a new mom or dropping off a bouquet of sunflowers you grew. It can mean more than hosting in your home. I have an older house with one small bathroom. How can I use it to bless my hubby, children, and those around me? This isnโt an easy area for me, so I want to grow. Iโd like to put some effort in helping my husband fix a few things and focus on a small, container flower garden on my older deck, as a way of extending our home this summer. Iโd like to host bonfires in fine weather, as we have a lot of outdoor space. Praying for the Lordโs leading. Iโm setting up my little to-do planner/memory book in anticipation! I feel like Iโm being asked to focus on โTaking Heed/Paying Attentionโ as my phrase for the year. I found a quote by Charlotte Mason, my educational philosophy heroine, that uses the phrase โexpectant attentionโ and it hit me like a lightening bolt. I want to pay attention to the Lordโs still small voice in expectancy for all the glorious Truth and Love He has for me.
โขIโd love to take to the Forest and field more. Nature walks and returning over and over again to numerous nearby favorites has blessed us immensely over the years on rotation. We truly strengthen our relationships with each other and walk away with little bits of beauty that keep on giving. These usually just cost me a bit of planning, a lunch thrown in a bag, and a little gas for an unmeasurable amount of Joy.
โขLastly, I want to really revamp and dive into my Scriptures this year. The Holy Bible is my life map and I honestly, adore it. I donโt understand it and itโs hard to read at times, but by faith, it will not return void in my life. Iโd like to try a bit more focused journaling around it and I was so inspired by Dorisโ journal here. Sheโs not using it for prayer and Scripture items, but I feel I could adapt some of it.
How โbout you? Do you have a focus or goals for 2025? Iโd love to hear! ๐ฅฐ๐
May your book be good and your drink hot! ๐๐ฅฐ๐โ๏ธโฅ๏ธ
Advent Diaries ~::๐โ๏ธโฅ๏ธPage 7โฅ๏ธโ๏ธ๐::~ PAINT ~ {Day 53}
Iโve been thinking randomly about Wonka Vision (from Gene Wilder โCharlie and Chocolate Factoryโ film) โฆyes, my brain doesnโt turn off well. ๐ Iโm desperate to paint my life with Jesus Visionโฆ seeing all the glorious gifts and beauty around me as Love. And caring enough to share that love, let spill it over and out!
What matters in the deeper experience of contemplation is not the doing and accomplishing. What matters is relationship, the being with. We create holy ground and give birth to Christ in our time not by doing but by believing and by loving the mysterious Infinite One who stirs within. This requires trust that something of great and saving importance is growing and kicking its heels in you.
~Loretta Ross-Gotta
Watch for the Light, p.97
What if, instead of doing something, we were to be something special? Be a womb. Be a dwelling for God. Be surprised.
~Ross-Gotta
Watch for the Light, p. 101
We are starting during our Christmas term to use some of the activities in Map Art by Berry & McNeilly as we all are map lovers here. Itโs so fun to mix art techniques with imagination. Iโm looking forward to the collage maps, especially.
They trooped out into the garden and saw the wood all lit up by the westering light as though a thousand candles had been lit upon the trees that stretched their shade deep beyond deep in the dark wood. The water was all aglint too, and the colors of the flowers burned pure and still. The sky was a deep blue-green overhead, and three wild swans were flying upriver to their home. There was no sound in all the world but the beat of the birdsโ wings and the soft lapping of the water against the old stone walls. They stood for a moment at the gate at the top of the steps and the peace held them silent.
~Elizabeth Goudge
The Pilgrimโs Inn, p. 99
Advent Diaries ~::๐โ๏ธโฅ๏ธPage 4โฅ๏ธโ๏ธ๐::~ HERB ~ {Day 50}
Soul Soup
โขwhat does
your soul soup need?
what was
cooking, bubbling, freed?
โขon the piping hot
cookery range of life
a heart not fraught?
a pinch of healing, less strife?
โขare you set too low?
stagnant, add some salt
tweak the recipe, nice & slow
tears simmering wrought
โขa delicious mass, savory
turn it up hot
your soup not ordinary
itโs changing and sought
โขtaste it and see
not a bland hand, but good
what more sprinkling needs be?
stir it, oh spoon, wonderful wood
โขbe patient, soak herbs in
spice, vegetables, whole lot
perfectly poured, bowl to brim
sweet soul soup served hot
โขwhat does
your soul soup need?
what was
cooking, bubbling, freed?
A. M. Pine ๐ฒ โฅ๏ธ
But Sally did not want to be set free for anything, for it was living itself that she enjoyed. She liked lighting a real fire of logs and fir cones, and toasting bread on an old-fashioned toaster. And she liked the lovely curve of an old staircase and the fun of running up and down it. And she vastly preferred writing a letter and walking with it to the post than using the telephone and hearing with horror her voice committing itself to to things she would never have dreamed of doing if sheโd had the time to think. โItโs my stupid brain,โ she said to herself. โI like the leisurely things, and taking my time about them. Thatโs partly why I like children so much, I think. Theyโre never in a hurry to get on to something else.โ
Elizabeth Goudge
The Pilgrimโs Inn , p. 12
โฅ๏ธHow is your week? What things in your life need stirring creatively or spiritually? Iโm going to be thinking on these things awhileโฆ
~ Blessings!
Winter Inspiration Possibilities ~ Advent, Reading, & Stretching Myself Creatively {Day 41} โ๏ธ๐ฒโฅ๏ธโ๏ธ๐ฒโฅ๏ธโ๏ธ๐ฒโฅ๏ธโ๏ธ
Remember how I said I wouldnโt overload my Winter DIY Womanโs Degree?! ๐๐คท๐ปโโ๏ธ๐คช๐โฅ๏ธโ๏ธโ๏ธ Never mind that! Hereโs some of my reading ideas. I tried to categorize them here so it is easier for you to go to one that may interest you. Iโm going to try crossing off/checking these off as I go. Some of these are planned possibilities and I also have my mood reading genres that Iโm interested in currently. Quite a few of these are rereads, which I absolutely love doing. I realize this is excessive nerd overkill ๐ค and very detailed but I find it fun! Itโs something to aim at and look forward too with the cold. I hold it super loosely and thatโs why I call these โpossibilitiesโ. I didnโt include my Bible reading, Christian devotionals, or poetry because those three are always on the go.
Dec โ24 – Jan โ25 – Feb โ25 Reading List:
Buddy Reads:
December 2024
Christmas Mummers by Charlotte Mary Yonge, online buddy read โ๏ธ
Christmas at Thompson Hall by Anthony Trollope
(online group buddy read) short storyโ๏ธ
Last Christmas in Paris by Webb & Gaynor โ๏ธ
(online buddy read with Elizabeth B.)
January 2025
So Big by Edna Ferber โ๏ธ
(online group buddy read)
The Man They Called Thursday by Chesterton
(preread with local friend for our HS Lit Class in our Charlotte Mason co op)
Books Iโd Love to Read to my Kids this Winter:
Finish By the Shores of Silver Lake โ๏ธand begin The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Continue/Finish The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
Read Story Girl and The Golden Road by LM Montgomery
Start the Narnia Series by CLS
Read The Blue Castle by LM Montgomery
Continuing listening to Penderwicks when we can get audiobooks from library โ๏ธโ๏ธ
Personal Study Challenge:
Start The Illiad (journal through it) Long introduction and 24 parts, I think? One a week over 3 months? Seems doable?
Possible joining of a few BookLoveJennaโs 2025 online book club – Iโm interested in Praying with Jane Eyre, The Love Letters, and Letters of a Portuguese Nun in the winter selections. Iโm very slow with nonfiction, so this group may help me finish? This is a very big maybe. I did too many buddy reads/challenges this year andIโm not going to put as much pressure on myself.
Till We Have Faces and Miracles by CS Lewis
Read a memoir: Merry Hall by Beverly Nichols and Isle of Dreams by Susan Branch
Fantasy:
Iโd love to continue reading โThe Stormlight Archivesโ by Brandon Sanderson- Iโm in the middle of Words of Radiance. My older kids are so excited for our preordered 5th book in this cycle. I think technically thereโs some short stories/lore to be read inbetween the 5 massive books out. I enjoy his work, but they are a bit more intricate and political than I usually like so these are a loose goal mostly to be reading something with my young adults.
Reread The Fellowship of the Ring by JRRT
Ember Blade by Chris Wooding
Continue Dune Series with Dune Messiah
Reread Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
Reread The Night Circus
Continue Byzantium by Stephan Lawhead
Victorian Things/Cozy Reads & Rereads:
Finish Nicholas Nickelby โ๏ธ
Finish Woman in White
Finish Deerbrooke โ๏ธ
Reread Anne Series
Reread Emily Series
Finish Moominvalley in November
The Enchanted Sonata by Dixon โ๏ธ
Skating Shoes by Streitfeild
Start Elizabeth Goudge Reread/Complete 2 Yr Project with Pilgrimโs Inn, Gentian Hill, and Towers in the Mist
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope
Start Romola by George Eliot
Current Reading Moods:
Classic/cozy mystery/spy
Cozy domestic & holiday
Dips into creativity/writing nonfiction shelf
Cozy fantasy
Deep middle grade/childrenโs literature, classic or with classic feel
Victorian Lit
This above is a CRAZY unrealistic๐คช, but fun โbucketโ list for this winter! Haha! ๐ What are some things on your list? I havenโt made many home keeping, home educating, or health goals yet. Iโm still thinking on that. I think I have my focus phrase for the coming year, so maybe Iโll share that eventually. Iโd like to update here on the blog as a fun way of checking in and narrating/processing what Iโm learning or enjoying. Weโll see. Holding it all loosely, remember, Amy?! ๐คฃ
How about you? Do you plan things out a bit? Or fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants? I really love making seasonal lists! Chat with me in comments, please! Iโd love to hear your thoughts! โ๏ธ๐ฒโฅ๏ธโ๏ธ๐ฒโฅ๏ธ
โขnovemberโข {Day 40}
lonely rustle
earthy-smokey wind-singe
flick and flash,
lantern-light over discarded
pumpkin grins
glimpses of red-rich,
berry polka-dots,
full-stop, year stitched
crispy-rattle,
raspy-golden, jeweled
bits that linger, forgotten
in deep sea, blue-black
velvety bracken
birch, bold-brilliant
white-of-hope against greyed-gloom
of shadow-y woodlands, inky
month of all โvโs
months, fly straight and true
cawing into my heart
claw the blackness back,
coldness and grim gone
goodness to start anew
close soul-listening
strikes bits of joy
deep-dive within
rustle of faith flames
up once warm again
~ A.M. Pine
Ray, Anne, & Madeleine Nuggets {Day 39}
Be certain of this: When honest love speaks, when true admiration begins, when excitement rises, when hate curls like smoke, you never need doubt that creativity will stay with you for a lifetime.
~Ray Bradbury, p. 46, Zen in the Art of Writing
Perfectionism means that you try desperately not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is being lived. Clutter is wonderfully fertile ground-you can still discover new treasures under all those piles, clean things up, edit things out, fix things, get a grip.
~Anne Lamott, p.28, Bird by Bird
What a teacher or librarian or parent can do, in working with children, is to give the flame enough oxygen so that it can burn. As far as Iโm concerned, this providing of oxygen is one of the noblest of all vocations.
~Madeleine LโEngle, p.46, A Circle of Quiet
Thinking on these bits today! Happy Wednesday! โฅ๏ธ
p.s. – Iโm officially closing out my two reading projects from this summer! Iโm still dipping into some picks, but hoping to make a new few goals for myself during the quiet, winter season. Overall, I am pleased with what I read. I probably will be less ๐ ambitious in my next goal.
Barbara Mahany {Day 38}
Itโs a cold, ill, rainy wind that blows no good today. Soooo, of course, that makes me think of books. Ha. Who am I kidding. EVERYTHING makes me think of books. ๐๐ค๐๐๐โฅ๏ธ
I wanted to give you a heads up on a GORGEOUS nonfiction writer Iโve found this past year. Her writing is poetry to me. Iโve almost finished up Slowing Time by her as itโs set up seasonally so I am waiting for the winter section. She is of a different faith tradition than myself, but ties her practice to nature and the seasons so beautifully that I find I can pull out things that speak to me as a Christian.
I think she has only four books, so I hope to collect the last of hers which Iโm waiting to find called The Book of Nature.
Have you discovered a new-to-you writer/artist/singer this year?
In other fun today, we are going to be watching this and making our own winter lists and Iโm going to be โtorturingโ ๐ my children with 90โs Christian worship music playlists. My teen years in a nutshell, my friends! ๐คช๐โฅ๏ธ What are you up to today?
Happy Tuesday! May your joy be fullโฆ
A.M. Pine - Hearth Ridge Reflections 