What is inspiring you or bringing you joy currently? Please join me in comments, in your journal, or on your blog!
π·Iβm grateful today forβ¦π·
||for newly minted 14 yo daughter π₯°||her delight in completing her Redwall Series collection ||reliving memories and enjoying photos of almost 2 months of participating in a local production of The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe, what a wonderful experience and lots of new friends ||people who devote themselves to care for others in dangerous or difficult places|| those who are adoptive or foster families || new to me music, Sarah Sparks || for Jane Brocket, Sarah Clarkson, Tresta Payne, andTerri Conlinβs email newsletters, full of beauty, encouragement, and delight || for my church ladies Bible study on Philippians||
||sunlight on forsythia and Charlotte Mason, glimpses of spring hope || springy play lists || for little boys who ask for Christmas trees π during spring snow storms || friends who send me videos and photos of our local Aurora Borealis sightings || prayer π || daffodildowndillys and the promise of tulips π || clothesline flapping noise|| cat snuggles, whiskers and darling purring with contented closed eyes || lovely return visits to favorite reads, in this case The Alpine Path by LM Montgomery || warm, brown sweatshirt and oversized cozy black sweater || warm, cozy glow of lamps||
|| birds daintily eating dog food on deck|| wrestling with a short piece on Gerald Manley Hopkins for friendβs magazine β₯οΈπΏβοΈπ||time away with hubby learning about serving our world with love, with a bit of space for quiet contemplation|| delicious, quiet breakfast with our pastor and his wife|| enjoying the nooks and crannies of our hotel|| long car conversations with my husband ||birthday surprises arriving and special food ingredients waiting on countertop ||little boy excitedly helping me wrap gifts for sister|| trying how to figure out how to send a surprise to Canadian penpals πππ€ππ¬π¦ πΈπ€π|| lovely books stacked everywhere here to dip in and out of||
||our friendly local public library || a felted bit of sunrise, gift from a daughter, shining into my soul||magazines +coffee + Trader Joeβs + my sisters = β₯οΈβ₯οΈβ₯οΈ||contemplating books that impacted as a woman/mother/caretaker in an ongoing series|| sunshine π in Wisconsin, never take it for granted ||plan to take daughter & friend to craft store and fancy ice cream π¦ soon, sheβs so excited ||
I believe this is βLa Discessa dello Spirito Santoβ mentioned on pg 155, School Education by Charlotte Mason ~ so gorgeous! {Google image} If itβs not the right one, oh well, I still love it! πβ₯οΈ
Simplicity is the special quality of Kindness; people can be kind only when all their thoughts are given to the person or creature they are kind to, and when there is no backward glance to see how the matter affectsοΏΌ self.
The goal of my spiritual life is such close identification with Jesus Christ that I will always hear God and know that God always hears me. If I am united with Jesus Christ, I hear God all the time through the devotion of hearing. A flower, a tree, or a servant of God may convey Godβs message to me. What hinders me from hearing is my attention to other thingsβ¦
2022 was SUCH a great reading year for me! I learned more about what I really love, what encourages me, inspires, and challenges. Iβm hoping to bring my insights into my 2023 reading and have an thoughtful and nourishing year. In no particular order here are my favorites in small snippets!
1. High Rising by Angela Thirkell ~ English humor, a widowed author and her young son embroiled in village life.
2. Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson ~ orphan Maia travels to live with distant relatives on the Amazon. Brazil, found family, nature, and a wonderful governess, Miss Minton!
3. Family Sabbatical by Carol Ryrie Brink ~ Professor Ridgeway is heading to France with his authoress wife and three children. In the same vein as the first book, they have heartwarming family adventures.
4. All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot ~ a lovely, humorous memoir on a Yorkshire Dale veterinarianβs adventures.
5. The Summer Book by Tove Jansson ~ a quiet, introspective look at the relationship of a grandmother & granddaughter and the natural world.A gentle look at youth and aging.
6. I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith ~ a coming-of-age story with an eccentric, surprisingly human bunch of characters. A peek at a writerβs soul in Cassandra.
7. All Manner of Things by Susie Finkbeiner ~ gentle historical fiction set around Vietnam War and one familyβs love and lessons in a small Midwest town.
8. Skellig by David Almond ~ grief, fear, and new beginnings through the eyes of a young boy as he befriends an angelic being.
9. Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace ~ a coming-of-age story with a deep theme of sacrifice and selflessness. Young girl changes the lives of those around her in a meaningful way, gifting herself beauty in the process.
10. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens ~ lovely, deep characters ! So many favorites, Mrs. Boffin, Mr. Wilfer, and Bella – John Harmon was so interesting. The antagonist, Bradley Headstone reminds me of Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. May be my current favorite Dickens!
11. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn ~ sobering look at one day in a Soviet work camp. I read this in January and STILL think about it!
12. Wives & Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell {reread} ~ such a lovely, introspective look at a widower doctor and his daughter and the surrounding village. Mr. Gibsonβs remarriage brings about change and growth.
13. The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge {reread} ~ a second chance for a single older woman as she inherits her aunts cottage and memories in the countryside.
14. Marthaβs Vineyard: Isle of Dreams by Susan Branch {reread} ~ Susanβs thoughts and dreams as she begins again after a hard divorce. Domestic and creative, so inspiring!
15. Christy by Catherine Marshall {reread} ~ a young girl travels to teach in the Smokey Mountains, growing in faith and love. The strong female friendships in this story touched me deeply. This was probably my favorite of the year.
16. The Magic Summer by Noel Streitfeild ~ four children have to stay in remote Scotland with their great aunt. They learn resourcefulness and cooperation toward each other.
17. The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery {reread} ~ lovely second chance of life story. There is SO much to love about this. Parts are a little far fetched, but Valancyβs story is so inspiring!
18. The Secret of Nightingale Wood by Lucy Strange ~ Henriettaβs care and concern for her ill mother and her baby sister are so inspiring. I love that nature and books help in this slightly scary tale of courage.
19. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen {reread} ~ I found the antagonists in this book to be SUCH amazing character studies. Mrs. Norris in particular, her sly, manipulative ways, so disturbing. This book is a lesson in what NOT to be.
20. Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell ~ Murder, selfishness, growth, classism, forgiveness, redemption, and so much more made this an amazing read. So many great characters, Job & Margaret Leigh, Jem Wilson, and the Sturgis coupleβ¦Alice & Willβ¦all stand out to me!
21. The Christmas Hirelings by Mary Elizabeth Braddon {audio book – performed by Richard Armitage} ~ this was a charming, heartfelt story about a selfish grandfather estranged from his daughter and grandchildren. It hit me just at the right moment and Armitage was an AMAZING reader.
22. Aggressively Happy by Joy Marie Clarkson ~ a lovely Christian nonfiction that touched me deeply. About knowing you are loved by God and living content in whatever season you find yourself.
Have you read any of these? What were your favorite reads of last year? πβ₯οΈπΏπ
Betsy and Tacyβs replica bench from Maud Hart Lovelaceβs Betsy Tacy Series. Mankato, MN β₯οΈπ
Iβve been thinking about the stories that inspire me and of course, the writerβs behind those stories. I was so excited to recently visit Mankato, Minnesota (Deep Valley in the stories!) and stop at many of the places mentioned in Maud Hart Lovelaceβs semi-autobiographical series of childrenβs stories. Oh, the delicious delight and wonder of seeing the places Betsy (Maud) and her friend Tacy (Frances) haunted and thinking on how Maud captured the specific, odd, charming details that make her stories ring true. It made me think of all the other authors that write these types of stories and how much they inspire me!
One of these lovely kindred souls being Carol Ryrie Brink, an American author, with lovely family stories that warm my heart, so far my favorite being Winter Cottage, a story set in the Great Depression era in Wisconsin, a widower and his children making the best of very hard circumstances. Family Grandstand being a cherished read aloud in our family of an university professor, writer mother, and three kids in a rambling house with a turret and all their adventures. Iβve finally began the sequel, Family Sabbatical with some Booktube friends and the first chapter was SO delightful. Brink, of course, is most famous for her story inspired by her grandmotherβs life, Caddie Woodlawn.
An English author that Iβve recently been stalking and been so inspired by is Noel Streitfeild. I first heard of her from one of my favorite films βYouβve Got Mailβ in which Kathleen Kelly talks about βthe shoe booksβ. Come to think of it now, Kathleen also talks of Betsy Tacy books in her bookshop and sells some to Joe Foxβs aunt! ππβ₯οΈ Streitfeild is wonderful at putting children and families into unique, slightly strange settings and situations. I absolutely was riveted by her story The Magic Summer, about children dumped on an eccentric aunt in the barren Scottish? countryside. Family Shoes (The Bell Family) was delightful as the children tried to help their poor vicar father and mother with money in hilarious ways. There are so many more to explore and Iβm currently loving Apple Bough (Traveling Shoes).
Elizabeth Enright is one that I started reading with my older children years ago with her delightful book The Saturdays, but I was reintroduced to her this past summer by my favorite Booktuber, Kate Howe, who also revived my interest in Maud Hart Lovelace. I adored Gone-Away Lake and canβt wait to read the sequel. The nature writing interwoven into this book won my heart.
And of course, one cannot talk about inspiration without mentioning my lovely and favorite Canadian author, Lucy Maud Montgomery. The magic of nature, the spiritual edge hovering over life, and quirky characters are just a few reasons I love this writer SO much. Yes, her stories can be a bit formulaic, but oh, the delicious details she packs into them. The Anne series, The Blue Castle, Jane of Lantern Hill, and Emily Climbs are my favorites at the moment, maybe if all time? I was so blessed to travel to P.E.I. for my 15th anniversary with my husband to soak up some island inspiration.
Laura Ingalls Wilder also comes to mind. Iβm currently rereading through her famous series with my younger children and Almanzoβs story in Farmer Boy is just as compelling as it was the first time I read it. The hard, brutal life that early Americans lived is so inspiring for our modern lives. The family dynamics are so intriguing to us. I still want to retrace the Ingallβs path out west which we did as a smaller family years ago. We loved especially wading in Plum Creek. π₯°πΏ
Gothic-y-feeling, trickling waterfall near Maud Hart Lovelaceβs home.
No list of inspiring women writerβs would be complete with another favorite, the English writer, Elizabeth Goudge. Her magical writing in legend and lore of place, her deep, interesting, nuanced characters, her pulling back the veil between spiritual and reality, make her SO beloved. She definitely is a bit more of a dense writer, you have to work hard at her stories, especially beginnings, but persevere, because oh my, you will be richly rewarded. Iβve read most of her backlist, currently my favorites are A City of Bells, Pilgrimβs Inn, Deanβs Watch, and maybe Gentian Hill is creeping up there, too. Her childrenβs story, Little White Horse is delightful, too.
Train station where Betsy (Maud) traveled to Milwaukee to see her friend!
And of course, Miss Jane Austen, is a must have for this list. Her books are such an interesting study of character and the inner works of Regency era English families. Romance takes over the films, but the books are something else entirely. My favorites are Persuasion, Pride & Prejudice, and Northanger Abbey. Although, I reread Mansfield Park this summer and so enjoyed it!
How about you? What authors highly inspire your work? Of course, this isnβt an exhaustive list for me, Bradbury, Tolkien, Lewis, and others come to mind, but one of my favorite things to read and write is family and children ! And I think these ladies get it oh, so right! Have you done literary travel? Any inspiring places you recommend or you want to visit? Iβve also been to England, but would love to go back, especially to Oxford. Please chat with me in the comments! πβ₯οΈππ
