Illustrations – A.M. Pine – Hearth Ridge Reflections

Advent Diaries ~::🎄❄️♥️Page 6♥️❄️🎄::~ TWINS~ {Day 52}

December 8, 2024December 8, 2024 amyofhearthridge4 Comments

Hi 👋 Friends,

I’m getting a bit ‘behind’ on my sharing, but it’s ok. I’m not going to rush. Trying to still my heart. Anyway, here’s some inspiration for you! Good things come in twos, right? I’m so grateful for the day of small things to rejoice in.

~ my new Moleskine Daily Pocket Journal, decorating it for the new year. This is my little to-do list, line-a-day, small-slice-of-creativity journal all combined in one. I loved this practice this past year. Gratitude, prayer, check lists! Small enough to be doable daily. Do you keep any sort of daily journal? It’s life giving for me!

~Two books that have been so impactful and important to me this year by John Eldredge. Resilient and Get Your Life Back. Just a covid-cobweb-clear-out for me and a beautiful clarion call to focus on Jesus. What books are challenging you in your faith?

~Two of my favorite films that inspire me creatively! The Ben Stiller version of ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ and Studio Ghibli’s ‘Whisper of the Heart’! 💟❣️💟❣️💟 Do you have any films that get your inspiration flowing?

~I’ve been thinking a lot of home and what I can do to bless those here by being a bit more focused home keeper. Home keeping is something I have to work at and am always learning in. Gladys Taber’s books always come to mind. She was a beautiful writer of domestic memoirs in 1930’s and on. I borrowed again a favorite book from the library called Farmhouse Revival not only because I love a lot of the style in it, but it features Gladys’ home, Stillmeadow. Trying to resurrect some little things I can do to make our home one of joy and comfort. If you are on Instagram, I recommend Shanda’s little slice of life, as she is so inspiring to me in many areas, but especially home keeping!

~ Two bits of music for your enjoyment! First a peaceful, immersive, ASMR-type Christmas instrumental choice and second, a fun song to dance with your kids to!

“I’ll try to give satisfaction, madam,” said Jill as they shook hands, and then she slipped unobtrusively away into the shadows, opening and closing the door so softly that Nadine was hardly aware that she had gone until she found herself alone. “I’ll try to give satisfaction.” It was years since Nadine had heard that old-fashioned remark. Because she had not heard it for so long it struck her as being rather a wonderful phrase. Satisfied. No one ever was. The whole world was crying out with hunger of some sort, physical or spiritual. To try to satisfy. Jill was right. That was all one could do.

Elizabeth Goudge

The Pilgrim’s Inn, p. 55

Michael Hague {Day 31}

October 1, 2024 amyofhearthridge5 Comments

My 5 yo and I have been so enjoying the illustrations of Michael Hague. He is an intriguing artist as his drawings are so charming yet have an element of mystery and creepy deliciousness to them. We are slowly collecting books illustrated by him. Does your family have a favorite illustrator? We have SO many, but I’m diving deep into a few this year with my younger two children. It’s such a delight! ♥️Happy October, Friends!

Victober Eve ~ 2024 Pile of Possibilities Bookish Chat {Day 30} 🖤🐦‍⬛🪶🍂🕷️🍁🐈‍⬛🕸️🧡

September 30, 2024 amyofhearthridge5 Comments

*The Marble Faun* is American, but the right time period. It was a recommendation from Jennifer Brooks, a favorite Booktuber that unexpectedly passed away this year. 😞 I’m reading a Christina Rossetti poem each day and buddy reading on Voxer *Sylvia’s Lovers* by Elizabeth Gaskell. I found a Librivox audio version which has different readers for each chapter (not my favorite), but there is difficult colloquial language that the readers are better at than me. *Deerbrook* is being put on hold so I can buddy read it with an online friend later this year. I have so many Trollope books to choose from, but I’d love to pick up *Barchester Towers* sooner than later.

This is the group read and I have it on my kindle…I didn’t love-love *Lady Audley’s Secret*, but I liked it enough to give another Braddon a try.

*Nicholas Nickleby* by Mr. Dickens I started in September and I’m listening while following along. It’s hilarious in the midst of Dickensian misery. 😂 I’m really enjoying it!

Creepy tales from Mrs. Gaskell that I’ve wanted to try! I have these in my Kindle.

*Chantry House* by Charlotte Mary Yonge I started in September and I’m really enjoying it. I read *Dynevor Terrace* by Yonge this summer and didn’t love some of the characters portrayal, BUT overall, liked it.

A Victorian play is one of the prompts for Victober and I found an audio version of ‘Mrs. Warren’s Profession’ and his famous ‘Pygmalion’. I’m going to give them a try!

I just recently heard of *The Cloister and the Hearth* by Charles Reade. I’ve never heard of this Victorian author.

*The Coral Island* sounds like a fun adventure story.

Just a ‘few’ of the Victorian items I’m trying or considering reading…it’s part of Victober fun to way overestimate how much one can get to during October! 😂😂😂 I’m planning on continuing during November and December, too! The “BER” months are perfect for classics. 😁🖤🐦‍⬛ I have piles of lighter, easier reads for inbetween the dense reads. Here are a few more Victorian things I’m considering…

‘Pygmalion’ by George Bernard Shaw
Woman in White by Wilkie Collins audiobook
Orley Farm by Anthony Trollope
My Lady Ludlow by Elizabeth Gaskell
A Dark Night’s Work by Elizabeth Gaskell
Children of the New Forest by Frederick Merryat
Treasure Island by RLS (reread, possibly listen with my children?)
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne (my children and I are listening to this currently)
Victorian Fairy Tales edited by Michael Newton ( I read a few of these last year! I may read ‘The King of the Golden River” and “The Golden Key” with my children.
One of the prompts is a Sherlock Holmes story, but I’m just planning on watching a Jeremy Brett episode with my 17 yo son. Brett is a fantastic Sherlock!

What sounds good here? What should I prioritize? This is SO fun! 🤩😂 Let me know what you are reading that feels fallish! 🧡🖤🧡

{book cover images/interior illustrations are from Google}

A Mom’s Commonplace {Day 28}

September 27, 2024 amyofhearthridge10 Comments

Is there anything more cozy then journaling and journals? 😄♥️ It’s no secret that I’m a journal fanatic! We are trying something different this year in our home learning of combining our multiple journals into one. I’ve had the opportunity to journal alongside my children and it has been such an enriching experience. I don’t often share my children’s work, as that’s their own, but don’t mind sharing what I’ve been recording myself. 😆 So much richness! 😍I’m learning every day right along with my children. I have music lyrics, quotes, drawings, etc in here already! I treasure it. Do you journal?

What you learning or diving deep into? Isn’t life grand? 😄♥️🙌🌿🍄🌻

Monday Ponderings {Day 23}

September 16, 2024 amyofhearthridge2 Comments

Save me, God,

for the water has risen to my neck.

I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing;

I have come into deep water,

and a flood sweeps over me.

But as for me, LORD,

my prayer to you is for a time of favor.

In your abundant, faithful love, God,

answer me with your sure salvation.

~Psalm 69:1-2, 13 CSB

“Ease your whiskers, rest your paws,

Pies and puddings fill the stores.

Sweetly dream the night away,

Till sunshine brings another day.”

~ Jill Barklem

♥️📚🌿☕️✨🍂🍁🍄🌝🦉🕷️🕸️🎃

✨❄️Happy Winter Solstice ✨❄️ ~ winter is a wonderful time for poetry…

December 20, 2023December 20, 2023 amyofhearthridge8 Comments

I love the lights snaking up this tree 🌳 ♥️✨

Winter is just about here, friends! ❄️♥️One of my delights this year has been dipping into a fair amount of poetry. Here are some highlights for you to consider adding to your stack for next year…cozy up, grab a hot drink , and read on ☕️. Enjoy!

Mary Oliver’s Devotions ~ I received this as a Christmas gift a few years ago and have been sipping from it here and there. Oliver has such an eye for life-giving details in nature and she asks us questions that go just a bit deeper. I love that about her. As a modern poet, she is definitely a bit more approachable and easier to ease into than some of your classic poets. Not every one of her poems hits for me, but sometimes one line or a word will meet me right where I’m at in that moment. I’m often surprised by her.

Emily Bronte ~ I was extremely surprised how much I loved this dark and brooding poetry. Just like the all the Bronte sister’s fiction, this was sooo atmospheric and because she talks of death frequently, it actually made me contemplate how I’m living life. I found the Everyman’s Library Pocket Poets collection to be a wonderful selection of her poetry and I love the small size of these editions.

William Wordsworth ( and don’t forget Dorothy) ~ I love the poems and writings of this brother and sister duo. William’s beautiful poetry centered in life around The Lake District, Cumbria, England really feeds my soul and my faith. He really grasps the touch of God in nature and it is such a testimony to me. I love his poetic storytelling, too. Dorothy’s journals are so simple, domestic, yet so compelling. They both have that artistic eye. ♥️ I loved sharing Wordsworth with our Charlotte Mason co op homeschool group last term.

Gerald Manly Hopkins ~ Wow. Mr. Hopkin’s use of language and metaphor is so gorgeously layered and rich. I will confess I struggle a bit with his writing richness, but if I have a little patience and read just to enjoy each word, I walk away blessed. His wrestling with faith and art is so relatable and real. He’s one of the hardest poets for me to read, but also one of my favorites.

Robert MacFarlane The Lost Spells ~ I would be remiss to not mention this gorgeously illustrated (Jackie Morris) collection of modern nature poetry. MacFarlane is a lover of Hopkin’s wordsmithing and the homeschool co op and I loved looking at both poets together earlier this year. MacFarlane’s wordsmithing, storytelling, and putting himself into the everyday life of animals and plants is just lovely. He is another poet whose work is perfect for those new to poetry!

Kim Piña ~ this is an online friend that I was blessed to “meet” YEARS ago, through blogging. 💗😍♥️ I love Kim’s word play, almost like a songwriter/compelling poem-rap style, and I love how she asks deeper questions tangled with the daily mundanity of life. Her Instagram account is lovely, too!

Robert Frost, Rainer Maria Rilke, and Sara Teasdale ~ I’m extremely new to these three poets and can’t wait to really sink into their work more in the new year. I was familiar with a few famous poems, but I recently got Mirror of the Heart, a Teasdale collection, Rilke’s Everyman’s Library Pocket Poet collection, and The Poetry of Robert Frost, edited by Edward Connery Latham, and am so excited for new words to drink up.

I also asked for two new poetry collections for Christmas and can’t wait to dive into these more!

I’m nervous about this one, because I saw it on Instagram, but what I’ve read of his poetry, I found compelling and came away with ideas to consider.

I’m mostly excited about this collection as I love Kortney’s work and have always been so inspired by her! ♥️

Lastly, I have two poetry nonfiction books that I’d love to get too, just to keep growing and learning about this life-giving art.

***Letters to a Young Poet*** by Rainer Maria Rilke and ***What is Poetry?*** by Michael Rosen ♥️

How about you? Do you read poetry? Who are your favorites? ♥️❄️♥️Happiest Winter Beginnings and Christmas 🎄 to you all, friends!

Wednesday Wonders

September 6, 2023 amyofhearthridge2 Comments

There is wonder all around us…

Listening… I dip into these podcasts, here and there.

Reading… this piece here about what the author learned this summer…thought-provoking .

Watching… really enjoyed Nicole’s footage and her thoughts on her Shakespeare reading journey.

Noticing…the dark lingering longer, the brilliance of the moon, barn swallows are still here, don’t go my friends!

How about you? What are you listening to, reading, watching, or noticing? 🌾🍂🍁🌻🥀🌚🌝🪵🐿️

Wednesday Wonders

August 30, 2023August 30, 2023 amyofhearthridge6 Comments

Gorgeous illustrations- *Longhouse* by Hettie Jones

There is wonder all around us…📚☕️♥️🌿🌲🌻

Listening… Johnny Cash – there’s a bit of truth for life I can pull out of this classic. Thinking on it. The things IN my heart are what come out.

Reading… Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain. I’m interested in the history, but the portrayal of Joan is hard to swallow. So saintly she’s a bit bland? 😅 The writing is very flowery which I normally kind of like, but not loving it here. I’m going to see how much I can do by the end of this week and possibly attend Zoom discussion. Has anyone else read this?

Watching… I know very little about the Italian Renaissance. This was a fascinating chat about the history and some nonfiction book recommendations.

Noticing…the shift in the feel of the seasons – the crispness, golden-brown tinge, and gold fields against the blue sky. 🌾🌻☁️🌞🩵💙🤍

What are you listening to, reading, watching, and noticing? 🧡🤎🤍🩵💙

Monday Ponderings {June 26th}

June 26, 2023June 23, 2023 amyofhearthridge3 Comments

*Grandma, Felix, and Mustapha Biscuit* by Victor Ambrus ~ I love this, I hope this is me someday! 😄♥️🌿💗

Homemaking Inspiration from Emily of Deep Valley ~

After pumping a pail of fresh water, she went into get into dinner. She put potatoes to boil, fried pork chops and opened a jar of tomatoes she had canned the summer before. She laid a cloth on the dining room table and put on jelly, bread and butter, a pot of tea. They sat down and her grandfather said grace. Through the bow window in which his easy chair stood, they could see small crooked willows and the slough, still wet from the spring rains. Some Syrian boys had a homemade boat in the pond. ♥️🌿
Maud Hart Lovelace, p.33

💕Art Begets Art💕 Piece #3

June 24, 2023June 24, 2023 amyofhearthridge3 Comments

*Still Life with spring flowers* by Tove Jansson

From the southeast came a steady summer wind that whispered sleepily around the house and on across the island. She could hear the weather report on the radio inside the house. A corner of sunshine edged across the windowsill.
Tove Jansson, The Summerbook, p.27

~Tove~

weird and wacky, yes

brightly thoughtful, I am seen

sun, moomins, and me

~ 🌲A. M. Pine🌲

What about you? Who’s art do you feel “seen” by? Tove’s combination of beautiful writing, bright painting, and whimsical illustration is a feast for me. ♥️💕🌿

Monday Ponderings {October 17th}

October 17, 2022 amyofhearthridgeLeave a comment

Unity is strength and happiness; separateness is weakness and misery.
Charlotte Mason, Scale How Meditations

Joy Journal: June 18th {Happy Birthday to me!}

June 18, 2022June 18, 2022 amyofhearthridge15 Comments

♥️Dear Friends,

What is inspiring you or bringing you joy currently? Please join me in comments, in your journal, or on your blog!

I’m loving right now…

|| thinking this article on Iris Murdock || Lesley Austin’s blog, YouTube, and email newsletter || purging books and filling up 5 main Little Free Libraries on my driving routes || Cherry-flavored water by Clear American from Walmart || golden-lit afternoons, summer sun filtering through Honey Locust leaves and shining through my kids hair as they play || adoring the photography and poetry at Leaf & Twig, even the blog name is enchanting || reading in sunshine and wind ☀️🌬🌥

|| cozy lifestyle vlogs, Hyonyeo, cakes and cats in South Korea || popcorn and oatmeal cookie picnics while reading Prince Caspian under the tree|| lawn lounging days, my Mother’s Day hammock from a few years ago is getting a lot of use || our first bonfire, slowly burning up last years Christmas tree, my 3yo calling the sparks ‘fire birds’ ♥️|| Mary Azarian’s woodcut picture books || ponytails and rooster tails || swimming for the first time this summer ||

|| reading short story Watter Mitty and then watching older version with Danny Kaye together- so silly and hilarious! We also love the newer Ben Stiller version of it, too. || SundryWords bookmarks || the haunting, new-to-me author, David Almond’s book, Skellig || TWO recent mail surprises {including a Moomin journal 😍} from a Texan friend, Kim, THANK YOU! || Rae of Sunlight’s back Booktube vlogs || making a summer bucket list with the kids ||