Monday Ponderings ๐Ÿฆ‹ {Day 25}

A few simple things to aim for this spring/summer! Prayerfully asking the Lord to help me focus on relationships and rightly ordering my affections. Do you have anything planned or something on your heart? โ™ฅ๏ธ
Journaling brings me so much joy! ๐Ÿฅนโ™ฅ๏ธ๐Ÿฅฐ

Happy Monday! โ™ฅ๏ธ๐ŸŒฒ๐Ÿ“š

โ€ฆin truth Thou artโ€ฆ{Day 24}

We seek the place where Thou art, for there would we also be, for in truth Thou art the end of all the searchings of heart which perplex us.

~ from Scale Howe Meditations

Favorite Blogs and Booktube Channels to check out! {Day 22} ๐Ÿ“ฝ๏ธ๐Ÿ“š

Happy Thursday! I โ€˜triedโ€™ to group these by main genre topic. โ™ฅ๏ธ Iโ€™m hoping to add more for reference! A few of these donโ€™t regularly update, but there is a TREASURE TROVE of back posts!

Writing/General Memoir/Nature:

Adrienne Morris

Beating the Bounds

Merhling Muse

Words & Herbs

Poetry (among other gems):

Beautiful Messy Life

Dreams from A Pilgrimage

Kourtney Garrison

Leaf and Twig

Tea & Paper

writing in north norfolk

Essays/Articles:

Enthusiastically, Dawn

Dr. Lizzie Rogers

The Marginalian

Home/Domestic/Family:

Fancied Freedom

Gathering Light

Good to Be Home

Haven Hedgerow

Heavens to Betty

Melissa Wiley

Rabbit Patch Diary

Renaissance

Reading/Homeschool:

Sage Parnassus

The Book Worm Chronicles

Woldenburn

Booktube Absolute Favorites:

Kate Howe

Chantel Reads All Day

Miriam Elizabeth Reads

Gloria Z Thompson

Cozy Cottage Chapters

Happy reading/watching! This would be a perfect place to dive into on your next rainy day! So thankful for creativity and words! ๐ŸŒฒโ™ฅ๏ธ๐Ÿ˜

Wednesday Wonders {Day 21}

โ€ขlisteningโ€ข โ™ฅ๏ธ๐ŸŒฒ~

The sound of water trickling (we call the above stream the Withywindle), birds, wind, and Iโ€™m getting more audiobook time from walking and driving an hour away for a monthly book club. I have Mistress Pat by L. M. Montgomery and The Raphael Affair by Iain Pears going. The Pears book is an art mystery thriller, itโ€™s a bit info-dumpy, but I love the art fraud case and Rome setting. Two police are helping an art historian unravel the mystery. Itโ€™s a series so if I end up liking this one enough, I can go on!

โ€ขwatchingโ€ข โ™ฅ๏ธ๐ŸŒฒ ~ Iโ€™m so enjoying checking my daffodils and the tree buds etc for any growth and changes. I did really enjoy this LOVELY journaling YouTube video recently. I was inspired to create my May reading pages. They look ๐Ÿ‘€ nothing like ๐Ÿ˜† some of these gals I watch, but I had fun all the same. I used some kitty washi I had and a Pusheen stamp set we had laying around. I also found some more fun cute reading bingo boards on Pinterest. I find it so satisfying to fill them in here and there.

โ€ขreadingโ€ข โ™ฅ๏ธ๐ŸŒฒ~

I mentioned the two audiobooks Iโ€™m enjoying ๐Ÿ‘†, but currently, I have SO many books on the stack. I think Iโ€™m most enjoying spy/thriller/mystery archaeology type adventure stories ๐Ÿ˜†๐Ÿ˜‚ with a healthy dose of classic, comfort reads. Very strange combo, I know, but Iโ€™m definitely eclectic! Below are a few ones Iโ€™m throughly enjoying.

Waiting on this next installment of Alex Rider teen spy for MI6! ๐Ÿ˜…
First one was intriguing!
New series I found that Iโ€™m trying!
The first was very violent, BUT I really liked Elias, one of the the main characters and so Iโ€™m continuing this series!

โ€ขnoticingโ€ข โ™ฅ๏ธ๐ŸŒฒ~ We have a lot of Bloodroot blooming along the field and road edges. The Robins, Killdeers, and Red-winged Blackbirds have been vocal! Iโ€™ve had two Eastern Bluebird sightings which of course fills me with happiness. ๐Ÿ˜†๐Ÿ’™๐Ÿงก๐Ÿค We saw the male American Goldfinches donning their yellow jackets! ๐Ÿ’›๐Ÿฅฐ We are testing our observations on the Barn Swallows. They usually are back around my daughterโ€™s birthday and itโ€™s this weekend (17!) so it will be fascinating if we see them! Iโ€™ll let you know! I loved seeing my youngest get to ride a horse this past week for the first time. He wasnโ€™t sure but then really enjoyed it. ๐Ÿด

Bloodroot
Holding on for dear life ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜…

What have you been listening to, reading, watching, noticing? Iโ€™d really love to hear! โ™ฅ๏ธ๐ŸŒฒ๐Ÿฅฐ

Dust and Dreams {Day 20}

Wowsers. ๐Ÿ˜œ๐Ÿ˜ฎโ€๐Ÿ’จ Nothing like packing up parts of your home for a much needed renovation project to see how terrible of a cleaner/organizer I am! ๐Ÿ˜ง๐Ÿซจ๐Ÿ˜†

We are, Lord-willing, finally getting our walls properly insulated and a new floor! ๐Ÿ˜ Among other things, hopefully! BUT that means taking down my shelves that my FIL built 10 (!) years ago. So LOTS of books have to be packed up!

Itโ€™s a great opportunity for me to purge and organize. So many memories with all my children and these wonderful books we thrifted, hunted down, and treasured over the years. ๐Ÿฅฒ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿฅฐ

Thank God for motherhood and the opportunity to home educate. ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿฅฒโ™ฅ๏ธ

Any projects on your horizon? I hope to update about this and my gardening soon! ๐Ÿคž๐Ÿปโ™ฅ๏ธ

Monday Ponderings {Day 19}

Merrily Gareth askโ€™d

โ€˜Have I not earnโ€™d my cake in baking of it?

Let be my name until I make my name!

My deeds will speak: it is but for a day.โ€™

So with a kindly hand on Garethโ€™s arm

Smiled the great King, and half-unwillingly

Loving his lusty youthhood yielded to him.

Gareth and Lynette, Idylls of the King, Tennyson

โ€˜Damsel,โ€™ Sir Gareth answerโ€™d gently, โ€˜say

Whateโ€™er ye will, but whatsoeโ€™er ye say,

I leave not till I finish this fair quest,

Or die therefore.โ€™

Gareth and Lynette

Iโ€™m slowly getting into my buddy read of Idyllโ€™s of the King and I was struck remembering this lovely picture book version of this part of the poem. The Kitchen Knight retold by Margaret Hodges is lovely, largely due to the illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman!

Happy Monday, friends! Our weekly quest has begun! Go forth boldly and without fear! ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿปโ™ฅ๏ธ๐Ÿ˜

Poems & Paths ๐ŸŒฟ{Day 17}

Inspiration:

โ€œSix feet down in the sand
There’s creatures that made a hole
Do speak, I’m begging you, please
There’s beauty outside control (Outside)โ€

~RM๐Ÿ’œ

My friend, Samโ€™s devotional about the Mundanity of God โ™ฅ๏ธ

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

โ€œPrayers of a Foolโ€

Cathedral carvings hidden
Full-time home hearth lovinโ€™ forbidden
Fool, donโ€™t do that again
Takes long, second gone, down drain, amen.
Wash, rinse, sunrise driven
Plant, weed, kiss that bruised knee
Blood, sweat, things that donโ€™t make sense.
Paint, scribble, lock it in a drawer, forgotten.
Cathedral songs stir, long-dead-dusty, silent
Heart strings strum violent
Prayer painting skies violet.
Fool, donโ€™t do that again.
It donโ€™t make sense.

A.M.P. ๐ŸŒฒโ™ฅ๏ธ

Reading stack todayโ€ฆ๐Ÿ“š๐Ÿ“š๐Ÿ“š{Day 16}

If you could chuck your to-do list out the window today, what would you do? ๐Ÿ˜…๐Ÿ˜‚ Iโ€™d find a lovely spot by water, under a tree, or in my cute local coffee shop, grab a latte , and read. I know, surprise, surprise. โ˜บ๏ธ๐Ÿ˜‰

Hereโ€™s whatโ€™s on my stack that Iโ€™m currently interested in or really enjoying!

Cheesy, bordering on super silly continuing cozy mystery series that pokes fun of the Regency literature era tropes ๐Ÿ˜‚
I โ™ฅ๏ธ my Kindle! Amish in April selection (Booktube Readathon), a couple of fantasy novels, a mystery, writing nonfiction, and continuing 14 yo spy thriller series!
Middle Grade Historical Fiction! Canโ€™t wait to try this! I adore anything with lighthouses!
Oh my word. Iโ€™m absolutely adoring this book. Montgomeryโ€™s writing and characters make my heart sing. ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿฅนโ™ฅ๏ธ

I love keeping houseโ€ฆitโ€™s really a lovely phrase, isnโ€™t it? Keeping itโ€ฆholding it fast against the worldโ€ฆagainst all the forces trying to tear it open.

Mistress Pat โ™ฅ๏ธ๐ŸŒฟ

Wednesday Wonders โ€ขHomeschool History/Geography Editionโ€ข ๐Ÿ—บ๏ธ๐Ÿงญ {Day 15}

Fun, adventurous story set near the Amazon River!
Favorite history/geography/architecture picture book series by Elizabeth Mann!

โ€ขlistening to and reading โ€ขโ™ฅ๏ธ๐ŸŒฟ~ we are really enjoying our read aloud of Journey to the River Sea. Weโ€™ve kind of poked our head into South America, this year while studying Early American history, explorers, etc. We have some Ancient reading going on and early European too. Itโ€™s seems to be opening up ideas and interesting discussions and narrations. ๐Ÿ˜

A few individual things with different children we are enjoying! Oldies, but goodies. Trying to โ€˜use my shelvesโ€™!
Two Favorites here!

โ€ขwatching and noticingโ€ขโ™ฅ๏ธ๐ŸŒฟ

One child mentioned within my hearing how The Divine Comedy ๐ŸŽญ and the podcast The 100 Days of Dante were coming together with other things. My heart cheered inside. ๐Ÿ˜…โ™ฅ๏ธ Iโ€™ve noticed that Marvel and the Percy Jackson Series have been being connected to Greek/Norse myths we are always enjoying in our Literature. My older kids enjoy some of the Marvel movies and ALL of my kids have appreciated Percy Jacksonโ€™s adventure stories.

Tornado ๐ŸŒช๏ธ/ thunderstorm weather in our area! ๐Ÿ˜ฑ๐Ÿ˜ฌ

What have you been listening to, reading, watching, and noticing? Iโ€™ve been so interested and pleased with our history adventures this year! Thank You, Lord! โ™ฅ๏ธ๐Ÿ˜๐Ÿ“š๐Ÿฅฐ

Journaling Check-In ๐Ÿ“–๐Ÿ–‹๏ธ๐Ÿ“โœ‚๏ธ๐Ÿ““๐Ÿ“’๐Ÿ“š๐Ÿ–‡๏ธ {Day 14}

Trying this set up! Very ambitious, but aim high, I guess. ๐Ÿ˜‚
Added album cover inspiration!
Walked 15 miles for my second book over $5! Yay!Took me a long time as I got sick second half of March/early April! Not to mention the weather has been very hit or miss. ๐Ÿ˜ญ๐Ÿ˜
April reading journal pages filling up!
I messed up my Book Shelfie order, but no worries, it will work. If I get too perfectionist, I would never journal!
Missed one day in my streak! It was pouring! ๐Ÿ˜‚๐Ÿ˜ฌ

What are you creating/enjoying? ๐Ÿฅฐ๐Ÿ˜โ™ฅ๏ธ๐ŸŒฟ

Monday Ponderings {Day 13}

And now, in my old age, donโ€™t set me aside,

Donโ€™t abandon me when my strength is failing.

โ€ฆNow that I am old and gray,

do not abandon me, O God.

Let me proclaim your power to this new generation,

your mighty miracles to all who come after me.

~Psalm 71: 9 and 18, NLT

New week! King David uttered my exact feelings and prayers in the Psalms! โ™ฅ๏ธ๐ŸŒฟ๐Ÿ™๐Ÿป