Cos You’re all I have, Lord
You are the Way
And I’ll always love You
And I will wait
Like a Watchman at the gate
Wait for morning to break
~Josh Garrels, “Watchman”
•watchman•
Category: Summer
Yes, please.
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. ♥️
Yes, please.
Summer 2024 Shelf TBR ABC Project
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 – I Cheerfully 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)
K – Kristin Lavransdatter 1-3 by Sigurd Undset (online buddy read group)
L – Sylvia’s Lovers by Elizabeth Gaskell
M – Motherprayer by Barbara Mahany 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 – The Lives of the Kings & Queens of England edited by Antonia Fraser
R- Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey ( buddy read with my friend, Deea)
S – Sink Reflections by Marla Cilley
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 – Walking on Water by Madeleine L’ Engle (reread)
X – Ox Cart Man by Barbara Cooney (reread, with my kids)
Y – You Are a Tree by Joy Marie Clarkson
Z – Oz books by L. Frank Baum (some rereads, with my kids)
What are excited to be learning, reading, doing this summer? 😄♥️📚
Monday Ponderings 🕯️{September 18th}
It was really beautiful to come home at night…to step out of darkness into the light and warmth of home.
L.M. Montgomery, Pat of Silver Bush, p. 67
🍁🌾5 Books for End of Summer 🍃🍄
I love reading seasonally or at least I get in certain reading moods as the seasons ease into the next. 😄🍁🍂🌾🍃🍄🐿️🌻♥️ 📚Here are five reads that I recommend that feel September-ish…
1. From the Heart of the Home: Autumn by Susan Branch {this is a delightful collection of joyful reflections, illustrations, quotes, and recipes to get you into the fall mood}♥️🌻
2. Pat of the Silverbush by L.M. Montgomery {I’m reading this currently for the first time and it’s lovely and cozy for this time of year}
3. Christy by Catherine Marshall {beautiful story full of hope, growth, faith, and wonderful female friendships}
4. The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry {honestly, I pull this short poetry collection out all times of year, but have been craving it lately}
5. The Grasmere Journals by Dorothy Wordsworth {beautifully simple journal entries from the sister of the poet William Wordsworth. The domesticity and pace of life is just so relaxing to me and the English Lake District setting is perfect}
P.S. William Shakespeare is another I feel drawn towards. What’s your favorite play of his?
Do you have any favorite reads that smell and feel of September? ♥️ Please share!
Wednesday Wonders
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? 🌾🍂🍁🌻🥀🌚🌝🪵🐿️
Monday Ponderings {September 4th}
Thus says the LORD,
Stand by the ways and see and ask for the
ancient paths,
Where the good way is, and walk in it;
And you will find rest for your souls…
Book of Jeremiah 6:16a
Saturday Sips & Stacks 😌☕️🌻📚♥️🍃🍂
What are you reading 📖, exploring, or creating this weekend? Happy September, friends! 😘🥰🌻♥️☕️📖📚🍃🐌🍁🤎📝📓💌📬🍎✨🌾🍄🌲
I’m mostly sipping coffee ☕️ {maybe Tazo’s Lemon 🍋 Loaf tea, later} and loving The Grasmere Journals by Dorothy Wordsworth 🥰.
Wednesday Wonders
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 {August 28th}
“Thank God, I can keep the shadows of my life out of my work,” she wrote. “I would not wish to darken any other life – I want instead to be a messenger of optimism and sunshine.”
Quote from L.M. Montgomery in Liz Rosenberg’s biography House of Dreams: The Life of L.M. Montgomery
♥️Oh, Maud, you ARE a continual source of optimism and sunshine to THIS woman. 🍃
Wednesday Wonders
There is wonder all around us…
Listening… Risking Enchantment episode on Studio Ghibli themes. ♥️🍃
Reading… I’m loving reading along with the Librivox audio to Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of The Dog) . This is a hilarious Victorian story full of sarcasm and British wit. I’m really enjoying it. I hope to finish it this week so I can attend a Zoom discussion on it.
Watching… I found Half of Carla’s tips here about reducing stress to be helpful!
Noticing…we’ve had a super dry summer, but are having a high humidity wave currently. I love the warmth, but it’s not fun to work in! I’m loving the mixture of yellows and purples on the roadsides. Late summer flowers. ♥️
What are you listening to, reading, watching, and noticing? There is so much wonder! ♥️
🍃♥️📚🕊️💦☀️📚♥️
Monday Ponderings {August 21st}
Sunlight flooded the ancient schoolroom, and chalk dust danced in the slanting rays. The massive brass inkstand on my desk gleamed like gold, and little rainbows glanced from the glass over the photograph of our Queen centrally placed on the rear wall, in the most honored position.
Miss Read, Summer at Fairacre, p. 89
A.M. Pine - Hearth Ridge Reflections 