Can you believe it’s the end of balmy July? Our weather here has been wonderful, albeit cooler than usual for summer. The garden and fields may wish for a little hotter temps, but I’m not complaining, it has been just delicious! I’ve been thinking about a lot and hope to write more on a couple themes that I actually jotted down some notes on (HURRAY for actually writing!) and can’t wait to flesh them out in the next week or so. Meanwhile, thanks for reading along here and for us being in this strange {online} community of sorts. It’s so lovely.
–Looking out my window… as I said above we’ve had some wonderous weather. July was filled with our last two family birthdays of the year, traveling, and family get-togethers. We just returned from a lovely visit with my Uncle and Aunt at their lakeside home. What richness a lake brings to one’s life. The haunting morning cry of the loons, peaceful-like floating of the lily pads, the heavenly smell of pine and gooey lake-y muck. I live for the summer sunrises and sunsets, roadside bouquets of wildflowers and weeds, and the brilliant, warmth from light and all of the G-R-E-E-N. We’ve had some dry spells relieved by crashing thunderstorms and cooling rain. Sigh. I’m really coming to appreciate summer.
I am thinking…still soaking a bit in a couple of things I was blessed to listen to at the Living Education Retreat early July. Here is one of the recordings if you are interested. Grab something to drink and a pen & paper! It’s THAT good. I’ve been thinking about this story A LOT and it’s implications to my life. I’m also thinking about how hunger {physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually} can actually be a GOOD thing. Of course, not starvation, but turning this idea over a bit in my mind and heart. I’m thinking about a beautiful poem by William Wordsworth that a friend sent me. I’m thinking on a poem I’ve started for a Zoom writing group. And let’s not forget the many books I’m dipping in and out off, egads. Such wealth! Authors, thanks for pouring your hearts out.
I am thankful… for my Gratitude Journal that I’m on Day 12 of challenging myself to list out what I’m thankful for 100 days straight. You can join me at my Instagram home, if you are interested in reading my lists. I included Day 1 below in the photo. This 100 Days of Keeping was inspired by a book I read by Laurie Bestvater called, Studying to Be Quiet, a couple of years ago. I’ve always made gratitude lists and I thought this would be such a wonderful journal to apply the regularity too. I bought the beautiful art & quote journal from a favorite online shop, Sweet Sequels, just for this purpose. I’ve also been pretty faithfully working in my combo Commonplace & Nature Journal for this summer. This is mainly my prereading Commonplace for things I’m considering for my kids for school, learning myself, and am trying to be a bit more prepared for narrations. I’ve also been doing my nature sketches/painting it it, also, around the quotes. I’m LOVING it. I just got this wave pattern journal with watercolor paper on Amazon.
One of my favorite things… has been dipping into all my old homeschooling encouragement books. Oh my. It’s like being with a gaggle of lady goose friends again. They are all cackling and honking at me and oh my, the memories of when I had just begin and now that I’m in the middle-ish and graduated my BABY. Sob. Some favorites are: Home Education by Charlotte Mason, A Charlotte Mason Companion by Karen Andreola, and For the Children’s Sake by Susan Scaeffer Macaulay.
I am wearing… I’ve been wearing a lot of comfy skirts, my jean-colored blouse a lot, and my new Living Education Retreat t-shirt which says READ – MARK – LEARN – DIGEST on the back and it was SUCH a blessing to learn more about what Charlotte Mason took away from this bit in the Book of Common Prayer. The above recorded talk I linked mentions this more. I must say, a man at Walmart probably regrets asking me what my t-shirt meant as I blasted him with tons of impassioned sharing about it. Ha. 😉 Pearl earrings and my brown slip on sandals have been summer staples.
I am creating… well, I’ve been journal-brained as of late. Despite the two journals above, I’m also keeping up on my Prayer/Scripture journal and my regular Commonplace, which I just got a beautiful new one at a thrift store! My mom saw it and she grabbed it for me! A Vera Bradley and the paisley print is PERFECT. I’ve been writing a bit more but more creative nonfic and hopefully, a poem. No work on my fiction currently as I’ve chosen to set it aside as I pray about it more. I’ve been hoping to get to a quilt fabric shop soon, too. I’m working on a pretty “Brain” for my school plan, too. This is my master list of ideas/books/etc that I transfer to my log book each day during our school year.
I am watching… I’ve really been enjoying Chantel’s booktube and loved this one from Jeri Lander’s at Hopalong Hollow. Jeri has many that I’d like to watch. So LOVELY!
I’m reading… I have stacks everywhere and many books on the go, {yes, there is steam pouring out of my ears} but just binge-read Mara, Daughter of the Nile by Eloise Jarvis McGraw, wonderful historical fiction. Lila by Marilynne Robinson made me think. I didn’t engage well with her Gilead and so I was hesitant, but I gobbled Lila up. I loved Urchin of the Riding Stars by M.I. McAllister, a Middle Grade, that my 12 year old daughter really wanted me to read.
I am listening to … this song here has been on my heart this week! A VERY nerdy podcast I’ve been enjoying when I wash dishes is Brandon Sanderson and Dan Wells talking about VERY random things.
I am hoping… I hoping to continue moving forward for everything for my daughter’s graduation party. I’m hoping to finish some books on my stack, continue faithfully journaling, and get some words in! I’m hoping to really be conscious about choosing joy and to enjoy August fully before our school year begins again. Just stay in THIS moment, Amy. I’m hoping to call it quits/finish planning and rest in what I have on paper. It will tweak itself naturally when I actually walk my plan out. 🙂 Just want to trust and rest.
In the garden… my Giant Sunflowers tipped over in a huge thunderstorm we had this week! 😦 So today, I tried to stake them up. I have other flowers doing well and tomatoes and watermelons coming along. Not sure if it’s been hot enough for all these beauties, but it’s ok. It’s the journey, not the finish line, that is lifegiving and joyful. I’ve enjoyed doing my little bits here and there. I tied strings for my Morning Glories to climb and they are happy.
I am learning… how defensive and quick to judge I can be. *GULP* I’m learning to take people at face value, just believe what they are saying straight up. Not trying to psychoanalyze or figure out any angles. Sigh. Relationships are HARD. A good, yet sort of ugly thing. Worth it, though.
In the kitchen… I actually LOVE zucchini season. None of my plants made it, but I know there has to be some floating around somewhere. 😉 Honestly, I struggle in the kitchen in summer. I’ve been still doing stir-fries, lots of sandwiches, and chicken salad. I’m just not a cook, folks. But I’m trying. Any SUPER easy ideas for 9 people? 😉 No sugar and no flour would be a HUGE plus.
In the homeschool room… I have now spent June & July pulling my hair out…err, planning for school. Ha. I’m getting to the point where I’m being realistic and getting into a groove of what I really want. I’ve been so inspired by some reading I’ve been doing about the Bendectines and I’ve thought the areas of prayer/meditation, learning, and work/service are good places to anchor our rhythm and routine in. I’m culling all my lists and starting to make some purchases. I heard from my Charlotte Mason group that we will be doing Hamlet in autumn, so yay! I’m excited about that and will start to look for copies of the play. I like the Folger editions.
Shared Quote
Poets who give us ‘snatches of music, rather than complete songs’ bring us something important. Pause – take time – do not fill up all the spaces.
Esther de Waal
Some moments from my day {month}...
My oldest on her 18th birthday with my youngest! ❤ Sigh. Lovely people. Northern Wisconsin lake livin’ bliss!
The meaning of life is the mystery of love. Just as the roots of trees hold firm in the soil, so it is the roots of love that hold the ground of our being together.
You’ll likely overestimate what you can do in the short run, but underestimate what you can do in a lifetime of faithfulness.
Craig Groeschel
This past weekend, I attended a lovely Charlotte Mason retreat for parents and educators and it was so restful and encouraging. In one of the sessions called “Chronic Consistency” by Jason Fiedler, I jotted down this above quote. Days of small things matter. Keep heart and take courage. Your labor is not in vain in the Lord. ❤
“One can pour something divine into every situation.”
Frank C. Laubach
Hello Dear Hearts,
Happy Saturday to you! I decided to do a little different post this month for my Gratitude & Glories post – combining a multitude of lovely things, The Simple Woman’s Daybook, with the things I’ve read so far this year that are sticking with me like molasses. I may touch on what I’m currently reading and other little rambling tidbits, but I want to stay close to the wonderful words that have been gifted to me through these past few months.
Looking out my window ~ I’ve been basking in the glorious wind-waving landscape and warmth on my face. Part of my enjoyment is the words that whisper right alongside as I contemplate the expansiveness that warm weather brings. It’s truly a seasonal addition to one’s homeplace. My friend Heather lent me the lovely book The Lay of the Land by Dallas Lore Sharp and I’ve been just diving into it in small dips because I don’t want it to end. This is my first by him and it won’t be my last! Do you enjoy naturalist type memoirs? One of my favorite genres. Another book that I’ve had to really focus on, but finding rewarding if I’m patient is Lost in Wonder: Rediscovering the Spiritual Art of Attentiveness by Esther de Waal.
I am Thinking and I am Thankful ~ I’m in love with Hollyhocks and am constantly staring at them and so thankful for them. A little watering and extra TLC in the beginning and the second year they come all friendly-like in their glory. I’ve been thinking a lot about many things, but mostly about stillness and faithfulness and love. I recently finished Kohila: The Shaping of an Indian Nurse by Amy Carmichael. One of the most beautiful, convicting reads for my faith and my mission as a wife, mother, homeschooler, writer, woman, and friend. It’s a bit ramble-ly, but richly rewarding if you put a little fortitude and focus into it. I took pages of quotes into my Commonplace. Along the same vein, I finished Letters by a Modern Mystic by Frank C. Laubach and it was wonderful and unique and so thought-provoking. Living moment by moment, habitually turning one’s thoughts and heart to the Lord. June is my birthday month and I received This Beautiful Truth: How God’s Goodness Break into our Darkness by Sarah Clarkson and I’m only a few chapters in and I am LOVING it. I may purchase a few copies as Christmas gifts for dear women that I love.
One of my Favorite things, what I’m Wearing, and Creating ~ I reread Wendell Berry’s The Mad Farmer Poems this month and man, I love them SO much. I highly recommend them! I’m looking for a copy to purchase soon. They are a favorite. I’ve been loving skirts and dresses and I can’t tell you the satisfaction I get from the wind whipping them about my ankles as I walk barefoot or with my lovely, new sandals to get the post. I inked some words last week on my fiction and I finally organized a whole mess of notes and things for the fiction projects I’m working on. I know deeply that I just need to write and I’ve been reading James Scott Bell’s book Just Write: Creating Unforgettable Fiction and a Rewarding Writing Life and it’s telling me the same thing. I still slowly working on here and there my prereading and nature journal and that is bringing me lots of joy.
I am Watching, Reading, and Listening ~ I watched my two birthday gifts with some of my children, my favorite version of Little Women(I did not care for the new one 😦 ) and Whispers of the Heart, about creativity. I’m slowly reading Jordan B. Peterson’s book Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life and I like it more than the first, if that’s possible. So thought-provoking! I may not see eye-to-eye on him with everything, but I love how he makes me think. I’m almost half way through Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens and slowly moving forward with my oldest two on Great Expectations. Next up will be David Copperfield. I was so happy to find thrifting a book I’ve been wanting to read called Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford and it opened out so well and interesting. I’ve been loving receiving handwritten magazine from a lovely friend in Tennessee about mothering and life and bookishness. It’s a highlight to my month. I’ve been listening mainly to Japanese Instrumental Music and Native Flutes and they have been so peaceful and lovely, paring so well with the weather and languid days of summer.
I’m Hoping, In the Garden, and I’m Learning ~ I’m hoping to find a delightfully deep and detailed fiction read yet this summer. Any suggestions? I like a bit of romance, domesticity, details, spiritual themes, family, mystery, and nature, and I prefer clean, which takes out a lot of modern titles. I’ve tried quite a few and haven’t found any that I REALLY love yet this year. And I’ve read a lot! Surprisingly, this has been, so far, the year of good non-fiction for me. The garden is producing little surprises here and there and I’m especially excited for the sunflowers and other small things. Days of small things are big, indeed. I was excited to see a Raven recently when my husband and I traveled to a funeral (yes, sort of deliciously creepy, I know) because I haven’t ever identified one near our home. We have American Crows, but not Ravens regularly. I’m still learning to continually reorder my affections back into the proper order of Truth & Love. Habits and rhythms that keep me sane and focused help my scatterbrained self. It’s hard, but so worth it. I’m rereading Bright Line Eating: The Science of Living Happy, Thin, and Free by Susan Pierce Thompson with friends and it’s so interesting and helpful. I’m loving Zechariah and Romans right now in The Holy Bible.
For the eternal substance of a thing never lies in the thing itself, but in the quality of our reaction towards it.
You can’t sit around thinking. You have to sit around writing.
David Long
Dear Saturday and all my friends,
How are you? Just thought I’d check in and share some heart whispers…
“I’m not sure I can write. The well feels dry. I have nothing to say,” I whine.
“You just have to sit down and start. I feel the same way when starting a sermon sometimes. But once I start, the things I need to say start coming,” he encouraged.
My husband shared this with me recently and it’s one of those things I know, but don’t know. He has been longsuffering as he listens to my lamenting. The official homeschool books have been shut with a slightly dusty bang for a few weeks now, but our learning goes ever on in other ways. My little bit of a green thumb has been poking and prodding in the soil, seeds in and watered, the local lake has had a dip of toes or oar once or twice, and the hammock never lacks for company. Hay fields smell richly fragrant, that warm, freshly baked, right out of the oven smell breathed deeply in, drifting through our open Prius windows as we zip around, errands and farm part pickups with above said hubby. Sigh, ’tis a blessed country life. We’ve gotten piles of treasure from our local library, delicious gems for our hearts and minds, I’ve been enjoying the time to dip into my stacks, curled in the hammock or big, chocolate, fluffy new-to-us arm chair. I especially am loving Letters by a Modern Mystic by Frank C. Laubach, which is challenging my prayer and thought life.
My homeschool planning has begun in earnest, to have a more realistic look as I prayerfully peruse and pick, starting with our home library, books for next autumn. All privileges’ I love to do for the lovely people I’m parenting. I start with massive ideas and book lists and weed it down to a workable plan as the summer burns down to a simmer. I hope to have a rough sketch before I head on a lovely homeschool retreat with my sister next month. I’m finding mornings crucial to my heart aim for each day – to set the day and needs of all who I love at the foot of a Cross, a bath of love flowing over it all. A constant reworking and reordering of a woman’s heart and affections each morning…it’s so easy to feel weight. Weight of our world and my work, as a wife, mother, and follower of The Way. Jesus, The Way, The Truth, and The Life.
My writing has been frozen – not sure why the pause has been pushed, recently, although I’m starting to suspect. My health is so much better now after making changes a year and a half ago, my sleep is a bit better, and I’m getting down time in, with plenty of reading, nature, and inspiration. My suspicion is this: my Baggins self is snuggled down deep into its lazy, second breakfast self and is continuingly stuffing the Tookish voice whispering of tales and adventure to be had at the end of my quill, writing my heart out as I journey alongside all you other pilgrims. Journeying is hard work, but oh, the rewards! How do you find yourself currently? As the summer sun sunkisses our hearts and souls, I know I’m storing that warmth to bring out in February, and I’m trying to kick myself into a gratitude posture. One that shares all the abundance I’ve been given. Because that’s what art is to me, a gift to myself and to others, if I’m willing to put in the heart and ink work. How are your summer starts? In home, garden, heart, or creative digging deep? How is this deeply rich and satisfying season of growth, warmth, and light shining light on your life? I’d love to continue this conversation with YOU. ❤ Please share what book you’ve loved recently, or project, or ANYTHING below!
To listen closely, with every fibre of our being, at every moment of the day, is one of the most difficult things in the world, and yet it is essential if we mean to find the God whom we are seeking.
Esther de Waal, Seeking God: The Way of St. Benedict, p. 43
Hello dear friends! I certainly had no idea I’d take TWO months off from this little corner. Having friends over, house guests, a family wedding, graduating my FIRST baby *waaa!, and just trying to finish out our homeschool year strong lent for quiet on the blog front. I’m back, though, and inspired by my friend, Kim, and just refreshed from the first month or so of my summer Instagram break, I feel up to the challenge to share here a bit more. Here is a post to record and share what we’ve been up to this spring!
For April/May 2021
Looking out my window… despite one fluke night of freezing temperatures (where my procrastination on the garden came in handy…*wink,wink*), our weather has been GLORIOUS. Low humidity, 70’s & 80’s, sunshine, blue & white fluffy skies, and enough rain for a brilliant green carpet. Wisconsin is a delightful state, minus February. 😉
I am thankful… for the anticipation each night as I lay my head on my pillow for my morning prayer time with coffee, Bible, journal, and books.
One of my favorite things… our “teepee” trellis that we are attempting this year. My oldest son and I made it out of tree branches, beans, morning glories, and cucumber plants. Hopefully, the plants will grow up the strings and branches to create a fun canopy for my children to play in! 🙂 I keep you updated on it’s progress.
I am wearing… I’ve been wearing gardening clothing for this past week, but I’m so excited to wear my a new black & white striped skirt and soft black t-shirt I picked up thrifting as well as my other skirts (I’m not much of a shorts gal). Also my new copper colored Carhartt overalls which I used some gift money to finally get. I just roll up the bottoms and wear with a fun shirt, different shoes, and earrings.
I am creating… I’ve been writing some cards for pen pals, writing faithfully in my gratitude/prayer journal, and I started a new project inspired by Celeste from Joyous Lessons and The CMEC. I was delighted in April to get away with some other Charlotte Mason moms and I got to listen to some of these sessions. Anyway, I was so inspired, I’ve started a combo journal for pre-reading my older children’s school books this summer, quotes, and nature sketches. I’ve already begun and I’m loving it SO much. It makes me a wee bit nervous to see how much reading I’ve set up for myself, but I really think it will help narrations and discussions in the autumn when school starts up. I may share some photos of this journal. I didn’t write ANYTHING on my fiction project in May. 😦 I did get some words down in April, but my goal would be to hit 20,000 words by the end of June. Hold me to it, would you? 😉
I am watching…some Youtube random things. I hope to watch the new Little Women movie soon with my daughters. Have you seen it? Is it good? Anything fantastic you’ve watched recently? I honestly don’t watch a ton, because my gigantic bookstacks call me so loudly!
I am reading… I read a lot in April and May, to my kids and for myself! We loved reading Petook together for Easter and a favorite around Mother’s Day is My Mother is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World. The Enola Holmes Series was a fun Middle Grade read for me, albeit a letter in the last book irritated me so much! HA! I reread Emily Climbs and Jane of Lantern Hill by dear L.M. Montgomery and sigh. LOVE. My favorite non-fiction reads were Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times by Katherine May, 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos by Jordan B. Peterson, and Present Perfect: Finding God in the Now by Greg Boyd. All three are full of lovely ideas and encouragement! I started a Middle Grade Harry Potter-ish series called Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo. So far, the second book has been my favorite! Beneath the Haunting Sea by Joanna Ruth Meyer is a very lovely, creative fantasy for my fellow speculative fiction readers. In the Holy Bible, I’ve worked through the end of Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel. Luke, John, and now into Acts, too. I’m attempting a Charles Dickens Project and I’m hoping to read all 15 of his novels. I’ve only read Bleak House as A Christmas Carol is considered a novella. No time frame, just to keep up constantly till I’m finished. So far I’m reading Great Expectations with my oldest two over the summer, slowly Martin Chuzzlewit, and I have to read David Copperfield for our Charlotte Mason Highschool Literature class I’m facilitating this autumn.
In the garden… hoping to go to an Amish greenhouse soon to round out some things I’d like to add. I have some seeds to get in the ground, too. I’m definitely moving slow getting things in, but am excited! 🙂
I am learning… to rest when I need too and not to hide or binge on things when I’m feeling misunderstood, exhausted, or overwhelmed. I tend to overeat, over consume media, or spend money INSTEAD of dealing with things or just getting sleep. I really need to grow in this area.
Wood Anemone – early spring nature adventures!
In the homeschool room… we’ve officially closed the books on 2020/2021 Willow Tree Academy! WOOHOO! My first graduate, too! Overall, it was a great year. I’m starting planning already for next because I’m more realistic right after we’ve finished. We have two read alouds to finish this summer and we will be continuing The Chronicles of Narnia reread.
Shared Quote
This is the road of self-indulgence, and whenever we have to justify anything we do to ourselves by saying, ‘There’s no harm in it,’ we may be pretty sure we are on the downward grade.
Charlotte Mason, Volume 6, Book 1, p. 194
Some moments from my day {month}...
We made maple syrup this year for the first time! My oldest son worked so hard! It was a long process, but a lot of fun.
A.M. Pine - Hearth Ridge Reflections 