..is my surrender to the crushing narrowness of earthly existence the beginning of my liberation from it, precisely because this surrender is my “Amen” to your human life, my way of saying yes to your human coming, which happens in a manner so contrary to my expectations?
Karl Rahner, Watch for the Light, p. 74
Spiritual
I’ve begun a reread of The Life of Prayer by Edith Schaeffer and have really been enjoying a refreshing and convicting look at prayer. I’m loving how she lays out that prayer is first worship, then for repentance, and FINALLY for requests. A reminder that I sorely needed, (looking at you, whiny prayer journal)! 😂📓😌 I decided to choose a reread for my Advent devotions from my shelf, Watch for the Light: Readings forAdvent and Christmas, and it has been so thought-provoking. I’ve streamlined my prayer journal a bit, also, to help refresh my reflection time. I’m also slowly buddy reading The Christian Year by John Keble with two friends this year.
Physical
Honestly, I’ve made some huge health goals, but have really been struggling. I tend to hide and binge 🥲 eat through my exhaustion or big emotions. 😩🖤 Food addiction is a real thing, friends. This trying to process in unhealthy ways. I’m laying out here what I mentioned to my support group, too, I’d love to fit back into these lovely Carhartt overalls that I had got for myself in 2021. But more than size, I want to learn to be vulnerable with people when I need help, deepen my prayer practice, and use my love of creativity and journaling to process my thoughts and feelings. I acknowledge here, too, that sometimes I actually need to get OUT of my head/books/social media 😖 and feelings and change my thoughts upward to Jesus and outward to others. 🖤
Mental
I’m finding that taking short walks with music or an audiobook has been clearing the mental cobwebs. I’ve also really enjoyed instrumental music/soundtracks. I’m seeing that I’m handling the early sunset and waning light of this year much better than last year, by pressing into the unique beauty of THIS season. I’ve REALLY been blessed by poetry this year and hope to do a post about that soon.
Emotional
I’ve been noticing lately that overwhelming feelings threaten to drown me if I don’t purposefully choose to take life in small moments. Our whole, ‘wild and precious life’ is made up of these minute moments. I’ve forgotten the way of small bits of joy and gratitude a bit, 🥲 and it is always so wonderful to hear that still, Small Voice gently guiding us back into The Way. I found that free with my Audible account, the audiobook of Hinds Feet on High Places, is available and while I know that the allegory is very ‘on the nose’ in this book, it is one of my favorite books of all time. I identify with Much-Afraid SO much, but I mostly love this book for the picture of Jesus, my Lovely Shepherd.
Beautiful Jackie Morris postcard from a friend.
Servanthood
My son and I were talking the other day and we realized that this really isn’t an easy area. Some individuals may be a bit more servant-like naturally, but I know that I need to practice it and make it a habit. I’ve been working hard to reach out consciously to one person a day. This could be a text or popping a card in the post, focused listening to those right in front of me, or bigger things as the Holy Spirit leads. Of course, I also end up being SO blessed 🥲 in return by this.
But as for me, I will watch ♥️expectantly for the LORD. I will wait ♥️ for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me. ♥️ Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fall I will rise; ♥️ Though I dwell in darkness, the LORD is a light for me. ♥️
from Micah 7, I recommend listening to this song after savoring these verses.
Thank you for being here. You are a blessing and are loved. How ‘bout you? How are YOU truly doing? Glad to be doing this life with you. 🥰🌾🍄✨🌙❄️🥗☕️🌲🍂🍁🖤📝📚📖📓💌📬🗝️🧺
What is inspiring you or bringing you joy currently? Please join me in comments, in your journal, or on your blog!
🌷I’m grateful today for…🌷
||for newly minted 14 yo daughter 🥰||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 Conlin’s 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 🎄 during spring snow storms || friends who send me videos and photos of our local Aurora Borealis sightings || prayer 🙏 || daffodildowndillys and the promise of tulips 💐 || 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 friend’s magazine ♥️🌿✒️📝||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 💜😏🤓💌📬📦 💸🤑😂|| 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 Joe’s + my sisters = ♥️♥️♥️||contemplating books that impacted as a woman/mother/caretaker in an ongoing series|| sunshine 🌞 in Wisconsin, never take it for granted ||plan to take daughter & friend to craft store and fancy ice cream 🍦 soon, she’s so excited ||
I believe this is “La Discessa dello Spirito Santo” mentioned on pg 155, School Education by Charlotte Mason ~ so gorgeous! {Google image} If it’s not the right one, oh well, I still love it! 😂♥️
What is inspiring you or bringing you joy currently? I hope to start a new series here. Please join me in comments, in your journal, or on your blog!
Right now, I’m loving…
|| the Betsy, Tacy, and Tib series by Maud Hart Lovelace || “With You” sung by Jimin and Ha SungWoon – I actually reimagine this as a love song to Jesus ♥️ || “The Peace of Wild Things” collection by Wendell Berry || barn swallow watching || Seattle’s Best decaf – thanks to Booktube friend, Tiffany for this recommendation || searching for new-to-me mystery series ||Kate Howe’s Booktube || a new to me Booktube, A Day of Small Things || finding 100 Days of Dante podcast || starting L. M. Montgomery’s Selected Journals Volume 3 ||
|| Harney & Sons Paris tea, fruity Earl Grey || first peony bud on bush friend gave me two summer’s ago || Salt & Sound music || Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright, anticipation for the sequel || bird and rabbit watching || rereading Little House series this summer with my younger children || endless cloud-filled skies || finding a math tutor for my son || Paul Johnson’s A History of the American People, who knew a tome like this could go down so smoothly? || contemplating reading some Moomins or another Tove Jansson book with friends || little boys in flannel button-downs || Schliech animal scenes perpetually in living room || Totoro socks from daughter || vignette series rattling around in brain || thinking back over favorite summer reads in years past, what are your favorites? || new fresh slate to start drawing upon for next homeschool year ||
Double-headed dandelion my daughter found 💛💛💛
What’s on your joy list?
Happy Friday, friends! Lots of love from Hearth Ridge, Amy 🌿♥️🌿
Hello Fellow Wordweavers, Dreamers, and Beauty Chasers ~ isn’t this time of year enchanting? I’m especially in awe of seeing it through my children’s eyes. It’s taken me a long while to just take these simple moments, minute by minute and see them for the gift they are! I’ve been dipping into Robert MacFarlane’s Landmarks again and just recently fell under the spell 😉 of The Lost Spells, oh my, I may be getting this in my stocking as a gift from myself to myself. How has your Advent season started? Hopefully, it’s calm & bright in the deepest part of your soul, despite the external craziness this time of year can bring. Happiest Advent to you!
Drive-through light show we like to do during the Festival of Lights ~
I’m Thinking… how odd it feels to be fighting staying present, yet excited about the new year and its dreams, plans, and ideas. There’s just something about a fresh, crisp journal waiting to be cracked open and ink-stained, is there not?!
I’m Thankful For… the grace and space my hubby and children grant me for my weirdness and dreaming.
Views ♥️Coffee♥️Conversation
One of My Favorite Things… the magical half light between dawn and the remnants of dreams – that half dream state of thought, ideas, and creation sprinkled over reality. It’s elusive, but often comes when soaking in The Word {Holy Bible}, the great words of writers & poets down through the ages, glorious art, and music.
I’m Wearing… a favorite grey pullover with a cowl-like neck a lot recently. Jeans, tshirts, and big thick socks. It’s snuggly season.
Coffee and Gorgeous book ~ some of the best things in life ♥️
I’m Watching… Leslie Austen’s peaceful vlogs and old Antiques Roadshow episodes on YouTube. I’m loving Chantel’s bookish vlogmas.
I’m Reading… in a bit of a slump after finishing Laurie R. King’s first in a Sherlock Holmes reimagining, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice, which I throughly enjoyed. Thankfully, there are like 18? 😍 books in this series. Hopefully, they will be as good as the first. I also am hoping for a bit of a Jonathan Stroud binge, as I read one of his Lockwood & Co. YA books and really enjoyed it.
Decaf Oat-milk Latte
I’m Listening… to a lot of instrumental Christmas music, Brandon Sanderson & Dan Wells podcast, Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly, and I was so enchanted by this talk on Narnia, etc out of Oxford.
I’m Hoping… to continue our quiet Advent readings and keeping things relatively calm so as to truly enjoy celebrating Christmastime. 🎄🎄🎄
Moonshine 🌛🌖🌙
I’m Learning…in giving away, we multiply.
In the Homeschool Room… we are enjoying our Advent and Christmas readings, but just continuing all our great books, at a leisurely pace. We loved making paper bag stars this week and hope to do more soon. We made ours each with 9 lunch bags and hot glue, such a huge, beautiful visual delight.
Celebrating LMM’s birthday this week~
Shared Quote…
“Always clamoring to know, we are ever inconstant. The soul is constant only to this unknowing which keeps her pursuing.”
“Killing Me Softly with His Song” – my favorite version is by Roberta Flack ♥️♥️♥️
We are the music makers, And we are the dreamers of dreams, Wandering by lone sea-breakers, And sitting by desolate streams; — World-losers and world-forsakers, On whom the pale moon gleams: Yet we are the movers and shakers Of the world for ever, it seems.
~ Arthur O’Shaughnessy, from Ode, here is the full poem and it’s just so lovely.
♥️I’ve been musing on how art begets art. It’s like really and truly being SEEN by someone and seeing a bit of them, too, connection that knows no boundaries, an amazing gift, when my heart beats with a story, art, music, or a film. ♥️ How about you? What do feel when something someone created reaches out to you?
Warmest Greetings to September ~I’ve been slowly attempting to just stop with the {home} school prep. At some point, you have to just run with it and tweak as you go, right? I haven’t been reading as much, in sort of a period where I’m just dipping in and out of things and dreaming a bit. Honestly, I’m approaching this year of {home} school with a healthy dose of respect and finding myself on shaky knees of prayer. Summer loveliness hasn’t quite faded away yet, but my heart is turning slowly towards the anticipation of the richness of autumn and all it brings. I’ve been thinking and meditating much on the turning of the seasons, literally, but also more so figuratively. It’s got me pulling books off my shelves that lend to that lingering feeling of change in the air. So many books evoke feelings of excitement and delight as one burrows in or bursts out depending on our seasons or circumstances. I thought it would be fun to intersperse and share some favorites from my home library throughout this post and for the next while as whim and spirit moves.
Gladys Taber’s seasonal memoirs always evoke coziness – it’s forever nice to visit Stillmeadow // Pilgrim’s Inn by Elizabeth Goudge is like a lovely, worn quilt – it’s the 2nd in a trilogy, but I read it by-its-lonesome all the time//Landmarks is a word lovers paradise and MacFarlane is so haunting and descriptive//
Looking out my window...has got me swooning with soft, dreamy purple sun rises and the rich, gold-drenched sunsets. We’ve had some scorching days and some severe thunderstorms, but for the most part, WONDER-filled weather.
I’m thinking…about habits and the idea that how you spend your days is how you spend your life, Annie Dilliard, thankyouverymuch. See below for full quote.
Wind in the Willows ~ does one have to say anything?//Mitten Strings for God by Katrina Kenison ~ a beautiful memoir for those with little children//Rainbow Valley, sigh. Almost anything by L.M. Montgomery has that magical seasonal inside & out journey feel to it. This one is the adventures of Gil and Anne’s six young children//
I’m thankful for… my new art & idea journal and for all my books and for Jesus loving me at my lowest, my family bearing with me, for lovely writing ideas swirling and spinning, themes and threads, and how life-giving journaling has been for me, as of late. My trip to Minnesota to meet up with my health support ladies for prayer and relaxation was a God-send.
One of my favorite things… has been listening to Studio Ghibli instrumental soundtracks – you can find them everywhere, on Youtube, Spotify…just so inspiring, cheerful, and dreamy. We’ve been working on a couple puzzles recently and just got a new one ~ Japanese Tea Garden~ {I can’t find it on Amazon anymore?} that looks lovely to tie into our upcoming Japan focus for geography and some history. I’ve been loving short walks w/my two little guys in the afternoon or picking bouquets together.
Ray Bradbury is one of my favorite authors ~ definitely on the weird side, but these two books, wow. Something Wicked This Way Comes was my 2020 pick for Favorite Fiction of the Year and Dandelion Wine has just a glorious coming of age/seasons of life vibe to it.//At the Back of the North Wind, I actually haven’t finished yet, but I still think about it a couple years after reading a good portion of it~ haunting and mysterious//Streams in the Desert by L.B.Cowman is a devotional that flows through my life at many different points and I love the memories and beauty of it//
I am wearing… casual has been my mainstay for the last couple of weeks, as it has been just a touch cooler – jean, black, or olive green pants, took a break from my beloved skirts. T-shirts with a cardigan or a button-down with my pearl or sand dollar earrings from the Gulf of Mexico have been my go-tos. I’ve been wearing my brown sandals nonstop. I got myself a little back to {home}school gift that I can’t wait to wear! EEEK! 🙂 I mean it had my name on it. 😉
I am creating…my art/idea journal, school plans, and slowly prepping my offerings for our Charlotte Mason community group, gathering handicraft supplies, and chemistry experiment stuff. Whew. I also have a sweet little cross stitch project I began on my trip with my friends that I’m super excited to work on. I have a short children’s story I’m working on for my online writing group next week, poetry knocking at the door of my brain, wanting OUT, and lots of words/themes/visions/ideas to put to pen.
My little reading/writing spot in my room ~ makes me happy//
I am watching…short art journal videos on Youtube, booktubers, and I’ve watched the movie Totoro a few times with my children. It’s so peaceful.
I am reading…as I said before, I’m not really reading anything super specific, more just dipping my toes into lots of things. I’m most excited about the nonfiction, Heaven’s Ditch by Jack Kelly, Toilers of the Sea (possibly?! it’s BIG) by Victor Hugo (honestly, I most drawn to this book because of the delightful woodcut art), and I’m going to keep choosing a few favorite light reads off my shelves for comfort as we begin school. Maybe Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge? or more Wendell Berry poetry which has been SO lifegiving lately. I did recently finish Agatha Christie’s The Secret of the Chimneys and it was a five-star read for me! So humorous and mysterious. Sigh.
Miss Read – English village schoolteacher, sigh//essays by the poet Jane Kenyon, fabulous and thought-provoking//and any of Leif Enger’s three novels I just want to sink into//
I am hoping…to canoe down a local stretch of river soon with my family and also write more about journaling.
Susan Cooper’s spooky series loosely inspired by Welsh-mythology is a favorite reread//another Katrina Kenison, we are not of the same faith tradition, but I still walk away with so many lovely things from her writings//A City of Bells, probably my favorite Elizabeth Goudge, injured soldier visits his grandfather’s little town and takes over an empty bookshop with secrets ~ deliciously good//
In the garden...we’ve pulled out some sunflowers, tomatoes, zinnias, and our watermelons are coming along any day now ~grapes and apples, too.
I am learning…that I go ALOT slower these days~ I can’t read, do, or be as fast as I used to, and you know what, that’s ok. I need to eat well, nap when I can, and get outside. But I also have to work faithfully at my TO-DO list, at times it’s the best thing for me, meaningful work.
Coffee, sunlight, and plants…
In the kitchen… we’ve been making a lot of veggie, meat, and brown rice concoctions of sorts ~ I added black beans to my browned beef, too, the other night to make it stretch and it was delish.
In the homeschool room… eeek. It’s coming, my friends. Easing in next week. I need to stop by the thrift store this weekend to let the children pick out old frames for our handicraft project and we are slowly purging the homeschool/game/craft closet. It’s positively frightening…the closet, that is. Not school starting. 😉
Shared Quote:
How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives. What we do with this hour and that one is what we are doing.
Annie Dillard
Some moments from my day {month}...
My friends and I in Winona, Minnesota ~ we went to an amazing art museum, prayed & cooked together, got out in nature, and talked books to our heart’s content. It was a soul-balm.
What are some books that evoke the change of seasons, literally or figuratively for you? How are you doing? Excited for autumn or holding on just a wee bit longer to summer? 🙂
It was so nice to chat. Until next time, lots of love ~ Amy
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.
Happy Good Friday! ❤ We must endure the darkness to see the light! ❤ Hold on, Love is making a Way!
For February/March 2021
Looking out my window… February was gray and temperamental. We got a big snowstorm early in the month that dumped 8” on us. Good ‘ole northern midwest. I confess February is a hard month weather wise for me, dreary and dark. Dear March, thank you for rescuing us from February. 🙂 March brought hints, whispers of loveliness to come…the trilling of Red-Wing Blackbirds, daffodil spears poking up, and crocus smiling up at us. We had some lovely warm days and some shockingly cold ones that make the warm ones all the more sweet. The first day of Spring was another gift of March and we’ll take hope in any way we can get. The end of March brought Robins, too, rain, and deep, delicious, rich loamy smells, and the spring peepers are serenading us from the pond at night. I won a Snow-Drop plant on IG and can’t wait for NEXT spring to see it bloom!
I am thinking… about SO much. I’ve been reading massive amounts and watching rather too much Youtube. Ha. I took the last couple of weeks off of Instagram and it’s been lovely to immerse myself in my library book stack and interesting ideas via Youtube. A booktuber that I love over there is Chantel at An Intentional Life and a silly, but interesting one that is a sort of mashup between goofy pop culture and classical music is TwoSetViolin. If you want to stretch your brain, here are a couple of mind-blowing channels: DarkHorsePodcast and Jordan B. Peterson. I don’t love EVERYTHING that comes out of these channels, but if you listen when scrubbing mounds of dishes, you may come out with something to mentally chew on and feed you.
I am thankful… for my hubby, who has been working SO hard to get the new-to-us wood burner working properly and breathe a little life into our tired vehicles. He also is sending me on THREE different little getaways this year. One related to my health and two for inspiration related to our Charlotte Mason home educating. So lovely and such a blessing! I’m so thankful for the weather turning, life springing forth, and for the Resurrection. Such an amazing and important part of my faith.
One of my favorite things…early morning quiet time with my coffee, Bible, books, journals, and candlelight. Then after, my littlest comes down and snuggles with me for a bit in my chair. He chatters in his baby language and all’s right with the world for a few minutes. He’s SO snuggly.
I am wearing… black jeans, my powder blue button down, and a 3/4 quarter length striped sweater. It has powder blue, browns, and pinks in it. I got the whole outfit thrifting or on clearance. I also have on my dangling pearl earrings. My hair is terribly in need of a cut, but I’m so lazy to go get one. I have it in a messy bun. 🙂 I’ve been still wearing a lot of scarves, because of the cold, but soon I’ll have to pack them away.
I am creating… oh boy. I knew this prompt was coming. I only seriously wrote on my story last month TWICE. 😦 Yikes. I didn’t meet my goal of making it to 20,000 words. New month, new opportunity. I have yet to confess to my writing buddies this travesty. 😉 Can I blame Youtube? Ha. Anyway, I’m planning on buckling down and hitting it this month and my reward will be this sticker for my laptop. Isn’t this darling? I want it SO badly. Come on, Amy. Wrestle with the work. Wrangle the words. Sit in the seat.
I am reading… SO much, but I especially enjoyed the medieval-like, fantasy Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (I’ve heard negative things about the second book, so I’m not reading it as I really, REALLY loved this one!), a time-slip, middle-grade, portal story, Fog Magic by Julia L. Sauer, and Okay for Now by Gary P. Schmidt, which was HEART-WRENCHING and beautiful story focused around domestic abuse, Audubon, and Jane Eyre. The Rivers Lead Home by Emily Hayse was a collection of sparse, beautiful short stories about brave spirits in wilderness who battled survival situations. I loved this one, because it made me FEEEEEL. Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms by Katherine Rundell was an amazingly delicious and warm unique adventure for middle graders, centered around a girl raised in Zimbabwe and sent to an English boarding school. I’m not a huge historical fiction reader, but someone recommended Ruta Sepetys to me and I read her Salt to the Sea and it was amazing and heart wrenching. Focused on four different evacuees from war-town parts of Europe in Germany. Wow. When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka was another historical fiction centered around the horrific relocation of Japanese Americans to interment camps during WWII. It was sparse and written in such a way that is displayed the psychological horrors along with the physical deprivations and abuse. I read a lot more in February and March, but those probably were my favorites. I’ve been also reading Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Matthew and dipping into John here and there. I have a few Lenten/Easter devotionals going as well, my favorite being Bread & Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter. As always, I’m just LOVING prayasyougo app each morning to begin my prayer and meditation times.
I am hoping… to WRITE. I’m working on ideas for a poem using the atmosphere/vibes/stories of a cemetery for my online local writing group. I’d love to write some more poetry this month, too, as April is National Poetry Month.
In the garden… we have BIG plans and need to get moving on them. I need to invest in some black plastic to help with weeds and we are in the process of starting seeds. I dream of all the flowers etc, but need to put in the work! 🙂 My hollyhock plants are coming back. Nothing yet from all the lovely plants my friend Sandi gave me and my son and I transplanted last year here, but it’s early here. Still very cold earth!
I am learning… how to just take things one day at a time. One moment at a time.
In the kitchen…I’ve been VERY uninspired, but got a load of veggies from the grocery today and am planning lots of stirfry concoctions for the next couple of weeks and will serve them over brown rice for the kiddos. Any easy, lovely meals you’ve been enjoying? I’m excited to start grilling more.
In the homeschool room… we are plugging along, just trying to faithfully move FORWARD. It’s been very nice outdoors on and off and the younger children have been enjoying that. We’ve resurrected our morning walk when it’s nice and I LOVE THAT. We’ve really been loving the book King Alfred’s English and rereading The Chronicles of Narnia together. I am looking forward to the finish line, though. This has been a challenging year with 6 students and little guy running around.
Shared Quote
Build a little fence of trust
Around today;
Fill the space with loving work
And therein stay.
Look not through the protective rails
Upon tomorrow.
God will help you bear
What comes of joy or sorrow.
Mary Butts ~
Some moments from my day {month}...
Hubby and I visited a shrine on a little getaway together and it was beautiful.
A.M. Pine - Hearth Ridge Reflections 