Slow Thursday

Today is starting out to be a slow, relaxing day.  We had some rain last night which has lowered our temperature to the mid 60's (F) -- a pleasant relief from the triple digits of the recent past.  As I ventured out into the garden to enjoy the respite from the heat I captured a few snaps to share.

Not sure the rain is over and isn't that a sad tree in the property behind us?

The remains of the storm from last night

The garden looking pretty good -- thanks Hubs!

The birds are enjoying multiple bathing opportunities -- also still have to plant ot the pots

Baby pears on my non-bearing pear tree

the sky yesterday morning

isn't there an old saying about red skies at morning, sailor take warning?

Lovely wispy zigzaggy pink clouds

 

one of our resident cardinal couples

So, my thoughts for today are on doing some batch cooking and beginning a new quilt.  Also, maybe starting some autumn cross stitch.  We will see how it goes.

Have a wonderful Thursday!

Taking Inventory

I am a coward -- in regards to health care.  There is no other way to put it.  I am amazed at modern medicine and the advances made therein but when it comes to me, I am chicken.  I have been known to skirt the health care issues in the past and that didn't bode well with me so, for the last couple of years, I have made a conscious effort to "put on my big girl panties" and quit acting like a baby and get on with it.

So, this summer, my goal was to get all my chickens in a row, so to speak, to get all the health care issues addressed.  So, here is how I have done so far:

1.  Dental care -- three small fillings, two crowns re-done -- completed --
     everything doing well.  Not bad considering that I hadn't been to the dentist
     since the chemo.

2.  Eyes tested and new glasses -- completed--cataracts right on schedule but not
     ready for surgery

3.  Mammogram-- ok, this was the scariest thing ever and I am not sure why. 
     Not the first one but without a doubt terrifying.  Completed.  Everything is
     fine.

4.  CT Scan -- upcoming

5.  Port removal - yes, please.

So, I seem to be doing well in my attempt to be a functioning adult and quit whining. 

In addition to all that good news and organization I leave you with this smile for the day--

Bean's first day of kindergarten! They usually take a first day photo in front of the school but today it was taken at her place in her classroom.  She was very excited that she was placed in the room she wanted and was very happy that there is a large selection of books in the reading area of the room.  Oh yes, I guess I should add that during the summer, she became a Reading Bean as well! We had all been working with her on her reading but over the summer she just took off and can read whole books all by herself! Her mother is looking forward to a very good year!

Introducing Wolfgang

We have a new addition to the back garden.  It is a little gnome that has come to live with Arlo.  His name is Wolfgang.  Hopefully they will get on well and he will be helpful in the garden.

Wolfgang holding a flower pot -- yes, it was Bean's job to take him to his new home

Arlo and Wolfgang outside their "door"

Wolfgang came from Joann Fabrics where they had a small display of Fairy Garden supplies on sale -- I guess fairy gardens are a "summer thing".  I procured him for the hefty price of $1.47.  I might go back in a few days and see what else they have.  I am not sure how the Hubs feels about me building a fairy garden in all the Asiatic jasmine but he hasn't said anything yet so I am thinking he is ok with it since he is the one that decided that Arlo's new home should be in the boulder.

I am hoping that as summer starts to fade and autumn creeps in Arlo and Wolfgang are cozy in their sturdy, boulder home -- no more trees for Arlo -- he was very upset when the tree fell -- oh my goodness, the things that came out of that little gnome's mouth -- shameful. 

So, there you have it -- Arlo and Wolfgang in their new home.  Hopefully there will be more additions to the "garden" in the future.

Nantucket Sisters by Nancy Thayer

I don't go to the beach.  I don't live near a beach.  I do, however, like to read beachy novels.  So, when my daughter brought this one home from the library I took a look and decided I would like to read it as well.

It is the story of Maggie, the year-round, non-wealthy, resident of Nantucket.  Maggie lives with her mother and brother Ben until her mother marries Thaddeus Ramsdale and they all move to the Ramsdale farm.  With this marriage, Maggie and Ben gain a grandmother named Clarice and a lovely step-father in Thaddeus.  They have a good life.

It is also the story of Emily Porter.  A summer resident swimming in money who also lives in New York in the winter and Florida on occasion.  Emily loves Ben.

Emily and Ben have a tumultuous relationship and it is ended by Ben.  Emily meets Cameron, has an affair, becomes pregnant, they marry and live in a loveless marriage for five years.

Maggie works as an occasional magazine writer and housekeeper and loves Tyler,  Tyler  leaves the island and Maggie meets Cameron.  They have an affair. Maggie gets pregnant.

I don't think I will say any more.  The plot is deliciously twisted, there are a lot of tears, an accident, a near miss, a friendship renewed, a love reunited, a new beginning. 

It was a good book, a page turner toward the middle.  I enjoyed it and I recommend it.

Rule of Life -- Disclaimer -- Religous Heavy

For the past few years I have been a member of a religious order known as the Daughters of the King.

  I am no longer a member of that order by choice.  Our diocese has gone through a huge change by leaving the American Episcopal Church.  Our diocese was involved in a lengthy and ugly battle for our property.  Our diocese was in litigation for over five years but we did come out the other side with our property and so we begin again.  We are no longer called "Episcopal" as in aligning ourselves with the national Episcopal church but we are now Anglican and aligned with the larger Anglican Communion and the ACNA.  The daughters who were involved with the DOK have now been offered an alternative that they could take although not required.  Some of the daughters have chosen to stay with DOK but I have not.  I am moving forward with the discernment period for the Daughters of the Holy Cross.

 
 Not being a cradle Episcopalian all of this didn't affect me quite like it did others although I didn't relish the thought of arriving for church of a Sunday morning and finding myself locked out and on the curb.  I do care deeply for my church and the people an clergy therein and I don't like the idea of having to seek out a new place so I am moving forward in this new reality.

The emphasis in DHC is a bit different than DOK.  DOK is all prayer all the time which is what drew me in because I figure as a common person I can't do a lot but I can pray and believe in the practice wholeheartedly.  DHC focuses on prayer as well but equally weighted are evangelism, study and service and that is to be our rule of life.  I am on board with all that but I have to say that study is my hardest -- getting into the Word is so overwhelming to me.  I need to work on that.

It was suggested in DOK that we keep a prayer journal and there was even a meeting to show us how to make one.  For some of our avid scrapbookers it was an opportunity to be very creative.  I didn't go to the meeting and I never made the prayer journal -- popcorn prayers seems to be my go-to method for prayers. 
It was also suggested that we keep a prayer journal for DHC and I have taken that to heart and realize that I could benefit from being a little more organized in my approach to things.  After getting started I also realize that this isn't something that can be "done" like a scrap book.  It is an evolving thing.  It is almost a living thing.  So, when I first started building this I realized that it isn't an activity that I can sit down to and be done - it is ongoing and I needed to just relax and realize that.  Also, I see that it has the potential to become more of a Rule of Life journal rather than just a prayer journal  as we work our way through this discernment period.

So, anyway, this is my journal.  It is very plain and very humble but I hope that it helps me focus on this part of my life a little better.

I took a plain 7X9 sturdy plastic binder and outfitted it with two sets of plain dividers and appropriate paper. Although not a scrapbooker  I found some faith-affirming stickers to add to the dividers to keep me inspired.

I labled each divider with things that I thought I would like to include in this journal.  I will probably change that around as I go because I was very specific but who knows, I might become even more specific.  We will see how it and I grow.

This is a cute little prayer prompt that I put in the section labelled "prayer prompts".  I used Bean's hand for this and showed her what I was doing.  She wanted to know which finger was for her!  I think that my prayers, except for the morning and bedtime prayers, are going to be written.  I think my mind won't wander so much.  A lady I know writes her prayers in a letter to God and I think that sounds so personal and real.  Also, I did find a site on Pinterest where the author gives you a daily prayer prompt to write about and I think I am going to start there.

I added a section for the Rosary -- I started with the Anglican Rosary, drew it out and added some prayers on sheets behind it.  I have always just used this rosary with my own choice of prayers, mostly the Jesus prayer, so I did a google search and found some really nice prayers to use here -- my favorite is the Celtic prayer.

I will also add the same for the Roman rosary as that is what we use at church.  It will require more drawing and more writing but I did load a Rosary prayer app to my tablet which will be helpful.
 

I have a section for Scripture Study that I plan to use  as I work on getting into the Word.  Not my strong suit here so I decided to make the pages a little fancier -- maybe a bit inspiring. 

 

As I said earlier, study is overwhelming to me -- I question why I haven't read the Bible cover to cover, I question how I would even do that, I have tried starting with the Old Testament but I have to say that, as much as I love genealogy, I always get hung up on that part.  However, I was always taught that to understand the New Testament you have to have read the Old Testament so that is where I always start. 

So, trying hard to move away from the idea that you have to read the Bible front to back in order, I was intrigued by the mention in an earlier discernment of lectio divina --

This made sense to me -- don't try to read the whole thing at once, do this and it will be a joy rather than something to be endured.  Baby steps.  I can do that.

The tools that I am going to use, other than my journal, are these --

A good study Bible that I can write in -- I have one but it isn't easy to read so I am going to have to work on that.

The 1979 Book of Common Prayer. 

A One Year Bible for Women -- this is a Bible that is divided up differently -- each day you get a passage from the Old Testament, the New Testament and Psalms.  I think that would be beneficial to me as I approach this new endeavor.

Another thing that makes this group different from DOK is that there is the expectation of service -- a service project.  I think that will be good for all of us -- it sort of completes the circle in my mind.  We haven't touched on that yet, it is for the upcoming weeks but I am looking forward to what my fellow Daughters have to offer.

So, that is what I have been up to. 

Don't worry, dear Readers, I am not turning this blog into a diary of my spiritual journey.

And On We Go

Here are a few photos of the progress in the front of the house.  I didn't take "before" photos so just picture a dozen or so hawthorn bushes that were not doing particularly well.  I believe we have had so many plant problems because this house was built on rock -- yes, rock -- and topsoil was brought in for landscaping purposes but it isn't all that deep and I think it just can't sustain all the big bushes and such that people have put in.  So, anyway, here is the front --

right side of the gate -- bushes gone

it is a long little stretch of bed

the planting has commenced

yes, he is measuring with a stick -- I don't know who that strange man in the baggy clothes is

still more to come

I will post a picture of the finished product when it is a finished product. 

Allen, Allen, How Does Your Garden Grow?

Well, that is a complicated question.  Which garden are you speaking of? Perhaps this unruly, overgrown example of what NOT to do when landscaping?

The Dewberry and Mystery Vine creeping up the Folly

The Hawthorn being eaten by that lovely creeping Asian shrub -- can't remember the name

Nandinas

Well, Allen has been spending the summer -- the entire summer -- in an effort to remedy the situation.  He has a deep tan which he has never had being a redhead and all and I think he has permanently injured his right elbow digging up stumps and pulling out roots.  No, I haven't helped him.  My job is to just get out of the way and make iced tea.

So, after many weeks of grueling labor and almost 100 lawn clipping bags put out for pickup this is the end result~

New Redbud tree to replace the broken Hackberry

Asiatic Jasmine everywhere

now you can see the boulders and the hollies

bags of clippings all gone

the mint bed under control

Arlo in his much sturdier new home

Vast improvement, don't you think?

Hobbit in a Hole

I don't really like to put the children's photos on the internet but I couldn't help myself this time.  How do you like my little hobbit in a hole?  She was having some "time alone" as she puts it.  She needs time alone every day to read and do her art.  However, she didn't really want to be alone so she constructed a quiet spot with the chair, cushions and a quilt.  It was quiet for a while and then....it wasn't.  Clearly some of us need more quiet time than others!

Very quiet

Uh oh -- somebody has the giggles

Quiet time almost over

The stuffed doggy friend's name is Graham, by the way.

The Winter People by Jennifer McMahon

 

For my final book in my 2015 Goodreads Reading challenge I read "The Winter People" by Jennifer McMahon.  This is not my usual genre but I have to say I enjoyed it.  I am not sure how to classify this book -- a mystery or horror -- but it was a bit of both and a lot of murder.  It was also historical fiction involving multiple generations.  So, you can see it was a bit complicated.
It was the story of Sara, Martin, Gertie and Auntie.  They lived in the 19th century Vermont.  They were the subjects of a book -- "Visitors from the Other Side" writtenby Sara's niece, Amelia Larkin. 

My beloved aunt, Sara Harrison Shea, was brutally murdered in the winter of 1908.  She was thirty-one years old.

"Visitors from the Other Side" was the secret diary of Sara Harrison Shea that detailed her life with her parents, Auntie and her coming to learn about sleepers.

The first time I saw a sleeper, I was nine years old.  It was the spring before Papa sent Auntie away--before we lost my brother, Jacob. My sister, Constance, had married the fall before and moved to Graniteville.

This story of Sara, Martin, Gertie and Auntie was the foundation for the whole book.

Present time -- Ruthie, Fawn, and Alice

Ruthie, Fawn and their mother Alice live in the Harrison-Shea house with all it's secret places and hidey holes. The house backs up to the woods and Devil's Hand.  The girl's were taught to never go into the woods -- bad things happen to little girls who go into the woods.  People disappear.  Alice disappears.  Will  they find her?  What did she know?  What did she do?

Present time -- Candace

She knew the whole story but wanted to find the missing diary pages for financial gain.  Did she find them?  Did she profit or did she get something else?

Present time -- Katherine, Gary and Austin

All Gary wanted was for Austin to come back.  Could the diary help him get Austin back or would it prove to leave Katherine alone?  Would the diary take Katherine in a direction from which there was no turning back?

As you can see there is a very twisting, intertwined plot.  Each story stands on its own yet the entire story feeds on the interconnection.  This book is well written, the twists and turns are plausible and don't seem to be contrived.  It is a good mystery, enough horror to make it just scary enough and there is a bit of cliff hanger. 

Would I recommend this book?  Yes.  It isn't my usual sort of read but it was good and drew me in.  I did find myself worrying about Fawn and her fever though -- she really didn't need to be out running around in the snow at night with a bad fever and I wish they would have just left her home.  I guess that was just a "mommy moment". 

Book Reviews

Summer is flying by, it seems.  I have a "to-do" list that I am working on but it is a slow go.  I haven't been reading as much either because most of my reading was done on my commute to my daughter's house and now, since I am at home, other demands have taken over. 

I have, however, read three books that I haven't reviewed yet.  They are all part of my reading queue so no real surprises here but they were enjoyable.

I have to say that I was not thrilled with this Agatha Raisin book.  I don't know why, perhaps the location or perhaps the repetition -- lots of driving all over the place.  However, I didn't dislike it enough to give up on the series and will be continuing with the next in the queue as soon as I finish my current book.

I enjoyed this book by Jennifer Chiaverini -- the next in my line of  the Elm Creek Quilts series.  Perhaps I should have read it closer to Christmas but it was a nice spring/summer read too.  I love the way Chiaverini uses the setting of Elm Creek Manor for all her books whether they are current or historical -- the manor is the main character in the book, actually.  It is interesting to see how she weaves the history of the place in all the books regardless of the time period.

This book was a bit different than her others as it gives a back history of some of the Elm Creek quilters -- new characters to the books and it shows their lives prior to their involvement in the Manor and how they came to the Manor.  It centers around one day -- an interview day for prospective employees and it goes into their tales of how they got to that interview and what happens after.  It is very cleverly written and I enjoyed seeing it unfold.

I would recommend any of these books -- just because I didn't enjoy the Agatha Raisin book doesn't mean you won't.  I am looking forward to the next one after my current read.

My current read is "The Winter People" by Jennifer McMahon.  It is a diversion from my usual style of reading -- it is a ghost story with a mystery involved.  I am enjoying it although I have to say it is disturbing.  I am half done with it and am getting to the point that I can't put it down but I don't know if I will gravitate toward this particular genre again any time soon.  It isn't frightening, just disturbing but I am sure there will be some clever twists as I go along.  I will review when I am done.

So, there you go.  That is where my reading obsession has taken me the last couple of months.  I went to the library for myself for the first time in forever and I have to say I enjoyed it. They were holding my current read for me so I went to pick it up and I, for a moment, felt that same feeling I used to have as a child in the library with a much sought after book.  Different library and I am much older but the thrill was still there.  I am going to have to make a point of going to the library more often but first I am going to have to read down my own library a bit and that is where my next couple of books will be coming from. 

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig!

Yes, Tinklepaw is home.  Tinklepaw is my computer -- it is a little netbook by Asus.  I named it Tinklepaw because that is what I name everything.  I was planning a small craft business one time and my father decided that would be a good name for the business.  The business never materialized but I loved the name so everything, including my little Jellycat (stuffed cat) that travels with me, is named Tinklepaw. I think Tinklepaw the Computer is a boy.

So, Tinklepaw the Computer comes with me lots of places.  Many times he goes with me to my daughter's house to spend time while I am babysitting.  He is loaded with several educational things so Bean likes to explore those sites.  He is also very lightweight and small and easy to carry with me.  It was during one of these trips that he decided he needed a vacation from me.

Now, granted, I work him very hard.  I have dropped him, I have broken his built in mouse and now he has a prothesis (an external WIFI mouse) but we have a good relationship and I hope he never leaves me.  However, I guess he needed a rest because the other day we were at my daughter's house and it was time to leave.  I picked up my handbag and out the door I went.   I never heard a peep out of Tinklepaw. I didn't even think about him until I got home so I guess he wanted to stay a while and did not let me know that I was forgetting him.

I wonder if his feelings were hurt?  I hope not.  I wonder if he missed me?  Probably not but I missed him and was very glad to get him home today.  I promised him that I would never forget him again and I hope he doesn't feel the need to take a separate vacation again.