a spirit of simplicity

The good My husband is feeling better! He is recovering from pneumonia. ~ ~ ~ the fun Verne was Tigger for Halloween. He didn't actually go trick or treating but had a great time handing out candy from home.  the random My cousin shared an old picture of me at Thanksgiving. I think I was in 5th or 6th grade at the time. 

t He restoreth my soul Psalm 23:3 My favorite part of weekend mornings  is being able to drink my coffee or tea slowly. My husband is not a coffee drinker and doesn't understand why I can't just gulp down a cup before I leave for work and be done with it. Morning coffee is a bit like art with children it's process not project.  This morning as sip I can see ribbons of colour out the window white fog lifting off of  the greens of the grassy park across the street,  beige in the dune grasses waving in the breeze, beautiful silvery blue of the Atlantic ocean, calm as glass this morning, and a pastel, orangey, pink  sun rising up out of it.  All of it moving to it's own beat of life, and all of it, all of it, moving to the rhythm of the earth and to the universe. So I sit at my window... sipping my coffee slow. He restoreth my soul.  Spiritual Sundays

It was my grandson Verne's first birthday a few weeks ago. My daughter, my mother, Verne and I  had a  special little celebration!    A few days later, we went to his first birthday party. 3 He was pretty excited!  He even enjoyed opening all the presents.

October's early morning sunlight through the kitchen window scented geraniums brought in from out of doors though they could have stayed on the porch as the weather's yet to turn very cool. Rosemary sprouting in a jelly jar  some kind of a strange looking succulent that my daughter gifted me but mostly the sunlight enough to warm the kitchen as I fill the kettle. t Now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

the path to the beach  bittersweet is just beginning to open it's yellow covering to reveal the berry inside. Birds don't eat this one.... I like to gather some of it to bring home  It's so pretty.  sumac is fuzzy and burgundy... readying us for the deeper colours of November. I love to watch the dunes change with the seasons. Every year the same things blossom  the same things wither away... and still it inspires me. image-in-ing Ruby Tuesday

I live near Salem, MA. Halloween is a pretty big deal around here. There is even a Ferris wheel set up in the middle of town. Lines stretch around corners for a tour of the Witch museums and houses. It's just not my kind of thing. I don't go anywhere near Salem until 1 November when all the tourists and most of the crazies have gone home where they belong. At home I decorate more for the season of Autumn (which is my favorite) I add just a few touches here and there to offset the over the top craziness the fun This cheeky little fella sits upon the kitchen hutch every October. He nestles in among the teapots...waiting for a treat. ~ ~ ~  the random October....one of my favorite months of the year ~ ~ ~ the good in morning just as the sun crests completely over the Atlantic the Canadian geese fly up from their shoreline resting spots to search for fields where morning sunlight warms the grasse

For Today 21 October, Saturday Looking out my window ...The sun is shining in a beautiful blue October sky. I can see flocks of geese flying up from the beach and over the fields across the street. Bittersweet and burgandy sumac stand out against the brown and dark green of the grasses in the dunes. I am thinking... Joe and I have both been sick this past week. It's been terrible  but it has given us a nice respite together, which was really needed by us both. I am thankful.. I am just so very thankful. One of my favorite things... October in New England. I am creating ...a charmed life and a peaceful home I am wearing... worn in jeans and a flannel shirt I am reading (read) /watching (watched) / listening to... Oh would it be horrible to admit that I have only just finished watching Meet Me in St. Louis? It's one of my very favorites.  I am hoping... for a

t Let love be genuine. Romans 12:9 ESV This was Laura Ingalls Wilder's biblical advice for getting along with people. She was a very sensible lady if you ask me. Spiritual Sundays Sunday Scripture Blessings Scripture and a Snapshot Sunday thoughts Grace and Truth   Faith filled Friday

a handful of acorns scattered on a tabletop Japanese Lanterns light up the Autumn garden wooded pathways where feet both young and old do trod Once upon a time I skipped along to see what lay ahead now I find my steps are slow enough to notice each leaf dancing to the forest floor Yellow leaves in a yellow wood bittersweet... which all of Autumn is full of sunshine and of shade and of melancholy sorrows Imparting Grace

We have finally finished our kitchen floors! ~ ~ ~  We did the stripping ourselves which was an incredible amount of work. It took us months and months because of work schedules and illness but we did it! We got them down to the original wood floors from when the house was built over a hundred years ago.  We had a professional come in to sand and polyurethane them. We had to remove every single thing.... and find places to put it all.... stoves in the dining room, a fridge in the bedroom... it was a big mess. This is what the floor looked like before. I don't have a clear picture because I always tried to avoid them in my photographs. Believe me, they were ugly ! Below is what they look like now... before we moved all the stuff back in. They look so pretty in the morning sunlight. I almost never want to leave the kitchen.

walking the beach the barricades are up for the season to keep the waves from crashing across into the street I love the beach at this time of year the air is salty and the wind makes our cheeks red the sands are quiet with only gull prints to show us that anyone else has been here at all. only the tide to knock over the stones that we leave

t rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 I have been preparing myself for the Thanksgiving season. It is my favorite time of year...October through Christmas. Everything's so beautiful and nostalgic even the air is filled with sweetness and  scent of sorrow. Thankful Thursday

the good We have finally finished our kitchen floors!! They are absolutely beautiful.  Oh my goodness was it a lot of work! We stripped off the ugliest red tiles known to man I have absolutely no idea what they were made of but I can tell you that I think they were on the floor when The Honeymooners came out on TV! Under that was a layer of plywood subfloor with about a gizzillion nails in it and under that....another layer of linoleum flooring and some kind of nasty glue! Then we had to remove the fridge, stove, washer, dryer, even the cabinet from the wall! Even all the dishes, silverware, and all things from everywhere. Our kitchen was empty for 2 weeks! It was torture! ~ ~ ~ the fun putting it all back together was my kind of fun! Well...not so much the fridge or the washing machine or the stove. They are heavy and we did them one a night after work. It was hard and my husband scratched the new floor when he did the