a spirit of simplicity

I walked up State street to the market of a morning and stumbled upon this quaint and chippy old table.  An old friend was having a yard sale and I stopped to have a little chat. I’ve been looking for a desk for some time now and this is the perfect fit.  I made a delicious vegan butternut squash soup over the weekend. I roasted a butternut and an acorn squash with a sweet onion, 2 garlic cloves, a couple of sliced, peeled apples, olive oil, salt, and some fresh herbs from my garden. -I happened to have an acorn squash otherwise you could use 2 butternut. I used rosemary and thyme. You could add pepper...I don’t like it. - When it was all nice and soft I put it into the food processor and then into a soup pot with a big box (or can) of vegetable broth and a bit more salt.   Oh...and I added some ground ginger. When my children were younger I hosted a neighborhood pumpkin carving party every year.  Everyone would bring a pumpkin and I would make a chili and a lentil soup with fresh brea

  Looking out from the back door  The big pine and the yellow tree from the neighbors house  birches from across the way Thick fog and fine mist settling over all ~ ~ ~ Pictorial Tuesday   Our world Tuesday   Nature notes   Image-in-ing   My corner of the world

  The good I work at a Montessori school which goes from infants to  8th grade.  Our outdoor classrooms are looking absolutely beautiful these days.  ~ The fun Carving Jack-O-Lanterns is one of my favourite things to do. In years past I’ve had neighborhood parties with chili and cookies. Everyone brings a pumpkin to carve! This year...COVID...so I carved by myself. I even made my own molasses cookies. ~ The random I walked around the corner to pick up a few things at the market of an afternoon and stumbled into an old friend having a yard sale.  I picked up this sweet little table/desk! I’d been looking for the perfect desk for a few months and I knew if I waited long enough one would show up! The good, the random, the fun

  The chrysanthemums at the front door have blossomed.  They are a rich magenta with a bright yellow center.  They are quite cheery for the folks who   walk past our house with their dogs or on the way to the market,  or one of the restaurants on the harbor just down the way.  It has been quite foggy and grey around here lately. On Thursday morning the sun came up over the harbour and into the bedroom window. It’s warm enough still to have the window open, even at night. I love waking to the cool, fresh air. Here and there I’ve set a pumpkin around the house. I am quite simple with seasonal decorating.  In our rather small home a single small pumpkin sitting on a stack of old books  makes more of a statement than a larger display.  Monday: roasted butternut squash soup Tuesday: Salisbury steak, peas, egg noodles Wednesday: homemade pizza Thursday: beef stew in the crock-pot Friday: roasted spaghetti squash with sausage and tomato sauce Saturday: pumpkin chili, molasses cookies Sunday:

  t Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, And thanksgiving, and honour and power, and might, Be unto our God forever and ever. Amen. Revelation 7:12 ~ ~ ~ Sunday scripture blessings .  Scripture and a snapshot   Purposeful Faith .  Anchored truth Tuesday .  Heart encouragement Grace and truth You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

  I spent most of Saturday rearranging the bedroom. Joe had to work crazy hours so as soon as he left I got to work. He didn’t get home till about midnight (he had to work overtime) and was a bit confused when he came to bed. I’m so thankful that he’s such a great sport though, he just went with it. “It looks great, honey!” He said minutes before he started snoring. My mum treated me to dinner on Saturday evening. We walked around the corner to a little restaurant on the harbour. She moved here when I was not quite two years old....which was a very long time ago, but we never tire of this beautiful view. It’s just so pretty. I’m so thankful that I live here and that my mum is still around to share a lovely evening with.  It may seem rather ordinary to most folks but a pumpkin placed just so brings me so much joy. I haven’t made this butter pecan banana cake in about 10 years but I stumbled across the recipe a few weeks ago and made it again. It didn’t disappoint.  I am so very thankful

  I am just past 57 and a half years old and heading into 60 at a fairly steady clip. Remember when “a half” was something you really counted?  I am thankful for my health. I am thankful that I am a person of faith. I am thankful for my belief that I am just a  sojourner here. When I see people so upset over what is happening in our country and in the world I wonder if they are people of faith.  Though there are certainly very good reasons to be upset I will not give up my heart to that mentality.  ~ Create in me a clean heart, O God,  And renew a right spirit within me. Is my prayer at the beginning of every day and “Thank you for the gift of this day and these people. If I have offended please show me how to make amends.” Is my prayer at end of day.  ~ ~ ~ Thankful Thursday

  At the Montessori school where I teach we created an on campus “field trip” for the children. Hundreds of pumpkins were put out by the admin. Team and each class or cohort (COVID) came out individually. Each child got to pick a pumpkin and have an apple and a cup of apple cider. It was so much fun! There are already ideas in the works for how we can have another on campus “field trip” in the winter. Snowmen and hot chocolate perhaps? It isn’t always how far you go to enjoy the outside natural world. Sometimes you just have to step out of your own back door and notice the beauty that surrounds you.  ~ ~ ~ Image-in-ing    Our world Tuesday .  Pictorial Tuesday Nature notes .  My corner of the world .  Community global

  I spent most of Saturday morning rearranging the bedroom.  I moved the bed from the center of the room to a corner and it creates so much more space.  It even seems lighter and sunnier though that has not changed.  You may remember that we downsized to a small apartment last year. My 85 year old mum sold her house and moved into the first floor and my husband and I moved into the second floor just above her. It’s been a comfort to her to have us just upstairs. It has also been a comfort to myself and my sister and brother knowing that if she falls or needs anything we are right here.  She has always had a flair for decorating. Her house is pretty and welcoming without being too pretentious or stuffy or just well...over decorated.  Many years ago, when my daughters were still teenagers a woman whose daughters were adults told me that when they were younger they would argue and bicker with her over every little thing. She thought they would never want to do anything like her. Now she g

 The good I made a butter pecan banana cake over the weekend. I’ve been going through an old book of recipes I’ve saved over the years and testing out the ones I want to keep and the ones I want to throw away. So far they’ve all been pretty good.  The fun At the Montessori school where I work we had an on campus “field trip” to the pumpkin patch. The admin team set pumpkins out in the field and each class or cohort went out individually to pick a pumpkin and have an apple and an apple cider. I work with toddlers and they were very excited (if a little distracted) because they don’t normally get included on field trips.  It was really fun! The random I spent most of Saturday morning rearranging my bedroom.  There is so much more space now and even feels lighter.  The good, the fun, the random

  t Gracious words are like a honeycomb Sweetness to the soul and health to the body. Proverbs 16:24 ~ ~ ~ Sunday scripture blessings .  Scripture and a snapshot Purposeful faith    Anchored truth Tuesday    Heart encouragement Grace and truth You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

Mist in the morning, raw and nippy, Leaves on the pavement, wet and slippy. Sun on fire behind the trees, Muddy boots, muddy knees. Shop windows, lighted early, Smoking grass, dewy, pearly. Red, lemon, orange and brown, Silently, softly the leaves float down Shirley Hughes Out and About ~ ~ ~ When my daughters were quite young we walked to the library at east three times a week.  It was important to me that they have a love of books. This book, Out and About, was one of their very favourites. It’s a collection of seasonal poems, really. With beautiful illustrations. I still have it at home and read it to my grandchildren when they visit.  Poetry is something that has sort of gone out of style. I am willing to risk sounding “old” when I say that I think it’s rather a shame. It takes a bit of emotional intelligence to read a poem and that is something we need more of these days. 

  On Saturday my town held the 2nd annual indigenous people’s day. Members of the Wampanoag Nation singers and dancers came and taught a small gathering of people a number of dances. There were quite a few children in attendance and it was enlightening to hear the questions they asked. There were also a small amount of vendors and though we all practiced social distancing I was able to purchase a beautiful hand-beaded necklace when it was my turn. The weather was beautiful, everyone was masked, it was a wonderful time! ~ I love the Autumn and October is my very favourite month. These leaves reminded me of ballerinas dancing in the Autumn breeze. And these of a flamenco dancers twirling skirts. Monday was my grandson’s fourth birthday.  She had a special birthday dinner for him and he was happy to spend time with family. Bonnie made the cake...just in case you didn’t notice that it was homemade.  Verne’s 4, Abigail will be 2 in December, and Bonnie is expecting a third in January.  She’

  What is it about pumpkins that brings us so much joy? Calling it a squash could never do it justice. But when one mentions the word pumpkin it brings forth all kinds of imaginative delights. So whether you stew it, purée it, chunk it, curry it, or put it in a pie... Happy pumpkin day And remember, every little thing is gonna be okay my little pumpkins. ~ ~ ~ All about home .  The hearth and soul .  Vintage charm    Little cottage link party Charming homes and gardens .  Tablescape Thursday

  Our world Tuesday .  Pictorial Tuesday .  Image-in-ing .  Nature notes My corner of the world .  Wordless Wednesday

 The good On Saturday my town celebrated indigenous peoples. The Wampanoag Nation singers and dancers came to teach the gathered crowd some of their dances.  The children in attendance asked some very good questions as well. On the same day in Boston there was a larger gathering trying to get the Massachusetts government to change Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s day. At this time, I believe, there are 14 states that have made this change. ~ The fun Today is my grandson’s fourth birthday! I could never have imagined the crazy love my heart holds for that boy! ~ The random I thought these leaves, that were twirling in the Autumn breeze when I took this picture, looked like the skirts of a Flamenco dancer. So pretty in all the glorious October sunshine. The good, the fun, the random

  t You are the light of the world A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand and it gives light to all in the house.  In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:15-16 ~ ~ ~ Sunday scripture blessings Scripture and a snapshot Purposeful Faith Anchored truth Tuesday Tell his story You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

  O hushed October morning mild, Thy leaves have ripened to the fall; Tomorrow’s wind, if it be wild, Should waste them all. The crows above the forest call; Tomorrow they may form and go. O hushed October morning mild, Begin the hours of this day slow, Make the day seem to us less brief. Hearts not adverse to being beguiled, Beguile us in the way you know; Release one leaf at break of day; At noon release another leaf; One from our trees one far away; Retard the sun with gentle mist; Enchant the land with amethyst. Excerpt from October by Robert Frost Absolutely my very favourite month of the year It’s  no wonder that there are so many New England poets have written so much about October.

  Home I am ever-thankful for my home where I live with my husband and our cat Tucker. Last summer my mum sold her house and moved into the first floor apartment. Stairs are a bit much for her now. She will be 86 in December. Joe and I moved into the second floor apartment at the same time. It’s comforting for us all to be so close together and still have our own privacy. Thankful Thursday

  Joe and I had to drive to Berkshires (a 3 hour ride...one way!) on what turned about to be a fool’s errand. However, we made a day of it. The foliage was beautiful and we drove into Stockbridge which is where Norman Rockwell once lived and where Alice’s Restaurant, from the song of the same name by Arlo Guthrie was located.  Also...the song, Sweet Baby James, by James Taylor with the lyrics: The first of December was covered with snow And so was the turnpike from Stockbridge to Boston... So we stopped in front of the Welcome to sign to get some pictures and then we drove the turnpike to Boston The leaves are changing here. Even the ground looks pretty. This year because we’ve had such a small amount of rain the colours are somewhat muted But they still look pretty to me.  At the school where I work there is a wonderful and huge old Beech tree in the middle of the toddler’s playground. It has at least five major trunks and a spot in the middle of them for a child to stand and look up