a spirit of simplicity

  The good I got our Christmas tree up and decorated. I think it’s so pretty. I love waking and turning the lights on.  The fun I went to my daughter’s house over the weekend and she did a bit of shopping while I stayed with my grandchildren. So. Much. Fun!  The random It was only me, my husband, and my mum for Thanksgiving this year.  On one hand I missed the rest of our family but on the other hand it was nice to have things quiet and not so much of a fuss.  Hope you had a happy Thanksgiving! ~ ~ ~ The good, the random, the fun

    A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices.  ~ ~ ~ The season of Advent is upon us and this first week is to be full of hope. Every year, since I could ever remember, my mum has an Amaryllis at Christmas. My sister in her house, and me in my house have continued this tradition. We plant them in a bit of soil and some garden rocks just before Thanksgiving and   we wait as the first tender shoots begin to emerge from its dark bulb. Each in our own homes, apart this year, but full of hope that by Christmas the stems will have grown tall and strong and at least one large full flower will blossom.  Our homes are dressed for the season. Beauty and cheer fill each dark corner with light. ~ Here where I live there has been a request sent forth on all kinds of social media that on Christmas Eve, At six o’clock in the evening each person shall stand in their own doorway and ring a bell for two minutes. This is to say to one another that though we may not be gathered together in the way we are

  t And again Isaiah says, “The root of Jesse will come, Even he who arises to rule the gentiles; In him will the gentiles hope.” Romans 15:12 ~ ~ ~ Sunday scripture blessings Scripture and a snapshot Heart encouragement Grace and truth You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

  The skies were grey and misty all day on Thanksgiving. It was just me and Joe and my mum this year but we continued our tradition of taking a picture around the turkey.  At dusk on Thanksgiving I went for a walk. It had been misty all day but it wasn’t raining. It was so warm that I was wishing I hadn’t worn my coat.   I could smell turkeys and fireplaces.  Here and there families had set up tables for outdoor eating on their patios and I could see them talking as I walked past. By the time I turned toward home it was dark but the streets were quiet and still.  I came home from work noticed the Christmas lights in both my mum’s and my apartments. Even the lady who lives on the third floor has gotten into the spirit.  It looked so pretty. The picture doesn’t do it justice.  Have you noticed that people seem to be decorating early this year? I’ve seen Christmas trees in quite a few windows as well. It’s very cheery.  We have been using flowers in our curriculum this week. One of our Mo

  Instilling a love for the natural world in children and encouraging their own natural curiosity about the world in which we live. “The hands are the instruments of man’s intelligence.” Maria Montessori  I am a teacher at a Montessori school. Children are encouraged to use their hands to explore by touching, feeling, and doing.  In this activity they used red and yellow paint, flowers, and pinecones. I believe that if we want adults to have a reverence, a love and respect for the natural world then we have to give them the opportunity to explore it when they are very young.  We have to teach them that “nature” isn’t a separate place but that we are all connected in one natural world and that when we care for our world we care for ourselves.  ~ ~ ~ Nature notes Our world Tuesday   Pictorial Tuesday .  Image-in-ing   My corner of the world .  Community Global .  Wordless Wednesday

  Pink poinsettia! I am old enough to remember when poinsettias only came in red. And then I began to see white flowers..and then some of them came sprinkled with glitter (not a fan). The glitter is what made me turn my back on the poinsettia and turn toward Christmas cactus instead. Even when they began to introduce all sorts of shades of red or red leaves that were splashed with white I was not enticed.  But last year I discovered pink! And just like that I was in love! ~ ~ ~ The hearth and soul All about home    Celebrate your story    Inspire me Monday    Little cottage link party Saying yes to the hodgepodge    Charming homes and gardens    Grace at home You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

  t I have not stopped giving thanks for you Remembering you always in my prayers Ephesians 1:16 ~ ~ ~ Sunday scripture blessings .  Scripture and a snapshot .   Faith and worship You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

  Cousin’s weekend! My sister and our three cousins got together for the weekend to celebrate my cousin, Martha’s birthday. We went out to lunch, had lobster rolls for dinner, had waffles and quiche for breakfast and in between all of that there was all kinds of desserts and old fashions for cocktails...and lots and lots of laughter! My cousin Ann fractured her ankle so she and my sister (who has dropped-foot) couldn’t do much walking but my cousin, Martha, and I went for a walk at twilight and it was absolutely beautiful. I signed our cat, Tucker, up for a subscription to meowbox. It comes every other month and is filled with themed goodies. Even the box is interesting to a cat. I set it on the floor and he came over and started rolling around on it. And as soon as I opened it I stepped back and let him pull the themed toys out. This month the theme was space. He pulled the toys out and had such a fun time with them. He was jumping up into the air with them! When I woke up the next mo

  It came without family, came without friends, It came without turkey, It came without pies, It came without mashed potatoes, stuffing, or sighs So as you sit at your table with a tear in your eye And settle, alone, for a very long cry Remember Thanksgiving doesn’t come from a store Being thankful, perhaps, means a little bit more... This year it doesn’t mean sinks full of dishes But hearts full of love and of far away wishes And next year when we gather on Thanksgiving day We might not rush to leave but instead want to stay To laugh and to dance, and to talk and to sing, And to savour the moments that gratefulness brings. ~ ~ ~ t I thank God every time I remember you. Philippians 1:3 ~ Grace at home Thankful Thursday Grace and Truth

  Gerry Island Marblehead light  Chandler Hovey lighthouse As seen from Gerry Island Gerry Island was named after Eldbridge Gerry who was the Governor of Massachusetts and the fifth Vice President of the United States. He was a signer of the American Declaration of Independence and at the constitutional convention in 1787 he refused to sign because it did not, at that time, include the bill of rights.  This tiny island in my home-town was named for him and at low tide one can walk out to it and enjoy the beautiful scenery. ~ ~ ~ Our world Tuesday .  Pictorial Tuesday .  Image-in-ing   My corner of the world   Community Global .  Wordless Wednesday Nature notes

The fun My cousins and my sister and I got together for the weekend! So much fun!!! The good An evening stroll The random The Turkey pumpkins ~ ~ ~ The good, the random, the fun

  Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes There beneath the blue suburban skies I sit And meanwhile back... I’m not sure where this sign above the cabinets came from but it’s been kicking around my house for about 10 years now.  ~ I brought a white geranium in just before the snow at Halloween.  I love the vintage green pot it’s planted in.  In years past I have overwintered the geraniums. They always looked so pretty on a table by a sunny window. In the summer I transport them back outdoors and place them around the porch in their terra cotta pots.  I don’t have a sunny enough spot for them in our rather tiny flat now but I couldn’t resist bringing just one of them indoors.  ~ ~ ~ ~ All about home   The hearth and soul Little cottage link party Charming homes and gardens . 

  t I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. Psalm 69:30 ~ ~ ~ Sunday scripture blessings Scripture and a snapshot Purposeful Faith    You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

  The cheesy turkey-pumpkin picture!  Every year just after Halloween I use one of the pumpkins to make a turkey. I purchased the wooden feathers and head at a church bazaar about a decade ago and since my grandchildren are old enough now they helped my push the feathers and the head into the pumpkin! I think it will be a yearly event and it will be fun to see how they grow over time. My sister is visiting for the week. Late afternoon on Saturday we all walked down to the town Landing... Me, my grandchildren, Abigail and Verne, my brother and sister-in-law, his oldest friend, Keith, and my sister. There were some buskers set up in the square and Abigail got to dancing right away. Verne went over to ask my sister to dance with him. So sweet! They were playing a song by The Grateful Dead...wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world.  It brought me to tears to see my family there, dancing in the streets where we grew up.  I took the train up to my daughter Bonnie’s house becau

  My cup runneth over.  ~ Little things Thursday Thankful Thursday

  The biggest rocks make the biggest splashes! And naturally, the biggest splashes are the best!   I had my grandchildren with me over the weekend. Of a morning we walked to the beach and threw rocks. Then, we put some rocks into my backpack and walked up to Crocker park and threw rocks off of the cliffs. It was great fun to see them bounce off the rocky ledges before they splashed into the water. There are days when nothing is more important than throwing rocks and watching the splash. In these times it’s good to have a child to remind you of that.  ~ ~ ~ Nature notes   Our world Tuesday    Image-in-ing   Community Global  

  When my children were very young we had a small table under a window in the dining room on which we placed a small wooden bowl and some candles.  It was our nature table.  In the bowl we placed treasures that we had found in the natural world... such as seashells, feathers, acorns, an odd shaped rock, a toadstool, even a tiny weed with an intricate root system.  In season tiny hands carefully placed many different things into that bowl, colourful leaves, sticky pinecones, grass clippings and dandelions, seeds...even butterfly wings and once, I think, a dead cricket.  It’s important to create respect and caring for the natural world in children.  It gives them the sense that they are a part of a larger world. That the huge oak tree in the side yard was once just a tiny acorn and that the tree that grew is older than their great-grandfather.  That the forest or the beach or the desert is on the earth just like they are and that we are all connected.  I have a nature table in my kitchen

  t Not that I speak in respect of want: For I have learned in whatsoever state I am Therewith to be content. Philippians 4:11 ~ As I type this we still do not know who will be president of the United States come January.  It seems our country is very closely divided.  Some will say this one cheated and others will say that one cheated.  They think that they hold such power... But I know who is the most powerful of all.  Scripture and a snapshot .  Sunday scripture blessings Purposeful Faith   You are invited to the Inlinkz link party! Click here to enter

  So.....this happened. We had what is now and forever will be referred to as the: Halloween snow of 2020. I think I heard it was about 3 or 4 inches which really isn’t very much for these parts. But it wasn’t predicted....and it was still October! ~ I woke Saturday morning to a big, beautiful full moon shining through my bedroom window. It blanketed the bedcovers with moonlight and Tucker (our cat) and I quietly got up to watch it sink down over the rooftops of the little town we live in.  I made some coffee and after a half a cup, noticed that the sun was rising bright and orange over the harbour so I pulled on all of my warmest clothing and walked down the road to take some pictures.  The ramps to the docks are up at the town landing. Only the boatyard dock is still in use. You can see the lobster traps stacked for when the boats comes in with their hauls.  Marblehead Light is across the harbour on “the neck.” It looks like it could be December and not Halloween.  It felt like it to

  We had a bit of a snowfall on the eve of Halloween. I’m not going to lie....there was some grumbling. Not from me though...I loved it And so did my grandchildren! ~ ~ ~ Our world Tuesday .  Pictorial Tuesday .  Image-in-ing My corner of the world .  Community Global .  Nature notes

 The conservatory  As I walked to the market one day last weekend I ran into an old friend who happened to be having a small impromptu yard sale on the sidewalk in front of her house on State street.  I’ve been thinking about a desk for a while and was waiting to stumble across just the right one.  She had a chippy old table that was a great price so after finagling the price a bit I carried it home.  I thought my husband would say, “Oh no, Kara...not another chippy old table!” But he didn’t! He liked it!  I set it up in the conservatory -which is the tiny room off the kitchen which we use for music, a library of sorts, an office, plants in the warmer months, and on the opposite side....laundry- It is painted one of my very favourite aqua colours and at some point somebody painted a sweet little flowery vine with hearts all around the border.  All about home .  The hearth and soul Celebrate your story Little cottage link party .  Charming homes and gardens .