a spirit of simplicity

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ There are piles of old books all over the place in my house.  I do have a bookshelf but they still seem to spill out all about the house... on side tables, bedside tables...even on an antique bureau I keep in the living room. I change them up for the season so instead of witches and skeletons I have stacks of books with tiny pumpkins on top of them, and candles to ward off the coming darkness. ~ I had all sorts of glorious plans for the weekend but came down with a bit of a cold so I ended up staying home and making pea soup. It always tastes so much better than it looks.  I eat mostly plant-based so there is no ham in my soup. I put dry mustard in and sometimes a bit of molasses just to give it a more complex flavor. ~ I bought a bouquet of tiny yellow chrysanthemums at the market last week.  They were only $5.00 as they are considered filler flowers for those making a more grand arrangement. I have much more simple aspirations however, so they fill a pear-ish shaped po

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~   1). It's officially fall y'all. In the norther hemisphere anyway. Any signs of it where you are? What's your favorite thing about this time of year? The leaves are beginning to change here on the coast of Massachusetts. Pinecones and acorns are dropping and so are the temperatures. I have had to get my sweaters out of storage.  I know I am in the minority here but I love the earlier evenings. It's just so cozy and I don't feel so terrible about going to bed early.  2). Have you visited any "falls" in person? I have done some hikes and seen a few very minor waterfalls but nothing that anyone would really talk about.  3). What's something you'll miss about summer? Being able to run outdoors without having to put on shoes, a coat, hat and mittens. Also, open windows and fresh air. 4). A favorite fall recipe? Oh my goodness so many! Cooking in the fall is my very favorite! I eat mostly plant-based now but I love to roast squash and othe

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Autumn in my daughter's garden the old blue wheelbarrow stands at the ready for hauling away the remnants of summer the Morning Glories and Patient Lucies  still bloom along the fence pumpkins and other squash are a delicious bright orange green tomatoes on a browning vine... The kale is coming up strong now....dark green and rugged and oh so good for you. Apples on the trees dropping to the grass beneath and almost immediately swarmed by yellow jackets I am ever so thankful for this time of year lights on in the windows at dusk, sweaters pulled of of closet shelves,  the smell of fireplaces in the brisk air as I walk. ~ ~ ~ little things Thursday Thankful Thursday Thursday favorite things

 ~ ~ ~ September Anemone on the garden path. I joined the Trustee of Reservations in Massachusetts. They have over a hundred properties around the state. This is Long Hill in Beverly, MA. There are beautiful gardens which I walked the other day with my daughter and granddaughters. It can be difficult to find spots that are still wild.  This place has over 114 acres with trails, an old brick house where the owners of the property lived before they donated the land, and miles of trails. I am looking forward to exploring more of it. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ nature notes Communal global   my corner of the world wordless Wednesday Wednesdays around the world Floral Friday

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ The house is filled with piles of old books.  Here and there a newer book makes it's way in.  N. Scott Momady is one of my favourites and I purchased the book on top of the stack at the library book fair many years ago.  Leaves: Their Place in Life and Legend.  The title enough is enough to make me swoon  not to mention the frontispiece illustrations are just beautiful.  Some folks decorate with witches or skeletons but for me it's always been books... Once Autumn is over I will take out the winter and Christmas books but for now I have the Autumn-ish books piled up on the bureau in the living room and I dream of reading under an old Maple tree  watching colourful leaves dancing their way down to the ground. ~ ~ ~ The weather... It is rainy and cool here this morning, there is an autumn breeze blowing up fromthe harbour but it is quiet and cozy with a small lamp lit against  the gloom and an apple scented candle filling our small home with it's cheer. Right

 ~ ~ ~ t Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. Hebrews 10:35-36 ESV ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ scripture and a snapshot

  ~ ~ ~ Barbie weekend at Hopie's house! I surprised Abigail and Natalie with new Barbies and a new purple jeep for them to drive around in. Pretty fun. ~ I raided my daughter's garden when I went to pick up the children. We had beans and tomatoes for dinner and a vase of fresh flowers on the bedside table. ~ I met my daughter at a Massachusetts trustee of reservations property on Sunday.  We walked around enjoying the property, which was absolutely beautiful.  Afterward I went to a poetry reading on the property.  Various authors from a newly published poetry book read. The book is called, Leaning Toward Light, Poems for gardens and the hands that tend them. It was a beautiful evening. I'm so glad I got a chance to do it. ~ On Tuesday night I went back to the same property to attend an autumnal equinox sound healing.  It was a guided meditation with drums and bells. It was beautiful and relaxing. ~ I have been getting to work about a half hour early because of the timing o

~ ~ ~ t He made the storm be still,  and the waves of the sea were hushed.  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Psalm 107:29 scripture and a snapshot

  The last of the summer gardens are blooming. Do you wonder if the flowers understand that this is the end of their season? This may be the very last coneflower before the cooler weather comes and it all goes to seed. Perhaps I think of these things now that I am in the autumn of my own life.  Now I appreciate the bright colours of a summer flower and also the beautiful brown of a seed pod. Now I am mindful of a quiet and still Saturday I allow the rush of getting everything done to pass me by. This is a joy of 60 years. This is a quiet contemplation in a garden toward the end of summer.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Love is all around I am grateful for a tiny green heart in the middle of a yellow leaf. ~ ~ ~  Little things Thursday Thankful Thursday thursday favorite things

 ~ ~ ~ I leave a bit early for work now to avoid the school traffic. We have at least 5 schools all starting at roughly the same time and all within a mile of each other on the way out of town! Oh, and did I mention that we don't have busses?  It's crazy trying to get out of town to work! So...I get to this beautiful beach about 20 minutes early every day and I park the car and walk the beach. It's a beautiful and calming way to start my work day. ~ We have 4 of these big, sort of ugly, bottom feeders in our fish tank in our classroom. They had babies!  Now we have 6 or 7 little baby bottom feeders! We will have to give some of them away as our tank isn't big enough for all of them.  ~ One of my co-workers this year is a paid intern attending the same state college I attended as an adult learner in 2013. In class one day we all signed a photograph waiver. I never gave it a second thought until the following semester when a class mate told me that she had seen my picture

 ~ ~ ~ A small vase of flowers on the kitchen table always cheers me. Makes me think of Proverbs,  A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance. It was Verne's first day of first grade! My daughter grew peppers in her garden this year and they did very well.   They looked so pretty hanging in her kitchen.  I hiked with my brother, sister-in-law, and a family friend on Sunday. It was a beautiful day. At the beach with friends! Friday fave fives

 ~ ~ ~ Most mornings I leave for work about 15 minutes early. This leaves me time to beat the traffic and stop at the beach along the drive for a short meditation or walk. I won't complain about my commute.  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Nature notes communal global my corner of the world Wordless Wednesday Wednesdays around the world