Sun to me

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"Sweetest of the sunflowers, yeah, you're the sun to me."

-Zach Bryan

I am ever so thankful for the month of August

Thankful Thursday 

What's for dinner Wednesday

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What's for dinner Wednesday?

My husband requested Shepard's pie.

It's been ages and ages since I last made it.  We usually leave the oven off in the summer time but the weather has been a bit cooler so after running to the market to pick up the ingredients I got busy.

 

My version is quite simple and plain. I add some onion to the browning meat and I sprinkle paprika over the mashed potatoes but other than that it's just meat, corn, and potatoes. 

My step-daughter loved this simple version when she was growing up 

and I have continued to make it that way. 

I also made a banana pecan cake. 

I haven't made that in over 5 years and it is just as delicious as it was back then. 

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Titus two Tuesday

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In the garden out and about

I have been wandering about in the back garden this morning with my coffee, cutting zinnias here and

 there to place in a tiny old fashioned vase.

There is nothing quite so charming or welcoming than to see a simple bouquet of 

flowers on the kitchen table.

Today there is a pot of beans on the back burner, a cornbread in the oven, and a fresh potato salad ready to pull out of the fridge for dinner. 

I am planning to make some quick refrigerator pickles as well. 

I am not a big pickle fan but my husband loves them.

t

 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, 

not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

Titus 2:3

The cosmos

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t

Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord,  be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever.

Amen 

Jude 24-25

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Saturday stroll

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Hydrangeas and an American flag are a quintessential summer sight here in New England.

I love the early variety which was always  a creamy white color. This house is just around the corner from me and  I pass it on my daily walks.

Hollyhocks are the flower of my home town of Marblehead, MA. 

They are so pretty growing tall and colourful up through the cracks of sidewalks and walkways.

They are a biennial and the trick to growing them is to have poor soil. They are a challenge to establish but once they are established they will re-seed every year. 

My great aunt Vera once wrote a poem which was titled Hollyhocks. 

She had a book of poems published a very long time ago and I have a copy of it.

Erect against the garden wall

they grow, the tallest flower of all.

Like grandmamas they seem to know

the reason why strange things are so.

I live in the old town section of Marblehead on a very narrow winding street where the houses are hundreds of years old and sit right up next to the street. This is not an area with front yards. As you can see this little garden of globe amaranths grows in a tiny patch of land just against a fence and spills out onto the street quite sweetly.

Just to the right of the yellow house where the people are walking is the town landing and 

Marblehead harbor which is absolutely beautiful. 

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What I did this weekend

 

My sister and I went to lunch at this beautiful old place on the Connecticut river.

We sat inside at a table with a beautiful view and saw float planes flying up and down the river 

and over the small suspension bridge.

It was a lovely afternoon.

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When we got home my sister wanted a chance to take a rest so I went to the pool and did some relaxing. 

It is a large pool in her complex but there are very few people who use it. There was only about 4 other

people there. 

I loved her pool key chain! She found a mailbox key chain as well!

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I love the wildflowers at this time of year. 

Black-eyed susan's, tickseed, asters, Queen Anne's lace...

We have a little patch of wildflower gardens on campus at the school where I work. It's so pretty.

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A co-worker found a dragonfly in the garden at work. It was no longer living. She is a water colour artist and I am a dragonfly lover so she showed it to me before bringing it home to use it for a model to paint.

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My cat, Tucker, missed me while I was away this weekend. 

He was curled up on my bed when I got home.

My bed even beat out his usual favorite spot on top of the living room chair looking out of the window.

I should mention that this is A spirit of simplicity at a new/old blog. 

I switched to wordpress but I like blogger better. I had so much trouble switching back that I just started a new blog.

Holly Hobbie

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I am so thankful for my sister. 

I'm not sure how old she was in this picture...maybe 7? It was a long time ago.

People used to say that she looked like a Holly Hobbie doll as we were young in the 1970s when 

Holly Hobbie was popular.

I am very thankful for the time we get to spend together. 

 Thankful Thursday

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Walk in wisdom

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 t

Who is wise and understanding among you?

Show by your good life that your works are done with gentleness born of wisdom.

But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason,  

full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

And a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

James 3:13, 17-18

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Rainy summer days

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There were elecctrical storms and hard rain a few nights this week.

It created puddles all over the playground where I work.

This left the opportunity for the toddlers to play in mud kitchen sinks!

All of the buckets, pails, and dump trucks were filled with water. There were even puddles tucked into the 

roots of the big old Beech tree!

What a morning we had!

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I went to a muster with my daughter's family on Saturday. We had a lot of fun but it was very hot and then it began to rain! Fortunately, the men had set up tarp stands so we could all tuck in when the rain got heavy. As you can see my grandchildren didn't let it bother them...except Natalie. Natalie got hot and wet and a little tired.

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While I was at the second hand store I also picked up these charming curtains for my kitchen window. 

They make me think of the old children's poem, each peach, pear, plum. I love the yellow ric rac!

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One of the beautiful by-products of a rainy day is a beautiful rainbow!

This was shining over the harbour as I came home from work on Wednesday evening!

I didn't take the picture. It was taken by Wednesdays in Marblehead.

A few weeks back I stayed overnight at a friend's house. She and her husband live on a river and in the morning we walked out to the dock with our coffee. It was so peaceful. What a beautiful way to start the day.

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P.S. 

for those of you who may be wondering this is A Spirit of Simplicity at yet another blog.

yellow ric rac and a sunshine daydream

 

I took a day off of work on Monday and spent the afternoon thrifting at local charity shops.

At the Salvation Army store I found these charming curtains for my kitchen window.

I don't normally have curtains there because I am not really much of a curtain girl.

I love the natural light far too much to cover any of it up however,

this charming valance fit so perfectly that I simply couldn't pass it up.

It makes me think of the old children's rhyme, Each peach, pear, plum...

I am so thankful for the woman who handmade this valance. It is so well done. 

I love the yellow ric rac trim!

It matches the cups and saucers that I purchased a few weeks ago.

My husband calls them the sunshine daydream cups.

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Thankful Thursday at It's a Small Town Life

Walking in Wisdom

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t

Look carefully then how you walk,  not as unwise but as wise,

making the best use of time because the days are evil.

Ephesians 5:15-16

In one of the newer versions of the bible it said, be mindful of your steps. This scripture is telling not telling us to be careful of where we are walking but instead to be aware of how we are walking. We are being told to pay attention to each step we take. Our steps should be filled with the Spirit and we should be addressing one another with love and with Christ in our hearts. 

t

And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Ephesians 5:2

Each step we take forward and each footprint we leave behind should be filled with the light and love of Christ so that others will see, and feel, and hear the spirit of the Lord and be glad. 

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