a day in the life

24 September, 2018

The wind is howling outside my windows.

I can hear things blowing around out there but it's still dark...

not quite dawn. We live in the middle of a 3 pronged fork in the road

on a rather tiny island which is connected to the mainland

by a 2 mile causeway and we have the Atlantic on

either side of us. So...things can get pretty windy here.

I am wearing a pair of Levi jeans and a white peasant blouse

from J.Jill. I have a scarf with autumn coloured flowers on as well.

I haven't really been putting chores off...

I just can't seem to catch up. I cleaned the bedroom

and went through the autumn clothing and it all looked great.

Somehow, I ended up with lots of blankets on the floor though.

All folded and piled up and waiting for the first

cold night to be tossed onto the beds.

Storage is tight here but I will have to find a place for them. 

I had some leftover chili in the fridge. I tossed it yesterday.

I think it's time for me to stop making chili

as we don't really like it. 

I haven't been reading much of anything except

my daily bible reading. 

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness.
Psalm90:14

Is here a prayer request you'd like to share?

Please pray for my husband who is recovering from

his second thyroid surgery in 2 months.

What special dish or baked item are you planning for this week?

I am going to be making puy lentils with bacon this week.

I haven't made in since last year...I hope it tastes as good as it did then. 

A photo you'd like to share?

I picked up a basket at a local church bizarre

and hung it on the back door with some gourds inside.

Any parting thoughts?

Let's all try to bear fruit this week

and to bear one another's burdens where we are able. 

Autumnal Equinox

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Autumn is my very favorite season.

I think there is no place prettier than Autumn in New England.

I've spruced up the door to our flat a bit. 

I went to a church bazaar Saturday.

I picked up a little square chalk board and an old wicker basket

and I hung them both up on the door.

In the spring I painted the door a cheery Marblehead gold

and the colours of the Autumn gourds look so pretty against it.

 Truth to tell, the stairway up to our second floor flat isn't very pretty.

The walls are covered in a really old and ugly wall paper 

and everything else is in pretty rough shape as well.

Last spring I painted our door a sweet shade of

Marblehead gold, by Ben Moore.

The door to our place is welcoming.

Once inside the flat is old but beautiful - vintage and comfortable

and the views of the Atlantic are absolutely amazing.

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Seeking Sabbath

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t

Fill us at daybreak with your kindness.

Psalm 90:14

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An InLinkz Link-up

Family Friday

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My mum and I went to visit my grandson.

My daughter and son-in-law have just moved into a new place.

All of the grandchildren call my mum Reetsy 

and Verne (her only great-grandchild) is no exception.

He asked her to come down and play block with him.

She is 84 and had a hip replacement last year 

so she asked him if he would help her back up.

He said, "No, I won't."

He won't be 2 till the middle of October

but in the end he did offer her what help he could.

He and I played in the yard with a little yellow dump truck 

a bunch of sticks and a broken shell.

Last night was curriculum night at the family care center where I work.

In past years it's been a pretty low turn out

but this year we did things a little differently and the turn out was much better.

I teach toddlers and don't always get a chance to really connect

with the parents so it was nice to be able to talk to them all

and go over what we do in class each day.

I know that they won't remember me

but my goal is to inspire a sense of wonder, caring, and curiosity in them.

Tomorrow is the Autumnal equinox.

The weather has been cooling off! 

Autumn is my favorite season and I'm loving it!

 

Only a few more week till Verne turns 2!

I can't believe how fast he's growing.

Thankful Thursday

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I am thankful for all the seasons and stories of my life.

Please feel free to add a thankful post to my Thankful Thursday link-up.

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An InLinkz Link-up

the dump truck

My grandson has a little dump truck.

We loaded it with sea shells, sticks, and small stones

and made a pile across the yard under the apple tree.

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sepia memories

Only one more week or so of summer.

I live on a rather tiny sort-of an island.

We are just one square mile here on the north shore of Boston.

We are connected to the mainland by a causeway that is one and a half miles long

but that may as well be a thousand miles long come winter.

In summer people go to long Beach at the end of the causeway

but come Labor day they are all gone and our rather tiny sort-of an island

is ours once again.

Our house is perched at the beginning of the island 

just in the center of a three pronged fork.

We are surrounded by two beaches, the old coast guard station,

Memorial Park, a gravel parking lot, and the softball field.

In summer we watch both the men's and women's softball games 

from the windows in the kitchen while we eat our dinner.

At Christmas tide we watch the PTO's Christmas tree sale 

in the gravel parking lot and we buy our tree from there

and walk it up the street toward home.

We we hear the Memorial day parade end in Memorial park

and listen as the speakers say the prayers for our loved ones

and Veterans who have left us.

I love this time of year.  

The darkness settles earlier and it is cool enough for cooking again

and gathering around the kitchen table. 

Church starts up in earnest again.

And I find a rhythm in the days and weeks of Autumn. 

I give my house a thorough cleaning

and set the summer things away for next year.

In their place are family photos and dried hydrangeas

which I picked from the bush in the front yard.

Monday: leftovers 

Tuesday: Swedish meatballs, egg noodles, green beans

Wednesday: Puy lentils with bacon, roast cauliflower

Thursday: Roast chicken, herbs and potatoes

Friday: crockpot turkey legs

Saturday: beef stew

Sunday: spaghetti and sausage sauce, salad

Seeking Sabbath

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For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh,

But through love serve one another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word:

You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 

But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.

Galatians 5:13-15

I am heartily tired of hearing about politics though I don't think I've heard the last of them.

It has become the norm to tear one another apart and call people

vile and foul names in the name of politics.

But, the Lord tells us that if we bite and devour one another 

watch out that we are not consumed by one another.

He also tells us to cast the beam out of our own eye first...

So before we start looking at those who are biting and devouring

it may be that we need to look to ourselves.

I have made the decision to abstain from any political conversation.

I don't believe that politics is a lasting solution or a permanent problem.

Only the word of the Lord stands forever.

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An InLinkz Link-up

family Friday

I have been creating a diversity tapestry with my class.

I have a big bag full of fabric that represents different colours of people.

The toddlers each take turns choosing a fabric strip

and I help them weave it into our tapestry. 

When it's done we will hang it in our class room

or perhaps in a more public area in our center.

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I am feeling much better this week and I am very thankful for all

of my friends who sent me prayers and well wishes.

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My husband went to his post-op appointment yesterday.

The doctor said he still has C type hyperplasia and will have to be in contact

with an endocrinologist but that it doesn't seem to be a problem right now.

All in all it was a good report and Joe had his stitches removed

and was cleared to go back to work.

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Sunflower season!

I am stopping by the sunflower farm near my daughter's house this weekend.

Normally, both of my daughters and I meet there at this time of year

but this year we can't make it.

So, I am just going to drop into the farm stand .

I'm hoping for a big flower head with seeds that I can bring into my class.

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An InLinkz Link-up

diversity tapestry

Diversity Tapestry

Woven together are strands of colour

perhaps the blue of a river you once kayaked

or  the grey of a craggy mountain near where you grew up

maybe the silvery twinkle of a thousand city lights

maybe a black of the darkest night

the brown of an acorn dropped from an oak tree you once walked past

with your family

or the green of a forest canopy

maybe light pink like the inside of a moon-snail shell

you found on the beach

the white of a snowy day

the blue of your daughter's first bathing suit

the red of your son's old shoes

the rich chocolate of your grandmother's eyes

or maybe the colour of your skin

all beautiful and colourful and dancing in the light

like a hundred, hundred million colours

of who we are...

celebrate the diversity of us
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I am thankful that I work in a place where diversity is celebrated

Please feel free to add your link and let us know what you are thankful for.

An InLinkz Link-up

she looketh well to the ways of her household

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soup bubbles on the stove

and the kettle's on for tea

Summer is winding down - school has started

The beaches are quiet....

I no longer hear the squeals of children as they play in the surf

but instead, the sound of the tides rolling the on rocks 

in and out...ebb and flow.

The boys down the road meet up in the park across the street

and play a game of football in the early afternoon

just before the sun sets

 I love the rhythm of  Autumn.

All of us beginning to gather in close at end of day

A thousand sunset colours dancing off the walls in the parlor.

This morning I put on a sweater and wrapped a blanket about me

as I sat on the pouch drinking my tea. 

One hundred acorns gathered while walking 

and bittersweet berries along the dunes.

They are still all close in tight and yellow

against the deep burgundy of the sumac bushes

Monday: Chili

Tuesday: Meatloaf, new red potatoes, green beans

Wednesday: Turkey tacos

Thursday: Crock pot chicken Marsala

Friday: Turkey/sweet potato poppers, zucchini fries

Saturday: leftovers

Sunday: Beef Stroganoff, egg noodles, broccoli

oatmeal cake with chocolate icing

morning glory muffins

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