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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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

she looketh well to the ways of her household

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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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20 August

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I spent Saturday with my sweet grandson Verne last week.

He had a few chores to catch up on.

He gassed up the lawnmower (with a squirt gun),

He tuned his ukulele (and played me Truckin' by the Grateful Dead)

and surveyed the rain before walking his dog "It's raining outside, Pippa" he said. 

When his parents got home he put his chores down

and took some time to play trains with his father. 

"Toot, toot, ding, ding, ding, I'm a choo-choo train!"

Best day ever!

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Puddles of fun

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Where ever I go said Verne, said he,

There's always a puddle to splash in.

I might bring a friend, or it could be just me,

but there should be a puddle to crash in.

It could be all muddy, it could be all wet

but whether it's here or it's there

if there's puddles to see it's a very safe bet,

I'm barefoot and  willing to share.

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Image-in-ing

walking home

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My mum and I went out to breakfast on Saturday morning.

We ate on the deck at the Marblehead boat club

watching the harbor of a morning.

After we ate we walked the old Fort Sewell.

The U.S.S Constitution sailed by here during the Revolutionary war

hiding out from the English.

It was pretty peaceful while we were there...

only a few tourists and a plein air painting class...

Marblehead light, a tall ship anchored off Egg rock, 

and a slip of a girl going for a swim amongst the dories. 

We watched the wind blow the grass around a little

and sunlight glisten off of the water

and then we mosied on home.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

ABOUNDING GRACE

Community Global

High tide

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The Fourth of July was hot and sticky on this very tiny sort-of-an-island.

We went to the beach at high tide when there was less beach and more people.

The water was as warm as it gets and swimming was wonderful.

Then we went home for a cold roasted chicken dinner

with corn bread, honey and a salad.

When dusk fell we walked through the wooded path,

across the golf course and over to the jetty to watch the fireworks.

Which were fantastic this year!

The best I've ever seen. 

I hope you all had a happy Fourth.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The letter B

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Big boat little boat

What begins with B

Beach, Bicycle,

Bird and a Bumblebee

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The old bureau

When we first moved here to this rather tiny sort-of-an-island

the bureau was in the kitchen.

It had a big old Norman Rockwell hanging over it

and all kinds of stuff stored in it...

hats and mittens in the bottom drawer

and foils, wraps, and plastic bags in the top drawer.

When I brought an old hutch home I moved the bureau to the living room.

It has a picture that my sister found at a tag sale hanging above it...

one of those old windows with a view painted on the glass...

a view of a path through some scrub bushes onto a beach.

It mirrors the view out the living room window just across from it.

The tiny chest of drawers holds rocks, and pebbles, and seashells

and I think some dominoes and a few old skeleton keys.

The drawers of the bureau are filled with light bulbs, batteries,

ribbons and various scraps of paper and strings.

But the star of the show is the old wooden truck.

Over the years it's blocks have spelled out Christmas, Thankful,

Easter and various birthday names but today...

Today it says SISTER....

My favorite little grandson Verne is going to be getting a sister!

She's due on Christmas Eve!