a jar full of marigolds

 

marigold in the sunny window

bringer of all things simple and domestic

leave your peace with me

your yellow and orange blossom 

your pungent scent

cheer me as I keep my home

tidying the kitchen - washing the breakfast dishes

gift me with your charm at morn

and when at evening I turn at last to rest.

Titus two Tuesday

~ ~ ~

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

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.

~ ~ ~

Thankful Thursday at It's a Small Town Life

thankful Thursday

Thankful for my family today. 

I think they are pretty great!

Please share a post sharing what you are thankful for.

An InLinkz Link-up

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

Go outside and play

After my daughter's wedding ceremony a few weeks ago

they had a friend with a drone fly over to get some aerial shots.

There is also a bald Eagle's nest in the trees above my son-in-law's

family camp where the wedding was held.

I am not sure which my mum was looking at in this picture.

She looks pretty good for soon to be 84 years old!

I hope I get her aging genes. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Seeking Sabbath

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

t

As he was walking by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, 

Simon who is called Peter, and his brother Andrew,

casting a net into the sea; they were fishermen.

He said to them, "Come after me and I will make you fishers of men."

At once they left their nets and followed him. 

Matthew 4:18-20

Imagine...you're just getting through your workday,

fishing away and working your nets, maybe your about ready to take a break,

maybe your feeling a little tired because you didn't sleep well last night...

Along comes this man that you've never seen or heard of before

a total stranger.

He says, "come with me..."

What do you do?

Jump up and go with him at once?

ummm.....

probably not.

Here and now we have the back round story, we know his name.

Jesus.

We know what he's all about for the most party.

Still, we hesitate to drop our nets, we don't follow,

some of us don't even acknowledge his presence.

Imagine the faith it would take to 

drop our nets at once and follow.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Family Friday

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

My girls and their boys

and Bonnie and Dan's dog Pippa.

She can never resist a snuggle on the couch.

It was my oldest daughter, Hannah's, 30th birthday!

We had a few friends and family over to celebrate.

I put out some old scrabble tiles and

some of us put some "Hannah" words together.

~

Joe and I got her a beautiful diamond necklace.

I wasn't sure if she would really like it but she loved it!

She put it on as soon as I gave it to her.

We walked on the beach together after we ate.

I love having my family together and it happens so rarely.

We are all so busy.

It was wonderful to be able to walk the beach with my daughters

like we used to when they were little.

Verne walked with us too.

He was sandy and wet by the time we got back home!

My mum made strawberry shortcake

and Verne was pretty into the strawberries.

He ate three bowls of them.

I love the picture on the bottom left...

"What do you mean there's no more left?"

Family Friday

Milestones on the path

My daughter will be 30 in a few days.

I spent the weekend preparing for a party to celebrate.

 Last year she graduated Summa Cum Laude from UMass Lowel.

This year she turns 30.

Next year she will have a masters in psychology.

All of the hard work she has put into her life is paying off.

It's absolutely freezing here...our heat has been kicking on all day.

So I'm glad I didn't plan a cookout. 

I'll be making my famous chicken salad

with grapes, lemons and parsley.

I'll also be making two pasta salads.

THIS one and THIS one.

I couldn't decide which one looked better.

I'll round things off with a tossed green salad

and my mother will be bringing some appetizers and the cake. 

I'll have a lot of prep work to do

but I'll be able to enjoy my family while they are all here. 

I have a bunch of old Scrabble tiles that I set up in her honor on a table in the dining room. 

I left plenty of extra letters for folks to add their own words. 

It's strange how we plan out their lives when they are little.

And then they grow up and become people we never could have imagined. 

They surprise us with who they are...who they become. 

My mother used to buy me pink shirts because 

she remembered how much I liked pink.

But I was four then and I don't like it nearly as much as I used to.

I'm not sure if it is possible to truly know your grown children for who they are

because who they are to us gets in the way.

So we have to let go of the little girls who only wore pink shirts

...we pack them away with our other memories...

they mean more to us than they do to our grown children

who, in truth, hardly remember their pink shirt days. 

Happy Birthday my beautiful 

Hannah-banana

Hanny-bannany

Beep-beep

beautiful, brave, brillaint, blue-eyed

daughter of mine.