a June bride

 There have been wonderful declarations, quotes, and comments about the month of June written by others . And I truly give my own hearty affirmation to the beautiful month of June as it is still my most favorite month of the year.

June bursts serenely forth, it sheds its array of glories, and declares special wonder without any hesitation whatsoever.

But despite all the other things that June represents, it continues to hold favor for me as the month of brides, weddings, and marriage. Being a June bride still holds merit to me because on this third day of June forty-seven years ago I was wed.

Wedding photographs of the late 70's would not even register on a scale with the photography used today for weddings. We chose the best photographer in town and I believe this photo was considered "special effect".

(though that white line is the plastic over the photo)

My husband asked me what I wanted to do for our anniversary. He was thinking about dinner in a restaurant. From where we live, we would have to drive anywhere from 45 minutes to an hour to dine at a good restaurant. As I was wanting lamb... we both love lamb... and not many restaurants serve a good lamb meal; I answered, "I'll cook." I am able to prepare a simple, but delicious lamb meal, and truthfully it has been a joy to give this day intentional focus on my blessed marriage as I go about preparing for our evening together. Therefore, we will pack a box of food, a small overnight bag and drive to the cottage where I will prepare a special anniversary meal and we will stay at the cottage for the night. A "Getaway"...across the street.

❤️

a rainy holiday

 The garden... vegetable, herb, and flower... overall has been planted, though the garlic will be harvested soon and we plan to put in more tomato plants and sow more green bean seeds after tilling that soil. I cut the scapes of the garlic plants on Saturday. Here is a delicious and easy way to use your garlic scapes.  

 Into a skillet of olive oil add unpeeled russet potatoes chunks about the size of a nickel alongside the garlic scapes chopped into 1/4" pieces. Cook until the potatoes are crispy brown and tender.

We could comprehend that we are having a "mini holiday" today since the majority of the garden is planted for now and the days of preserving have not yet begun. Since the day is rainy and cool, we took a "holiday" opportunity and opted to go to the cottage and tackle the much needed job of painting the sun porch. This turned into a most enjoyable day with my husband doing something typically "different" from the usual holiday activity. May I state how pleased I am with my choice of using the same color paint as what is on the kitchen walls? It is by Glidden and called Silk Star; I am always fascinated with the names given to paint colors, but I also like to rename them. "Sliver of Butter" is what I named this paint color 

Notably, I forgot to take an after paint photo 🙄.

Take my word for it, it looked great, just what I was hoping to accomplish by extending the color outside the back kitchen door. We hope to return tomorrow evening and add another coat. ( I will get a photo then).

 My husband used a roller to add the color...I was priming white around the new windows that were put in earlier in the year.

The sun porch is a long narrow room that was added on at some point in time, it includes the stairway that leads to the basement. The wood boards on the stairs were added recently and now need some paint too. Gray? Or perhaps another color for the steps? We are pulling up the old tiles on the floor and will be adding a floor similar in color to that "oaky" color on the subfloor

After we finished painting the first coat around half-past four, we sat down at the dining table in the cottage and savored afternoon tea.

I love the hymns.  I grew up singing them and they never cease to bless me. I keep a hymn book by me in the early morning hours and many mornings I will sing all the stanzas of a hymn in worship and praise to my LORD.

Here are the words of the third stanza from the hymn, My Jesus I love Thee.

O Jesus, My Savior

With Thee I am blest,

My life and salvation,

My joy and my rest:

Thy name be my theme,

And Thy love be my song;

Thy grace shall inspire

both my heart and my tongue.

Blessings!

sophistication in simplicity

 The cilantro in my garden seeded itself and has become ostentatious in its pursuit to come up everywhere in the garden. I have already dried a jars worth and I decided I must cut the plants back to prevent them from going to seed with the hopes of retaining fresh cilantro in my garden for most of the summer. The smell was intoxicating, and I found sophisticated simplicity in placing them in a jar of water to set on the porch table.

There is a corner bookstore located in Louisville in an area called Crescent Hill, walking distance from Charlotte and Isaac's apartment. I have always made a point of going to this bookstore when I am in Louisville, mainly because they have the best selection of Wendell Berry books. They carry such a good selection since he is a Kentuckian author.

These little notecards came from this store, Charlotte gifted them to me so I have been writing notes this afternoon.The Tufted Titmouse is one of my favorite backyard birds and we are fortunate to have quite a few of them at our feeders. When they decide to sing...it is as a choir has booked a special flight to come and delight.

  

Years ago, I remember brewing a delicious summer tea using rosemary. Today after pruning my rosemary bushes I took a handful of the crushed rosemary branches (approximately 1-2 cups) brought them to a boil and simmered this brew for about 10 minutes. I added the strained rosemary tea to an equal portion of sweet tea also adding the juice of one-half lemon. Very refreshing, and the taste of rosemary was keen yet subtle.I realize that sounds like an oxymoron, but to me it describes the taste well.

Another way would be to make a rosemary syrup which basically means adding dissolved sugar to the simmering rosemary tea and pouring it into unsweetened tea, and even yet another way to make a good rosemary drink is to simply add the brewed rosemary tea into lemonade.

“The hill is like an old woman, all her human obligations met, who sits at work day after day, in a kind of rapt leisure, at an intricate embroidery. She has time for all things. Because she does not expect ever to be finished, she is endlessly patient with details. She perfects flower and leaf, feather and song, adorning the briefest life in great beauty as though it were meant to last forever.” 
― Wendell Berry, The Art of the Commonplace: The Agrarian Essays

How has sophisticated simplicity shaped your May thus far?

"What matters is people"

My husband and I have just finished watching the complete series of Larkrise to Candleford. Have you seen this BBC series that ran from 2008 to 2011? Oh, you should. This morning at the breakfast table as we were finishing up, I asked my husband who was his favorite character, and believe me that is not an easy question to answer if you have given it no thought.

I realized this morning, my favorite is Queenie. Yes, definitely Queenie grew to rise above them all as my most favorite character. She was so full of love and caring for others, even those who would display such unlovable and selfish propensities in a variety of ways. But she was equally firm and not shy of admonishing and rebuking when needed. She possessed a contentment and joy of being comfortable in her own skin. 

 "I am no more than a beekeeping wife."

 Her sagacious words spoken to Gabriel at the end of the series changed the course of two lives. She was a world changer of sorts in a little hamlet in the English countryside, though she would not say so.

"What a person believes isn't what they think, isn't what they say; it's what they do."

~Queenie Turrill

NOTE: Queenie was superstitious and a reader of tea leaves.

She had some definite flaws. 

the graduation day

 It began with umbrellas and a rather steady rain, across the green lawn we walked with our umbrellas. Staff people from the school were trying their very best to wipe off the seats as much as possible...but it was basically a losing battle because the rain continued on gathering strength.

About ten minutes before the ceremony was to begin...

the sky cleared and the sun came out. The Ceremony took place under blue skies with a variety of cloud formations and the sun shining down on all of us.

 

                              And now we've come full circle. 

But so many amazing and wonderful things have happened since that day in August 2021. She has matured into a beautiful and mature young woman...a married woman as her first year anniversary is approaching on June 8th.

Congratulations to you, my Charlotte!❤️

she played

 The aim and final end of music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.   ~Johann Sebastian Bach

 I sat in the auditorium hearing and feeling the notes, the music of Mozart, Bach, Elgar, Gliere, and Mendelssohn being performed by her. I was very present in the moment listening with joy and tender pride as well as remembering the years that had gotten her to this place, her Senior Recital.

When she was just a wee baby I would whisper in her ear, "You shall play the strings". There was one time at the age of thirteen she wanted to quit the violin and I replied to her requests with complete sincerity,

"One day you will thank me".

 She has.

 

Charlotte's hard work, diligence, perseverance, and times of seemingly endless practicing have brought her to this place of beautiful accomplishment. But I would be remiss to not mention a necessary element of the overall picture as well, a part which flows strongly in my heart in the remembering. We, her parents, were always her most ardent cheerleaders.

  

My husband and I have purposely and gladly invested in Charlotte's music studies through the years. My husband has invested the finances required for all those years of piano and violin lessons. I have invested hours of faithfully driving her to her weekly lessons, and we've both invested time watching her through the many rehearsals, practices, recitals and concerts as she improved her skills and acquired the instruction needed to continue on to the next levels.  All this was done with complete happiness and  total willingness to see her achieve her goals. 

traveling to celebrate

 When something good happens, travel to celebrate.

Something good is happening this week and we are traveling a day to be there and to celebrate.  After almost four years, Charlotte is graduating from college!

 In our minds the memory certainly is not dormant of this particular day so well remembered with mixed emotions, and the four years (three years 9 months exactly) which have elapsed with all its mountains, valleys and in-between events are still seeking to find a place to settle.

canon rebel revisited

We live in a culture where everything is demanding our attention and where restful attention to any one thing is counter-cultural and out of sync with most of our habits.   ~unknown

On my closet shelf rested my Canon EOS Rebel, and I was ready to pick it up for photos once again in place of my smartphone.

 This was last week.  Nothing like living in the past😊... but last week was full and last week was so lovely.

Two springs ago I was fortunate enough to be in Louisville when the local Iris Society was having an iris bulb sale. I was able to get some bulbs of this beauty.

Nigella damascena, or love-in-a-mist as I prefer to call it, is bursting forth everywhere throughout my gardening areas. I love the effect it creates, especially by the back step. This one is white, but I also have periwinkle blue.

On Friday of last week the Precepts study of Matthew was completed, thus the ladies came for lunch as is the habit we have established. Since eggs are in abundance right now I made two quiches and served this with a seven-layer salad alongside a cucumber/onion salad. Dessert  was baked bananas served warm over vanilla ice cream with a crisp butter cookie on the side. Here is the recipe. Truly, if you like bananas it is the most easy, yet elegant dessert, to serve at any time or season.

And this is this week, thus far...

Light purple irises at Good Drop Ridge...

Immediately after my walk last evening I came up the ridge and the sun was in the west shining though the delicate petals creating  magical shadows all their own.

And I also observed the sunlight scattering through the colored- glass of the hummingbird feeder.

The white peonies are just opening and the pink ones are on the verge.  If you grow peonies you have certainly seen ants crawling on the flowers. These flowers provide food for the ants and in turn the ants protect the blossoms from other insects that would feed on the flowers.

Myrtle whose green eyes I was trying so hard to capture, simultaneous brightness and warmth are the green eyes of a feline. She was afraid of the camera so I was unable to get a good photo.

Our garlic bed through the wire fence. Without fencing around our vegetable gardens we would be compromised terribly by the wildlife, and the chickens as I do let them out to free-range for several hours in the later part of the day. As it is some critter got into our potato bed and ate half the planted  potatoes...it was fenced, we suspect a raccoon as the culprit.

Hallelujah Christ Arose!

 I got up early, not quite light, and looked out my bedroom window to see if I could see the sunrise...not yet. But the memories of Sunrise Services of my childhood and even up until about twenty years reigned strong, though I am not inclined to want to go out that early in the morning "dressed and in my right mind" these days. Actually, I have not heard of a Sunrise Service in quite some time in my area. Filling a mug with hot coffee out to the front porch rocker I sat to pray and to meditate. Oh, and to sing too! "Up from the ground He arose"... I love these day that we celebrate our Savior's Resurrection.

After almost filling a pew at church with family and close friends, we came home to the tantalizing smell of Roasted Lamb wafting through the house. I am discovering the added joy of having older children to help with some of the food prep and table arrangements. There were "stations" of those providing charcuterie boards and salads...

And the crew outside that set up in tables under the oak trees.

I finally became smart and assigned a different colored egg for each grandchild. Each child then is told to only hunt for their own color-assigned eggs. That was my part, others hid the eggs and helped by running around with them all over the place...back, front and side yards until they found them, though I expect I will find a few lone plastic eggs in the week to come.

The food was kept inside on the dining room table to keep it free of fallen or flying things and such. Then there was the concern spoken regarding the oak pollen seeds falling into the drink glasses or ice. I hopefully assuage those fears with tea towels.

"But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead  shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you."

Roman 8:11

The annual opening of the Resurrection eggs and marveling at the grandchildren telling the story. It blesses my heart to hear the truth retold over and over, from one generation to another.

sacred work, indeed

Holy Week. Even as I read the extra Scriptures and daily devotionals, and even as I meditate on this week and the historical and spiritual happenings that occurred  over 2,000 years ago... remembering the time my  Lord Christ Jesus went to the cross... I also continue on with the spring cleaning of my home that this time of year demands.  Deep cleaning the home and mindful of His redemptive work, a sinner saved by His grace. I worship and I discover immense sacredness in the spring cleaning. 

Since family and friends will gather here to celebrate this weekend, the screened porch needed to be cleaned. Look at the pollen! It coated everything with a thick layer. What a mess.

I removed the wicker furniture and hosed it all down. All this was done all by myself...solomente. I was very tired by the end of the day with all the furniture hauling and scrubbing and such.

The sitting/eating side of the porch was cleaned the next day. Of course, the pollen is still with us, but not to the point it has been thankfully .

I set up a little table..tea for two. Just because it invites.

noteworthy

noteworthy: worthy of or attracting attention especially because of some special excellence.

If this definition can be applied in regard to my own prosaically lived life then it is equally acknowledged that what I might consider noteworthy might seem rather dull to others. Nonetheless, there are many reasons for noting  distinct happenings and going-ons in one's life. Warning: What I might consider noteworthy might totally creep you out!😊

 Snakes, if you live in the south you learn to look out for them in the warm weather months, beginning around late March/ early April until right before the first frost. As I walk in warm weather my eyes are glancing all around and usually I am praying I will see any snakes if they are near enough to frighten or harm. We also have a couple of venomous snakes, mainly the Copperhead, which are also seen every summer. I have some answers to prayers on seeing these dangerous snakes.

 One evening right at dusk my husband and I were out walking the ridge, quick as lightening a Black Racer literally raced across our path coming from the field. It was fast and noteworthy as we saw the speed of it whipping less than three feet from us. It is much more common to see the slower slithering Black Rat snake, never missing a summer of having one of them in our yard or surrounding areas, but I had yet to see the  Black Racer until now.

And I must also say, we never, never go into the woods in the summer. One reason the ticks and chiggers, the other the snakes. We keep grass and fields mowed and also realize snakes help keep the rat and mouse population down. I must see some form of silver lining in such things.