green eyelet dress

Trying to finish it before it's too cold to go sleeveless.

pretty Japanese maple leaves

say your prayers

"Courage is fear that has said her prayers."

                     -   from Simple Abundance  by Sarah Ban Breathnach

still be my vision

Be thou my wisdom, and thou my true word;
I ever with thee and thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,
Thou mine inheritance, now and always:
Thou and thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven's joys' O bright heaven's sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all.

thrifted compote glasses

In the parking lot at the library there's a drop-off bin for clothing and shoes. After closing today, we noticed that someone had left a box of breakables next to the bin, and lo and behold! Some of us found treasure therein - things which would have unfortunately been thrown out, because the bin is only for clothes.

Five compote glasses which match some favorite stemware we've had for many years - this is a real treat! Who doesn't like their ice cream in a footed bowl?

Oh, I'll take good care of these.

apple tree lean down

This evening, with our apple tree outside still leaning heavily with its apples, I suddenly thought of Ralph Vaughan Williams' beautiful Linden Lea.  Do you know it?

Within the woodlands, flowery gladed, 
By the oak tree's mossy moot, 
The shining grass-blades, timber-shaded, 
Now do quiver under foot; 
And birds do whistle overhead, 
And water's bubbling in its bed, 
And there for me the apple tree 
Do lean down low in Linden Lea. 

When leaves that lately were a-springing 
Now do fade within the copse, 
And painted birds do hush their singing 
Up upon the timber tops; 
And brown-leaved fruit's a-turning red, 
In cloudless sunshine, overhead, 
With fruit for me, the apple tree 
Do lean down low in Linden Lea. 

Let other folk make money faster 
In the air of dark-roomed towns, 
I don't dread a peevish master; 
Though no man do heed my frowns, 
I be free to go abroad, 
Or take again my homeward road 
To where, for me, the apple tree 
Do lean down low in Linden Lea.

our own apples

Such excitement! Many years ago my brother planted an apple tree on the narrow strip of land across the brook. I'm not sure why he chose that spot; it didn't get much sun and produced very few, gnarly things not fit to eat.

Monday while mowing the lawn he noticed a tree laden with apples! It was rainy that day, so he asked me to pick them after work this afternoon. I filled a basket, tbut then mosquitoes drove me indoors.

I guess the tree is tall enough to get sufficient sun now, and since the storms of two years ago there's less out there than there used to be. I can finish picking on Thursday. They are far from smooth-skinned and perfect, but I suppose most are all right. Some applesauce or apple butter is what I'm thinkin'.

Too, too exciting!

Dolly has a holiday

On the table this evening, listening to St. Louis Gal sung by Cecile McLorin Salvant.

 (if Dolly is a St. Louis gal, it's news to us)

bowl of ugly tomatoes

back to the park with Emily

The same place we'd been to about a year ago - a place full of bright flowers, long views, cool shade, picturesque sculptures and all kinds of birds. Spaces perfect for weddings and other kinds of get-togethers.

Lots of walking on a warm and humid day. Good exercise, and then root beer floats at the end.

misty morning

much better

I guess I got the hang of it.

knitting agony

After all these years of knitting, I am finally making myself do something with double pointed needles. Hand warmers.

What a misery.

But I'm getting used to it.

does this remind you of a fairy tale?

except there isn't any pea under there,

just a few magazines.

(illustration by Edmund Dulac)

the shed gets a re-paint

amazing how quick they fade.

respectable laziness

"Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability."

                       - from an old issue of Country Living

an unexpected pleasure

Emily dropped by today, bringing a group of sunny faces with her.

A very welcome visit.

first crop

Well, I wandered out to the garden last evening and there was my first crop of the season! A pleasant surprise for this haphazard gardener.

sturdy, thrifted apron

Anna's actually the one who thrifted it - I bought it from her. It's nice and strong, homemade from a heavy ticking. I got the idea at the time that she didn't think anyone would like it. The name on the pocket captivated me. So, thank you, Anna!

and thank you, Rivka.

for He is like a refiner's fire

"Just about the worst thing we can do with Jesus is to domesticate him, to turn him into a nice, harmless figure, simply a teller of tales and a wise spiritual teacher. He announces himself as an arsonist. I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing! Jesus' purpose was to set the human race on fire with the Holy Spirit, and that fire would burn away the chaff of sin, corruption, cruelty, and violence. Jesus and the fiery Spirit would clear the spiritual ground, painfully if necessary, in order to create something new.

The arsonist also characterizes himself as a home-wrecker! Do you think that I have come to establish peace on the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. From now on a household of five will be divided, three against two and two against three. Jesus indeed wants to establish a great family. He himself called it the Kingdom of God, and the great tradition refers to it as the mystical body of Christ. But in order for that new and authentic family to emerge, all dysfunctional forms of human community have to give way. If a family or society or culture is predicated upon manipulation, games of domination, arrogance, and fear, then it has to be undermined, cleared away.

The domesticated Christ makes no demands. The real Christ burns and divides - in order to make all things new."

                                              Fr. Robert Barron, Magnificat, August 2013


"Whoever comes close to him must be prepared to be burned. This is a fire that makes things bright and pure and free and grand. Being a Christian, then, is daring to entrust oneself to this burning fire."

                                                Pope Benedict XVI

cross stitch in the hallway

ode to The Murmuring Cottage

Rhonda recently had a link to it on her blog, Down to Earth.  The Murmuring Cottage - now, doesn't that sound dreamy?  It is.

I have no prior experience with Tumblr - I guess I don't troll around the internet as much as some folks do - but I was immediately glad I followed this link. The Murmuring Cottage, a place I am happy to visit any time. A photoblog of every single thing which appeals to me. Who is this person, and how does she know? Everything I like.

Some seem to be her own photos; most, from here and there on the internet. I'm one who feels better just looking at pictures in cozy decor books and magazines. I suppose Pinterest would do the same for me, but I don't belong to that; I prefer tearing out pages. I don't really want to be always becoming a member here there and everywhere. But, guess what? After discovering what a group of photos in such an arrangement can do, I was seized with the desire to see my own pictures in the same arrangement. So I joined Tumblr and started my own photoblog, here. For anyone who's familiar with this blog, the pictures you see there will all be old friends. But I didn't have to think twice about it, and now they're all there. For what it's worth.

Mine will never have that same air, the aura which can be found at the Murmuring Cottage, but that's okay. And to the person who is collecting those photographs - thank you, whoever you are. To anybody like me who responds to imagery, it's a soothing oasis. I do appreciate it.

fading hydrangeas

The hydrangeas weren't so deeply blue this summer, but they're fading to such a beautiful lavender.

feast of St. Jane Frances de Chantal

"If we patiently accept through love all that God allows to happen, then we will begin to taste even here on earth something of the delights the saints experience in heaven. But for this we must serve God willingly and lovingly, seeking to obey the Divine Will rather than to follow our own inclinations and desires. For the perfection of love demands that we desire for ourselves only whatever God wills. Let us implore the good God unceasingly to grant us this grace!"

                                 -  St. Jane Frances de Chantal

Martha's tomato, basil and white bean salad

There's a bean salad recipe in Martha Stewart's Dinner at Home which is a great substitute for potato or pasta salad, and much faster; I made it today.

It's basically a mixture of canned beans, chopped plum tomatoes and basil, with some salt. You then heat up some olive oil and add minced garlic, heating it for no more than two minutes. Pour it over the bean mix, and let it sit a half hour for flavors to mix. (I forgot this step today, but it tasted fine.)

So, what I did today for three people was mix:

• three cans of any kind of beans, drained and rinsed
• plum tomatoes, chopped (or canned diced tomatoes) *
• plenty of fresh basil (or dried if that's what you have) *
• some salt

the dressing:

• three tablespoons or so of olive oil, warmed up on medium
• three garlic cloves, minced

I think it's best at room temperature. So easy, so fast, so good!

*amounts up to you

bouquet of summer

making iced tea

white socks on a line?

or just a Rorschach moment?

two down

“Because it is the nature of love to create, a marriage itself is something which has to be created, so that, together we become a new creature.

To marry is the biggest risk in human relations that a person can take…If we commit ourselves to one person for life this is not, as many people think, a rejection of freedom; rather it demands the courage to move into all the risks of freedom, and the risk of love which is permanent; into that love which is not possession, but participation…It takes a lifetime to learn another person…When love is not possession, but participation, then it is part of that co-creation which is our human calling, and which implies such risk that it is often rejected.”

― Madeleine L'Engle, The Irrational Season

August Saturday

one down