Time Spent In The Garden

When the sun rises, I go to work.
When the sun goes down I take my rest,
I dig the well from which I drink,
I farm the soil which yields my food,
I share creation, Kings can do no more.
- Chinese Proverb, 2500 B.C.

Blessings of the Season/Summer

Hello, Friends and Visitors,

I am returning to the blogging world again after being quite ill with a Summer flu which kept me down for about one and half weeks. I am healthy now, but find myself going through a blue period.

So, today, I thought I will count some blessings which help keep me focused on happy, positive things.


The Blessings of Summer

~Waking up to bright, sunny mornings which energize me towards a new day
~Sitting outside in the morning sunshine, putting on my make-up
~Watching my sweet bird friends at the feeders
~Viewing my first hummingbird of the season (today!)
~Watching the progress of my veggie garden, green plants becoming more abundant and healthy every day
~Hanging the morning wash on the railings of my deck to dry in the warm air and then folding it when it is dry with the fresh smell of summer scents in everything.
~Fresh Summer salads
~Strawberries
~Melons
~Living at a slower pace
~Having the children at home with me. Even when we are enjoying separate tasks, just knowing that they are nearby
~Cleaning house with the windows and doors open to freshen the air inside
~Watching the flight of a butterfly
~Watching in wonder the rapid flight of a hummingbird and seeing it pause for a moment on a small tree branch. How can something so small, so very delicate be packed with such energy and speed?
~Having my apple tree prayers...where I take my devotions out under our tree and listen for the Lord's voice as I listen to the breeze play with the tree leaves
~Eating supper al fresco
~Puttering in the garden with the cats by my side (as soon as they hear me out there, they come to be with me)
~Having the love of an animal (a blessings in every season)
~HAVING THE LOVE OF A CHILD
~Grilling
~Sitting in my backyard swing
~Lots of sunshine
~Quiet evenings, and the promise of a bright new day tomorrow
Oh, and, yes, SUNSHINE!

How about you? What are some seasonal blessings for which you are thankful?

Have a wonderful day!
Elizabeth

Happy 4th of July

"Oh, beautiful for heroes proved In liberating strife,
Who more than self their country loved, And mercy more than life!
America! America! May God thy gold refine,
Till all success be nobleness, And ev’ry gain divine."
~Katherine Lee Bates (1859-1929)
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Happy 4th of July!

Since the holiday falls on the Sabbath, most festivities this year were held yesterday on the 3rd, or will be held tomorrow on the 5th. I was still too sick to do everything my husband took the children to do yesterday, but I did finally make it to the fireworks in the evening.
Tomorrow is the legal holiday, so Mark is off of work and we will be spending family time at the neighborhood pool and perhaps have a cook-out.

You will not believe it, but today it was in the 70's, an incredible Spring-like day. It is actually chilly tonight. Such strange weather. This is the first 4th of July I have ever experienced in Utah where the temperatures weren't scorching, and I have been here 12 years.

Well, I'm keeping this post short, as I am still recuperating. To all of my U.S. blog friends, Happy 4th and 5th!
Elizabeth

Dear Friends and Visitors,

I see that a lot of people are coming to this post through out the year, which was originally about my taking a blogging break due to sickness. Please paste the following link into your brower:

http://www.homemusings.blogspot.com

This will take you to current posts.

Cheers!
Elizabeth

Show & Tell Friday/Thrift Store Finds

Welcome Friends and Visitors!

Today, I am showing you some thrift store finds that I bought quite awhile back, but I love them and would like to share.

First, I have two of this plate which go beautifully with my white china in my hutch. My livingroom/diningroom colors are sage green and pastels (for Spring and Summer, anyway). These cute plates are a wonderful accent which pick up the colors in the room.
This soup tureen originally cost me a dollar! I love creams and whites in my display hutch. Those light colors next to the walnut finish of the wood look so lovely to the eye...

Next, I picked up this dress for a song (thrifting, of course) in order to make an apron out of it. I just pulled it out to work on it and decided I'd like to show you.
Don't you think it will make a sweet apron, maybe even two?
For more Show and Tell Fridays...

...please visit Cindy at My Romantic Home.

Have a wonderful day!
Elizabeth

A Summer Morning

Photo by Sarah
JUNE

The robins and blackbirds awoke me at dawn
Out in the wet orchard, beyond the green lawn,

For there they were holding a grand jubilee,
And no one had wakened to hear it but me.

The sweet honeysuckles were sprinkled with dew;
There were hundreds of spider-webs wet with it too,

And pussy-cat, out by the lilacs, I saw
Was stopping and shaking the drops from her paw.

I dressed in the silence as still as a mouse,
And groped down the stairway and out of the house.

There, dim in the dawning, the garden paths lay,
Where yesterday evening we shouted at play.

By the borders of box-wood, and under the trees
There was nothing astir but the birds and the bees.

And if all the world had been made just for me,
I thought, what a wonderful thing that would be.

``K. Pyle

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Summer mornings are among the greatest joys of this earth experience. When all the household is sleeping and it is just oneself that is astir, it is possible to fully appreciate the brilliance of early morning sunshine, the warmth of summer breezes and the glorious chirping of birds eager to greet the day. Don't let this moment pass you by. It is a gift. Standing out on one's porch, stretching the night stiffness from one's body, pondering Life and God, or thinking nothing at all in particular, is a revelation. Just to breathe and be still.

In our haste, we forget to drink deeply from the day. And yet I find that if I stop for awhile the gratitude that is suppose to be felt fills my heart quite readily. Gratitude brings joy, no matter how difficult our present challenges.

May we stop to feel the mornings is my prayer, for one beautiful morning can light the whole rest of our day well on into the night.

Elizabeth

An Afternoon Nap

Sunday afternoon I decided to sit out in the backyard under our apple tree. It was so wonderful to rest in the grass and look up at the sky which was a gorgeous blue. I found that I wasn't the only one to seek the shade. Two sleeping pussycats had already found a favorite spot.
They love the soft dirt of this raised bed. It is cool and the green boughs of the apple tree provide a canopy from the sun.
There is nothing like a long afternoon nap on a quiet Sunday. Here lies a sun dappled kitty, far away in dreamland.
Makes me want to lie down for a gentle snooze myself.

For more Cats on Tuesday, please visit Gattina's blog.

Happy Summer Solstice!

The Sweet Pea Fairies, from the Garden Fairy series

Happy Summer Solstice!
Of course, we in the United States don't really celebrate this longest day of the year the way those in Britain and northern Europe do (or so I have read). However, this day has long been a favorite of our family. Sometimes we would celebrate it on the actual solstice (today!) and sometimes on June 24th, official Midsummer Day, but we usually would have a family feast of Summery foods and then build fairy houses for fairy visits.
A charming fair house from Enchanted Gardens

The fairies would usually leave something behind for the bits of cake and drink left out for them. Their gifts more often than not were seashells, from fairies visiting from the sea, lovely smooth stones and little trinkets.

O, the lovely memories of Midsummers past. Alas, my children are not interested in fairies anymore, but I am a child a heart and I love the make believe and play involved with this day. I just now need grandchildren to celebrate with.
"Night-time stars and bonfires bright
Families and friends sing on good St. John's Night
Summer sun, the sweet smell of hay,
And Children all dancing on Midsummer Day.

At Midsummer time the fairies come out,
If children could see them with glee they would shout!
On Midsummer's Eve even gnomes try to dance,
In fairy-ring revels they awkwardly prance.
On Midsummer Day elves and fairies all fly
From acorns and buttercups up to the sky."
_ Mala Powe
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Even now, we still love to celebrate these days of Midsummer with special foods and much dining al fresco.

Do you celebrate Solstice or Midsummer's Day? Tell me all about it!
Elizabeth