Weekend Reprieve

                           
Leaving shortly ...

              

Anticipation and nostalgia remind her that the most important things must be carried with in..

              Memories; some created, some waiting to be formed..
                                 As she hurries to pack up.


                              ~Happy Last Weekend Of July~

Summer's Serendipity

On my way around the local thrift store last week, I spied this chair.( when will I learn to take a before pic?)  It was painted a dark brown and there was nothing special about it really. 
                                

I knew though that it would be a perfect little paint project which is what I did..

I'm happy with the result...                                   

        This adorable bird pillow really accessorizes the chair nicely...I purchased it locally in a cute, little store in Elora. Loved it, and turned a blind eye to the price for once..:)
                                                                                              

I have also had a little time to read, and have been very engrossed in this book.
It turns out to be one I can not put down and I have been trying to discipline myself and savor it by reading it slowly, which is hard to do.

                                                      

I'd recently read another one by her, A Gathering Of Finches which gave me a respect for the author. She writes about actual people in history in a very real and honest, intricate way . 
I highly recommend this at times heart wrenching but courage filled story ...


I did manage  with my daughter's help to pick a bowl full of currants which I canned into juice...

                                   

Then I found a recipe for zucchini currant muffins and I wish I had left more out...
                                           

Oh well maybe I'll buy currants and freeze them:) The zip in the muffins is so yummy. 

I think it is rather serendipitous that the zucchini and currants are ready at the same time! :)
                                             

How have you been? I hope your week is going well!


    

Mid Summer Musing

Some how it is already mid July and the sultry days of summer are upon us. 
                                            

June always passes by much too quickly, this year was no different. An exceptional line up of celebrations and milestones filled it though and I find myself reflecting on all it's sweet memories. 
                                                

Our youngest child graduated grade eight, so after having a child in elementary school for 18  years that chapter has formally closed.
                                              

Our son completed his high school education and we'll wait to see what the next step is in his learning process is.

                                                      

                                       (father and son)

Also in the celebrations were a couple weddings and an array of fun birthday celebrations. 
                                           

                                          my sister,beautiful inside and out..

                                                      

                                            The weather here has been very dry, and we would all love a few days of good soaking rain.
Surprisingly the gardens are not doing too terribly,although I did notice the peonies and most perennials not having quite the luster they normally would.

                                                            

I find nature's tenacity inspiring ...whether in drought or fair sunny weather the strength of it is marvelous, and not  unlike ourselves if we  plant our roots deep into real and lasting things such as faith in God and cultivating relationships with those around us.  We too can live lives of strength and purpose regardless of conditions that seem less than ideal.

                                                         

I love summer's quiet days, actually I should clarify and say I have learned to love the quiet days this season has offered. Years past there was no such thing here, as five children of my own inevitably brought many friends and children through our doors. Countless lunches, cookies and popsicles were served, and the barn, sheds, woods and tree house were privy to many an imaginary game.
                                                        

Those days have shifted slightly, while I never want a home where children's laughter doesn't echo; I know nothing remains forever in the same place. Time moves steadily forward and children grow up. 
There is still children here from time to time, but I'm also thankful that mine are trying out their wings in various forms, knowing home is always a safe place to come back and land.
                                          

This post came together in a series of days...since than we have had some rain..yah, could use more. 
I'm expecting two of my children who were away being counselors at a children's camp to arrive home soon with a barrage of laundry...
There is a huge banana cake cooling on the counter which will be turned into my son's 18th birthday cake...and the smell of chicken roasting in the oven.
My youngest is making something with the daisies she picked from my garden, and I am off to put a new coat of paint on an old chair I found.
                                         

                   the sign at daughter's graduation is a good reminder for us too...Right?

Summery

         Last evening there was a rare occurrence, a full moon on the first day of summer.
Apparently this is not to happen again for another 70 years .Statistics like that leave one feeling small but held by our amazing God who knows each of us by name..
                                                 

In the midst of chaos, she pauses and inhales the heady scents of summer.
Longing and lingering waft on the gentle breeze.
Change and memory propel her forward into the gracious night.
Failing is not an option...

Learning is. 



                           I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten...
                                                 Joel 2:25

A Tool Shed and Dreams

my blogging voice is under construction...I have no idea how long it will take...
thank you for understanding...

                                               

                     

My Garden shed or tool shed as I call it sits unpretentiously in the back yard. It bears a long history of solidarity as it was the first building placed here when my husband's parents purchased this land in 1970.

                                         

I have always loved it's mysterious  simplicity and charm... It is more than a thing to admire though as its handy storage ability rates right up there with its good looks...

                                                    

One quiet afternoon this week I gave it a bit of a clean and then enjoyed a cup of hot peppermint tea while reading on the old sofa we put in there a few years ago...

                     children's artwork is splayed here brightly

It was a peaceful way to  spend an afternoon and I was reminded of how good it is to at times escape from life a little and unwind. 

                                                   

   

with a good book, nature, solitude, and a  tool shed..

                                                     

some day I think it would be fun to create a real oasis/ studio in here, but for now this little abode is a odd mish mash of this and that ...a place to dream, remember and hope.

          'tho much is taken, much abides.... (Tennyson)


first three photos taken last June...

A Mother's Day Sentiment

The daffodils were late that year.  She ran out while supper was cooking and picked a few of the fashionably late blooms. Tucked into the pitcher there on the tray they seemed a cheerful sentiment.

Every year daffodil bouquets blaze the trail for the many she gathers....
                                                

Much like a mother in affection of her first born, she never wishes any away... Each bloom and bouquet precious, like  a child's life; changing, fleeting and pressed immeasurably against those creases in her heart.

A Beautiful and Blessed Mother's Day to You...a rather short post this year, but click on the following links to read previous ponderings..


http://lucy-martin.blogspot.ca/2015/05/becoming.html

http://lucy-martin.blogspot.ca/2013/11/a-mothers-prayer.html

http://lucy-martin.blogspot.ca/2013/05/the-waving-mother.html


All women become like their mothers. That is their tragedy. No man does. That's his. ~Oscar Wilde~

Blissful Knowledge

a random musing I jotted last week, as I found myself using the phrase "i have no idea" rather frequently 
                                                        

It's a strange phenomenon  but it seems like right when I have reached that age where I may once have thought I'd know it all, I suddenly am jolted by the discovery that the more I learn and know...the more I realise how little I know.

Not that I ever really thought I knew it all, but sometimes in the age of invincibility  our sense of understanding has not yet been disillusioned.

The older I get the more I realise that I have no idea...
                                              

I have no idea about so many things..
When my children were small it was fairly simple to know what was happening in their lives. Children are forthright and honest henceforth what they say usually comes straight from their hearts.

As children mature they develop their   own characteristics and traits and this may mean that they no longer share all of their joys and sorrows, or even some of the little things they encounter in any given day.
                                                   

I was thinking about this as I considered how  kids must feel these days with everything this techno driven society offers them. I remember the angst I felt in my teen years and can not imagine how magnified it may have been if I had to think about stats, likes, and followers. I wonder how I would have fared if there was always opportunity for contact, even in an abstract way.
                                               

 I marvel at youth and the inspiration they are as they navigate this wide, wide world that at times becomes small because of a thing called the world wide web.

                                                    

I'm thankful I share a great relationship with each of my children. Although two of my daughters no longer live here I feel I know who they are and what they do. But it would be absolutely presumptuous of me to think that they tell me everything...I really have no idea.  
                                                    

As I ponder this, I am compelled to hug them more often and tell them just how wonderful they are.  Life is a great teacher and I would never want to shelter them from truths and lessons they must learn for them selves.
                                              

The last bits of snow that a few days ago still dotted the sides of the fields are gone. I cling to to what I know...that the One who has brought us this far will never leave us and that He formed each one of my precious children. This makes me able to laugh at the days to come and trust Him for all I have no idea about. 

thank you for reading, photos from summer archives and city of Toronto.

                                       I'm off to enjoy a beautiful day!

Turning Tables or Rather Furniture

      this quote made me laugh, glad I'm not the only one who has a relationship with faithful furniture:)                                          
                                                         


My family didn't believe me at first when I mentioned that it was time to send my white couch away...

After all they likely have gotten used to hearing my occasional whims somewhere in the recesses of their brains...
But this time I may have meant it because one day it was sitting there in the middle of the piano room, looking just a little forlorn and out of place, and I was singing we had joy we had fun, we had seasons in the sun..
                                                              

It began on that sunny Monday morning in March when suddenly I wondered if I could move the chaise from the family room into the living room/piano room. 
                                                
I began the search for two chairs for the space in the family room where the chaise had been. I had considered doing this for some time to accommodate a better conversational/sitting area...

After a relatively easy search I found two chairs that were perfect in my opinion for the family room. I loved the French country feel they have and the way they complimented the rest of the room, (and quite honestly the sale price.)
                                                   

One day shortly after finding my chairs I stumbled upon this little side table.
                                                     

 I almost began dancing right there in the thrift store...it was perfect...so cute...
a future paint project perhaps but perfect just the way it is...nestled between my chairs it made just the right spot to set a cup of coffee down while reading.
                                                    

Now the chaise lives in it's new spot...in the piano room,                                              

the white couch and chair have been lovingly sent away to a new home...a friend of a friend actually ended up getting them, so I'm delighted to know they found another good home...

and my new chairs are being broke in... 
                                              

     Life keeps on turning, sometimes furniture does too.



sharing with...http://www.whitespraypaintblog.com/

March Au revoir and Hello Again

all preceding photos are from the most recent ice storm, which once again knocked down trees and hydro poles, leaving many 'in the dark..' ours came back on in time for Easter!
                                                         

Hello, it's been a while! Where have I been? you ask...

Some days I ask myself that question! 

The weeks just seem to roll by, not paying any heed to blog posts or lack of time...
                                                              

                    this is our yard...so sad to see trees break...but I guess they're only trees..

Although I have been busy, I am not actually that busy! I simply have felt myself drawn to other pursuits sometimes let's say.
This morning while chatting and having coffee with a few friends one girl mentioned that her sister is SO busy that she admitted she would never have 'time' to visit with anyone for an hour.  I don't know about you but in my opinion that is simply too busy!
                                                                         

                                          a near by creek while trees bend under a burden of ice

Life is a series of choices and although we can't control all of our circumstances we certainly have somewhat of a choice in how busy we make our lives...                                                                        

                                                  our yard again, sun breaking through

I have to say that although I am the kind of person who thrives on a day brimming with activity, I hope I am never too busy to stop a while and chat with someone, or to call my mother, or to send a card to a friend.
                                                            

                               the top of our Chinese elm..

Although I know I've missed opportunities at times, I hope also I have seized opportunity.

I hope I notice people's eyes and expressions...

I hope I remember to care and pray...
                                                                                           

                                            ice coated clothes line

I had a birthday recently, and everyone was home...gathered around the table, making conversation, and laughing...Special times are treasured, but every day I can choose to hurry, or to make haste slowly.

                                                                                          

Lingering a little longer because life may not wait, and I don't intend to miss it.