Happy New Year

Image courtesy of antiqueclipart.com

Feeling blessed ...

... with family & friends who know how to give good gifts!

"The Victorian rule of thumb for filling a Christmas stocking was

"Something to eat,

something to read,

something to play with,

and something they need!""

From The Twelve Teas of Christmas by Emilie Barnes

And, that's what I got from my mother this Christmas!

• To eat -- a bag of M&Ms :)
• To read -- an unabridged copy of Les Miserables & a little Louisa May Alcott story
• To play -- an "Emmy Consideration" DVD with both Cranford & the "new" Sense & Sensibility, plus a DVD of Facing the Giants
• And needed -- slippers and two pairs of shoes!

And, there were so many other lovely gifts...

• a renewed subscription to Victoria,
• a copy of a new-to-me Victoria book, and roses artwork
• a Christmas ornament from a favorite store,
• a cottage cookie jar for my collection, treats for my kitties, and Celestial Seasonings seeds to grow my own chamomile & peppermint (tea & gardening in one gift! how neat!)
• bags full of special food treats
• Christmas money
• And, the package that arrived on Christmas Morning? a wonderful, big box full of soft, pink cozy things and lots of "girly" fun

A gift is as a precious stone in the eyes of him that hath it: ...

Proverbs 17:8a

Feeling Christmas-y

It felt like Christmas this year.

I had the chance to work hard, at work worth doing.

The weather was unusually cold for most of the season, making sweaters, the fire, and hot beverages especially appealing. (Though it did turn warm for Christmas.)

We have a beautiful Christmas tree, purchased early (compared to some recent years!), decorated in due season, and enjoyed in both passing glimpses and longer stretches settled on cushions.

The other decorations also went up in a timely manner, and, although I love them every year, I think this year was the best!

Christmas carols began playing just after Thanksgiving -- my most "favoritest" of music.

We had the chance to go Christmas shopping... more than once! And recognized God's blessings with perfect items for intended recipients... complete with perfect prices!

God led me to some "just right" Christmastime reading -- soft, reassuring, and pleasant. During the course of the season, I read Tidings of Comfort & Joy (by T. Davis Bunn), Finding Father Christmas (by Robin Jones Gunn), The Twenty-four Days before Christmas (by Madeleine L'Engle), The Christmas Bride, and The Substitute Guest (both by Grace Livingston Hill).




I was able to enjoy some holiday movies... of the sort where, on Christmas Eve, orphans find homes, people get engaged (or married!), and it snows. I like those movies.


I'm just so grateful for God's blessings this season... He blessed our work, and poured out good gifts in abundance, and late one night, reminded me...

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Isaiah 9:2

A Quiet Christmas

We had the gift of three lovely, quiet days for Christmas.

On Christmas Eve Eve, I followed family tradition, and slept on the sofa by the tree. It felt like the start of a holiday! Georgie thought so, too, and decided not to sleep very much. Well, at least as not as much as *I* would have liked to. :)

On Christmas Eve Day, we did the final "fluffing" of the room, just in time for a Christmas visitor, who brought gifts! We made coffee and baked two tiny pans of chocolate chip cookies in the toaster oven.


On Christmas Eve, we ate our simple casserole by the tree, then turned to our Christmas pastimes...we played a few games of Yahtzee and enjoyed mugs of hot chocolate, with whipped cream. Then, we began a surprisingly complicated puzzle and listened to Patrick Stewart read A Christmas Carol. We stayed up into the wee hours working that puzzle, without finishing, finally stopping to read Christmas Scriptures. And then I stayed up later yet with a Christmas book... that began with the line, "It was the day before Christmas and it had been snowing hard all day."

(The Substitute Guest by Grace Livingston Hill) (It was NOT snowing here. :))


The first hour of wakefulness on Christmas Morning brought three lovely sounds... a "Merry Christmas" call from a far-away brother, the sound of rain, and then a pounding on the door announcing the arrival of a Christmas package!

A Christmas nap was in order a bit later, followed by presents and a perfect little feast enjoyed by the tree. The day was interspersed with friendly phone calls.

In the evening, it was time to return to the surprisingly complicated puzzle... with success this time!



Then, a movie. And, then, a return to my Christmas story book, which I read until the characters had completed Christmas Day...

Then, I slept.

And still had one more day of quietness left, with time to watch movies, read, and do a little needlepoint and some daydreaming about next year.

And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever. And my people shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings, and in quiet resting places;

Isaiah 32: 17-18

Christmas

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.


Isaiah 9:2

Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

John 8:12

King and God and Sacrifice

We Three Kings

By John H. Hopkins, Jr.

We three kings of Orient are;

Bearing gifts we traverse afar,

Field and fountain, moor and mountain,

Following yonder star.

Refrain
O star of wonder, star of night,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect light.

Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain

Gold I bring to crown Him again,

King forever, ceasing never,

Over us all to reign.

Refrain

Frankincense to offer have I;

Incense owns a Deity nigh;

Prayer and praising all men raising,

Worship Him, God on high.

Refrain

Myrrh is mine, its bitter perfume

Breathes a life of gathering gloom;

Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,

Sealed in the stone cold tomb.

Refrain

Glorious now behold Him arise;

King and God and sacrifice;

Alleluia, Alleluia!

Sounds through the earth and skies.

Refrain

Combination of

Lyrics found here
And from Christ in the Carols, by Christopher & Melodie Lane

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,

2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.

11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.

Matthew 2:1-2, 9-11

Love divine

Love came down at Christmas,

Love all lovely, love divine;

Love was born at Christmas,

Star and angels gave the sign.

By Chris­ti­na Ros­set­ti

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

I John 4:16

A holiday outing

Drew had some movie tickets that were set to expire, so he treated us to a matinee on Saturday.


We enjoyed buttery popcorn, bubbly Coke, and a beautifully drawn "good tempered" (Drew's well-chosen phrase) movie about characters who sought chivalry, bravery, honor, sunshine, rain, and soup.

Then, we enjoyed Subway sandwiches (loaded with veggies! :)) and the George C. Scott version of "A Christmas Carol."

It felt like the holidays!

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine:

Proverbs 17:22a

A warm spot

Ahhh,

The pleasure of a warm spot on a wet, chilly night.

:)

October at home

MRS. MINIVER COMES HOME

IT was lovely, thought Mrs. Miniver, nodding good-bye to the flower-woman and carrying her big sheaf of chrysanthemums down the street with a kind of ceremonious joy, as though it were a cornucopia; it was lovely, this settling down again, this tidying away of the summer into its box...

There was the house, as neat and friendly as ever, facing her as she turned
the corner of the square; ....

Upstairs in the drawing-room there was a small bright fire of logs, yet the sunshine that flooded in through the open windows had real warmth in it. It was perfect: she felt suspended between summer and winter, savouring the best of them both. She unwrapped the chrysanthemums and arranged them in a square glass jar, between herself and the light, so that the sun shone through them. They were the big mop-headed kind, burgundy-coloured, with curled petals; their beauty was noble, architectural; and as for their scent, she thought as she buried her nose in the nearest of them, it was a pure distillation of her mood, a quintessence of all that she found gay and intoxicating and astringent about the weather, the circumstances, her own age and the season of the year. Oh, yes, October certainly suited her best. ...

She rearranged the fire a little, mostly for the pleasure of handling the fluted steel poker, and then sat down by it. Tea was already laid: there were honey sandwiches, brandy-snaps, and small ratafia biscuits; and there would, she knew, be crumpets. Three new library books lay virginally on the fender-stool, their bright paper wrappers unsullied by subscriber's hand. The clock on the mantelpiece chimed, very softly and precisely, five times. A tug hooted from the river. A sudden breeze brought the sharp tang of a bonfire in at the window. ...

And Mrs. Miniver, with a little sigh of contentment, rang for tea.

Excerpt from "Mrs. Miniver Comes Home" (chapter 1) from Mrs. Miniver by Jan Struther

E-book found at Project Gutenberg Australia

A fall Saturday lunch

Mmmm...

Homemade "alphabet" soup in a sourdough bread bowl!

(The beef and the bread bowl were both on clearance. :))

O taste and see that the LORD is good: blessed is the man that trusteth in him.

Psalm 34:8

Welcoming fall

Summer lingers long in our area of the country. There've been a few chilly spells so far, but generally, it's felt a lot like mild summer weather. Parts of the summer garden are still producing... we've got cucumbers, peppers, and eggplants coming along. But now we're wrapping up the loose ends of summer. I've just recently finished up my summer reading (the last on my list was The Eliot Chronicles trilogy by Elizabeth Goudge) and bedraggled bits of the garden have been pulled up, ploughed under, and replanted with fall seeds.

We have been seeing signs of fall... there are wool blankets at the foot of the beds for the chilly nights we've already had, the turnips are sprouting nicely (through fallen leaves), the evenings darken early, the leaves have been raining down outside, and we've put cozy things in the oven to make the house smell delicious. I splurged $3 :) on a special home scent from Bath & Body Works ("Leaves"), and we've been lighting a jar candle on the stove. My mother bought me some baby pumpkins to decorate with. We've started simmering cinnamon sticks and cloves and leftover orange peels in the little potpourri pot. We've tried some recipes for hot drinks, and I've got a stack of library books on the mantel for fall reading.

And, now, tonight, the temperatures are supposed to drop, and I can feel a quiet chill beginning to settle in. It's my favorite season... and I'm glad that it's here again!

While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

Genesis 8:22

Joyful noise

Heard through our open car windows on Thursday afternoon...

* The companionable honking of (what I think was) a gaggle of geese enjoying a man made holding pond.

* The deep steady voice of a man singing a hymn while waiting for a bus.

Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.
Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 150:6

The blessings of summer past

Our Garden
We'd thought and dreamed of a garden for a long time. We'd had a big one when I was a child, but it had been quite a few years. This year, thanks to Drew's gift of a tiller and grey water system, we planted a garden.

I loved planning it,

planting it,

watching it grow... and eating its fruits!

God blessed us with the perfect amount to share and to eat... with just a little left over to make some pickles with. :) I loved eating fresh tomatoes several times a day. I loved going out to pick a bowl of produce for dinner. What a miracle that we can plow the ground, and plant a seed (or a plant), and water... and God gives us food.


Ceiling fans
Cool breezes are lovely in the summer. Especially here. 'Nuff said. :)
With thanks to Jon!



Summer reading
My mother made me a comfy little reading spot this summer... with a little rocker and floral flannel covered pillow and a sturdy footstool...beside a table lamp nicely situated... under a ceiling fan... in a room with a nice cool air conditioning unit... and the gift of time to read into the wee hours. God sent the kitten who purred on my shoulder while I read. :)

He also blessed me books that engaged my mind and encouraged my heart... and fit together in unexpected ways.




Georgie!
The end of summer found him still small, but growing...

Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

James 1:17

Finding happiness all over the place!

Meet Georgie!

We got a call on around 10pm on June 18 from our neighbor. He said his wife had knocked on our door, but we didn't hear her, so he was calling to tell us about a little kitten in his yard. My mother told him that we'd come looking for it in the morning.

So, the next morning, cat carrier in hand, we headed over to look in the neighbor's yard. (It feels a little funny to be snooping in someone's bushes... even when they've called you!) No sign of a baby in the bushes, though. Then, my mother started hearing a noise... which she followed back to our yard... to our deck... and the baby. :)

He was making quite a lot of noise to tell us that he was home!

He has been an absolute pleasure. He's one happy boy.

Quilts!

Books!

Victoria magazine (his middle name is Albert :))!

Roses!

Blogs!

Toys!

Brothers & sisters (the best!)!

He just expects to be happy, and indeed, he finds happiness all over the place!

It's pretty contagious.

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: ...

Proverbs 17:22a

Bedtime comforts

Evening prayers with my mother

Counting kitty heads... knowing that they're safely inside... and enjoying their sleepy little "murps" and soft pats as I say goodnight

The evening "toilette"

Comfy slippers

Clean sheets (on special days :))

My favorite unscented Suave lotion (a Christmas gift from my aunt & uncle this year) and my favorite Bath & Body Works lip balm



A few moments to record the day in my Country Diary (an annual and much appreciated Christmas gift from my brother & his wife)

Evening Scripture reading

Quiet time with a book for pleasure reading, when I'm not quite sleepy yet (a fairly rare treat these days...)

Alexander Scourby's voice reading Scripture as I fall asleep (the voice I've listened to since childhood)

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.

Isaiah 26:3

Early roses

My first two Angel Face roses of the season...

With more to come, Lord willing...

(More about) my attic room

As you step into my room and turn left, my wardrobe furniture become visible. The screens (old louvered doors) hide my dressing area. The little door visible behind the maple dresser opens into a quirky attic closet. The screens hold my pretty calender from Jennifer and some other favorite little "pretties." The unusual angles of my ceiling are partially visible above the screens. And, just behind the mirror, and partially hidden by the chimney, you begin to see the other part of my desk area.

See? As you peek around the chimney, there's my desk area again, from another angle. There's a printer (and some other office supplies) on the cream-colored dresser. That printer allows me to work at home, instead of spending hours away, and I am grateful for that... and it makes it lovely in my eyes!

Firstflower

This single red rose is my first rose of the season, cut in the past couple of days. It's really beautiful, and exotic. I believe the variety is "Don Juan," and it does have a Spanish flair... there's a black duskiness in its heart that reminds me of a black lace mantilla... over red velvet. (How's that for poetry? :)) And, it smells just a like a rose.


9 And he hath brought us into this place, and hath given us this land, even a land that floweth with milk and honey.

10 And now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land, which thou, O LORD, hast given me. And thou shalt set it before the LORD thy God, and worship before the LORD thy God:

11 And thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the LORD thy God hath given unto thee, and unto thine house...

Deuteronomy 26:9-11a
(emphasis mine)

My attic room

As you step through the door to my room, my little iron bed is on the right. It's a family piece passed down from great-grandparents. The quilt rack at its foot holds pretty embroidered afghans and knit bedspreads, mostly found on eBay. The tiny white armchair by the bed was a "thrifty" find, and we think the slipcover (that it came with!) may very well be silk. The long-legged teddy was an Easter present this year. Behind the chair is my sewing area, and finally, by the windows, there's the sitting area ("my peaceful spot") with my rockers and books (and a little TV, hidden behind the chimney). The chimney that comes up through the center of my room is just visible on the left. Beyond the lace curtains are tree branches.
The little blue rocker (aka "Rocket" :)) is my favorite chair. She's wearing a pretty pink throw Jennifer found for her. :) I was delighted to find another rocker (almost as comfortable) to match. Beside / behind Rocket is my "Favorites Bookcase" filled to overflowing with some of my favorite books to delight me when I have a moment. Visible on the little footstool is my lap desk, which was an absolutely perfect Christmas present from my mother one year.

As you enter the sitting area, my desk area becomes visible on the left. My computer work is most often done here. The large trunk and branches of one of our beautiful trees are veiled by the lace curtains.


Home is my physical refuge from the world, and my spot within it is such a blessing to me.

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge...

Psalm 57:1a

Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful.

Psalm 116:5

Easter

Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.

No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

John 10: 17-18

Girlish delights

I remember reading in the grass out back when I was about 13 or 14, fascinated by the adventures of a teenage girl named Betsy who traveled to Europe just before World War I. There was something about the era, and a trip to Europe, that just absolutely "rang my chime." Some books just capture your imagination!

(To this day, I love the look of the Edwardian era... the clothing was beautifully detailed and feminine, and I still think the idea of a trans-Atlantic crossing on a steamer sounds wonderfully, dreamily romantic. And, Europe... *sigh*)

I may have vague memories of trying some of the other books in the Betsy series, but I rather suspect that the adventures of the 5 year old girls weren't very interesting to a young teenager. I probably did enjoy the wedding story. :)

Later, Victoria magazine did a little feature on the Betsy-Tacy Society, and a passing mention of Betsy-Tacy in You've Got Mail kept the story at the fringes of my memory. I talked about it occasionally over the years, and since I'm blessed with a cousin who not only actually listens to what I say, she remembers, and then, when possible, does something about it... Drew came in the other day with FOUR Betsy-Tacy stories! He said, "She said you'd like these." Oh, yes! The library was discarding some "books that looked old," and they were buy-one-get-one free.

Sometimes, God pours out the nicest and most unexpected kinds of blessings!

My mother and I made a stop at the library not long after, and while browsing the sale books, she held up a book and asked if it was one of them? Oh, indeed it was ...

Betsy and the Great World, by Maud Hart Lovelace...

the book I'd fallen in love with so many years ago! For 5o cents!


... how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?
Matthew 7:11b

~ And, sometimes He sends the good gifts without being asked. ~

A Kindness Remembered

We've taken some time lately to work in our yard, enjoying some mild February weather, and accomplishing some tasks that had been lingering awhile.

There was another winter, though, in another place, during a hard time, when someone did me a great kindness, one I haven't forgotten, although the details are now blurred in my memory. My father was ill during the snowiest winter we were there, and the job of shoveling the driveway fell to my mother and me. Clearing the drive was important, and it wasn't a job that could be left to linger. A friend called one day while we were out working, and my father spoke to him, telling him what we were doing. It was an ordinary moment, and I don't remember thinking anything terribly much of it, until later, that night or one to come shortly, when I was ready for bed, and stopped to look out my window. There was my friend, working by the light of the street lamp, clearing our driveway. He didn't speak to us, and I wouldn't have known of his gift, except for that moment at the window. I've certainly known a lot of kindness in my life, and been the recipient of great generosity, but there was something about that moment... a friend had stepped in to carry part of my burden, and he did it with no fanfare, or thought of thanks. He simply gave.

Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

Love

... for God is love.

I John 4:8b

Grace & Peace

I received an e-mail about an everyday business matter recently. It began...

"Katie,
Grace and Peace in Jesus Christ.
... "

before it addressed the matter at hand.

Words do have such power.
Thank you, Lord, for the depth of kindness those words conveyed.

Images of Christmas past

Christmas at Home
2007




The LORD will give strength unto his people; the LORD will bless his people with peace.
Psalm 29:11