Spring is on its Way!

Even though the   rain is  pelting down  in frozen pellets,    new life is springing forth from the  garden,  the  jonquils are  attempting to bloom today!

Of course, then, it's time to  bring out  the  bunnies and   begin  celebrating   the season of  new birth!!!!

Tabletops  throughout the house are  enlivened by the promise of  spring....  it  puts me in such a  cheery mood,  a tea break is  in the offing...

To quote, C.S. Lewis, 

Tea should be taken in solitude.

 Time to   enjoy    Royal Albert's   Provincial  Floral Series,  Alberta Rose,    with  a  bit  of  cinnamon  tea to chase away  the chill!

Peeking out from  under  an arbor of roses    the tea  offers  up its  savory sweetness to  co-mingle with their  marvelous scent!

 With the fresh  fruit  at hand,  my  cup of  spicy  warmth,   I take up  my  book,    Wings of Silver,

a lovely  compilation of  words  taken from    Jo Petty's  Introduction ...  "All the  wise  thoughts

have been thought already, thousands of times, but to make them truly ours,  we must think them over and over  again honestly until  they  take place in our personal experience." 

 This lovely book , a gift to my mother  many years ago,  sat on her  coffee table  over the decades,  seldom opened  in recent time,  but now savored  for its  wisdom and  glory,  for much of its text  originates  from  God's Word!

A  wondrous  book to  mull over  with tea!

One  truth  in the section  entitled, "Joy"...

 "The flower that follows the sun  does so even on cloudy days"

... such   a word of wisdom  that even  the   flowers of the field  understand yet,  man  can not seem to  hold on to...  we may grasp it for a time,  then  it  falters  when  cloudy days  come....

We truly may remember the  lilies  of the field...   

Luke 12:27

 Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

All   they   do is keep  looking  up....   all they need  is provided  by    the  Father!

 A  bit of time carved out of an afternoon  to  cherish  a cup a tea  over  some  wonderful  words of life and joy!...  these words  really spoke to the  wanderlust in  my  heart...

"To be happy at home is the ultimate   aim of all ambition.... he is happiest who finds his peace   in his home.....A man travels the world over   in search of   what he needs, and returns home to find it"....

  and    a    really   wonderful one to live by..

  "activity and sadness  are incompatible"....

 Well,  back to  my teatime,  before the  chill robs me of its  grandeur!

Mosaic Monday @ Dear Little Red House

A Return to Loveliness@ A Delightsome Life

Table Top Tuesday@  A Stroll Thru Life

Favorite Things Thursday@  katherine's Corner

Grace at Home@ Imparting Grace

Home Sweet Home@  The Charm of Home

Open House @ Bernideen's Tea Time Blog

A Closer Look

As I  look around  the  house,   I   use my critical eye  and  wonder, "  what  am I  trying to convey, here"?

I  hope it demonstrates  a n appreciation  for   grace,   both  in gentility and in  God's  perfect  gift to us, in His Only Begotten, Son, Jesus Christ....

Perhaps, one might  suspect    a n appreciation  of  classical thought and    the blessings  we  have in   understanding the past....

If one were to take a much closer look, one would suspect an even deeper context of my reverence for God's Word... we are told to "write them on the door frames of your house and on your gates."Deuteronomy 6:8...

I choose to write them on the walls of our home especially this one that reminds me to put on the full armor of God!!

Ephesians 6:10-18

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

It does  attempt to   create   for  Lynn and myself  a reminder to us that  we a re  God's  beloved  children,  that our  one  true love and trust  is  only    in Christ Jesus, our perfect  visible representation  of the invisible God....   and  we  find our   perfect  shelter and safe haven  under  His everlasting wings!!

Open House Friday @Bernideen's Tea Time Blog

Mosaic Monday @ Dear Little Red House

A Return to Loveliness@ A Delightsome Life

Table Top Tuesday@  A Stroll Thru Life

Favorite Things Thursday@  katherine's Corner

Grace at Home@ Imparting Grace

Home Sweet Home@  The Charm of Home

Open House @ Bernideen's Tea Time Blog

Mosaic Monday

To return to Mary's      Little Red House   click here!
An  autumn ride   to Williamsburg, Virginia

Destination:   Scotland  House... one of my favorite shops in the world!!!!!!

Reading on a Dark and Stormy Night!

  The  Little Red House   hosts  this   party every week.   Just  like   me ,   Mary, is     writing   about  this Frankenstorm....     everyone  is     concerned about  weather  today,  as  they should be   according to the  weather advisories...   For us here in   our  part of Virginia ,  we are   hoping that perhaps we will   miss the brunt of   the  storm... and perhaps not lose our   power this time...we just  dont  know what  we  have in  store for us do we....   But  again as I posted   before,   as long as we have the Lord  we   have nothing  really to fear....   He is in control of  all things   for  His own purposes!

I took this photo  yesterday   as  the   storm  clouds  gathered  from the outer bands of Sandy  over our region!

And  I   am   completely   excited  that   when the   winds  begin to howl tonight  and the  rain peppers  against the pane...  I will be content  with  my  favored  pastimes!

  I have plenty of  Bible Study   for  my Community Bible Study   class  in Ephesians,  or   I   can   enjoy  my  Kathleen Morgan's  books  I checked out from the   church library....   Im  set!!

Lord, it is time! I pray!

Kathy of   The Delightsome Life  hosts this  beautiful theme each week... 

  Today I am sharing  about  my wonderful new inspiration...

Saturday I picked up my copy of  

The Autumn Cottage Journal    published by Hoffman Media.

Every page is  inspiration   for  transforming  the home into an autumnal    glory....   After this  excruciatingly hot summer,   I think every9one  has autumn on the mind....

 this periodical     will more than    tickle your fancy bone...   I  guarantee  it will spur you to action  to do something to prepare for  an autumn fest of    warm colors,   striking   venues,  and   cosy    memorable occasions around hearth 

and home!

"Alas, that my heart is a lute, 

Whereon you have learned to play! 

For a many years it was mute, 

Until one summer's day 

You took it, and touched it, and made it thrill, 

And it thrills and throbs, and quivers still!" 

- Anne Barnard, My Heart is a Lute, 1815

For myself... I started making of  list of  "must-have "  things to  begin gathering....

assorted gourds

pumpkins

vines

berries

dried hydrangeas

  fall    flowers

At the same time  I need to :

remove   spring/summer  decor and  pastel flowers

lighten up   the tabletops

think minimal

 pull out the autumn pillows

  think about good books   to use  as  table top  anchoring  decor

  bring out  homey items like mother's dough board and other 

  wooden items  out of storage

  consider  subdued lighting

  think about  autumn's  sensual      elements  regarding music,  aromas,     textures,   etc

    I am   truly ready to  move ahead  with autumn whether the calendar says so or not!!!!

I share  my heart song with this poet...

"Lord, it is time. 

The summer was very big. 

Lay thy shadow on the sundials, and on the meadows let the winds go loose. 

Command the last fruits that they shall be full; give them another two more southerly days,

press them on to fulfillment and drive the last sweetness into the heavenly wine." 

- Rainer Maria Rilke

I am also  sharing  on Mosaic Monday

Mosaic Monday

Mary hosts Mosaic Monday each week.. please visit her site this  week    the images  are  fabulous! Just click on the  icon!
 Today it is quite stormy  and  we're seeing more rain than we've seen in several weeks...  It is wonderful!
    So my post today  is a stormy  sky filled with  precious life giving rain... and  the hope that   my  precious  garden  will be replenished  and revitalized!

Mosaic Monday, Freedom

 Mosaic Monday  hosted my Mary    at the Dear  Little Red House




The Fourth of July has always been  a favorite  time for me....   being a history teacher  teaching  fourth graders  the  wonderful   history of our Founding Fathers and the  establishment of our nation I  was at my most  animated...  thrilling to  role play and present  the drama and the  victory , heroism and the  sacrifice    to  promote   our freedoms and    our way of life...      So  the Fourth  always   is represented by  the wonderful  icons of flag,     fireworks and the red, white, and blue  colors of  freedom, liberty, and    bravery!
But storm clouds  seem to be gathering on the horizon in my  mind....   I wonder  how my  teaching would  reflect    what I am feeling  today  as I see  history revisions, and  the decline of  American ideals....  I am seeing more and more that  we can not put our faith  and trust in our  nation  and especially our government  to perpetuate our  freedom and way of life....   Only  the Lord, Jesus Christ and God , the Father  deserve our trust and our faith!
   A  great site  for help  is  found here!

Breakfast with a Punch!

"

Visit Mary at the Little Red House for more Mosaic Monday!!

I am also sharing on Blue Monday  with Smiling Sally!

 
I dont think it is any surprise to anyone that  breakfast is our favorite meal  , especially served on the porch.   These cool  late spring  mornings just lend themselves to  a leisure time  spent 
 al fresco...   and for me the  creative  cooking juices are at their  height  at this time!
Today  I   decided to play around with my baked egg dish that I shared about a few weeks ago...  
 Baked Scrambled Eggs
IN a baking dish
  place
2 T. Butter and  1 chopped  scallion
saute'
add 4eggs , stirred as if  for scramble\ing,  
season with salt and pepper
  4  fresh picked basil leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese
bake in  prepared over at 375 for  about 15-20 minutes,
This will puff up  like a baked quiche..
  absolutely divine and  much fewer calories and less expensive.

Later  we  enjoyed  a  delicious  glass of energy on ice!
I read about  the benefits of  these teas in   Woman's World magazine...

The article  expounded the  health benefits of green tea,  which  Ive always known  but it also  introduced to me the idea of   white tea, and another tea, pu-erh  which I have yet to find in the shops....  But Im still looking!!
The recipe I    made    taken  from  the  article  was a bit    changed due to my lack of  ingredients   but  was so  tasty and refreshing  I want to keep it on hand.
Lemon Tea Cooler 

Bring 8 oz of water to a boil, add
3 white tea bags 
3 green tea bags
several  fresh ginger slices
steep for 5 minutes  
remove tea bags and  ginger slices Pour into a heat proof pitcher and stir in 2 T fresh lemon juice
cool, then chill.
Serve over ice, add lemon slices  I used  sugar free sweetener to taste.
Makes 8 servings...
    I actually had   1 tarragon tea bag that I added for  an extra punch....   and I think  any  herbal  tea  or flavored tea would be  delicious with this...  Im still looking for the pu-erh  tea,  but  this combination of green and white tea and ginger is  

• full of  antioxidants
•     appetite cutting  
• metabolism boosting 
• healthful 
•   delicious 

Afternoon Shades

"

Visit Mary at the Little Red House for more Mosaic Monday!!

I am also sharing on Blue Monday  with Smiling Sally!

Our dear friends,  Diane and Paul  have moved into our area,  and    we love to visit  them and sit out on their  deck...  what a view..  no matter the season, this view always  moves the spirit!
God's  creative palette is  so very    awesome...whether close  or  afar...

...
  the varying tones and hues,  light and dark,    are spellbinding....

I love how the  encroaching trees  seem to  pull up the covers  and  say "Adieu!"

Driving the Parkway

Visit Mary at the Little Red House for more Mosaic Monday!!

I am also sharing on Blue Monday  with Smiling Sally!

Saturday  my sweetie and I took a leisurely drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway in hopes of seeing the  luscious  rhododendron and mountain laurel in full bloom ... how ever, this time  we did see the  wild  mountain azaleas  in their  citrus orange glory! 
( I'm not so sure I like photobucket's new format for collage making!)

Rainy Day

Visit Mary at the Little Red House for more Mosaic Monday!!


For a season that  started out  very warm and dry, I must say these  dreary and  cool,  misty days are a welcome  change!

April Rain Song

Let the rain kiss you

Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops

Let the rain sing you a lullaby

The rain makes still pools on the sidewalk

The rain makes running pools in the gutter

The rain plays a little sleep song on our roof at night

And I love the rain. 

Langston Hughes

Temperate, cooling, nourishing rain!