Recently someone commented and said there were looking for a poster with the poem that I have featured in my right side bar, Home Is Where I Belong. This was a poem that I found YEARS ago, probably around twenty, to be honest. I fell in love with it then and I love it still. That being said, I couldn't find it anywhere, especially not as a poster, so I decided to make my own. I also have a similar poster I made some time ago, You Are Welcome In This House, and so I've decided to share both of them. I hope you will enjoy them!
Friday, June 28, 2024
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Summer Bingo Challenge - Visit A Small Town
VISIT A SMALL TOWN
Yesterday I marked the first square off of my Summer Bingo Challenge, Visit A Small Town.
My husband had arranged to pick up an item he purchased on FB Marketplace around 3:00 p.m. in Roanoke, so we decided to make a day of it and take the long road through Rocky Mount, Virginia.
Rocky Mount is just a little over an hour's drive from our front door, so it was the perfect day trip. I chose Rocky Mount because a few weeks back they had a festival, Vintage Market Roots that was co-hosted by a couple of vintage/antique shops there. But alas, it fell on my daughter's birthday weekend, and as that was not something she would have enjoyed, I made a note of the two shops that were hosting and decided to visit them another time. The description on the flyer sounded like they would have things much to my liking, but alas, I was a bit underwhelmed. There were definitely a few pieces that I liked, but it was a pricey and the biggest turn off was that the owner of one of the shops was, well, a bit smug, so that was a real put-off for me. But, aside from my disappointment with the shops themselves, I found the town completely delightful!
A few things that I learned about Rocky Mount.
It is located in Franklin County, which is considered The Moonshine Capital of the World. There is apparently a Moonshine Musuem, though we didn't visit, but I liked this little town so much I'm already considering a second visit in autumn, so maybe then.
They are big on music and local bands, which I LOVE! Rocky Mount is considered the gateway to The Crooked Road which is a 333-mile-long driving trail that connects 10 major venues and over 50 affiliate venues that preserve and promote traditional Appalachian old time and bluegrass music. Being reminded of this today is inspiring me to plan for a few more summer road trips and visiting some of the venues that are featured on their website.Monday, June 24, 2024
Beautiful Things
Saturday, June 22, 2024
Small Things - The First Saturday of Summer / 2024
"Life is not, for most of us, a pageant of splendor, but is made up of many small things, rather like an old fashioned piecework quilt. No two people have the same, but we all have our own, whether it be listening to Beethoven's fifth with a beloved friend, or seeing a neighbor at the back door with a basket of white dahlias. Or after a long, hard day, having the family say, "That was a good supper."
- GLADYS TABER
In no particular order, here are six SMALL THINGS that have saved me this week.
1. This book, *The Art of Mindful Gardening: Sowing the Seeds of Meditation by Ark Redwood. One of the things I am practicing in this season is single-tasking, so I was thrilled when I read this in the introduction;
"The art of being mindful is simple really. It lies in the practice of being in the present moment, and attempting to hold that attention to whatever you are doing, gently bringing the mind back to the present whenever it starts to wander (which it inevitably does!)"
Ark Redwood is the head gardener at Chalice Well, one of Britians most sacred gardens (I hope to visit it one day!). In this book, the author guides you through the changing seasons, drawing upon years of practical gardening experience and meditation. The author is a practicing Zen Buddhist, but I am comfortable enough in my own faith that it is not a problem for me. Read at your own discretion.
2. Finding this gem on You Tube for free, Tammy and the Millionaire. It was a short lived TV series in the late 60's based off the Tammy movies, that originated with Debbie Reynolds and also starred Sandra Dee. Debbie Watson reprises the role in this film, which is a conglomaration of the few episodes that aired before it was canceled. I really like Debbie Watson, and found another movie, as well, The Cool Ones, which I will probably check out soon. She was also in a TV series, Karen, and there are a few episodes of it, though I wish there were more! Here's are the links to the first episode, which is in two parts, Part 1, Part 2. The thing that really excited me about this, are the original commercials!
3. And if taking a trip through memory lane is your thing, you might enjoy this You Tube channel, America Before. Here's a description of what you'll find;
"Welcome to 'America Before,' a captivating journey into the heart of nostalgic Americana, spanning from the 1950s to the 1980s. Our channel is a treasure trove of memories, dedicated to reliving the golden eras of American history. Dive into a world where classic cars ruled the streets, rock 'n' roll and disco beats set the rhythm of life, and iconic TV shows and movies defined a generation. Explore the cultural, technological, and social revolutions that shaped modern America. From vintage fashion to retro gadgets, 'America Before' brings the past alive, offering a nostalgic escape and a deeper understanding of the decades that significantly influenced today's America."
I subscribe to several channels with this sort of theme, and enjoy watching a few episodes from time to time before I go to bed.
4. Watching campy beach movies with my family. Have Prime Video? Here are a few selections we've enjoyed, Bikini Beach, Beach Blanket Bingo,
5. This recipe for coffee flavored ice cream, and the best part, you don't need an ice cream maker!
6. This post, from @megangilger
"Summer
The sparkle on the water. The rush of that first dip of wildness. The full to the brim. The skinny dip. The smell of bonfire. The ache. The relief. The reward. The feeling of being alive. The smell of tomatoes. The hanging towel on the deck rail. The sand in the car. The nostalgia. The reunions. The floating cosmos. The dirt road. The deep breathe. Being weightless for only a moment . . . being held by the lake.
Love in this season!"
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Friday, June 21, 2024
Welcome, to Summer!
– JENNY HAN
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Wednesday, June 19, 2024
The Ordinary Days of Small Things
Summer Bingo Challenge
You may remember from my last post that my husband and I had our first experience with Covid back in late April, which is part of the reason for my absence. It is taking me a l-o-n-g time to fully recover, and some of the symptoms are still lingering (clogged ears, vertigo), which has made concentrating a bit challenging. It also put a major cramp on getting our garden in for the year along with some other outdoor projects we had on the docket. I think I've spent more time working outdoors than inside the house this spring, which is honestly not like me. My husband enjoys working outdoors and has always done most of the work, but since we were late to the game this year, I've been pitching in and helping where I can. My focus has been primarily on planting and tending to the garden and some landscaping projects. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen a few pictures I posted recently, and if not, I'm sure I'll be sharing some of them here, too.
With all this busyness, I realized that if we are not intentional, summer is going to slip by us before we know it and we might miss out some fun seasonal activities and traditions. Though we still have a LOT of work to do, for me, it's important to keep a balance between work and play. I get burned out quickly if I don't set aside time to engage in more leisurely activities. To aide me in this, I decided to create a fun Summer Bingo Challenge. In each square I listed an activity that I would like to be intentional about doing over the summer season, with the goal being if not to achieve a blackout, to at least score a couple of bingos. Then, come September, I can look back at all the happy memories we made together!
I thought it might be fun to share it hear with you, and so I created another copy with a few blank spaces for you to be able to write in your own ideas. You can find the link here. If you need some inspiration, just click on the image of my personal copy at the top of this post and you'll be able to see what I included in mine. If you find that some of the activities that I've included add too much going and doing to your already busy schedule, you can choose others that you can do at home. In the end the goal isn't even about getting a bingo, but about being intentional with how we spend our time in this season, and I know for me, having it written down where I can see it is half the plan to getting there!
I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday, my friends! I'll be back soon (and yes, we WILL get caught up on Betsy Tacy, and I do apologize for the delay, between being sick and catching up, there just hasn't been much time!)
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