"Learn a Little Every Day"

Dear Friends,

A happy day to all of you, and welcome to our newest followers. We hope that you find something to inspire you here!

We are enjoying a beautiful, sunny day, after a blustery, cloudy one. It's a perfect day to hang out the wash, and air the bedding outside. The children spent the night at their grandparents' house on Sunday, so we're a little late in celebrating President's Day (although Grandpa did make sure that we saluted the flag at their place).

Frankie looks like he's all ready to recite "The Gettysburg Address!"

We participated in the Great Backyard Bird Count, and were hoping to see something really exciting,

Like a great-crested fly catcher, or a bald eagle~

 

But we did see lots of fellows this like, singing their hearts out in the treetops!

Evangeline was so inspired by the roses that Mr. Graham gave us,

That she decided to paint their portrait!

While we were close to the Kansas border yesterday, a few us (my mother-in-law included), decided to visit the Victorian Trading Company "Catalog Boutique," but our dismay, discovered that the store had closed! We had to console ourselves by visiting one of the largest antique malls in America, and oohing and aahing our way through it (Have I mentioned how much I love my antique-loving mother-in-law?)~

Don't you love the creative use of a wedding dress train for a table cover?

This bonnet was made in England in the late 1800s, and was only $50 dollars! We may have to make a return visit when the tax return comes (Are you reading this,Mr. Graham?)!

While looking for a thought to leave you with, we found this little gem from one of my grandmother's poetry scrapbooks. May it bless you today, dear friends!

Love,

Marqueta

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Learn a Little Every Day

Little rills make wider streamlets,

Streamlets swell, the rivers flow;

Rivers join the mountain billows,

Onward as they go!

Life is made of smaller fragments,

Shade and sunshine, work or play;

So we may with greater profit,

Learn a little every day. 

Tiny seeds make boundless harvests,

Drops of rain compose the showers,

Seconds make the flying minutes,

And the minutes make the hours.

Let us hasten them and catch them,

As they pass us on the way,

And with honest true endeavor,

Learn a little every day.

Let us read some striking passage,

Cull a verse from every page,

Here a line and there a sentence,

'Gainst the lonely time of age.

At our work, or by the wayside,

While the sun is making hay,

Thus we may by help of study,

Learn a little every day.

~~~~

And. . .He's. . . .Safe (The Adventures of Fatty Bolger)!!!

Home Sweet Home!

Dear Friends,

Thank you for coming by today~ We are all coming out of our "End of the Warm Weather Funk" that was hanging around the past few weeks. Some year we KNOW that we will remember to take it easy when the weather starts to change, as our bodies crave rest, and our spirits crave comfort during this time. :) From reading others' blogs, I suspect that I am not alone in this feeling! 

It is easy to get so caught up in all of the activities of fall (and in the back of our minds are the upcoming holidays),  that we forget how busy we have been all summer, and that we need a little down time before we can shift gears. Driving ourselves harder, however, does not give the hoped for results, but instead drives us into bed with a cold or fever. Then we HAVE to slow down and take care of ourselves, et voila! we feel better. :) 

If you are in a "funk" right now, and feel like you're liable to spin out into space, you have my permission to take a hot bath, listen to some beautiful music, and write down all the things you accomplished this past summer (or year, if you have time), and what you wish you could have accomplished. Writing things down is greatly therapeutic, when you don't know what it is that is the matter. Remember that the tide always comes back eventually, no matter how long it may seem!

Blessings to you all, dear friends!

With love,

Marqueta

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Out in the Fields With God

The little cares that fretted me,

I lost them yesterday,

Among the fields, above the sea,

Among the winds at play;

Among the lowing of the herds,

The rustling of the trees,

Among the singing of the birds,

The humming of the bees.

The foolish fears of what may pass,

I cast them all away

Among the clover-scented grass,

Among the new-mown hay;

Among the rustling of the corn,

Where drowsy poppies nod,

Where ill thoughts die and good are born,

Out in the fields with God.

~Author Unknown

Dear Friends,

Thank you for coming by our cottage today; we have the heater going and a pot of tea, just for you!

As unbelievable as it seems after such a hot summer, we are going to have freezing temperatures here in Missouri. Time to bring in the houseplants from their summer vacation outside!

 

Just a few days ago, we were enjoying the beautiful blue skies of Indian Summer~ Perfect for an at-home picnic (note the blanket on the lawn). 

We also enjoyed hiking at Cave Spring Monument in Kansas City, which is part of the Santa Fe Trail. We are amazed at the history which is all around in this area!

We have also been helping out at our favorite thrift store, and rescuing cast-off linens and dolls (we named this lady Marie Antoinette, while she waits for a new elastic to re-attach her head)~

Today we made baked tortilla chips by cutting corn tortillas into wedges, coating them with oil, then baking int he oven at 350 tll crisp. They're so much better than store-bought!

(They of course met with approval of the kitchen clean-up crew, but that's not saying much!)

We painted a picture of Mrs. Dashwood, to which we are going to add the words "Calm. We must be calm." as a reminder to not rush throughout our day~




And we found a lovely blue fascinator to add to our vintage collection of hats~

And last, but not least, may we introduce you to Fatty Bolger, our resident ground hog, who loves sunflowers as much as we do! He has proven himself a dynamo at squeezing under shed doors and removing the lids off of chicken feed buckets, even with "heavy" bricks on top! But he is so cute, we can't get too mad at him, can we?

We hope that this week brings many blessings to you, our dear friends. Your comments and friendship mean so much to us!

Love,

Marqueta

Baby, it's Hot Outside!

Dear Friends,

A happy day to you! We have been hiding out in our basement lately, since it's the coolest place in the house (and the sewing machine is down there, calling to us). But when it's cool in the mornings and evenings, we've been having lots of fun doing things like~

~Playing with chickens

Discovering new bugs~

Catching up with "Majestic", the Osage Orange that we're following this year~

 

(Woodpecker holes)

Seeing if we can fly as high as an elephant's eye~

 

And playing with chickens again!

 

We've discovered that brown thrashers can sound like mockingbirds~

And that cleavers can make a nifty bandelo~

And that dachshunds don't hold still very well when they're having their portraits taken!

We hope that you are making some time to explore and learn, as well!

Love,

Marqueta