"Bound and Bordered in Leaf Green..."

"...Edged with trellised buds and flowers

And glad Summer-gold, with clean

White and purple morning-glories

Such as suit the songs and stories

...unrevised in text or scene..."

--James Whitcomb Riley

Dear Friends,

Our summer has been unusually cool and nice; which means we have been able to be outside more and jump on our trampoline. (And draw with chalk!)

Evangeline doing a flip~

Our Black Swallow-tail caterpillars have all turned into beautiful butterflies and flown away.

The garden is in full bloom and looking lovely.

These little hobbits found giant cabbages and eggplants in "Farmer Maggot's" (aka the Farmer's Market) crop.

Have you ever seen the likes of those cabbages and eggplants before? They are huge!

The heat has been turned up lately, with temperatures around 100, so now it is starting to feel more like a real Missouri summer! We do love the singing insects at night, as well as the fireflies on a sultry evening, and will miss them when they rest this fall.

Many blessings to you all.

Love ~ Marqueta

An Anne of Green Gables Birthday Tea

Dear Friends,

For Tasha's birthday yesterday we hosted an "Anne of Green Gables" tea party with a friend of ours.
It would have been wonderful to have had you there as well, but, since you weren't, allow us to show you what we did in pictures. . .

For the centre piece there was a freshly gathered bouquet of Queen Anne's Lace blossoms--so perfect for the occasion!

 Tasha setting the silverware before we began.

 There were many delicious things to eat that we mentioned in the Anne books including:

 "Anne Shirley’s 'Unpoetical' Sandwiches"

"The girls sat down by the roots and did full justice to Anne’s dainties, even the unpoetical sandwiches being greatly appreciated by hearty, unspoiled appetites sharpened by all the fresh air and exercise they had enjoyed."— Anne of Avonlea

Plain old cherries.

And plain old peaches. 

"Susan Baker's Monkey Face Cookies"

"In a very brief time everything had changed. Walter was in bed, warm, fed, comforted. Susan had whisked on a fire, got him a hot cup of milk, a slice of golden-brown toast and a big plateful of his favourite “monkey face” cookies..." —Anne of Ingleside

More "Unpoetical Sandwiches".

"Diana Barry’s Splendid Lettuce Salad"

“Oh, Anne, mayn’t I help you cook the dinner?” implored Diana. “You know I can make splendid lettuce salad.” — Anne of Avonlea

In the back of the plate can be seen a good-for-you "Anne Shirley's Lady Fingers:"

  "I’m going to have the daintiest things possible. . . things that will match the spring, you understand. . .little jelly tarts and lady fingers, and drop cookies frosted with pink and yellow icing. . ."

— Anne of Avonlea

(What we really ate were coconut-date rolls)

And now here we are going to the party. . .

As a present, our friend brought another bouquet of other beautiful flowers!

 

Hyrum stole a lot of attention with his adorable looks and handsome overalls.

We all donned tea party hats—fancy and un-fancy alike—which added to the party.

After we were finished with the tea, Audrey gave us recitation of "Music" by Percy Bysshe Shelly:

 

"MUSIC, when soft voices die,
Vibrates in the memory;
Odours, when sweet violets sicken,
Live within the sense they quicken.

 

Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heap'd for the beloved's bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone,
Love itself shall slumber on."

Our hostess "Anne". . .with almost the hair colour that she wanted. :)

It was such a lovely party and we did have a splendid time.

Thank you for stopping by and enjoying our tea party through the pictures.

Blessings,
Marqueta (. . .and Tasha, who write this post!)

Master Franklin Has a Birthday

 Dear Friends,

Oh my, can Frankie really be seven already? He loves African animals lately, so we made him a rhino cake with bananas for horns (so creative, I know). The ice cream topping melted quickly, so the photo doesn't look its best, but at least Frankie liked it!

Frankie wanted to go to the zoo to see the African animals, but we went to a nature center instead, since it was supposed to rain. The day after his birthday was nice and sunny, however, so he finally got to go see everything in its animal glory. I think that a person could do worse than be in love with animals!

Here are a few photos from his special day, for you to enjoy:~

 

Seven Times One

Jean Ingelow

THERE’S no dew left on the daisies and clover,
There’s no rain left in heaven.
I ’ve said my “seven times” over and over,—
Seven times one are seven.
I am old,—so old I can write a letter;
My birthday lessons are done.
The lambs play always,—they know no better;
They are only one times one.
O Moon! in the night I have seen you sailing
And shining so round and low.
You were bright—ah, bright—but your light is failing;
You are nothing now but a bow.
You Moon! have you done something wrong in heaven,
That God has hidden your face?
I hope, if you have, you will soon be forgiven,
And shine again in your place.
O velvet Bee! you ’re a dusty fellow,—
You ’ve powdered your legs with gold.
O brave marsh Mary-buds, rich and yellow,
Give me your money to hold!
O Columbine! open your folded wrapper,
Where two twin turtle-doves dwell!
O Cuckoo-pint! toll me the purple clapper
That hangs in your clear green bell!
And show me your nest with the young ones in it,—
I will not steal them away;
I am old! you may trust me, linnet, linnet!
I am seven times one to-day.

Love, 

Marqueta

Begin the New Year on a Positive Note (With Random Chicken Photos)~

Hello, dear friends!

We hope that you had a very happy Christmas, and that you have created wonderful memories to treasure for years to come. We're still gathering all the Christmas cards and paper bits that tell the story of this Christmas, and pasting them into a scrapbook, along with things we did and said, and learned.

We have been lately reading several books on the power of words and thinking to affect our lives for good or bad, and would like to issue a challenge for you. Let's do it as a group "New Year's Resolution," and make the world a better place!

You see, our bodies and minds "believe" the words we say, and respond with something akin to those words in a physical or emotional way. Beyond our own bodies, are those of all those with whom we interact each day.

There are so many phrases that are commonly used which do not serve our highest good, so let's start to cut them out and see what difference it makes for us (Believe me, this is a much easier exercise if you have children who can catch you when you forget!)

We're going to replace any negative words that we may have used in the past that do not serve us anymore, such as:

"I hate. . . "

"What a pain!"

"I can't stand. . ."

"I'm so sick and tired. . . "

"I can't wait. . ."

"Over my dead body (ouch)!"

Let's be especially careful when beginning a phrase with "I am," as this is summoning creation in our lives (e.g. "I'm sick", "I'm poor", "I'm so dumb", "I'm hopeless", etc.).

Not only do we speak these words, but we constantly have a dialog with ourselves running through our mind. This is where what I call "The Opposite Game" comes in especially handy, replacing thoughts like "I don't know what I'm going to do" with "I know exactly what I'm going to do!" It truly takes a lot of reminders and written notes (at least for me) to remember to do this, but I've been doing it for about six months now, and I have seen a great difference in how I feel about myself and my life situation. I still have moments when I flounder, but they are less frequent than they used to be.

So here's to a happy, positive New Year's, my friends! Let's do it both for ourselves and for those around us.

Love,

Marqueta

******************************

"Work joyfully and peacefully, knowing that right thoughts and right efforts will inevitably bring about right results."  

~James Allen