Love This Bag!

Isn't this bag a hoot?

My Mission in Life

“To live content with small means; to seek elegance rather than luxury, and refinement rather than fashion; to be worthy, not respectable, and wealthy, not, rich; to listen to stars and birds, babes and sages, with open heart; to study hard; to think quietly, act frankly, talk gently, await occasions, hurry never; in a word, to let the spiritual, unbidden and unconscious, grow up through the common. this is my symphony." w.e. channing

All I Want

Saw this on Facebook and had to copy it. It pretty much sums up what I want for our country.

Saw this on

A Fine Sunday For Sitting Outside

"To sit in the shade on a fine day and look upon verdure is the most perfect refreshment." Fanny Price in Mansfield Park

I've had a few days of reflection while on my beach holiday, and one thing I've decided is that I need to get outside more.

This never used to be a problem. As a child, I practically lived outside. I remember the time when that changed and I started staying inside more. It was after the birth of my first baby. I remember feeling so much resentment because now I had to stay home while my husband continued much as before; playing ball several nights a week and going out into the world every day to work.

Not that I wanted to have a job outside our home. I didn't. But we were used to playing together, and all of a sudden that stopped. It was a very hard adjustment to make.

Thirty years later, home is my favorite place to be. I don't want to get out much at all anymore. But occasionally the walls start closing in and I need to get away from the constant work that a home requires. So I'll take a slow walk around the field, down the road, or through the woods, and all is right again.

I think I get overly introspective if I stay inside too much, and that's not good. I tend to think too much anyway....overanalyzing things to the point of depression and futility.

So I'm going to try and spend more time out-of-doors. My garden sure could use an overhaul.

Pat Conroy and His Cookbook

This is the view from the back deck which overlooks a small lake. I'm on Fripp Island for a few days to plan, rest, read, etc.

I brought Pat Conroy's Cookbook with me. I don't usually read cookbooks, but this isn't an ordinary cookbook, and Mr. Conroy isn't an ordinary writer. Put the two together, and you have one part lyrical autobiography and one part food from around the world.

So I began reading about making stocks when he says to take a whole chicken, wash it inside and out with cold water, then pat it dry. Why on earth would you do that, when the next step is to put it into a pot of water for boiling?

I've wondered the same thing at Thanksgiving. Why wash the turkey only to pat it dry? I never do that, and mine is always moist and flavorful.

Any of you cooking experts out there have an explanation? Seems a silly thing to me, but there's probably a good explanation I don't know about.

Which Jane Austen Heroine Are You?

Take this fun quiz and find out.http://www.strangegirl.com/emma/quiz.php

Counting Books

I had a fun two days this week rearranging ALL our books, culling out some, and counting them.

I didn't intend to do this. I had walked to the big bookcase in the library looking for a particular book and noticed that the shelves were looking messy and that a lot of books weren't in their proper categories making finding them difficult.

When you have as many books as we have, you have to categorize them or you'll never find anything! I arranged them by the Dewey Decimal System several years ago.

"And how many books do you have?" you might ask. I'll tell you; 2,506! I figured that if I read one a week, in 48 years I'll have read them all. I'll be 104 by then. Fortunately, lots of them are children's books and ones I've already read. Whew! I'll only be 98 by the time I finish the rest.