Two Unrealized Aspirations of 2025

2025 is long gone. However, I started this blog post in November of last year. 🤣 At the beginning of 2025, I made a list of three things I wanted to accomplish. Not resolutions, just three simple sounding things that I thought would challenge me beyond my comfort zone  be fun during the year. The first thing I wanted to do was learn how to make Sourdough Bread. 

                                           

                                                       Image: Jennifer Burke, Unsplash

All the videos and books on breadmaking (I bought this amazingly beautiful Bread Dough book) made it sound relatively simple and something that would be an outlet for destressing. Hmph. That might be true but it is not something I have achieved this year. I didn't even make a new starter after killing my old one. Now you say, but Anne, you made a starter! I did. Then life became even more incredibly busy, and I forgot about it. Our newest grand son arrived in February 2025 and they live extremely close to us, so daily life became all about babies/toddlers...again. They're sweet and cuddly and lots of fun, but they're also exhausting for this 'old' lady. LOL

Image: Laura Adai, Unsplash

I also had on my list two non-fiction books that I wanted to read, plus I planned on reading through the Bible on audio. One book has been on our shelf for years. One I bought just for the purpose of reading it in 2025. Did I get either one read? Nope. I started the one I purchased at the end of last year and hope to actually carve out some time to finish it. It's relevant for today's culture, especially after the horrific assassination of Charlie Kirk, which happened on my birthday. I'm behind on my read through the Bible in 6 month plan, however I don't plan on stopping. I'm determined to finish it even if I go into 2026, which I probably will. I have to say I've really enjoyed listening to it. The narrator for the ESV version in the YouVersion app has a soothing deep voice. :) 

And now it is...May 2026!!! 

I don't know where the time has gone. Life is busy on the homestead, and I decided to teach myself to quilt near the end of Summer 2025. As of today, I've made 9 quilts!!! So maybe that's where the time has gone...into my sewing room. I've given away all but two of them. I have several more already planned and fabric already collected or purchased. 

Most of the stuff I was whining about not getting done in 2025 hasn't been done now either. LOL

Oh well.

Life goes on. And I'd rather be sewing anyway. 

The above quilt is a large throw I made using the Partial Seam Block pattern. It's the second one I've made using that pattern. Super easy for a beginner! I gifted this one to a friends daughter who reminds me of our sweet Amy who passed away on Mothers Day 2012. 

I've listened to a few really good books on audio while quilting and I plan on sharing those at some point. I'll mention this one now...The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow. I know lots of folks don't like any P&P variations but this one is fabulous! I wasn't sure about it either, and it is kind of tedious to get through part one as it's a retelling of P&P through Mary's eyes, but the story is oh, so good. I highly recommend the book!!!

What's Summer 2026 looking like for y'all? Anything exciting planned? 

Long Hot Summer

Whew! It's been a long, hot, and busy summer here in our corner of the foothills of North Carolina. August isn't looking any better, except for the sometimes pop-up afternoon thunderstorms. Those storms have been pretty fierce lately. But we saw the most incredible double rainbow the other day. I think it's the first double one seen here on our farm in the 24 years we've lived here. 

My photo doesn't do it justice. at. all. 

As for busyness, the chickens, cat, and puppy keep me hopping all day every day. I never knew so much work went into raising a puppy. This one was dumped in our yard back mid spring and our youngest adult son wanted to keep her so we did. She is a running, rolling, jumping ball of energy; perhaps a Vizsla Terrier mix. The vet says maybe so we're going with it. LOL In this photo she was about 12 pounds and now she's almost four times this size, weighing in at 44 pounds last week!!! 

My husband and I started landscaping the front yard, which we've been wanting to do for years. At our age, we work very slow....and painfully. But we're pretty much finished! Again, my pictures aren't great and don't capture how nice it actually looks. Anyone who has ever been here knows it's a HUGE improvement.

I have two books for review purposes so I'm excited to share about those when I'm done. It's been a slow summer for reading too. Somehow my days are filled up with busy work and by the time evening comes, I have no energy left to even open a book. 

I'd love to know how your summer is going! Have you been gardening, reading, writing, lazing by the pool, or babysitting grands? 

Whatever you've been up to, I hope most of all you're staying strong in Christ! The world is certainly a little more crazy than it was last summer but we can trust Him to give us all we need, and to help us get through all the tough times.

Review ~ The Souls of Lost Lake by Jaime Jo Wright

 

About the Book

To save the innocent, they must face an insidious evil.

Wren Blythe has long enjoyed living in the Northwoods of Wisconsin, helping her father with ministry at a youth camp. But when a little girl in the area goes missing, an all-out search ensues, reviving the decades-old campfire story of Ava Coons, the murderess who is believed to still roam the forest. Joining the search, Wren stumbles upon the Coonses' cabin ruins and a sinister mystery she is determined to unearth.

In 1930, Ava Coons has spent the last several years carrying the mantle of mystery since the day she emerged from the woods as a thirteen-year-old girl, spattered with blood, dragging a logger's ax. She has accepted she will never remember what happened to her family, whose bodies were never found, and that the people of Tempter's Creek will always blame her for their violent deaths. And after a member of the town is murdered, and another goes missing, rumors spread that Ava's secret is perhaps more malicious than previously imagined.

Two women, separated by time, must confront a wickedness that not only challenges who they are but also threatens their lives, and the lives of those they love.

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My Review 5 STARS 

“We’re all lost in our own ways. Some of us just hide when we shouldn’t. We hide in our grief, in our minds, in our pain…in the woods…or in a story, like Ava Coons.”

Dual time lines (or time-slip) novels are some of my favorites to read, especially when they are high caliber like The Souls of Lost Lake. The suspense is phenomenal, as always, but there is just something about this tale that grabbed hold of my imagination and will not let go. Maybe because I love “camp fire tales” and my husband and I told so many of them to our children during their growing up years that this book resonated with me as much as it did. I don’t know. I do know that for the last two weeks since I finished the book, Ava Coons still rattles around in my brain almost daily!

Wright turned up the “heebie-jeebies” with this one and provided a feast for the senses. The characters jumped off the paper, cementing themselves in my mind, because they were not going to let me get away. Excellent, excellent summer reading!!! I’d give this book 10 stars if I could!

I was provided a copy by the publisher through Netgalley. No compensation has been received.

SUMMER COVER LOVE: June to September by Rachael Farnsworth-Merritt

Rachael Farnsworth-Merritt is a homemaker, wife, mother, homeschooler, and disciple of Christ who enjoys crafting, simple money saving tips, and loves farm life. She is also an avid book reviewer and blogger. 

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Stuff and Nonsense has graciously allowed me to post my reviews on their website until I can get mine back. (At this point I’m beginning to wonder if it is lost somewhere in unknown cyberspace forever...but I digress). 

Anne thought it a good idea to do a post on cover love for summer releases. We as readers seem to all love cover reveals and seeing what our favorite author has next for a fantastic eye appealing novel. There are actually few covers I despise, I find. 

Rebecca chose covers from May and June. Aren't they great? 

Anne chose some beautiful ones, and I love that we have such a variety of tastes! 

Note from Anne: Rakes & Roses is not CF but it is CLEAN fiction. I included it because Regency is my favorite era
and the cover is gorgeous!!!

A few of Rebecca and Anne’s were ones I considered. I did include two from June that I simply couldn’t leave out. I think we all found that limiting the list wasn’t easy. 

I learned something about what I like in doing this because ten covers are all together...I seem to have a theme of covers that appeal which I had never noticed: sky, prairie, and a flare for the dramatic. I grew up in the plains of Oklahoma; The prairie speaks of home. I’ve always loved God’s portraits that he paints in the sky. The dramatic ones surprised even me, but they really grab the eye don’t they? The books are meant to do that as many readers actually do judge a book by its cover.

Perhaps you can see a pattern in the other hosts that chose their favorite covers of summer releases?? Do you have some on the list that are your favorites?? Perhaps you have a favorite we missed?? 

Please share your comments about a subject we readers seem to all love-Cover Love.

Pink Perennial

 Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

I don't know about you but sometimes I forget what I buy in the garden dept. This perennial wasn't blooming when I bought it. The tag (I know I should have saved it) had a lovely colorful image of it in full bloom. I was completely and utterly in love with it so I bought it. 

On a long and delicate stem sits this lovely pink bloom. It's had a few of them sparsely on the plant but definitely not the profusion that I remember being on the tag.

The whole plant has a wild and free flowing look to it, swaying gently in the coastal breeze.

My question to all y'all gardening friends is...

What is it?? 

If you have any idea, I would love to hear from you in the comments.

I hope your summer gardening is off to a good start.

I'm linking up with More of Him.net

Greedy Hummer

While shopping for a few odds and ends the other day, we decided to purchase another Hummingbird feeder because it seemed like the other one wasn't getting much attention, although we did have a beautiful Ruby-throated Hummingbird visit it a couple of times. 

He didn't stay around long and it would be days and days before he would show back up, then he disappeared altogether. The feeder is glass and metal so we thought maybe it was getting too hot, plus it doesn't have a lot of red on it. A friend told me to tie a big red bow on top and that would attract him back.

But, I am impatient so I found a new one I thought would work better. And it does!!! Now there is a Hummer visiting us every day and he/she stays around for up to an hour at a time, flitting over to the Crepe Myrtles and back to the feeder. I hung it from an ant guard, which is working really well. Hummer also preferred feeding out of the other side where I couldn't see him/her, so I put a tiny piece of clear tape over the opening, forcing him/her to feed from a flower visible to me and my camera! :-)

The video isn't as sharp as I would like because I have to video (and photograph) through the screen but you can still see how hungry he/she is! I'm not sure if it's a young male or a female since the throat is not red. Could be either one but I don't care. I'm just happy it likes coming here to feed!

Well, I hope you've enjoyed our little Hummer visit! 

What kind of birds do you have at your feeders? 

Anticipated Summer Read #1

COMING SUMMER 2019

When one Coast Guard officer is found dead and another goes missing, Coast Guard Investigative Service special agent Finn Walker faces his most dangerous crime yet. His only clues are what little evidence remains aboard the dead officer's boat, and the direction the clues point to will test Finn and the Guard to their limits.

When investigative reporter--and Finn's boss's sister--Gabby Rowley arrives, her unrelenting questions complicate an already volatile situation. Now that she's back, the tug on Finn's heart is strong, but with the risks she's taking for her next big story, he fears she might not live through it.

Thrown together by the heinous crime, Finn and Gabby can't ignore the sparks or judgments flying between them. But will they be able to see past their preconceptions long enough to track down an elusive killer, or will they become his next mark?

Sounds pretty good, huh? I guess being under the weather has me thinking about sunshine

and warmer temperatures. :-)

I've read Pettrey's Chesapeake Valor Series and highly recommend it. It has all the elements of good suspense–danger, action and intrigue with just the right amount of romance thrown in to keep you reading for hours and hours on end. I read the entire series of books back to back and loved them!

What book/s are you looking forward to reading this summer?

Perfection in Purple

Edited with Aviary for Android

Grapes are one of my favorite fruits.

But I am not very good at choosing sweet ones.

This day I was successful!

I hope your summer is happy and healthy, so far.

It's been kind of emotional here but in the midst of it all, 

God is still here and blessing with good gifts. 

Like sweet Grapes. :-)

~Happy Summer Days~

Praise God, from whom all blessings flow; Praise him, all creatures here below; Praise him above, ye heav'nly host; Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Blogging Break Continues & New House

Hey, Y'all! I'm sorry I've been absent for so long. It certainly wasn't intended to be this way.  I had to extend my blogging break because my husband and I closed on our new house here in VA and I am busy getting it cleaned and ready to move into, as well as packing up the home we are in now. 

It's been a whirlwind few weeks but we are excited to really begin settling down here 

and making VA our new home!

I'm going to miss this spectacular view the Lord has allowed me to enjoy for the past year! It's been an amazing time here on the Chesapeake Bay. 

Every sunrise is different and just as spectacular as the one before!

My hours on the beach have been spent in reflection and soaking in God's glory.

I do have some things on the calendar that will be coming up (Rebecca's been reading some amazing books over the summer!!!) so I'll be back in a week or so with some reviews and hopefully new pictures of the area we have moved to. 

I do hope everyone is enjoying their summer and finding rest.

May God bless you and I'll see you soon!

 

A Bit of Summer Reading

With so many wonderful books to choose from this summer, here are three in my 

TBR (To Be Read) stack.

Howard Books, May 2015

Melanie Dobson has quickly become one of my favorite writers. Her works are poignant, mysterious and faith-driven.


In Shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor...
When Heather Toulson returns to her parents cottage in the English countryside, she uncovers long-hidden secrets about her family history and stumbles onto the truth about a sixty-year-old murder....

Bethany House Publishers, June 2015

Jen Turano's writing style knocks my socks off! She is witty to the point of eliciting spontaneous out loud laughter. Her books are stand alone titles yet interrelated, so don't cheat yourself out of a full experience...read them in order.

  
In Good Company...
After growing up as an orphan, Millie Longfellow is determined to become the best nanny the East Coast has ever seen. Unfortunately, her playfulness and enthusiasm aren't always well received and she finds herself dismissed from yet another position.

Everett Mulberry has quite unexpectedly become guardian to three children that scare off every nanny he hires. About to depart for Newport, Rhode Island, for the summer, he’s desperate for competent childcare...

Thomas Nelson, July 2015

Susan May Warren's talent is undeniable and her stories irresistible.

Be swept away in book five, The Wonder of You...
Mortified after her semester abroad is cut short, Amelia Christiansen returns to Deep Haven, certain she isn’t brave enough for the adventures she’s dreamed of. The last thing she expects is for the man who broke her heart to cross the Atlantic and beg forgiveness...

I love both historical and contemporary stories. Melanie Dobson's book is a contemporary/historical hybrid, so I get the best of both!

All links take you to Goodreads where you can read more about the books and their authors. It's a great place to connect with other bibliophiles, too.

What's in your TBR?

~Happy Reading~

A Sunflower and a Flower Fly

Swamp sunflower (Helianthus angustifolius)

 

hee-lee-AN-thus an-gus-tih-FOE-lee-us

 

: : :

 

Usually these sunflowers bloom later in the summer, but I have a few that have popped up early this year. 

With temperatures hovering near 100*F every day, I think they think it is August!

 

The Flower Fly is happily sunning himself, too. He's actually a teensy tiny bee with 

yellow and black stripes.

 

We call them sweat bees around these parts because they like to sting you when you're 

working out in the garden and sweating. 

 

If you're not sweating, they don't sting you. 

 

Needless to say, I don't get stung. 

What's in your flower garden right now? 

 

Flowers? 

 

Sweat bees?

 

 Anything Interesting?

~Happy Gardening~

Summertime meal

I don't know about you, but when the weather starts getting warm I start thinking about what kind of cooler meals I can prepare. 

Since our boys were going to be gone the other evening, I knew it was the perfect time to make one of my husband's favorites dishes. 

~ Guacamole Regionale ~

Start by chopping up fresh Avocado, Roma Tomatoes, Onion (red or white), and Cilantro.

(I didn't have any Cilantro, so I left it out, but it would have been so much better with some.)

Once you have those fresh veggies in your bowl, squeeze a little Lime juice in there, toss a few drops of Texas Pete Hot Sauce in, add a spoonful or two of your favorite salsa (ours is Newman's Own, Medium heat factor), and finally sprinkle a bit of Garlic Salt over the top and start tossing it all together.

If you like yours hot, add some jalapeno peppers to the first stage of chopping. But don't touch your face or eyes because it burns. Um. Don't ask me how I know this. I'll just say that I don't use it anymore ;)

Spoon it out on your plates in heaps because you will want to eat it all at once! 

Don't forget some Tortilla Chips to scoop it up with and enjoy!!!

Don't ask me for measurements because I don't have any. I just chop up however much we want to eat and season to taste. It always comes out different but delicious. J

Do you have a favorite summertime recipe?

Sharing with

Life has been crazy...

CRAZY busy. 

Kitchen renovations combined with getting ready for grandbaby #4 has taken up weeks of my time and energy. I will post photos of the baby when my daughter says I can. And I will post photos of the kitchen when it is done.

In the meantime, the wheat field lining our driveway has turned a beautiful gold.

~Revelation 14:15~
And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud, “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe."

And I found this lovely patch of Daisy Fleabane. It doesn't look like much from a distance.

Just a bit of yellow and white nestled among the weeds on the edge of the field.

But as you get closer...

It really becomes a beautiful wildflower!

~Psalm 104:24~ (ERV)

Lord, you created so many things!
    With your wisdom you made them all.
    The earth is full of the living things you made.

~ Daisy Fleabane ~

(Erigeron annuus)

With summer only beginning, I am hoping to have many more photo ops, 

both with babies and nature!

What are your plans for the summer; an exciting vacation, read a good book, laze around the swimming pool?

Whatever it is, I hope you have a blessed time in the Lord doing it!

Summer Beauty ~ Rural Thursday

This Canna, along with several others, are blooming brightly in my side yard.

Canna are so easy to grow. A friend gave me 3 tubers several years ago, and since then they have multiplied into numerous plants. These beauties are extremely hardy and drought resistant, about 5ft tall and love direct sun. Bugs don't bother them, either. If I watered them regularly (which I don't) they would multiply even more. Dave's Garden website has lots of information on how to grow them. I let mine live & die off naturally. Each year they come back so pretty & healthy. In my book, they are the perfect plant!

Images are mine. Please don't take them without asking. Not that anyone would want them. I'm just sayin'. 

I'm linked with Rural Thursday.