Emma Lion Heroine

I'm on book two of this series. Very Jane Eyre-like, very Austenique. One heroine chooses her man, collects books, and tries to keep her home in 1800's London - {the series has only been written to book 8 / 25 so far, so we don't know who she chooses yet... A Vicar? A Duke? A Byron?}. It's on Amazon as a Kindle or paperback. Your welcome.

we build

every day we are building something. a home, a life, hope.

and the building comes easy for some, but for others 

it becomes a life story to be completed and remembered later,

brick by brick, day by day, trial by trial, we build.

it's a journey that might take a day, or a lifetime,

depending on the needs of the builder.

because for the builder the journey is the lesson,

it is the story, the framework, the purpose of a lifetime.

and at the end we will look back to what was built, and know the reasons.

it might be a house, it might be faith, it might be a memory.

but it is ours, and it is exactly what we needed. 

it was finished in our time and for our purposes.

until that day comes, we hope.

Photo Resources For Artists - By Miss Mustard Seed

To It's Place

I cry for the eagles

I cry for the bears

The good things of the world 

Are becoming more rare

I love beauty

I love praiseworthy things

Let me seek them still

And help them find their wings

I stand in the Light

I stand with love

May peace return

To it's place

The sign of the Dove

Thornfield Hall, Home of Edward Rochester, Country Gentleman

I found this artwork by Stewart Platt of a place called, "North Lees Hall," in Derbyshire. Charlotte Bronte had visited the area with her friend Ellen Nussey to help prepare the vicarage for Ellen's brother who was the new vicar, to be arriving after his honeymoon. Charlotte and Ellen visited North Lees Hall. 

by Stewart Platt

Research into the name "North Lees Hall" translates "north" to "thorn" and "lees" to "field." This is fascinating. We can see the inspiration that Charlotte Bronte would have gotten from visiting the place which she then turned into "Thornfield Hall" the home of Edward Rochester, country gentleman.

Just for comparison, here are some photographs of North Lees Hall.

 

Wouldn't you like to walk the grounds and wander inside as Jane would have done? Jane Eyre has come to life. 

(Inspired by this post)

Nature Knows

Look out --- what you are seeing is nature,

sleeping,

calming,

restoring,

nesting,

listening,

resting.

Listen in --- what you are hearing is nature,

singing,

praising,

calling,

speaking,

echoing,

reverberating.

Nature is asking for time away and she quietly invites us to join her. Her stillness calms when we didn't know we needed calming. What is the message? We need to breath, to listen to the rhythms of earth and walk in step with them. Nature knows.

Things I Learned From Anne

Photo by Sullivan Entertainment

When Megan Follows and Anne of Green Gables came together, magic happened. The book came alive,  the words from the pages became life in the person of Anne.

Things I learned from Anne.

1. The poetry of Tennyson {I actually memorized several verses of The Lady of Shalott and could recite them all at one time}.

2. To see the beauty in nature and adore it.

3. To be positive in life's circumstances.

4. To always do your best.

5. The little details matter {like dressing pretty, eating ice cream, and tea time}.
 

Tiny Prayers ~ Opening Up Heaven

 I used to kneel and pray long worded out prayers when I was younger. This worked for me for years. Somehow the prayers got shorter and shorter and then nearly faded out from sheer exhaustion. Finally now, I am realizing that it is okay for my prayers to be short, if I do them often enough. Just stating the basics is enough for now. This opens up heaven for me at a time when there is so much on my plate that tiny prayers like tiny houses are all you really need.

The Old, Old

 

As You Wait

My heart is beating, trembling with sorrow, fearful you will not return.

My voice can only whisper, I dare not utter a spoken word.

There is still hope, but it dwindles, yet still, it remains in me.

"Be still, And as you wait,

I will renew your strength,

And as you wait, I will carry you on my wings." 

~Bekah Shae, Rest

 

My prayers are thoughts that drift upwards to the ears of God.

My tears are soul wrenching.

My face stained with anguish brimming from my grief.

But still, I believe in miracles, I believe, I believe.

Winter Thoughts

My thoughts tonight are winter thoughts. While you might know that January is not my favorite month, you might not know that I also find January quite breathtaking in its beauty. These pictures are beautiful to me. Winter is hard on many of us, the least of which are the animals that must live rough through it's hardships and unrelenting coldness, with trees and bushes for shelter and little warmth other than the midday sun. I have such respect for them. They must search in the cold for food when it is scarce and never know when they will find food again. They just do what they must. They have so much to teach us. I would thank them all, each one, if I could. We don't deserve them. But still, they are with us. 

Quiet the Moment

 All of my life, I have struggled to sit still, be quiet, and just be in the moment while doing the little life things that are at times drudgery. I don't like those moments and I fight them. I want to rush them so they are over quickly, or better yet, skip over them so they don't even happen at all.

Today, during one such moment, the thought came that maybe God created these little moments so that we can reflect and think, be still, quiet the moment. That thoughts you need to think might not come any other way, and that maybe embracing those undesirable moments that are part of a dreaded task, might just be little gifts from heaven. 

So, next time I have such a moment, I will embrace the quiet and see what it brings. Even if it's just to catch my breath and say a prayer and be thankful for life.

The Anne of Green Gables Bible

 

This is a brand new project that dives deep into the creation of Anne of Green Gables by it's author L.M. Montgomery. I am calling it the Anne of Green Gables Bible. A place to read, research, and dig into anything and everything you could ever imagine about the creation of Anne and her Green Gables story that are loved by so many around the world. We didn't know we needed this, but wow, what an amazing place to devour and delve into Anne.

Maude With An E

So yeah, I'm the one who gives Lucy Maud Montgomery an e in Maude when writing her name out for quotes in my print shop, and it just occurred to me how ironic this is considering Maud herself gave a book character a name that was especially emphasized to have an e at the end of it, ... because, well you know, ... spell out M-a-u-d and it looks rather plain, but M-a--u-d-e with an e is quite distinguished. Anyhow, that's where I am at late tonight in the wee hours of a Monday stretching into a Tuesday. Just so you know, and so I have a record of me always mistakenly adding that e to Maude, where it should not be.

Miss Scarlett & The Duke

I am so fanning over Miss Scarlett and the Duke. Especially after the last episode of season 3 after the Duke and Arabella have a conversation about Eliza, and the Duke finally realizes! So much to love here. Victorian era, Lady Sleuth, The Duke. I also really like the "explosion" that they open the show with each time. I really look forward to that every sing time. A wonderful show that you can watch on Amazon Prime, through their PBS channel.