Seventeen Years

 

 

We had some wedding anniversary ice cream and stroll through some of our town's streets! I'm so glad the rain stopped so that we could have our date.

 

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Today is our seventeenth wedding anniversary! Normally, I make a joke out of it and remind Father John V Parsells how many years he's done of his life sentence, but this year he wrote me a beautiful tribute, so that seems wrong somehow.

 

I am so thankful to be this man's wife. He is a spectacular husband. He forgives me for my many failings, cheers me up when I am low, loves me through thick and thin, and is such an amazing father to our children. He is everything I ever wanted and more than I ever dreamed of!

 

I love you, John! Happy Anniversary! You've been a great cellmate these last seventeen years! #notimeoffforgoodbehavior

  

Pink Roses

On Beauty

 

"Beauty is the language of care." Alice Waters

 

Saturday Morning Pancakes and Bacon

 

Delphinium On My Bedside Table

 

 

Every year around our wedding anniversary, I have grand intentions of buying delphinium and queen anne's lace to make a bouquet just like the ones we had at our wedding reception. I also plan to order a bakery cake just like our wedding cake: vanilla cakes with strawberries and vanilla pudding between layers with a whipped cream frosting.  Only one of those plans happened this year. I found blue delphinium in the grocery store and made a posy for my bedside table.

On the Bathroom Windowsill

Candlelight in the Lving Room

Lacy Shadows

Twelve!

 

 

 

 

 

Our baby is twelve! He delights us every day with his kind heart, hard work, and sweetness. May God grant this darling boy Many Years!

 

My One Weakness

 

 

It is not possible to watch From Lark Rise to Candleford without a piece of cake and a cup of tea! 

Substituting

 

 

Only nine days left of my first year substituting at our local Catholic School. I taught in the art room last week, which was the last remaining class for me to sub in the school. I've done: Middle School (sixth, seventh, and eighth grade) math, science, social studies, language arts, and religion, fifth grade (aide and teacher), fourth grade, third grade, Spanish, art, second grade (aide and teacher), first grade (aide and teacher), kindergarten (aide and teacher), library lady, technology, music, pre-k 4, pre-k 3, and secretary. It's been a fun and rewarding year! 

The Platinum Jubilee

 

 

 

An Americanized Victoria Sponge (vanilla cakes with cream cheese frosting and fresh strawberries sandwiched between the layers) in honor of the Platinum Jubilee! God Save the Queen!

Cake and icing made by me, assembly and decoration by our daughter. 

From the Garden

The Last Bookshop in London

 

I just started reading The Last Bookshop in London and absolutely love it! It's sort of like a cross between A Place to Hang the Moon and The Awakening of Miss Prim. You should try it! The audio book is on Hoopla if your library has that option. 

A Failed Attempt to Pick Strawberries

 

 

One of the things we like to do in May is to pick strawberries. The fields at the farm we went to yesterday were depleted, but we did get to see sheep and we bought a pre-picked carton of strawberries. It wasn't a total loss. 

A Long, Hot Soak

 

 

All of these bathtub fixtures were replaced yesterday and I can have a long, hot bath tonight! I had been using a pair of pliers to turn the hot water on and off for years, and then the plastic part that I need to grip broke off a month or two ago. We were finally able to find mostly matching hardware and it was installed yesterday! What luxury!

 

The Lupine Lady

 

 

Something to make the world more beautiful. The Lupine Lady would approve. 

Abundance

 

William on the Bed

Sixteen!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sweetest girl is sweet sixteen today! Oh how we love her!

 

After School Snack

 

 

An after school snack of little apple crisps made by our daughter

 

More Roses

 

These poor roses have become dinner to resident insects. I need to find some sort of spray to make them less desirable.

William in the Window

A Laden Rosebush

Annual Pool Blessing

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our parish had our annual pool blessing and cross dive today! Come and swim! 

A Saturday Baptism

 

 

 

 

 

Middle School Orchestra Concert

 

Our son had his first and last middle school orchestra concert a few nights ago. It's been a rough few years for these kids. Things were obviously affected by the pandemic, but their orchestra teacher suddenly and tragically passed away in January. Next year will be exciting because both our middle son and our daughter will be in the high school orchestra together!