I have read and used many quotes by Ralph Waldo Emerson, but this one was new to me. It is excellent; I wish I had read it and took it to heart decades ago. It is a perfect quote for Wisdom Wednesday.
I need to apply it to my life and, even more importantly, remember to do the same for others when their blunders and absurdities target me or someone I love.
I had hoped to start a year of Weekend Matinee posts on the first weekend of January, but I didn’t get my act together until today. Most of the films I recommend will be classics; I haven’t gone to many theater movies in the past years.
For television programming, I’m recommending The Way Home. I love time travel shows, and this sweet show on Hallmark+ has not disappointed me. The first five episodes were free, and they entranced me so much that I subscribed to the station. I hope to find more Hallmark programs and movies to enjoy when I finish this series. There was no filth whatsoever in The Way Home. Other than the concept of Time Travel, and I am midway through the second season, I have seen no supernatural scenes or dialogue. Hopefully, the program will continue in the same vein and be suitable for all ages.
I am a bit of an enthusiaist for a classic film released in 1951, The African Queen is a good choice for a weekend matinee. Katherine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart make this movie a favorite of mine, even in my top ten vintage films. During Sunday Morning services, when we sing the hymn, Bread of Heaven, my husband and I will look at each other and smile secretly. Why? Because the song is part of the opening scenes of The African Queen. We always remember the movie when we sing it and, in our mind’s eye, see Katherine Hepburn pumping the organ with her feet. I feel the movie is suitable for all ages.
I didn’t know until researching the movie that a sequel starring Warren Oates and Mariette Hartley had been made in 1977. I’ll have to see if I can find this on cable or through YouTube.
My third choice is a more modern classic, Enchanted April. The first time I saw this movie, I liked it a bit but wasn’t entranced. Now, the total opposite is true, and I revisit the film several times a year. Rose, Lottie, Caroline, Mrs. Fischer, and Melarche have all become so familiar that I almost feel they are my friends. The movie is suitable for all ages.
The three programs/films I’ve listed are available through cable television, Public Libraries, and many online sources.
I photographed this beautiful grouping of Amaryllis in the ‘Reimagined’ West Conservatory at Longwood Gardens. The Christmas display was lovely in this wing of the conservatories. The color scheme was subdued and elegant, with chartreuse and whites, with a few pops of color, blue sages, and towers of succulents. The Amaryllis was a unique plant in their Christmas display. I forgot to take note of the name, but researching the photo, I found that it might be called Mystica. I hope to find a bulb of this type to grow next Christmas.
Sometimes, old photographs inspire me to revisit crafts from the past. These sweet fairy chairs, created from pussy willows, moss, lichens, and other dried finds from the forest, would be fun to create again.
The small chairs are also a perfect answer to Xingfu Mama’s Pull up a Seat Photo Challenge for this week.
Colder months are the best time to search out dried materials to use. There are no ticks and other biting insects in the woods. Dried materials are also easier to see when the disappearance of tree foliage and undergrowth is gone. I only take surface materials; disturbing the leaf cover can cause harm to the nests and burrows of hibernating animals.
Another way to use small chairs like these would be in a terrarium.
Today, we visited Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, Pennsylvania. The Christmas display was still in place and looked as fresh as if it was only the day after Thanksgiving. The building and reconstruction of Longwood Reimagined are nearly complete, and the new West Conservatory was open. The trees were gorgeous; photographs do not do them justice. The first was my favorite, between the East Conservatory and Exhibition Hall. If you are in the Philadelphia area, try to find time to visit Longwood Gardens.
WEST CONSERVATORY
MAIN CONSERVATORY/ORANGERY
SILVER GARDEN
I managed to choose a very cooperative Amaryllis from a local nursery. It budded up and bloomed in a timely fashion for the Christmas Eve gathering at our house. As always, the leaves and stems became too heavy for the pot, so I added some long branches of holly to help hold them upright. I like the extra bit of Christmas cheer the holly adds.
This amaryllis was a perfect choice for this week’s Whatsoever is Lovely challenge hosted by Xingfu Mama.
I find many posts on WordPress that inspire me through challenges, how-tos, and devotionals. Today, I rediscovered Xingfu Mama’s One-to-Three Photo Processing Challenge for December. I used a recent photograph taken after the summer season ended in Wildwood, New Jersey, an ocean town about an hour from my home.
I used Ribbet to tweak the photographs for the challenge. The first photo is the original cropped down to focus on the Ferris Wheel and Roller Coaster. Top right, I used the True Vintage filter. The bottom left is an example of the Sketch filter. The bottom right shows how the inverted filter changes everything around. My favorite filter for this photograph is the True Vintage.
The collage presentation of the photographs was also created in the Ribbet app.
The Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera) I bought as a prize for a family game was so beautiful I wanted to keep it for myself. I will keep my eyes open when I go out this weekend for a similar plant. I have had several over the years, but I only have a small Thanksgiving cactus now. I want to find a new Christmas variety and grow it into a large specimen.
I’ve experienced rebloom on my Christmas cactuses, but never to the extent of the number of flowers they have when you purchase them brand new from their greenhouse start. This one may prove my experience with them wrong. I hope the winner of this plant enjoys the beautiful pink flowers.
When viewed sideways the flowers look like a bird on the wing. This Christmas Cactus bloom is part of Xingfu Mama’s Whatsoever is Lovely Challenge.
Who can add to Christmas? The perfect motive is that God so loved the world. The perfect gift is that He gave His only Son. The only requirement is to believe in Him. The reward of faith is that you shall have everlasting life. ~Corrie Ten Boom
This beautiful poinsettia is part of Cee’s Flower of the Day Challenge.
Now and then, I am quick enough to prepare a post for the Lens-Artists Challenge. This week, the challenge is to use photographs that portray five elements that make up the world around us. The elements are fire, water, wood, earth, and metal.
My first photo portrays fire. The fire of the sun is an element in all of my photos. The view is what I see as I stand in my front yard and attempt to watch the setting sun through the trees.
Dandelions conquer whatever earth their seeds land upon. I love the way the clocks of the plant let loose their seeds in puffs of wind or are blown into the breezes by a wish-filled child. If I look closely at a dandelion in the fire of the sun’s rays, each small piece of fluff seems to mirror the sun’s light.
The sun’s rays seemed to deepen the shadows of the heart carved into the tree’s wood.
The last photograph combines the elements of water and metal. It is a bit blurry, but it was taken with my phone through a plate glass window as we finished Thanksgiving dinner in a favorite restaurant. The ship is sailing down the Delaware River near Philadelphia, and we are on the other side of the river in New Jersey. The light illuminated the metal ship with fire and reflected in the water.
Thanks to the hosts of the Lens-Artist Challenge.
I give thanks today for the Lord Jesus Christ and all of you, my blogging friends.
God bless you.
This post is one to pull back to the top of the blog for Throwback Thursday-a timely tip for the holiday. To keep a pudding, pumpkin, or any other pie without a top crust fresh, cover first with an overturned paper plate.
The paper plate protects the top of the pie from damage when covering with foil or plastic wrap. The plate has enough substance to protect the pie, but not enough weight to break the fragile crust.
Before you read more in this blog post, please read this article: Message from Cee via Chris.
I have chosen everlasting flowers today as my post for Cee’s Flower of the Day. A heart of Maple Keys seems appropriate to send to Cee and Chris. Blue Violets also mean Love and Faithfulness, and I send that to Cee. I believe in Life Everlasting. God bless us all.
I post this fun Christmas craft every year, inexpensive, and oh so rewarding.
This is a throwback post and a craft that’s been around for countless years. Since the time of paper and scissors, adults and children have been cutting paper snowflakes for windows and gift packages.
I cut over a hundred every year for my windows. I’ve included a how-to video with this post, but I have tweaked my snowflakes over the years and want to share a new tip or two. There are two weeks between now and December. I need to cut a few daily to prepare enough for December 1st.
The most important tip I want to share is to cut many different-sized snowflakes. The snowflakes on my windows look more interesting if they are not uniform in size. I use squares of computer paper cut into various sizes, four inches to eight, and everything in between. If you start with a square and do the folding correctly, your snowflakes will be a success.
As always, the best way to store paper snowflakes is inside a book until you are ready to use them. Here is a true story and a tip, too. Write down what book you place them in and where they are kept. I lost dozens and dozens of finished snowflakes a year or two ago. I found them months later in the “safe” place I had stashed them.
To finish off the snowflakes, press them between sheets of wax paper with an old iron you reserve for crafts, or to preserve your iron and board, encase them in several layers of newspaper and press them in wax paper. When you pull the wax paper away, your snowflakes will have a protective layer of wax to keep off the condensation winter windows often form.
I use washable school glue sticks to keep the snowflakes in place. When it’s time to take them down just pull the paper away from the windowpane and swipe with a wet washcloth once or twice. Let the moisture soak in for a minute, wipe again, and all the paper and glue washes away. Sometimes, if I use the right cloth, I don’t even need to use window cleaner. Anyone who has ever picked transparent tape off of a piece of window glass will know how tedious it is and how long it takes. Gluing the snowflakes to the windows sounds scary, but believe me, I’ve done it for years and it is SOOOOOO much
easier than taping because of easy removal.
WordPress sent me this notice today:
Happy Anniversary with WordPress.com!
You registered on WordPress.com 16 years ago.
Thanks for flying with us. Keep up the good blogging.
Thank you WordPress. The years have been wonderful blogging with you! Thanks to all those who have read my posts over the years. I’m not sure that I have blogged since that date, but hey, it’s nice to know that is when I registered with the site.
All created things are living in the Hand of God.
The senses see only the action of the creatures;
but faith sees in everything the action of God.
Jean-Pierre de Caussade
This past week, I finished reading The Bronte Sisters, The Brief Lives of Charlotte, Emily, and Anne by Catherine Reef. It was an excellent biography of the Bronte sisters who authored several books. Between them, the sisters wrote Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Agnes Grey, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Shirley, Villette, The Professor, and a volume of poetry called Poems.
Jane Eyre, written by Charlotte Bronte, is far and away my favorite. I have read and listened to it on Audiobook, and I especially enjoy viewing the many versions of it on movie screens and television. I want to enjoy Wuthering Heights, too, and I do, somewhat, but it is a dark story and I’ve never taken to it like I have Jane Eyre.
Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard are excellent writers and always find a way to make history enjoyable for me. Confronting the Presidents is not an exception to that fact. I am a quarter of the way through and beginning to read the chapter on President Zachary Taylor. I am strangely mesmerized by the peculiarities and eccentricities of the presidents who helped form our country. Believe me, they all had a few. Did you know one of the early presidents skinny-dipped daily in the Potomac and was often joined by staff and occasionally pedestrians walking by?
I’ve enjoyed this book because it reminds me of long-ago learned history, which has settled at the bottom of my brain. I have loved being reminded of The Louisiana Purchase and other significant events brought about by the first presidents.
Since chronological order doesn’t matter, I read the end chapter on President Donald Trump. I felt lukewarm about O’Reilly’s assessment of President Trump’s first presidency. I was offended by Martin Dugard’s opinion on President Trump, but he is entitled to think as he will.
I recommend both of these non-fiction books.
