The holiday decorations in our house are getting sparser as I age, especially since it has always been only me that puts them up and takes them down. The bells help celebrate the “reason for the season”. I put the new keys to the new door on a guardian bell key fob. Keeping with the bell theme, I decided to hang the bells pictured above from the door lever. They make a strong and clear clanging that is musical to my ear.
This new door was one of the upgrades that was researched this summer. Planning ahead is always a good idea. This door is fully accessible and opens out to our deck, patio, and back garden. It replaced an old sliding glass door that was too narrow to be fully accessible.
As I went through the old Christmas decorations picking and choosing a few reminders of the season, I found a garland of tiny gold bells. Hanging them over the new door was my private celebration. The 3 brass bells were found this summer in old box of inherited books. They seem appropriate for Christmas, and I can imagine them being attached to a gift box of books. Giving books for Christmas was something my great aunt Bess liked to do. You cannot take the teacher out of an older retired teacher.
This Thanksgiving season I am grateful for many things. My father’s favorite poem, Desiderata, comes into my mind. He used to have it on a poster in his home office. My favorite lines from this poem are: “You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars. You have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.”
My hope during this time of year is that love and faith continues to guide me. And to anyone that might read this post, I hope that you can find peace and joy during this season of Thanksgiving.
Sincerely, Kathy aka Katherine
The chill in the air today gave me hope that our winter will be memorable.
The beaver prepares for winter. It builds a dam and stores up food. Here it looks to be praying by the water, asking the moon for guidance. This month’s full moon is named in its honor.
This reminds me of the new Reservoir Park in Loudoun County, which is a partnership between Loudoun Water and NOVA Parks. It is situated on the southeast side of Beaverdam Reservoir. I have not yet had a chance to visit it this year. I will have to put this on my 2025 list of things to do if I do not get a chance before then to visit it.
My hope is that the sky will be clear of clouds tomorrow night. It is raining now and expected to continue through until morning. Shine bright Beaver Moon!
The only problem was I added too much cheese. There are sliced peppers under all the cheese that you cannot see very well. Next time I will make it with less cheese and the sliced peppers on top.
It is evening now.I am not so sure I will be able to successfully avoid election coverage. My curiosity will probably make me look.
Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie is a phrase that keeps whirling around my head.I kick it out and it circles back.
I discovered it was a song popular when I was growing up, though, I don't remember it from then.
It was chanted by some when playing hide-and-seek.
Who's not ready? Holler, "I".
I have had pie on my brain, and tarts, and crostatas, and galettes, etc., etc.
Last weekend I made a granny smith apple tart with a chopped ginger cookie and pecan crumbled topping, and then I got fancy and cut out circles with the remaining pie dough and decorated the top. It was delicious.
Is there a real difference between a pie, tart, galette, and crostata?
Not really. There are differences. I read that a pie has two crusts, one on top, and one on the bottom, whereas tarts, have no top.
Galettes and crostatas appear to be the same thing, one with a French name, and the other with a Spanish or Italian name. Both are free form tarts placed directly on a baking sheet and folded up at the edges.
I have invested in some new things to make my kitchen more baking friendly, and I am also branching out into gourmet pizza making. I invested in a carbon steel pizza plate with holes on the bottom in order to have a crisper crust.
This weekend I made a dense hearty cornbread for the chili cook off at my school tomorrow. I plan to make another pie or traditional tart or possibly a free form tart on Election Day. I will need to keep busy to stay off the news channels.
I have also been cleaning and organizing up a storm. My shower walls are sparkling now. I took a carload to Good Will this past week. You have to clean out the old to make room for the new.
All of this activity has helped me to stay away from the internet and all the political news. It drives me crazy! Are you ready for election day? I just want it all to be over. I pray that whatever the outcome, everyone stays calm and thinks about the consequences before they act.
Crowd mentality can make people go wild and do things they would not normally do.
By the end of the week, it will all be over.
Thank God!
Whatever the result we all need to find some peace.
My peace will be found while baking.
Sweet olive flower artistically designed as a drop earring. I imagine it can whisper.
Osmanthus fragrans is its scientific name.
This flowering plant is native to Asia from the Himalayas through several provinces in China, Taiwan, southern Japan, and S.E. Asia as far south as Cambodia and Thailand.
In China, it is the “city flower” of several cities, and in Japan it is a “city tree” of several prefectures.
In Chinese mythology it is said that it grows on the moon. Wu Gang was a Chinese character who is known for endlessly cutting it down. It is seen as a divine punishment for him because this “self-healing” Osmanthus could and would regrow an equal amount every day.
I was inspired to look up this flowering plant when I saw this pair of earrings today. All the information here I have gleaned from Wikipedia. The picture has been edited from a picture on the Etsy website. Wikipedia did not suggest this flower can whisper. This thought came from my imagination, and when I read about the mythology, it confirmed to me it must have magical powers. Ha!
I even looked to see if I could grow this fragrant flowering plant in my garden. I think it needs a slightly warmer garden zone than where I am located. In the future when I get the chance to seriously renovate my garden, I will explore this possibility again.
I was looking through my medicine cabinet this morning when I saw the Prim-rose Oil hiding in the corner. I have not used it in a long time, and I decided to look up “primrose” in my dictionary, even though I knew it to be a yellow flower.
Right below the “prim-rose” entry was the entry “prim-rose path”. This turned out to be far more interesting. This phrase was made famous by William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. According to my dictionary, it means “an easy or pleasurable way of life, especially one that leads to disaster.”
I pursued this idea further and discovered a great webpage: https://nosweatshakespeare.com/blog/what-is-the-primrose-path/
At this website I learned that Shakespeare used this metaphor in more than one place. I also learned that Shakespeare’s idea goes hand in hand with the bible verse: Matthew 7:13. So, I looked up this bible verse. It states: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it.”
I am not a Shakespeare expert nor a Bible expert, so I will leave the comparison for you to explore, and to draw your own conclusions. I do think the lovely primrose should not be maligned for it is those who knowingly walk the wrong path with evil intent that are at fault. It matters not whether the path has flowers or whether the gate is narrow or wide.
Last night desire was running with the undercurrents in the room. My senses were on high alert. That sensual feeling that seeks me out now and then was reaching through the invisible walls around me. And then I fell asleep. I woke to the first day of fall which can also be called autumn. Out my window I was surprised to see two bright yellow day-lilies blooming once more. It does not look like a change of seasons from the past. The rain last night brought renewal in its wake. I also spotted a little chick-a-Dee and a tufted Titmouse. I have not seen either in quite a while. It is a joy to watch these birds in flight.They look like they are jumping through air.
Another surprise this morning was the blooming Katherine Phlox.
It had dried out in our summer heat. I had cut it down and watered it well, and then it was forgotten. Today it is blooming again.
I have a feeling that this fall will be full of renewal.
Happy Sunday!
I pass Sally Ride Dr. almost every day I drive home. Occasionally I take a different route. This past Friday I finally wondered what was located on this road. I looked it up to discover a General Dynamics location was there.
I knew the name Sally Ride because she was an incredibly accomplished woman who worked for NASA as an astronaut for several years. She had a long and impressive resume. Sadly, she is no longer alive, though her legacy lives on. Today I discovered one of her projects which coincidentally is specifically for middle school students. Here is the link: https://www.earthkam.org/about .
The name of this drive has been in my mind all weekend. I learned that Dr. Sally Ride graduated from Stanford University in 1973 with a double major in Physics and English. She continued at Stanford, earning her Master of Science and doctorate degrees in physics in 1975 and 1978. In 1977, Ride answered a newspaper ad placed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
After learning this I think they should rename the road: Dr. Sally Ride Dr. This would make me smile.
I am a little hooked on using the AI image generator. I wanted a picture here, so I indulged my curiosity. Here it is alone at the office working unassisted.
movingforwardslowly 