2011 Books List Recap and how to get even smarter...

For this year, I aimed to read 25 books.
And so how did I do....?
I read 34 books ---- I am completely proud of my self! :)

1. Summer Sisters
2. Life After 40
3. The Pillars of the Earth
4. Ahab's Wife
5. The Girl with Pearl Earring
6. Big Fish
7. A Conversation with God
8. Bringing up Boys
9. The Map
10. Reggie
11. A Common Life
12. Prisoner of Tehran
13. Life of Pi
14. Four Spirits
15. Freakonomics
16. Made from Scratch
17. The Bucolic Plague
18. Better Off
19. Hattie Big Sky
20. In this Mountain
21. The Jungle Book
22. Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass
23. (The New) Dare to Discipline
24. Hannah Coulter
25. (The New) Strong Willed Child
26. Home Economics
27. Mortgage-Free
28. The Prince Edward Island Book of Everything
29. Eat, Pray, Love
30. Bannock, Beans and Black Tea
31. The Land of Painted Caves
32. Ascent into Darkness
33. Blue Like Jazz

And that brings me to my list for 2012.
This year, I'm going for 30.
*cue Rocky Music, please*

Granted, below you will see way more than 30 books....my list is always growing! So the goal is to read at least 30 books from the list. And it's highly likely, I would add more as the year continues. :)

My mom would be proud.

1. The measure of a man
2. Say you're one of them
3. One hundred years of solitude
4. Middlesex
5. Cry the beloved country
6. The nature principle
7. Last child in the woods
8. East of eden
9. Home Comforts
10. I will write about this place someday
11. No biking in the house without a helmet
12. From good to great
13. Crazy love
14. Born to run
15. The Quarter-Acre Farm: How I Kept the Patio, Lost the Lawn, and Fed My Family for a Year
16. The Dirty Life
17. A Life that says Welcome
18. The Mom I Want to Be
19. Sacred Marriage
20. Persuasion
21. The Kite Runner
22. Northanger Abbey
23. Practicing Hospitality
24. Be Bodacious
25. Mansfield Park
26. The Second Jungle Book and Just so Stories
27. Light from heaven
28. The Unsettling of America: Culture & Agriculture
29. Heaven
30. One Thousand Gifts
31. Sherlock in Love
32. Hot Apple Cider
33. Paradise Lost
34. Benjamin Franklin
35. Ten P's in a Pod : A Million-Mile Journal of the Arnold Pent Family
36. The No-Cry Discipline Solution: Gentle Ways to Encourage Good Behavior Without Whining, Tantrums, and Tears
37. Be Fruitful and Multiply
38. Amish Values for Your Family: What We Can Learn from the Simple Life
39. Micmac By Choice: Elsie Sark -- An Island Legend
40. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew
41. The Family
42. Damsels in Distress: Biblical Solutions for Problems Women Face
43. Two acre Eden
44. Shepherding a Child's Heart
45. The Irresistible Revolution: Living as an Ordinary Radical

Book Review: Ascent from Darkness

I recently received and read Ascent from Darkness by Michael Leehan. It's a personal account of a man who was a self-proclaimed soldier for Satan and how he was released from that by the power of God.

As a regular reader, it's an interesting read. Some of Leehan's experiences are vivid -- to the point of not being sure if I wanted to continue reading (especially seeing as how I usually read before bed lol).

As a Christian, I forced myself to continue reading because I think it's important for us to know (or hopefully, to remind) ourselves of the spiritual warfare that is constantly surrounding us and how subtle and sneaky evil is. The Bible talks about knowing your enemy and through this book, one is able to deconstruct the ploys of evil and know how he works and operates.

What just came to mind is the Scripture in Gen 50:20....
You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people. Through Leehan's experience and situation and subsequent book, many people are helped.

I would definitely suggest this book, but really only for a mature Christian.

Jed: a most welcome blessing

If you are a follower of Shimmer and Tulle,
you are probably wondering where I am.

I am right here,
next to the warmest, most beautiful, new bundle of complete joy.

Introducing Jed...

Born October 27th, 2011 at 10:35pm. He weighed 8lbs 3 oz and was 23 inches long. (5 oz less and 2 inches more than his brother).

We were able to have a homebirth, with labour taking only 59 mins! (This was half the time from my first son, so the running joke --- or concern, I should say, is what will happen when we are on our 6th!).

Jed is now two months old and showing his good natured,
very smile-y personality :)

Big brother is quite happy too.

Book Review: The Fight of Our Lives

As a BookSneezer, I get free books on the promise to review them. For this book, my husband actually read it and did the review -- as I was busy with another "fight" -- being pregnant and delivering our second baby boy! :)

Here's his review:

The Fight of Our Lives clearly articulates its main points: it is a call to stand firm on the truth, "to call good and evil by their proper names", to identify what is wrong and deal with it, to identify what is right and stick with it. To take serious the threat of terrorism that has grown up in our own back yard, attended our schools, joined our militaries, infiltrated our culture and caused damage and fear and left a sense of terror in our hearts.

The authors have hand selected, analyzed and presented specific acts of terrorism which occurred against American and Western society. They articulate how terrorism did and continues to grow up in our own back yard. How it has not properly been addressed, and various ideologies that need to be corrected to properly begin addressing the state of terrorism as it is today.

As a Canadian, I found this book to be a concise and insightful look into the how we as a western nation have responded to the threat of Islamic terrorism. Through this book I came to not only understand how easy it is for a culture to permit acts of terrorism, but I began to see in my own actions and beliefs, how I, too, have permitted it. History would indicate through all that we have done, politically, through the military and anti-terrorism organizations, etc, we can do much better.

Keeping in mind all of the recent acts of terrorism on American soil and against Western society, The Fight of Our Lives, is an excellent read to help answer the questions: How did we get here? What could or should we (continue to) do about this?

31 Days Series: Belted. {Day 11}

I recently needed to buy my 2.5 year old son some fall clothes. It's sometimes difficult to find clothes for him because he is of the "long and skinny" type --- so he's in 3T pants but the waists are usually too big for him. Unless I want to pay an arm and one of those pants legs for a belt for him, I decided to learn how to make a belt for him.

I posted this in my 31 Days to Green Gables series because when thinking about late 19th century folk, it's not like they could just take a ride on their horse to the local Walmart. There were "stores" but they sold mostly "build upon" items like flour, sugar, seeds and fabric. Yes, there might have been some fashionable goods but for the most part, people either made their own clothing or went to the local seamstress.

Here's what the inside of a late 19th century general store could look like:

So, in the vein of "Green Gables", I decided to make my son some belts from leftover fabric. The only thing I had to buy were the D-rings (but I got them on sale for a $1 a piece). (And just a side note: I am not sure what these people at this time would have used for D-rings...maybe they would have visited their local blacksmith?) So using The Crafty Cupboard's Belt Tutorial, I made three belts for a grand total of $3! :)

Here are two of them. A blue and green plaid and a gold checkered silky "man's tie" inspired one.

Eliel was wearing the third one when I photographed. He's pointing at the casual green one.

I would have paid more in just the gas for our SUV to get to the Walmart! This craft was so worth it!

If you love this 31 Days to my Green Gables series, catch up on the previous posts!
Day 10: The Chosen Poem
Day 9: The Lady of Shalott
Day 8: The Island Hymn
Day 7: The Highway Man
Day 6: Interesting PEI facts
Day 5: Island Love
Day 4: Raspberry Cordial
Day 3: The Anne Mouth
Day 2: On Being Properly Educated
Day 1: The Gentle Island. The Inspiration.
Intro to the 31 Days Green Gables Series

Linked up to:
Blue Cricket Designs

31 Days Series: Chosen Poem. {Day 10}

As said in the "Highway Man" post, I was going to choose a poem to memorize and eventually recite. So I choose a popular poem by Robert Frost.

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


If you love this 31 Days to my Green Gables series, catch up on the previous posts!

Day 9: The Lady of Shalott
Day 8: The Island Hymn
Day 7: The Highway Man
Day 6: Interesting PEI facts
Day 5: Island Love
Day 4: Raspberry Cordial
Day 3: The Anne Mouth
Day 2: On Being Properly Educated
Day 1: The Gentle Island. The Inspiration.
Intro to the 31 Days Green Gables Series

31 Days Series: The Lady of Shalott {Day 9}

I thought that since I posted "The HighwayMan", the next obvious post is "The Lady of Shallot", also referenced in Anne of Green Gables. In the television adaptation, Anne Shirley reads various stanzas of the poem and acts out the Lady of Shalott's tragic end as she floats down the river. It's a funny scene as she's so busy "acting" and playing the part of the funeral, that she doesn't realize the boat is filling with water. And to make matters worse, her "nemesis", Gilbert, comes to find her holding on to a bridge post and saves her.

Here is the video link and here is the full text of the poem.

The Lady of Shalott

On either side the river lie
Long fields of barley and of rye,
That clothe the world and meet the sky;
And thro' the field the road runs by
To many-tower'd Camelot;
And up and down the people go,
Gazing where the lilies blow
Round an island there below,
The island of Shalott.

Willows whiten, aspens quiver,
Little breezes dusk and shiver
Through the wave that runs for ever
By the island in the river
Flowing down to Camelot.
Four grey walls, and four grey towers,
Overlook a space of flowers,
And the silent isle imbowers
The Lady of Shalott.

By the margin, willow veil'd,
Slide the heavy barges trail'd
By slow horses; and unhail'd
The shallop flitteth silken-sail'd
Skimming down to Camelot:
But who hath seen her wave her hand?
Or at the casement seen her stand?
Or is she known in all the land,
The Lady of Shalott?

Only reapers, reaping early,
In among the bearded barley
Hear a song that echoes cheerly
From the river winding clearly;
Down to tower'd Camelot;
And by the moon the reaper weary,
Piling sheaves in uplands airy,
Listening, whispers,
'Tis the fairy Lady of Shalott."

There she weaves by night and day
A magic web with colours gay.
She has heard a whisper say,
A curse is on her if she stay
To look down to Camelot.
She knows not what the curse may be,
And so she weaveth steadily,
And little other care hath she,
The Lady of Shalott.

And moving through a mirror clear
That hangs before her all the year,
Shadows of the world appear.
There she sees the highway near
Winding down to Camelot;
There the river eddy whirls,
And there the surly village churls,
And the red cloaks of market girls
Pass onward from Shalott.

Sometimes a troop of damsels glad,
An abbot on an ambling pad,
Sometimes a curly shepherd lad,
Or long-hair'd page in crimson clad
Goes by to tower'd Camelot;
And sometimes through the mirror blue
The knights come riding two and two.
She hath no loyal Knight and true,
The Lady of Shalott.

But in her web she still delights
To weave the mirror's magic sights,
For often through the silent nights
A funeral, with plumes and lights
And music, went to Camelot;
Or when the Moon was overhead,
Came two young lovers lately wed.
"I am half sick of shadows," said
The Lady of Shalott.

A bow-shot from her bower-eaves,
He rode between the barley sheaves,
The sun came dazzling thro' the leaves,
And flamed upon the brazen greaves
Of bold Sir Lancelot.
A red-cross knight for ever kneel'd
To a lady in his shield,
That sparkled on the yellow field,
Beside remote Shalott.

The gemmy bridle glitter'd free,
Like to some branch of stars we see
Hung in the golden Galaxy.
The bridle bells rang merrily
As he rode down to Camelot:
And from his blazon'd baldric slung
A mighty silver bugle hung,
And as he rode his armor rung
Beside remote Shalott.

All in the blue unclouded weather
Thick-jewell'd shone the saddle-leather,
The helmet and the helmet-feather
Burn'd like one burning flame together,
As he rode down to Camelot.
As often thro' the purple night,
Below the starry clusters bright,
Some bearded meteor, burning bright,
Moves over still Shalott.

His broad clear brow in sunlight glow'd;
On burnish'd hooves his war-horse trode;
From underneath his helmet flow'd
His coal-black curls as on he rode,
As he rode down to Camelot.
From the bank and from the river
He flashed into the crystal mirror,
"Tirra lirra," by the river
Sang Sir Lancelot.

She left the web, she left the loom,
She made three paces through the room,
She saw the water-lily bloom,
She saw the helmet and the plume,
She look'd down to Camelot.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is come upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott.

In the stormy east-wind straining,
The pale yellow woods were waning,
The broad stream in his banks complaining.
Heavily the low sky raining
Over tower'd Camelot;
Down she came and found a boat
Beneath a willow left afloat,
And around about the prow she wrote
The Lady of Shalott.

And down the river's dim expanse
Like some bold seer in a trance,
Seeing all his own mischance --
With a glassy countenance
Did she look to Camelot.
And at the closing of the day
She loosed the chain, and down she lay;
The broad stream bore her far away,
The Lady of Shalott.

Lying, robed in snowy white
That loosely flew to left and right --
The leaves upon her falling light --
Thro' the noises of the night,
She floated down to Camelot:
And as the boat-head wound along
The willowy hills and fields among,
They heard her singing her last song,
The Lady of Shalott.

Heard a carol, mournful, holy,
Chanted loudly, chanted lowly,
Till her blood was frozen slowly,
And her eyes were darkened wholly,
Turn'd to tower'd Camelot.
For ere she reach'd upon the tide
The first house by the water-side,
Singing in her song she died,
The Lady of Shalott.

Under tower and balcony,
By garden-wall and gallery,
A gleaming shape she floated by,
Dead-pale between the houses high,
Silent into Camelot.
Out upon the wharfs they came,
Knight and Burgher, Lord and Dame,
And around the prow they read her name,
The Lady of Shalott.

Who is this? And what is here?
And in the lighted palace near
Died the sound of royal cheer;
And they crossed themselves for fear,
All the Knights at Camelot;
But Lancelot mused a little space
He said, "She has a lovely face;
God in his mercy lend her grace,
The Lady of Shalott."
If you love this 31 Days to my Green Gables series, catch up on the previous posts!

Day 8: The Island Hymn
Day 7: The Highway Man
Day 6: Interesting PEI facts
Day 5: Island Love
Day 4: Raspberry Cordial
Day 3: The Anne Mouth
Day 2: On Being Properly Educated
Day 1: The Gentle Island. The Inspiration.
Intro to the 31 Days Green Gables Series

31 Days Series: The Island Hymn. {Day 8}

The patriotic song of Prince Edward Island was written by Lucy Maud Montgomery in the spring of 1908. It was performed for the first time in public on May 22 of that year. It was sung to Lawrence W.Watson's music, which had been composed especially for her lyric. The manuscript music, dated Charlottetown, 27 Oct 1908, and correspondence relating to it are displayed at the Green Gables House, Cavendish, PEI.

The Island Hymn was adopted as the provincial anthem of Prince Edward Island by the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island on May 7, 2010. The Provincial Anthem Act includes a French version of the Island Hymn called L’hymne de l’Île. This French version was adapted by Raymond J. Arsenault of Abram-Village.

The Island Hymn
by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Fair Island of the sea,
We raise our song to thee,
The bright and blest;
Loyally now we stand
As brothers, hand in hand,
And sing God save the land
We love the best.

Upon our princely Isle
May kindest fortune smile
In coming years;
Peace and prosperity
In all her borders be,
From every evil free,
And weakling fears.

Prince Edward Isle, to thee
Our hearts shall faithful be
Where'er we dwell;
Forever may we stand
As brothers, hand in hand,
And sing God save the land
We love so well.

If you love this 31 Days to my Green Gables series, catch up on the previous posts!

Day 7: The Highway Man
Day 6: Interesting PEI facts
Day 5: Island Love
Day 4: Raspberry Cordial
Day 3: The Anne Mouth
Day 2: On Being Properly Educated
Day 1: The Gentle Island. The Inspiration.
Intro to the 31 Days Green Gables Series

31 Days Series: The Highway Man. {Day 7}

In the movie, Anne recites Alfred Noyes "The Highwayman".

I really love how (back then) people used their mind for entertainment. There wasn't HBO, the movie theatres, TIVO or pay per view. Entertainment didn't go to technology, but to a book.

I remember when I was in grade school, we had an annual "storytelling contest". We each choose a book that we would memorize and then tell it back to our class. I don't remember the title of the book I had, but I do remember it was a touching story of a mouse (for whatever that tidbit is now worth). Then, in high school, we had to memorize a poem. I don't remember which was mine but this event (as well as the storytelling contest) was a great effective way of exposing us to a number of poems and books in one sitting!

In fact, this is so inspiring that as part of my 31 series, I will choose a poem that I will recite to my family on Sunday, October 30th.
Any suggestions...?

Here is the text for the poem, The HighwayMan....and if you are interested, here is a clip of Anne's recital.

The Highwayman

The wind was a torrent of darkness upon the gusty trees,
The moon was a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
The road was a ribbon of moonlight looping the purple moor,
And the highwayman came riding--
Riding--riding--
The highwayman came riding, up to the old inn door.

He'd a French cocked hat on his forehead, and a bunch of lace at his chin;
He'd a coat of the claret velvet, and breeches of fine doe-skin.
They fitted with never a wrinkle; his boots were up to his thigh!
And he rode with a jeweled twinkle--
His rapier hilt a-twinkle--
His pistol butts a-twinkle, under the jeweled sky.

Over the cobbles he clattered and clashed in the dark inn-yard,
He tapped with his whip on the shutters, but all was locked and barred,
He whistled a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter--
Bess, the landlord's daughter--
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Dark in the dark old inn-yard a stable-wicket creaked
Where Tim, the ostler listened--his face was white and peaked--
His eyes were hollows of madness, his hair like mouldy hay,
But he loved the landlord's daughter--
The landlord's black-eyed daughter;
Dumb as a dog he listened, and he heard the robber say:

"One kiss, my bonny sweetheart; I'm after a prize tonight,
But I shall be back with the yellow gold before the morning light.
Yet if they press me sharply, and harry me through the day,
Then look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though hell should bar the way."

He stood upright in the stirrups; he scarce could reach her hand,
But she loosened her hair in the casement! His face burnt like a brand
As the sweet black waves of perfume came tumbling o'er his breast,
Then he kissed its waves in the moonlight
(O sweet black waves in the moonlight!),
And he tugged at his reins in the moonlight, and galloped away to the west.

He did not come in the dawning; he did not come at noon.
And out of the tawny sunset, before the rise of the moon,
When the road was a gypsy's ribbon over the purple moor,
The redcoat troops came marching--
Marching--marching--
King George's men came marching, up to the old inn-door.

They said no word to the landlord; they drank his ale instead,
But they gagged his daughter and bound her to the foot of her narrow bed.
Two of them knelt at her casement, with muskets by their side;
There was Death at every window,
And Hell at one dark window,
For Bess could see, through her casement, the road that he would ride.

They had bound her up at attention, with many a sniggering jest!
They had tied a rifle beside her, with the barrel beneath her breast!
"Now keep good watch!" and they kissed her. She heard the dead man say,
"Look for me by moonlight,
Watch for me by moonlight,
I'll come to thee by moonlight, though Hell should bar the way."

She twisted her hands behind her, but all the knots held good!
She writhed her hands till her fingers were wet with sweat or blood!
They stretched and strained in the darkness, and the hours crawled by like years,
Till, on the stroke of midnight,
Cold on the stroke of midnight,
The tip of one finger touched it! The trigger at least was hers!

The tip of one finger touched it, she strove no more for the rest;
Up, she stood up at attention, with the barrel beneath her breast.
She would not risk their hearing, she would not strive again,
For the road lay bare in the moonlight,
Blank and bare in the moonlight,
And the blood in her veins, in the moonlight, throbbed to her love's refrain.

Tlot tlot, tlot tlot! Had they heard it? The horse-hooves, ringing clear;
Tlot tlot, tlot tlot, in the distance! Were they deaf that they did not hear?
Down the ribbon of moonlight, over the brow of the hill,
The highwayman came riding--
Riding--riding--
The redcoats looked to their priming! She stood up straight and still.

Tlot tlot, in the frosty silence! Tlot tlot, in the echoing night!
Nearer he came and nearer! Her face was like a light!
Her eyes grew wide for a moment, she drew one last deep breath,
Then her finger moved in the moonlight--
Her musket shattered the moonlight--
Shattered her breast in the moonlight and warned him--with her death.

He turned, he spurred to the West; he did not know who stood
Bowed, with her head o'er the casement, drenched in her own red blood!
Not till the dawn did he hear it, and his face grew grey to hear
How Bess, the landlord's daughter,
The landlord's black-eyed daughter,
Had watched for her love in the moonlight, and died in the darkness there.

Back, he spurred like a madman, shrieking a curse to the sky,
With the white road smoking behind him and his rapier brandished high!
Blood-red were his spurs in the golden noon, wine-red was his velvet coat
When they shot him down in the highway,
Down like a dog in the highway,
And he lay in his blood in the highway, with the bunch of lace at his throat.

And still on a winter's night, they say, when the wind is in the trees,
When the moon is a ghostly galleon tossed upon cloudy seas,
When the road is a gypsy's ribbon looping the purple moor,
The highwayman comes riding--
Riding--riding--
The highwayman comes riding, up to the old inn-door.

Over the cobbles he clatters and clangs in the dark inn-yard,
He taps with his whip on the shutters, but all is locked and barred,
He whistles a tune to the window, and who should be waiting there
But the landlord's black-eyed daughter--
Bess, the landlord's daughter--
Plaiting a dark red love-knot into her long black hair.

Some interesting tidbits about this poem:
* Noyes wrote this when he was 24
* the "dark red love knot into her long black hair" suggests that she and the highwayman were engaged and not yet married. The hairstyle is what suggests the engagement. The knot is one that twists two locks together and symbolizes two becoming one.
* The Highwayman also is mentioned as to having "a bunch of lace at his chin". This could either reference the collar of his shirt, or represent a token from Bess. Men of this era used to carry something like a handkerchief from their lady around with them, either as token or symbol of engagement.
If you love this 31 Days to my Green Gables series, catch up on the previous posts!

Day 6: Interesting PEI facts
Day 5: Island Love
Day 4: Raspberry Cordial
Day 3: The Anne Mouth
Day 2: On Being Properly Educated
Day 1: The Gentle Island. The Inspiration.
Intro to the 31 Days Green Gables Series

31 Days Series: On Love. {Day 5}

Pretty central to the Anne of Green Gables story is the love connection between Anne and Gilbert. Here are some pivotal love moments....

Anne Shirley: You just think that you love me.
Gilbert Blythe: Anne, I've loved you as long as I can remember. I need you.

..I went looking for my ideals outside of myself, I discovered it's not what the world holds for you, Its what you bring to it. The dreams dearest to my heart are right here....

Gilbert: Well I hope you keep on dreaming. It will be three years before I finish Medical School, even then there won't be any diamond sunbursts or
marble halls....

Anne: I don't want sunbursts or marble halls. I just want you....

If you love this 31 Days to my Green Gables series, catch up on the previous posts!

Day 4: Raspberry Cordial
Day 3: The Anne Mouth
Day 2: On Being Properly Educated
Day 1: The Gentle Island. The Inspiration.
Intro to the 31 Days Green Gables Series

31 Days Series: Interesting Facts. {Day 6}

Here is some interesting and maybe little known facts/trivia about the Island. Hey, I am a homeschooling mom, so I love information like this :)

The Island's first residents were the Mi'kmaq and called the Island Epekwitk, meaning "resting on the waves". European settlers later changed the pronunciation of the name to "Abegweit".

The provincial flower is the Pink Lady's Slipper.

The PEI tartan was adopted in 1960.

The reddish brown represents the PEI dirt, the green is the vegetation, the yellow the sun, and the white is for the white caps of the waves.

There are three counties: Prince, Queens and Kings.

PEI is in the Atlantic Time (AST) zone.

In July 2009, the province's population was estimated to be 140,985. (Source: Prince Edward Island Finance 2009)

There are two cities in the province - Charlottetown (capital city) located in Queens County and Summerside located in Prince County.

There are 7 towns - Alberton, Cornwall, Georgetown, Kensington, Montague, Souris and Stratford.

Interesting yes...?

Coming soon: an Anne of Green Gables hairstyle that I tried on myself...
felt very island-proper! :)
If you love this 31 Days to my Green Gables series, catch up on the previous posts!

Day 5: Island Love
Day 4: Raspberry Cordial
Day 3: The Anne Mouth
Day 2: On Being Properly Educated
Day 1: The Gentle Island. The Inspiration.
Intro to the 31 Days Green Gables Series

31 Days to Green Gables: On Raspberry Cordial. {Day 4}

All Anne-fans know the "Raspberry Cordial" scene....

well, okay, for those that DO NOT KNOW...Anne, the main character, is so smitten to have her best friend (or bosom buddy), Diana, over for a tea party. She is happy to go through all the "formalities" of such a party (the etiquette, the conversation, the dress etc) but this party comes to end when she mistakes Marilla's (her foster mother) homemade red currant wine for Raspberry Cordial. Her best friend, embarrassingly gets drunk on the wine, cuts the party short and goes home. Diana's mom is not happy (as she's trying to raise a "proper girl") and puts a (temporary) end to the girls' friendship.

Well now, I made a non-alcoholic version of Raspberry Cordial....
and it was fantastic!

Ingredients:

* 2 pkg (300 g) frozen unsweetened raspberries, thawed
* 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
* 3 lemons
* 4 cups boiling water

The How to:

In large saucepan over medium heat, combine raspberries and sugar; cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 to 25 minutes or until sugar is dissolved.

Transfer raspberries to bowl; using potato masher, mash berries well. Strain through fine-mesh sieve into separate bowl, pressing firmly to extract all juice. Discard seeds.

Squeeze 2 of the lemons and strain juice. Add to bowl of raspberry juice. Pour in boiling water; let cool slightly. Refrigerate until chilled.

Slice remaining lemon thinly. Pour juice into glasses; garnish each with lemon slice.

So that was the official "how to"...however, I didn't have a thin enough sieve or cheesecloth handy...so I literally was sifting through it with a cheese grater. Yes, a cheese crater with very tiny holes and trying to "pick up" the pulp! Also, as a result, I ended up adding more water to thin it out somewhat.

And the result --- very refreshing!!! Like a really good, natural juice, as opposed to the overly sugared, jelly-tasting "fruit drinks" you can buy in a store. It's real fruit juice. Well, more like a fruit spritzer, minus the fizz. But I guess you can add that to if you were making a punch.

I will have to try this recipe again....this time with a cheesecloth and proper straining....but overall, a definite winner!

Also, fun at my expense, here is a picture of me in 2007 on our trip to Prince Edward Island. Yes, I donned the Anne-hat/braids...kinda scary...

If you love this 31 Days to my Green Gables series, catch up on the previous posts!

Day 3: The Anne Mouth
Day 2: On Being Properly Educated
Day 1: The Gentle Island. The Inspiration.
Intro to the 31 Days Green Gables Series

The Milk Machine Uniform

Juggling the "schedule" of a 2.5 year old (playdates, park dates, etc) with a newborn, I saw the need for me to get a nursing cover. I nursed my first son but didn't use a cover --- I just used a little sheet and was discreet. But mostly, I planned my schedule around the nursing so I would be home (and "all-out") and so didn't really need a cover.

But I've gotten the feeling all this changes when Baby #2 comes --- as I said, Eliel (my first) is definitely an out and about child and I need to keep him active.

Looking around --- well, I found limited choices among the price tag that I was willing to pay. Seriously. It was either $40 (and up!) for nice looking print or $16 for a psychedelic zig-zag print -- which seemed a little too "busy" for both me and a baby.

So what did I do??

Of course, I made my own. Naturally :)

My new nursing cover -- folded.
Notice the boning in the front center so I can see the little guy do his thing :)

The inner bottom right corners have fleece pockets (to wipe the baby's mouth after nursing as well as holding the soother and any other small "equipment"

Using the tutorial from Little Birdie Secrets, and custom-chosen fabric from FabricLand, I am pretty happy with my little creation.

Total: about $16 (1yd of fabric, $10; D-rings $2; Boning $4)

Linked to:
Blue Cricket Designs

31 Days Series: The Anne mouth. {Day 3}

For this post, I thought it might be cool to re-read some of the funniest quotes from the Anne books.
Anne Shirley definitely has a way with words, doesn't she?

My life is a perfect graveyard of buried hopes. That's a sentence I read once and I say it over to comfort myself in these times that try the soul.

Telling about myself really isn't worth telling, Mrs. Cadbury... but if you let me tell you what I imagine about myself you'd find it a lot more interesting.

Can't you even imagine you're in the depths of despair?

Mrs. Hammond told me that God made my hair red on purpose and I've never cared for Him since.

Farewell, my beloved friend Diana. Henceforth, we must be strangers living side by side... but my heart will be ever faithful to thee.

I know I chatter on far too much... but if you only knew how many things I want to say and don't. Give me some credit.

And I promise I'll never do it again. That's the one good thing about me. I never do the same wrong thing twice.

The fact that you rescued me, unnecessarily, hardly wipes out past wrongs.

Btw, I got the raspberries and will be making homemade raspberry cordial.....can't wait to try and tell you all about it!

**This post is part of my 31 Days to Green Gables series....that's right, I am doing a series, y'all.....part of The Nester's 31 Days Event. You can get a glimpse of what I will be blogging about here.


If you love this 31 Days to my Green Gables series, catch up on the previous posts!

Day 2: On Being Properly Educated
Day 1: The Gentle Island. The Inspiration.
Intro to the 31 Days Green Gables Series

Phase 1 of Fall Door Decor...

So this is what I have up as my door decor....

in all honesty, it's been up throughout the summer and isn't really FALL, per se. I do like it a lot and so I have to make an equally-loved FALL wreath so I can feel good about replacing this current one.

But I've seen so many great ideas, that I am sure that it will be more of an issue to narrow down the possibilities...

But for now, this is my Fall Decor.

And btw, the "S" is for our last name and the little tag says "We are Family"...

Linked up to:

31 Days Series: On Being Properly Educated {Day 2}

Anne, of the Anne of Green Gables books has a vivid imagination and a wonderful vocabulary. I think this is one of the coolest features of both the character as well as the books in themselves. It makes sense that Anne eventually became a teacher, doesn't it?

So I choose to do my second post of the 31 Days to My Green Gables series by choosing randomly some vocabulary words from the book that I didn't know and learn them.

GIMLET
noun
1. a small tool for boring holes, consisting of a shaft with a pointed screw at one end and a handle perpendicular to the shaft at the other.
2. a cocktail made with gin or vodka, sweetened lime juice, and sometimes soda water.

verb (used with object)
3. to pierce with or as if with a gimlet.
4. to rotate (a suspended anchor) to a desired position.

DRYAD
1. a deity or nymph of the woods.

PORING
verb (used without object)
1. to read or study with steady attention or application: a scholar poring over a rare old manuscript.
2. to gaze earnestly or steadily: to pore over a painting.
3. to meditate or ponder intently (usually followed by over, on, or upon )

ADDLEPATED
1. having a muddled or confused mind; foolish, silly, or illogical.

RIDGEPOLE
1. the horizontal timber or member at the top of a roof, to which the upper ends of the rafters are fastened.

TRICE
1. a very short time; an instant

FLUTTERY
1. fluttering; apt to flutter.
Pssst, tommorrow, is my first taste of Raspberry Cordial....

**This post is part of my 31 Days to Green Gables series....that's right, I am doing a series, y'all.....part of The Nester's 31 Days Event. You can get a glimpse of what I will be blogging about here.
If you love this 31 Days to my Green Gables series, catch up on the previous posts!

Day 1: The Gentle Island. The Inspiration.
Intro to the 31 Days Green Gables Series

31 Days Series: The Gentle Island. The Inspiration. {Day 1}

The setting and lifestyle of Prince Edward Island is partly the motivation for my "living off the land-homesteading-getting real simple but intentional with our life" vision....

How gorgeous and peaceful does this place look?

I've been there twice and at my last visit, one early morning, I went outside our back porch of the cottage we were staying at to sit on the private beach and think/pray/reflect and I have to tell you, I was just absolutely amazed at the stillness. The calm. The peace. It was overwhelming beautiful. I was reminded of the Scripture, Be Still and Know I am God.
As if I could doubt, looking at this....

So the vision is to have a farm here. To be intentional with our lives and to live off the land and start our homestead. Land and house prices here are amazing and the pace of life is simple and undistracting.

In fact, my husband and I have been discussing the monetary value today's society has put on houses....and we realize that we don't want to, literally, "buy into" that line of thinking. It's a fallacy....Why do we buy 200K, 300K (or more!?) houses? And then work so hard (usually at the expense of our families) to pay off that mortgage. It's a 15, 20, 30 year bind! Great, you get to say that you paid off your mortgage -- but you've paid two to three times more for that house? Not only can you not sell that house anywhere near what you ended up paying for it at the end of the mortgage, but would YOU have bought that house for three times as much? Because that's practically what you did.

No, we are not doing that.

The Bible talks about not being indebted to anyone, but if you do, to pay it off quickly. And we don't believe paying so much money for a house is actually good stewardship of our finances, time, families or giftings.

So we are revamping and being intentional and strategic. And who wouldn't want to wake up to skies like this....

What are your thoughts on this matter? What's your location of inspiration and calm?
**This post is part of my 31 Days to Green Gables series....that's right, I am doing a series, y'all.....part of The Nester's 31 Days Event. You can get a glimpse of what I will be blogging about here.