Life on the Home Front: Week 8 and 9

The last two weeks have been full: the weather is feeling warmer, leaves are on the trees, school is nearing its end. 

David had a Zoom recital for cello! So painless for the parents -- no place to drive and show up on time and it only took 15 minutes to get through all the students! We are thankful for our cello teacher and David's weekly lessons!

Leaves on trees make a huge difference. The world feels completely different. I love trees. They make me so very happy.

We've even managed to start eating outside when the weather is warm and dry enough!

A glimpse into a weekend moment: Laura relaxing on the couch with some strawberry-rhubarb pie.

I am getting the gardening work done a little at a time. Already the garden is farther along than when I took this photo. I'm excited for June when the flowers are at some of their best!

Our local Red-shouldered Hawk nest -- I love taking a walk and checking on things. If the hawk is not in the nest, he is sitting on a nearby tree keeping watch!

Flowers are a huge part of my life right now. The week of Mother's Day I worked four full days at the flower shop. The demand was so great, even with three people working, we had to turn people away.

Working with flowers makes me so happy and towards the end of the week I start getting excited for Monday to be back with them.

The Mother's Day flowers were so very, very beautiful!

We have a number of dedicated tea drinkers in our house and poor Michael now has to share his pot with the diligent students who share his study.

One of the most refreshing things I did in the past two weeks was to take time to watch The Sound of Music with Laura while I sewed. I did this the day after the week in the flower shop and singing along with all the music filled my heart with joy. Laura loved it too!

Another thing that brought me so much joy and happiness these last two weeks was re-reading Susan Branch's two "fictional" books about her becoming an artist. LOVED them all over again and for those days I was imagining myself holed up in her cottage on Martha's Vineyard.

I'm moving forward on art ideas -- and art workshop ideas! Those on my newsletter list will be the first to know my ideas for the fall (sign up in the side-bar if you aren't already).

With church being online we had time and energy for Mother's Day breakfast this year. A special treat.

Somehow it is Saturday again and I am working on planning out my week, chores, gardening, and moving furniture around to better suit our family's needs. Laura is getting her own room in the loft for the summer. It's so cute I want it too!

And how cute is this mole? Every year we have a high school junior in the house we get an adorable mole project for that person to do (I don't remember which class assigns this). James' turn this year and we have a Samurai mole.

And now it's time to go find some lunch and transition to other chores. Have a good weekend!

London: A Bibliography

I finally have a young adult bibliography compiled for the sketching tour I am leading to London in January. I am making that bibliography available below. For those interested in my more complete adult list, please be sure to sign up for my newsletter if you haven't already (form in sidebar) as that booklist will be made available shortly to newsletter subscribers. 

London: A Bibliography for Young Adults

Disclaimer: Please note that some of these books/videos may contain offensive language in parts. I have attempted to limit the list to books I feel are wholesome enough to be used for high schoolers. I have not previewed every single video and I do know the Crown, and perhaps other series, contain some material that would be best to skip over. Discretion advised!

Day One:

Walking Tour of Westminster and Palace Areas

VIDEO

— The Crown

     TV Series depicting the life of Queen Elizabeth II

— BBC TV Westminster Abbey

     Documentary about Westminster Abbey

— The Queen’s Palaces (BBC)

     Documentary about Buckingham Palace

— Downton Abbey

     TV Series depicting life in the early 20th century in Northern England

— Sherlock Holmes

— Paddington Bear

— Darkest Hour (Winston Churchill movie)

— The Royal Wedding: William & Catherine

     The royal wedding inside Westminster Abbey

— Queen and Country (PBS)

      Documentary about the British monarchy

— The Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II

      Documentary about the Queen’s coronation

Day Two:

Tower of London

VIDEO

— Secrets of the Tower of London (PBS)

     Documentary about the Tower of London

BOOKS

— The Ravenmaster: My Life with the Ravens at the Tower of 

     London by Christopher Skaife

Day Three:

Kensington Palace, V&A Museum, Afternoon Tea

VIDEO

— Victoria 

     TV Drama Series about Queen Victoria and Prince Albert

— The Queen

     Movie based on the days immediately following the death of Diana, 

      Princess of Wales

— Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy

      Documentary about Diana to commemorate 20 years since her death

BOOKS

— Queen Victoria: Twenty-Four Days that Changed Her Life 

     by Lucy Worsley

— Victoria: The Heart and Mind of a Young Queen 

     by Helen Rappaport 

-- Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie

    Kensington Park was used as inspiration for the story of Peter Pan

Day Four:

Markets/Shopping

VIDEO

— 84 Charing Cross

     Movie depicting the correspondence and subsequent friendship of 

      an author in NYC and a bookseller in London

BOOKS

— 84 Charing Cross by Anne Bancroft

     The story of a friendship between an author in NYC and a bookseller 

      in London

— Pretty City London by Siobhan Ferguson

     A compilation of beautiful photos from London by an instagram artist

Day Five:

Church, National Gallery and National Portrait Gallery

Day Six:

Day trip to Bath

VIDEO

— Persuasion

     Jane Austen’s famous novel partially set in Bath

BOOKS

— Persuasion by Jane Austen

Day Seven:

Day trip to Windsor Castle

VIDEO

— The Queen’s Palaces

     Documentary covering Windsor Castle

— Elizabeth at 90 (BBC)

     Documentary of the Queen’s 90 years

— Monarchy: The Royal Family at Work (BBC)

     Documentary about the Royal Family

— Bertie & Elizabeth: The Story of King George VI & Queen    

     Elizabeth

     Tells the story of the present Queen’s parents

BOOKS

— Princess Elizabeth’s Spy by Susan Elia NacNeal (fiction) 

Day Eight:

Day trip to Oxford

VIDEO

— *Tolkien

     Movie about Tolkien’s early years including WWI and the TCBS

— Harry Potter Movie 1

     Scenes inspired by the dining hall at Christ Church College

— Inspector Lewis/Endeavor

      Murder mystery TV series set in Oxford

BOOKS

— Becoming Mrs. Lewis by Patti Callahan

     Historical fiction telling the story of C.S. Lewis’ relationship 

     with the woman who became his wife

— Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

     Lewis Carroll (Charles Dodgson) was a teacher at Oxford and wrote 

     Alice in Wonderland for his little friends at Christ Church College

-- The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

    The first in Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia series

-- The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien

-- Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber

    Tells of the real-life experience of an American studying at Oxford

Day Nine:

Dickens’ London

VIDEO

— *The Man Who Invented Christmas

     Movie telling about Dickens’ life and the story of A Christmas Carol

— Oliver Twist

     Orphan boy lured into a life of crime on London’s streets

— Bleak House

     An orphan raised by her aunt and later taken in by a philanthropist

— Little Dorrit

     Movie about a little girl raised in a London debtors’ prison

— A Christmas Carol

     Movie about Dickens’ best-loved Christmas story

BOOKS

— A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

     Dickens' most famous Christmas story, set in London

Please note: this post contains affiliate links. Thanks for supporting my work by clicking through to Amazon from my website!

June Reading

Which books to take on our trip to Asia was an important decision! I even enlisted the help of my librarian friend in deciding what to take and what to leave behind. Yes, I took 14 books with me. I finished 6 completely and only got part way into a further 4. Sadly, 4 remained untouched. But those four books provided a good buffer against "nothing to read anxiety."

Here are some books I've read recently as well as some of the books from the trip. As usual any Scotland-related book will be posted on my Reading Scotland blog.


 A Tiger in the Kitchen by Cheryl Tan
I tried to find books to read before the trip set in the countries we were visiting. This was my most successful attempt -- a cooking journey by a journalist residing in NYC but born and raised in Singapore. Over the course of a year Tan returned to her roots in Singapore to learn some of her most-loved childhood dishes from the hands of her relatives. The dishes included things such as the famous Singaporean Chicken Rice, Duck Soup, and Pineapple Tarts. The book helped to give me a little glimpse into Singaporean Chinese culture.


 At Home in the World by Tsh Oxenreider
I devoured this book on the plane trip over to Singapore. It was so good! Oxenreider describes the 9 months she and her husband took to take their three children (all under 10) around the world. It was so fun to read about each place they visited -- and I was especially excited that the Oxenreider's visited Singapore and spent 6 weeks in Chiang Mai, Thailand where Michael and I were headed for a few days of vacation. I'll be sure to give you the full scoop on the restaurant Tsh recommended and how much we loved it too!


 Lust for Life by Irving Stone
This book tells the life story of Vincent Van Gogh in a historical fiction form. I really enjoyed learning more about Van Gogh and the story behind his art. There were many heart-breaking episodes in his life and I find it amazing that someone who struggled so much has become so admired and beloved by art enthusiasts around the world.

 G. K. Chesterton: The Apostle of Common Sense by Dale Ahlquist
Someone recommended this book as a good introduction to Chesterton. The book is broken up into chapters about some of Chesterton's major works as well as an introduction to the life of Chesterton. This was a helpful format as I could read important quotes from Chesterton's works and also decide which books I might want to actually read at length.


 Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert
I did not expect to love this book as much as I did because I'm not a huge fan of Elizabeth Gilbert. However, this book was great! I couldn't put it down. But then I love books about creativity that motivate me to move forward in the creative process.


 Living into Community by Christine Pohl
This book focuses on several practices of the Christian life: practicing gratitude, making and keeping promises, living truthfully, and practicing hospitality. Pohl does her research and condenses that into well-written paragraphs. This book was challenging and inspiring.


 The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis
We finished this read-aloud right at the end of the school year. It is set in modern day Iran and tells the story of a young girl whose father is arrested. This results in her carrying the burden of providing food for her family. It's hard to read of the realities that are happening everyday across the world, but this is a well-told story and appropriate for elementary ages.

And that's it until next month!

Please note: this post contains affiliate links. Thanks for purchasing from Amazon through my links!

Words and Wool

Keeping to a bare minimum of knitting has done wonders for my wrists. No pain and no wearing of the braces. However, the pain seems to return quickly if I pick up a large knitting project. Very thankful to report that this toddler hat went along fine and did not cause problems! I loved using the little linen bag with the amber weighted ties as a knitting project bag! The bag was a gift from a friend who recently travelled to Lithuania! For this hat I used the Sweet Pea Hat pattern I always use and just modified the top not to contain any pea pod!

I was very excited to finish my Jane Brocket inspired quilt last month!!! It's been many years in progress and now it's decorating the back of my couch. I love it! I used large stitches and Perle Cotton to quilt it.

I've been trying to spend more time on painting over the summer months and hope to continue this. I met up with my mom in Zionsville to "paint what we ate". 

Or "what we saw":

The next best thing to creating beautiful things is finding them for bargain prices at thrift stores. I had the chance to spend an hour or two one summer morning at my local Goodwill Outlet and came away with this stash for about $5.

Switching over to book conversations......after a lot of thought I decided to start a second blog focused solely on book reviews for books set in Scotland! So "Reading Scotland" is recently up and running and I look forward to posting lots of fun books and corresponding travel ideas over on that blog.

 Scottish books are not the only thing I read though, so I will continue to post my regular book reviews here. And so to catch up from the summer:


Simple Matters: Living with Less and Ending Up with More by Erin Boyle is a beautiful lifestyle book focused on living simply, functionally, yet beautifully in whatever space you have. I loved the photos and the practical ideas.

 Counterfeit Gods: The Empty Promises of Money, Sex, and Power, and the Only Hope that Matters by Timothy Keller. As always, Keller nails his topic, pointing out with painful clarity how easily we turn our love from the true God to "counterfeit gods" such as fame, relationships, money, or security and how we can return to the only God who can fill that gaping hole in our hearts.


Rising Strong by Brene Brown. Here is another author whose books can be counted on to be challenging and growth-promoting. Brown talks about vulnerability and the need to rise strong after failures.

Toast & Marmalade and Other Stories by Emma Bridgewater was a beautiful and inspiring book (I can't figure out where Amazon got this cover photo from because the cover of the book I read was far more beautiful). Inside the book, which is filled with gorgeous photography, Emma weaves her creative story of becoming a pottery artist and eventually founding and running the Emma Bridgewater Pottery company. Her pottery has become almost iconic in the UK and has spread around the world. Loved this book!

Life in a Jar: The Irena Sendler Project by Jack Mayer told the incredible (and recently discovered) story of Irena Sendler who rescued thousands of Jewish children from the Warsaw Ghetto during World War II. It is amazing to me every time I read of the courage of those that worked in resistance movements across Europe during that war. What huge sacrifices and great risks these people took. It all sounds incredible when you read it, but the book also brings out the great heaviness that many of these people bore for the rest of their lives as they lived with the memories of those they could not save. To this day so many in Poland are still suffering from the effects of the war. Strangely enough this brought to mind the fact that my grandfather's own sufferings in the war, and the strained relationships that led to, effect my life everyday now too. Yes, war is a terrible thing. All that considered, this book really does tell an amazing story and I have another book waiting on my "to-read" shelf also about Irena Sendler. If you haven't heard of her, definitely consider reading her story.


The Bluebird Effect: Uncommon Bonds with Common Birds by Julie Zickefoose is such an enjoyable book if you love birds or nature. In this book Zickefoose shares her stories of personal interaction with bird species after bird species. I loved the beautiful watercolors and drawings that illustrated the pages. Her newest book is on my to-read list!

Give Your Child the World: Raising Globally Minded Kids One Book at a Time by Jamie Martin is a book I actually bought as soon as I heard of it which is saying a lot considering I normally limit myself to books I can get from my library. Fortunately, this book was a great buy and I am using it in our homeschool this year. Martin has collected an amazing list of book recommendations for teaching your child about the world. The book is broken down by continent and contains recommendations for age 4-6, age 6-8, age 8-10, and age 10-12. Martin also tells their own family's story of being brought together from many countries as well as gives ideas on how you can incorporate world studies into your household.


Mother and Son: The Respect Effect by Emerson Eggerichs was a very helpful book for examining the parenting of my sons and what kinds of speech and actions best communicate love (er, respect) to them.

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism by Tim Keller. This was a great book. Keller takes all the current arguments against belief in the God of the Bible and examines them through Scripture and logic . If you have friends who are stuck on certain arguments and can't seem to find a way beyond them you might want to check this book out and see if Keller's words could help you in understanding and communicating with your friend. This is a great book for using with teenagers as well.

The Mom Factor[ THE MOM FACTOR ] by Cloud, Henry (Author) Sep-15-98[ Paperback ] by Henry Cloud and John Townsend will definitely rank as one of the best books I've read this year. The authors examine the role mom plays in our growing to adulthood and how different mothering bents can positively or negatively affect that growth. The authors provide plenty of help on how to overcome the negative effects of childhood and grow into maturity at whatever age you may be. This book would be helpful for: those who grew up with difficult mothers, those having a difficult relationship with their mom presently, those wanting to understand their own bent as a mother and how it can/is affecting their children, those wanting to avoid pitfalls in their current parenting of their own children, those desiring reconciliation with their mother.

Phew! That's all for now!

For more ideas on knitting and reading visit Ginny's Yarn Along.

Please note: this post contains affiliate links. Thanks for any purchase you make at Amazon after clicking through from this blog!