thoroughly

enjoyable!

I laughed and cried.

An anglophile and logophile`s delight.

Memorable lines:

I would prefer it if I did not enjoy oranges. Consuming them is a most incommodious business.

This is no occasion for a sport! There's lace at stake!

Dr. Morgan: All the rest will know the news by tea time.
Miss Deborah Jenkyns: Or sooner Dr Morgan. This is Cranford.

A striking similarity to PEI in that last line

:)

Friday's Fave Five ~ Coffee Table Book Edition

Hi and welcome to Friday's Fave Five ~ the coffee table book edition. 

   "An Island Midwinter"                                                              

Page 1

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Sarah's suggestion for the caption on page 2 was "pigs in a blanket".

But, somehow, I didn't think it quite fit in with the theme :)

I hope you enjoyed leafing through An Island Midwinter coffee table book.

For more Friday Faves, join Suzanne and the Fivers at Living To Tell The Story.

Thanks so much for coming by.

Happy weekend!

with love,

brrr

Minus 12 Celsius = 10 Fahrenheit = cold!

But, the sun is shining brightly through the windows.

There's a cozy fire in the woodstove.

Creamy hot cocoa and old-fashioned raisin cookies ~ fresh from the oven ~ are waiting.

Now . . .

What am I missing?

Oh, I know.

You!

Come on over!

of resolutions and such

Ok - it's February 1st

and finally time to talk about resolutions.

:)

I don't usually talk about them in January.

That's when I like to think about them.

Try them out.

See if they'll stick.

See if I am really resolved.

This year, among other things, I wanted to add more music to my days.

I love to sing and make music with others.

I'm on our worship team at church.

I play piano.

I'm a fledgling harp player.

I play guitar but it sits in the case too much.

And I have a violin - I won't say I play it - yet :)

How do I fit them all in a day?

Well I don't, but I'm working on it.

Because I love music. It gives me deep joy.

On my 50th birthday, my harp playing friend gave me a card that read:

It's never too late to be the harper you like to be.

That line made me think - what kind of harper would I really like to be?

I knew the answer.

One who plays every day.

Not just the harp - but I play it first since I'm learning and learning takes practice.

But also piano, my dusty guitar,

and maybe even that violin - even though when I practice, my music-loving boys threaten offer to build a sound proof practice room for me. :)

So . . .

My 2010 resolution?

I'm playing music ~ every. single. day.

This is my year of music.

There! I've said it. It's out in the open and it feels good.

No over the top goals.

Just music - everyday.

I found some wonderful inspiration online. Mark Pentleton, a beautiful piano player, is also adding more music to his life in 2010.

And he's sharing it with us  - a song a day.

Click on the 365 Song button to find out more.

How about you? Have you made a resolution that brings you joy?

Tell me about it in the comments.

Happy Monday!

with love,

Friday's Fave Five

Hi there everyone! It's a storm day Friday here on PEI. The whole Island is shut down, even UPEI, and that's a rare event to cancel university here. So far, we have a lot of light, fluffy snow but not much wind. But 80 km/h winds are predicted for this afternoon so we're expecting blowing snow and whiteout conditions.

Maybe you're wondering what Islanders do when we're expecting a storm?

1. First we make sure we have plenty of food. There is always a run on the grocery store when there is a storm warning. Not that anyone is panicking. There's a lot of friendly talk in the long line ups -  generally about the coming storm: how much snow is expected, how high the winds will be, road conditions, comparisons to past storms. Islanders love weather talk!

Roger and I got our groceries last night so that's checked off the list.

2. Next stop? Well for me it would be the library ~ for  others,  the movie rental store. I have a lovely stash of library books. One that I'm really enjoying is First Light by Rebecca Stead. An engaging story.

Rebecca Stead is also the winner of this year's  Newbery Award for her book When You Reach Me. Our library doesn't have a copy of it yet, but I already have my name on the request list.

3. Of course, my beloved always has to make sure that we run off extra water just in case the power goes off.  And the woodboxes need to be filled to the brim with wood so he doesn't have to head out to the woodshed in the height of the storm.

I gather up the candles and make sure the kerosene lamps are filled. We have a flashlight that plugs in so it's always ready to go. And a wind up radio so we can hear how long the power will be out. We always enjoy a power outage as long as it doesn't last too long. It's cozy with the fire and the flickering candlelight.

4. I'm planning to make a little progress on this winter past-time. I usually pick away at a puzzle each winter. They say it's good to head off Alzheimer's :)

5. The wind hasn't started blowing hard yet. So if you'd like, you can come on over. We can be storm-stayed together! The kettle is always boiling on the woodstove and I have two new delicious teas to offer you.

Ginger, Peach and Apricot by the Boston Tea Company - a  bright, fruit-flavoured black tea

or

Tetley's Dream herbal tea ~ I was surprised by the strong flavour burst in this herbal tea. A lovely camomile lemon!

Well . . . the door is always open!

:)

Thanks so much for coming by  ~ even if you could only manage a virtual visit! And thanks to Suzanne for hosting our weekly get-together at Living to Tell The Story.

I'm leaving you with a picture of a gorgeous Island winter sunset that I saw at my mil's home last week.

(click to enlarge)Happy weekend everyone!

with love,

Jan thaw

There are two seasonal diversions that can ease the bite of winter

One is the January thaw.

The other is the seed catalogues. ~ Hal Borland

It's wild, wet and windy here on the Island. Our power has flickered and gone out several times.

The snow is "taking a beating" as they say around here.

The grass is appearing - surprisingly green.

Experience tells me it won't last long.

But, just like the spring bulb catalogue, it's a promise of things to come.

Happy Tuesday!

morning

light