Ah, Pleasant May! For those of you not familiar with Christian Rosetti’s poetry (like me; I had to look it up), the title is from her poem, “May,” and what better way to herald this spring month than with poetry!
© Classical Carousel
When I had more time to read, I used to have about 6 to 8 books going at the same time. This was never a problem and I did like to be able to read sections of a books consistently with group reads keeping me on track. But sometime in the last three years or so, it’s all gone wrong. Suddenly, I wasn’t finishing books I started, yet I would still pick up new ones to begin. Which, of course, has left with me with a number of books I’ve begun but never completed. Not good.
Playing with Mother – William Kay Blacklock
~ source Wikimedia Commons
To all my friends, followers and those who just happen to stumble across my blog, I’m so sorry that I’ve been absent and have fallen behind in The Iliad Read-Along. My mother has been in the hospital for the last month+, which has taken up most of my time for reading and blogging. She lives some distance from me, about 1 1/2 – 3 hours round-trip, depending on traffic, and with the visits and talks with doctors, etc. I’ve had little time to do much else. Right now, she’s not eating much and at times refusing food, so it doesn’t look good. She’s had a long life and she says that she’s ready to go, so I believe it’s just a matter of when. It’s sad but then again, it’s part of life and we must accept what it brings. Hopefully Jesus has made a special place for her with the angels. 😇
Is it July already? How the days fly by! And yes, the world smells of roses. How long has it been since someone has given you a rose? Too long? Many of the hybrid roses of today no longer have any scent but I was introduced to a rose lately that was not only beautiful but smelled wonderful ….. lush and fragrant and absolutely divine! Not only the scent but the memories linger with me. So gorgeous. But enough about roses and fragrance and on to news ……
For those of you poetically handicapped, like me, “hail bounteous May” is from John Milton’s poem Song on May Morning, which you can read here. And, yipes, it also reminds me that I really need to read more poetry, which in turn reminds me that I need to hop back on my Deal Me In Challenge which has been sadly neglected recently because of other interesting pursuits. Ah, such is life!
Yes, it’s chilly winter weather. We haven’t received any snow yet but only because it’s been sunny. A few days ago, I woke to -6ºC weather and brrrrr!!! …. it certainly wakes you up in the morning!
© Cleo @ Classical Carousel
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| source Jerology (Giphy) |
Autumn! Autumn! How I love Autumn! And we had a great one in the Pacific Northwest. Sunny skies every day and warm temperatures. I had lots of fun being outside, going for walks and simply enjoying the changes of the season. Even though the rains came in November, October was absolutely gorgeous!!
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| © Cleo @ Classical Carousel |
The summer has officially gone and the rain has begun, however as yet, not much of it …… thankfully. In some ways I’m glad to see its passing and in others, it leaves me slightly melancholic.
Because of the amount that I was working, my garden this year was rather pitiful with only some garlic (which is small because I didn’t cut off the scapes in time), kale, herbs and some volunteer potatoes, although my fig tree had a fabulous crop of about 60 King Kadota figs and my quince tree, instead of its usual 6-8 quince has about 20-25. If you’ve never tried quince it’s a much undervalued fruit because you need to cook it to eat it, but it has a wonderful flavour. Click on this link for a recipe for Apple Quince Crisp if you want to give it a try. You won’t be disappointed.
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| Wild Rose |
Hello faithful readers! No, I have not dropped off the face of the earth and all is not lost, especially this blog. But I’ve been having some rather challenging times lately, which has translated into very little time to pursue reading or my blog. I’m hoping things will change for the better in the last half of the year but that is still yet to see. Now for a tiny update on my crazy life.
I believe my last monthly post was February and sadly, I never got to March. On the first of that month, my daughter was in a serious car accident which fortunately all involved escaped with minor injuries. We were all thankful but nevertheless such an unexpected and grave incident makes you re-evaluate many things. I’ve truly been trying to focus my time on what is worthwhile and to spend less with busy-making pursuits. My new focus hasn’t translated yet into my reading, but I’ve been developing family ties and friendships in a way that is truly meaningful and very satisfying.
