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Quote of the Day: Kate Morton

August 26th, 2019

“The sun shone just as brilliantly as if Adeline had put in an order with the Lord. The extra lilies arrived and Davies raided the garden for more exotic species with which to gild the arrangements. The nocturnal shower that had kept Adeline awake and anxious had succeeded only in adding sparkle to the garden, so that each leaf looked to have been polished specially…”

by Kate Morton in The Forgotten Garden

A few weeks ago I found this book at my local thrift store and have been thoroughly enjoying it. Though not specifically about gardening/gardens, there’s a lot in there about a specific garden. I read this passage after a day and night of rain.



Taking photos in the morning after a rain is one of my favorite things. The garden is always fresh, the colors somehow more vibrant. I don’t know if the plants are somehow greener because of the fresh soaking or if the water on the leaves makes them appear more saturated. Oddly enough, I have tons of photos of the day after rain in the garden but failed to label them as such so I couldn’t find a lot (not to self, new label in photo software).

What do you like about rain in the garden?

Giveaway: Agatha Christie Book

January 23rd, 2019

If you remember, I found a lovely complete set of Agatha Christie books from Heron Publishing. I printed off the Miss Marple series and set to work reading through them. After finishing them, I moved on to the Poirot series. When cleaning the bookshelf, I came across this copy of ‘Murder in Mesopotamia’ from Bantam Publishing that I purchased and read a few years ago. It’s nicely bound with gold printing and page edges. Since I no longer need this copy as this book is in my other collection, I figured I’d give it away to a blog reader.



Comment below for your change to win, let me know if you’ve ever read any Agatha Christie books and what book you’re reading currently that you love. I’ll choose a winner randomly from the commenters in a week.

Quote of the Day: Agatha Christie

December 11th, 2018

“To be fair, he was attached to his employers, humored their fancies in horticulture (so far as no actual hard work was involved) but vegetable he knew to be the real stuff of life; a nice Savoy, or a bit of curly kale; flowers were fancy stuff such as ladies liked to go in for, having nothing better to do with their time. he showed his affection by producing presents of the aforementioned asters, salvias, and lobelia edging, and summer chrysanthemums.”

Agatha Christie in The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side

I always get a kick out of gardening references in books, Agatha Christie books are no exception. Perhaps she enjoyed gardening, perhaps it was just her British roots that made her mention gardening and plants in many of her books, either way, I always enjoy those passages.

This one was quite humorous to me, I like both flowers and vegetables, but vegetables definitely take top priority for me.

Do you prefer growing vegetables, flowers, or do you find a happy medium between them both?

Friday Favorite: Agatha Christie

December 7th, 2018

I’ve been reading Agatha Christie books since I was a girl. My mom had copies that she had been given by her aunt when she was a girl. I read, and reread those copies. In the last few years I’ve been reading through her books again. Most recently, I found this lovely set of vintage books published by Heron Books back in the 70’s. I was able to find an almost complete set, there are only 3 volumes missing as mine contained 38 volumes with 2 books in each one. I’m only missing 3 volumes to complete my set.


I decided to start with the Miss Marple series, so I’ve been reading through the books in that series. I’ve picked them all out from the volumes that I have. No doubt this will keep me in reading throughout the winter.

I’ll be looking through an noting which ones I’m missing then be on the lookout for those. Until then, I’ll be reading through these beautiful books and enjoying every moment of it! If you’re a fan of mysteries and haven’t read any of her books, I highly recommend them!

What are you reading this winter?

Quote of the Day: Annejet van der Zijl

June 8th, 2018

“Perhaps this was Allene’s greatest achievement, above her wealth, her titles, her many houses, and her impressive guest book: that despite everything she’d experienced and endured, she always clung to her ability to enjoy life and be grateful for it.”

Annejet van der Zijl in An American Princess

In the summer, I don’t get much reading in, but I try to get my free Kindle First Book (you get to choose a free kindle book each month from a selection if you have an Amazon Prime membership“>) every month and get through it. I chose this book a few months ago and have enjoyed it. Since I don’t have large chunks of time to read in the summer, I need books that don’t require too much time at each sitting.

I’ve always been a tactile person, so I thought a Kindle wouldn’t be my thing. Then Mr Chiots got me one for Christmas three years ago and I LOVE IT!!! It’s so convenient to have lots of book on hand (I have 150 books on mine currently). I got one for my mom when she was sick and had a hard time holding heavier books and she really enjoyed it as well. She was able to read a lot of book in her last months of life because of the Kindle.

What books are you reading right now? Any great books to recommend?

About

This is a daily journal of my efforts to cultivate a more simple life, through local eating, gardening and so many other things. We used to live in a small suburban neighborhood Ohio but moved to 153 acres in Liberty, Maine in 2012.

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