2019

I am back!

I am not the greatest at being consistent - hence my lack of posts these past months.

Winter to me is kind of the waiting room for Spring. It has been a season of reading and learning more about gardening, planning my summer garden, buying seeds, starting seeds... Yep, that has been a huge focus this year. I want to grow a bigger, better, healthier garden this year. And not just vegetables - this year I'm incorporating flowers. Exciting, right?

Now that it's Springtime again, I can finally get things moving, and I just feel much more inspired to write and share what I'm up to.

This year I'd like to dedicated this page to a lot more garden posts and updates, and to share my DIY attempts - I have plans, you see... making more raised beds, planting flowers, making my own natural salves and soaps... I would very much like to succeed in these endeavors.

I will also post book updates and reviews and other things as they come up.

Here's to a beautiful summer!

#Booktoberfest Haul!

I suddenly remembered about my recent book purchases -- so here I am.

Bookoutlet has great discounted prices for books, and during the month of October, they run an event called "Booktoberfest" where they have an additional 15% off everything... So, naturally, I thought this would be a good time to pick up some fresh titles.
It had been a while since I actually bought physical books for my bookshelf. :)

The books I bought are:

"Walk on Earth a Stranger" by Rae Carson. -- I actually already read this one (see previous posts), but that was on my kindle, as a borrowed copy. Now I have a physical copy that I can re-read whenever. (It is one of my favourite reads of this year.)

"These Shallow Graves", and "Deep Blue" by Jennifer Donnelly -- I have read a book by Jennifer Donnelly - "A Northern Light" which I remember really liking (I read it maybe 4 years ago).

"The Distance Between Lost and Found" by Kathryn Holmes

"Rebel of the Sands" by Alwyn Hamilton

"Wild Beauty" by Anna-Marie McLemore

"Daughter of the Pirate King" by Tricia Levenseller

"Weathering" by Lucy Wood

"Brightwood" by Tania Unsworth

"Hotel for the Lost" by Suzanne Young

"Mist of Midnight" by Sandra Byrd

The majority of these I found by scrolling through the fiction section on the bookoutlet website. I only had  "Rebel of the Sands" and "Mist of Midnight" on my 'to-be-read' list prior. The rest will be a surprise. Hopefully they are all good reads!

I am familiar with Jennifer Donelly, and Suzanne Young (I realized after purchasing that I have read a couple of books written by her -- "The Program" and "The Treatment" -- years ago). Sandra Byrd is a familiar name as I had Mist of Midnight on my list for a while now, but I have not read anything by her yet.

A number of these are on the spookier side, so I think I'll start by reading those, it being the end of October and all. :)  Look for a "spooky reads" book review in the near future!

Octobers

My younger sister. Taken on one of our favourite nature walks.

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers."   

- L.M. Montgomery

That quotation has always resonated with me because Octobers -- I love them.  Even though it is the midst of the Autumn season, and we can't deny the fact that Winter is on its way, October is still a beautiful month.

The leaves are changing colour and falling off the trees, cluttering yards until tree branches are laid bare.

I've heard people make cynical comments about Fall, saying it's a season of dying.

It's not. It's a season that leads to another -- Winter, where it looks like things are dead.
But it only appears to be that way. The trees that lost their foliage and look bare and dead come back in full force come spring -- they didn't die. They merely rested through the long cold months.

We can learn a lot of lessons looking at seasons. We can type them to our own lives...

All the seasons in our lives have their purpose.

You  might be going through a long season where you are ready to give up in despair. Just hold on. Your Spring is coming -- things will eventually fall back into place, and bloom with all their might and power.

Podcasts I Listen To

Spiritual Encouragement

Recently I discovered a podcast called "Journeywomen".
I was actually introduced to them through a lady I follow on instagram (@kristinschmucker) who posts a lot of biblical and spiritual encouragement for women.

From the Journeywomen website:

Life's a journey we were never meant to walk alone.  

We all need friends along the way! On the Journeywomen podcast we’ll chat with mentors about gracefully navigating the seasons and challenges we face on our journeys to glorify God.

I have listened to a few episodes so far, and they have all been really encouraging and inspired me to get deeper in the Word and in prayer.

If you are looking for encouragement in spiritual areas, check out this podcast! You can find it on Itunes or if you're on android like me, on the "Stitcher" app - you'll need to download the app, but it's free.

"Fun" Podcasts

There are a couple of podcasts I like to listen to while I do housework - 

"Ear Biscuits"

This is the first-ever podcast I listened to. It was the reason I even downloaded SoundCloud on my phone (They are also on ITunes and Spotify). It features Rhett and Link (from the Youtube channel Good Mythical Morning, a daily show which I also have been following ever since their first season). It started out with interviews with fellow YouTubers but they have branched out to interviewing other interesting people and even taking questions from listeners. Sometimes, it's just the two of them talking about relevant and interesting topics.

"Dear Hank and John"

This is a podcast created by Hank and John Green. They are both well known vloggers and creators as well as authors. Their podcast is generally very lighthearted and fun. They take questions from listeners and answer them sometimes seriously, sometimes in fun. It's quite entertaining. They are both well-spoken and intelligent humans.

You can find them on SoundCloud, Itunes, and Spotify as well.

Honourable Mention:

"Bonnets at Dawn" - I've been following this podcast for a while now, but I haven't really listened to them as much because I felt that it required me to be more involved with the topics. They talk about literary things -- pitting Louisa May Alcott against the Bronte sisters, Jane Austen, etc. All authors I'm familiar with, but they do a book club sort of series, where you read the book along with them and then listen in on the podcast to hear their thoughts about it. Honestly, it's something I would really love if I immersed myself into it -- just haven't been super ambitious literary-wise as of late.

I plan to listen to them more, though, that's for sure!

I'm on the hunt for some more educational podcasts -- once I find some I like, I will make another post about them! 

August and September Updates

Whoops, I have neglected to write here since July!

Here we are at October already... Um, it feels like I blinked and summer was done. *Tears*
The garden is at its end... I have to pick a day this week to clean it up and pull out the majority of our tomato plants.

I'm quite pleased with how the garden did this year. I'm already thinking about my set up for next year's garden. This winter is going to be l-o-n-g-g. :)

I think I mentioned in a previous blog post that my church was camping the first weekend of August -- that went pretty well, though it was a lot of work. I tried to help out as much as I could -- cooking, cleaning, keeping the kids occupied, in order for others to enjoy the weekend. :) It was tiring but rewarding.

Reading wise, I am at 27 books out of my goal of 52 - making me 12 books behind schedule, according to Goodreads. I feel like I've been on a roll lately, though. I finished 9 more books since my last book update.

1&2. I finished the 3rd book of the Gold Seer trilogy by Rae Carson plus read the first book of her Fire and Thorns series.
3&4. I read the next two books of Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
5. Read the 3rd book of the Poldark saga (Jeremy) - I'm unsure of whether to continue reading the books or not at this point.
6&7. Read two biblical fiction books - one I liked, one I did not. I gave "The Heavens Before" by Kacy Barnett-Gramckow a 5-star rating. It was so well written and an interesting retelling of the great Flood in the book of Genesis. The one I disliked was a fictionalized tale (by a different author) of an Egyptian woman during the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt in the time of Moses. Will not be continuing that series.
8&9. Finally, I read 2 books by Neil Gaiman - "The Graveyard Book" (such an imaginative, eerie tale!), and "The Ocean at the End of the Lane" (a bit mediocre but I still liked it).

Currently I am starting the 2nd book of Rae Carson's Fire and Thorn series, "The Crown of Embers", and the 2nd book of Barnett-Gramckow's Genesis series, "He Who Lifts the Skies".

I need to read 25 more books to reach my goal. I hope to make October the best reading month yet!

:)

What I've Been Reading in July

At my current pace, I need to read 1.5 books a week in order to meet my 2018 reading goal. I think that's doable! ;)

While browsing through Goodreads, I came across the "The Gold Seer" trilogy by Rae Carson. I ended up downloading the first book (Walk on Earth a Stranger) on my Kindle, since it was free on Kindle Unlimited. Um, one of the best reading decisions of the year! I really enjoyed the storyline and the main character was just great. It wasn't hard to quickly buy the second book of the series and get through THAT quickly. I'm currently on book three, and I've taken a bit of a break from reading (just the past week hasn't given me time to sit down and unwind-- so much to do), but I hope to finish the book this coming week.

I have also finished listening to "Demelza" by Winston Graham, and have started on book three: "Jeremy".

Demelza is an interesting character, to be sure. It's cool to see her grow and change, becoming the capable and flexible woman Ross always knew was in her. The ending was heartbreaking, (((spoiler ahead))) with the loss of a child... the next book, "Jeremy" will be about their next child, and first son. I know there is more heartbreak in store for Ross and Demelza but I think they will continue to overcome and rise above it all.

Also -- I feel the need to add that this saga is not mainly about romance, it's also rich in historical descriptions and happenings. Winston Graham writes like he has lived the era. True signs of a good writer.

Truly, the past couple of months has been really good reading-wise. It's been so much better than going for months and months without cracking open a book (aside from my Bible).

"Made for More" by Hannah Anderson -- I am still stuck on the second chapter. Not that it's not good -- it IS. I just need to actually focus on the book. I will finish the book, no matter how long it might take me. ;)

That's it for now!

July Update

We are nearing the end of July already! Wow. Summer is flying by.

What have I been doing this summer? Working and gardening mostly.

During the second week of July, I attended a christian camp with a small group of youth from church. It was a fun weekend of games, fellowship, and anointed church services. Now, I'm not an extroverted person by any means. I'm not outgoing or have a lot of friends. But even I know that it's important to be involved in events like these every now and then, just to reconnect with friends and acquaintances, to hear testimonies from other young people, to be able to separate yourself from your daily routine just for a few days and immerse yourself in a different atmosphere.

In a couple of weeks our church has a camping get-away planned up towards northern Ontario. This will be our second year doing this. Last year was a lot of fun, though it was a bit chaotic and disorganized -- but we're learning! :) One thing you can guarantee with annual events is that it can get better every year.

How's my garden?
Right now the cucumbers are on a roll! I've picked quite a handful the past week. Fresh cucumbers seasoned with vinegar, salt, and pepper-- so good! I've been eating it almost every day. :)
I also have picked several zucchini... I left a few for a couple of days and they ended up gigantic. But no problem... I'm planning on making zucchini bread and cake this week. My family has always loved zucchini bread--ever since we started a vegetable garden, zucchini had to be on the list every year. And while there are a lot of ways you can prepare zucchini, our favourite way to eat it is in dessert.

I am still waiting for the first ripe tomato -- they're taking forever it seems.
There are a few tomatillo fruits I am watching as well -- this is my first year growing them and I am curious as to how they will taste, and what I can do with them.
I only planted one, but the plant is massive -- it has taken over an entire corner, and it is covered with bright yellow blooms. I read somewhere that you need two tomatillo plants in order to get fruit. But I went ahead and hand-pollinated a bit and it seems to have worked.

We've harvested some eggplants as well. They are a perfect addition to breakfast when fried. We also love them in soup. I have never made eggplant Parmesan, but the recipe keeps on coming up in suggestions, so I'm going to have to try it one of these days.

Speaking of eggplants, we have had a few seedlings pop up in the spot we had fairytale eggplants last year. I love surprises haha. My plan is to pull out the peas (which are starting to dry out), and transplant the eggplant seedlings in its place.

I am seriously learning so much about vegetable gardening. I only started taking an interest the last three years. It started when we planted a garden one year and no one else in the family cared to really look out for it -- so I did. I was like a little child, going out to check on the growth several times a day, ha. (I still do this.) The following year, I did the planting, weeding, and harvesting. And I started researching and figuring out what I can do better the following season. I am now officially the gardener of the family -- alongside my dad. He loves it too and he works in it as much as he can even though he's much busier than I. He built the enclosure for the garden, along with the raised beds. He also had the great idea to install siding gutters along the inside of the fence, where he planted a bunch of lettuce and radishes.

I'm looking at planting some carrots for a fall harvest. I've never planted carrots before.

And increasingly, I just want to plant more flowers in any spare area. I love the pop of colour, the interest it adds to the garden space, and of course -- the way it helps attract the ever-important pollinators.

I can talk about gardening forever... I wish the growing season here in Ontario was longer... I have so much I want to do! :D