Plainsong

Books

Author: Kent Haruf

Pat found this book on a shelf at the Lodge when we were staying in Vancouver; he hadn’t finished it so he brought it home. When he was finished he said I might like it so I added it to my pile of books.

It is a simple story, well-written, about the lives of several characters in a small town in Colorado. The characters include co-workers at the school, one of the teacher’s children, a student and two bachelors.

This is the first novel in a set of three and I’ll definitely read more of them.

Goodreads Rating: * * * *

Haven

Books

Author: Emma Donoghue

Some time ago Pat and I watched a travel documentary on Ireland. One of the places that was talked about was Skellig Michael. This is a fictional account of the very first monks to settle on the island.

Three priests set out by boat from a well established monastery in search of a spot where they would be way from all of the worldly temptations. The island they came ashore on was remote and rugged – there was only one tree and the island was inhabited only by birds. The zealousness of the leader meant it was a very hard life for his two followers.

This is quite unlike any of the other books I’ve read by Donoghue. I didn’t know of the connection between the story and Skellig Michael until I read the author’s notes.

Goodreads Rating: * * * *

Happy Birthday Elizabeth

Cards

July 2, 2023

Spring Bud (from the Quilter’s Block-a-Day calendar)

I looked through my Splendid Sampler books a couple of times before deciding that this block wasn’t in them. My next stop was my calendar blocks, which I worked on during my Covid isolation. This particular block is from May 22nd, although I have no idea whether or not I actually made it on that day.

Elizabeth has a green thumb and always has her yard looking great – in spite of her ongoing battle with the squirrels.

Ahh …

Journal

Wednesday, June 28, 2023

We got over to Texada on the late afternoon ferry yesterday. We haven’t been here since February (?) so before we unpacked we did some vacuuming and general cleaning. We unpacked the food but I didn’t unpack anything in my space.

When we were having coffee on the deck this morning I said that I’d hope to hear the loons. Just a few minutes later we heard them but from a long way off. They kept calling and at one point Pat said they must be quite near. And, again, just a few minutes later two of them flew overhead.

We weren’t quite so lucky when we walked the trail to see if there were any turtles out at Emma Lake. We stopped for a bit at the bridge; there was not even a trickle of water getting through. We could hear things plopping in the water but all we were able to see were some water snakes.

Thanks to Stacia I was able to make it back up the hill to the studio. She suggested taking a chair and setting it halfway up. We did that and found a spot in the shade to leave it. There are no benches on the trail but I did find a log to rest on for a bit. And I was thankful for that chair.

This afternoon we moved most of my sewing equipment from the workshop up to the studio. I don’t know how I’m going to fit everything in but I have lots of time to sort it out. The only crafting I managed to fit in today was a bit of reverse stitching on a crochet project and then just a little bit of doing over.

We got the hummingbird feeder set up. It took awhile for the birds to find it but they’ve been at it pretty steady this afternoon. I’m always surprised at how aggressive they are. They chase each other away and we only seem to have one at a time.

We also managed to get a new hammock set up; it was a gift to Pat from Elizabeth. It is so much easier to get in and out of and has its own cover for shade. It will see a lot of use this summer.

And for the in-between times of the day I’ve been reading and playing games on my iPad. Not much different from home but I feel much more relaxed already.