Five on Friday: Wrapping Up August

"Summer should get a speeding ticket."

UNKNOWN

Well, I would like to know where the summer has gone. We're already at the September long-weekend. With kids at the start of a new school year in their new school clothes, gripping pencils and clean-paged scribblers (I suppose they're in their backpacks these days) as they climb into the bus. To this day, I still get that little surge of adrenalin as we move from summer to September. As a girl, it was always a little nerve-wracking to start a new school year: Would I be smart enough to make it through without too much embarrassment? Who would I find to be playmates in this new year?

The surge of adrenalin that comes now is more of anticipating what projects I might want to work on. As the light slants differently and evenings draw a little closer, one's thoughts turn more towards the home and being indoors. I think about what writing projects I might want to focus on, what home projects I want to tackle.

Here, with my latest Five on Friday, is a glimpse of what's been on my mind this week.

 One. A week of 'dog days of summer'

Our summer weather has been decent. Many warm days, alongside cool, rainy, and windy ones. This week it has been hot and sultry in the true summer fashion. And we've been reveling in the heat. Sipping frosted glasses of sparkling water—especially the Maison Perrier non-alcoholic Mojito (citrus and mint) beverage. Refreshing! Sitting in the mornings with our coffees and listening to the chickadees busy with their chattering and fluttering off with sunflower seeds.

This afternoon we've got plans to visit the Italian Centre for affogatos—the Italian dessert where shots of espresso are served over gelato. Someone described it as "buttery notes of vanilla ice cream and bold accents of espresso". Yes, that describes them. And they are yum!

Two. A doily detail

This little doily under my pretty green thrift store vase is now more than 50 years old now. I was in high school when I crocheted it. I'd asked my grandma if she would teach me to crochet. She told me to select a pattern, so I browsed through her collection of pattern books. My heart was smitten with one I really loved – the biggest and most complicated in the book, if you want to know. She gently suggested that I might want to start with something simpler. And smaller. No, no, I was determined. I could do this. I can see her giving a gentle shrug. I started it enthusiastically and got as far as you see in the photo. When I graduated from high school, I packed my bags for college, deciding not to take the doily project with me as I probably wouldn’t have time to work on it. (I wonder now where Grandma found it stashed and forgotten in the excitement...)

I came back at Christmas time, I don’t recall if it was my first Christmas away or the following year, but under the Christmas tree I found a little package wrapped and tagged with my name on it in Grandma’s handwriting. Inside was my little doily, at the stage where I had left it, except it had now had a simple edging to finish it off. Which meant I could use it. She must have sensed that I would never come back to finish this overly ambitious project, I think she would have been right. I was so overcome with emotion... love, I think it was, that she would do this for me. I have treasured this little doily ever since. It's still in use, even though doilies might be a little out of fashion.

Three. Musing about my old journals

Musing about my old journals, I wonder what I should do with them. One question that keeps coming up is as I think about getting rid of them, is why am I loathe to destroy them. The answer, simply said, it's because so much of my life is entwined in these words on hundreds upon hundreds of pages. To destroy them would feel like I'm destroying something of my soul. As you can see, it's a struggle, but as I get closer to my 70s there is a sense of urgency not to put it off too much longer. 

I started keeping a journal nearly forty years ago (January 1987) the year I would turn 30. Up to that point, I'd written bits and pieces in scraps of notebooks. I came to realize I wanted something more stable, and more formal, I guess (L.M. Montgomery certainly was influential in this area of my writing). Since then I have filled nearly 200 'blank' notebooks in varying shapes, sizes, and styles. The books were always chosen for their appealing covers—they had to be pretty to look at, cute, or whimsical. They are mostly all tidily stacked in storage boxes in the closet of my study. The boxes are already worded (in the event of my untimely demise) with "To be destroyed on my death", with the sincere hope that I won't kick the bucket before I have a chance to create something from them for 'posterity', and not leave the mess of all those boxes for my family to deal with.

I think about what other people have done with their old journals. Susan Branch used her old diaries as research references for her now published memoirs (The Fairy Tale Girl, Martha's Vineyard: Isle of Dreams, and A Fine Romance). More recently, I read a biography about Louisa May Alcott. Did you know that she annotated her old journals? When re-reading them, she added little notes to explain things, to say how she later saw those events or experiences as she looked back. L.M. Montgomery knew her journals would be of literary interest down the road, since she was an author. Her editors published those volumes years later. From her notes penned in the first published journal, LMM had kept diaries since she was nine; she later burned them—she said they were "so silly" and "very dull". She began her "new kind of diary" in 1889 when she was 14. Eventually she re-wrote the earliest journals (written between 1889 and 1918 in various shapes and sizes) into ledger books, with the goal to rewrite them "careful[ly] to copy it exactly as it is written", and that she would "illustrate it" as she went along, with photos to describe scenes and people she had mentioned. Her journals are now published, and I am glad to own the five volumes of  "Selected Journals" from 1889-1942.

Dealing with my old journals feels right to begin in the autumn season. It matches my own autumn season of life, where, although it can still be filled with colour, brightness, and fruitfulness, there is also a sense of waning... and winding up of many things.

I will try to keep you posted as I ponder more and begin the process. And I wouldn't mind hearing what plans you might have for your old journals, if you are a journaling person. Have you figured it out? 

Four. Waiting for Miranda's book

For anyone who follows Miranda Mills on YouTube, you will know that she has her first book coming out this September. Like many of us, she loves collecting quotations, and The Country Commonplace Book is filled with her own favourite seasonal-themed passages. I've pre-ordered my copy and can't wait for its arrival later this autumn.

Five. Favourite quotes

Here are a few quotes I found in my 5-year quotes diary this morning which I enjoyed reading all over again. (I am surprised that I'm in the last quarter of year four already. At the end of 2026, I'll have five years' worth of quotes in one tiny diary. It's been a fun project.)

"You might not be a morning person or a night owl,

but with the right amount of coffee and snacks, you can

be an enjoyable afternoon person."

UNKNOWN, seen on Instagram

"If you have good thoughts they will shine out of your

face like sunbeams, and you will always look lovely."

ROALD DAHL, The Twits

"Just a heads up, I've decided to live my life like

everything is working out in my favor."

JACOB NORDBY, seen on Instagram

"What is it you want to write [do]

with the time remaining?"

SHAWNA LEMAY, The Flower Can Always Be Changing

"Live in each season as it passes; breathe the air,

drink the drink, taste the fruit, and resign

yourself to the influence of the earth."

HENRY DAVID THOREAU

❦

On that note, I'm wishing you a beautiful week ahead,

Brenda

Photo credits:

(Top) Sunflowers by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

(Drinking glasses) Image by Biella Biella from Pixabay

(Vase) Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

(Journals) Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

(Miranda's book cover) Amazon

(Hansa Rose) Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

My Blogging Schedule:

I post on Fridays

Five on Friday: Treats of the Week

"Take each day as it comes and make the best of

it—not in resignation as in 'that's all there is'—but

embroider it with beauty and kindness as well as

you can with what you have in your hand."

BL

Our pink hydrangea bush has outdone itself in amazingness this summer. She was a gift par excellence for our soul; it bloomed all summer long. Recently I read a woman online who referred to the time she spends outdoors in nature as her way of taking a daily dose of Vitamin 'N'. After I chuckled I thought, yes, I've had generous doses of that vitamin myself this summer... right here in my own garden.

What do I have to share with you this Friday as we edge toward the end of August? I look around and find a few things I think you'll like. Hope you enjoy and thanks for stopping by. 

One. Peek-a-boo

We sighted these pink petunias on our early morning walk. Squeezing through the crack from the north facing side of the fence belonging to one house, this sprig of wonderment captured my imagination. Was it reaching from the dark side to the south facing side to reach the sun, perhaps? It made me grin to see such enthusiasm for life and light.

Two. Beguiling ribbon

I was with my mom the other day and we popped into Michaels. She was on the lookout for pretty colours of yarn for the baby blankets she's crocheting. As I trailed after her, my eye caught a new display of autumn ribbons (they were on sale two-fer-one). My colour-loving eyes gravitated towards these two rolls and my heart had to have them.

Three. Thrift store find

In a drift of run-of-the-mill vases all shapes, sizes and colours, there it sat like a little gem, this green glass vase that felt so weighty I almost wondered if it were made from something like alabaster. I picked it up, put it down thinking I don't need another vase, walked to the end of the aisle, turned around and popped it into my basket. Ever since, I love spotting it, with its simple posy, on the living room coffee table. I love touching its cool and smooth texture. And I love that it's a soft green.

Four. Fluffy Cottage Cheese Pancakes

Serves 2

1 cup cottage cheese

3 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1-2 Tbsp honey

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup oat flour

2 tsp baking powder

In food processor, whizz cottage cheese and eggs about 30 seconds.

Add the rest of the ingredients, and pulse until combined.

Preheat griddle or nonstick pan on medium/low heat.

Add a bit of butter or oil to pan if you like crispy edges.

Scoop 1/3 of a cup batter per pancake onto the pan and spread a bit.

Cook about 4 minutes on each side. They will be a deep

golden brown when done.

 

*Note: Pancakes need to be cooked on a lower heat and

a little longer than regular pancakes.

 

Serve with berries and your favourite syrup.

Or eat just as is, which I was tempted to do,

they were so tasty. And fluffy.

These are awesome yummy!

I've been hanging onto this recipe for years, and I'm sorry to say that I have never made it until this week. The site where I originally found it no longer exists.

Five. Greeting cards

I love collecting and using pretty greeting cards. Especially art cards. Sometimes I want them worded with specific messages for birthday or get well or thinking of you, but quite often I choose cards that are blank so I can write my own notes in them.

I bought the bookstore out of this 'Greenhouse and Hollyhocks' card. I bought them two at a time until there were no more to buy on the shelf. The artist is Lucy Grossmith whose cards are a 'celebration of the beautiful coast and countryside of the British Isles.' You can find her on Etsy and HERE.

Then I spotted that sweet little box of notecards (at the same bookstore) with the pink flowers; they are from Punch Studio.com. They are just the size for a wee thank you note (3.5 x 5"). The little message bordered around the edge says, "Let the beauty of what you love be what you do."

Bonus. On the nightstand

Apples on a Windowsill

by Shawna Lemay

Reading it for the first time, I am loving this local author's

book of meditations on still life, photography, beauty, and

marriage. Published in 2024, she also speaks of how she and her

 painter husband made their way through the pandemic which

I find most interesting to revisit at this stage.

Giant's Bread

by Agatha Christie writing as Mary Westmacott

This novel "tells the story of Vernon Deyre, a young composer

who reinvents his identity after being declared dead in WWI. . . .

His sheltered childhood in the home he loves has not prepared

Vernon for the harsh reality of his adult years."

I'm just starting this novel. Chapter One opens with the narrator

telling the tale from young Vernon's viewpoint of what the world looks

like to a little boy growing up in an English nursery. Already I begin

to love this sweet, thoughtful youngster. 

The novel was critically acclaimed upon publication.

The magazine: In Her Garden

Summer 2025

by Stampington & Company

This charming magazine requires a quiet afternoon

for browsing with a cup of tea and a bit of sweet treat.

You can learn more about the magazine HERE. 

❦

On that note, I'm wishing you

glimpses of heaven in unexpected places,

Brenda

Photo credits:

Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

excluding the Pancake photo which is by Rita E from Pixabay

My Blogging Schedule:

I post on Fridays

Five on Friday: Meandering and Musing

"It is the glistening autumnal side of summer.

I feel a cool vein in the breeze, which braces my thought."

HENRY DAVID THOREAU

When people ask me "So, what's new?" I usually feel stymied for an answer. My life is generally quiet—the usual daily events happen in undramatic ways so it's hard to come up with something that feels fresh and interesting to say. I often end up saying, 'Oh, nothing much." Which sounds kind of dull. Which, of course, isn't quite true but it's the simplest answer. In my imagination, I am much more vivacious and much more interesting, and I wish a little of that would translate into 'real' life conversations when it's needed. Haha

I do think better when I can write it. I have time to think, and my mind more easily scouts for descriptions and scenes that might amuse or catch someone's interest.

Since the question's been raised, what's new? God's grace and mercy are new every morning. Thankfully. New blossoms keep showing up every day on the lacy daylilies, and on those clove-scented dark pink pin cushion plants (for which the name escapes at the moment).

There are new cups of coffee to savour sitting in the garden in the warm breeze. And speaking of coffee, I like coffee in the mornings, tea in the afternoons, but if I have only one to choose from, it would have to be coffee.

I'm ever on the lookout for what beauty stirs me on a given day. What the sky looks like today, how the trees are bending in the wind, if the clouds are drifting or racing, which birds are still singing at this time of year.  It's those kinds of moments where that unexplainable feeling on the inside wells up with delight or contentment or a sense of well-being. But how does one say that out loud into words?

Sitting at my desk today, hopefully a few little things have jostled up to make your visit worth your while. I'm so glad you stopped by. 🥰

One. The weather

"Autumn approaches and the

heart begins to dream."

Bashō

The Sound of Water: Haiku by Bashō, Buson, Issa, and Other Poets

The morning was overcast and cool. We put off our early morning walk and went straight to coffee as we hoped it would feel less jacket needful later in the day. (Later...) it started raining and got all puddly out there. And since we might melt in the rain, we'll save our walk for tomorrow.

The sun set at 8:58 p.m., more than an hour earlier than it set on Summer Solstice in June. The slant of the sun comes in differently through our west windows. One doesn't have to look at the calendar to feel the season shifting. I am loathe to hurry summer but it's doing so on its own.

 

Two. Summer treats

I am always in need of little treats and tiny adventures (something a little off the beaten path). You probably feel that too. It doesn't matter who we are, we all love those things that add variety and a bit of spice and the unexpected to the patterns and routines of our lives. Just enough to add a sparkle. They could include:

- Fresh peaches, cherries, raspberries

- New baby potatoes cooked with fresh dill

- 'No Sugar Added' dark chocolate almond Revellos

(we called them revels growing up, the "o" is silent - haha)

- Stepping out the front door late in the evening and catching

the fragrance of the evening scented stock in the air.

- A welcome text that says, 'Will you be home Saturday? We're

in the area and would love to stop in for a wee visit'.

Three. Magazine

I have been enjoying finding this British magazine in the stands each new season. This time I'm enjoying the summer edition. The photos are stunning—I'd buy the magazine for that front cover alone. There's something about the deep blue vase alongside the golden sunflower that turns my colour crank to high appeal. Love, love, love the contrast.

Four. Reading

“So many books, so little time.”

New Acquisitions (includes thrift store finds)

Unnatural Causes

by P.D. James (mystery, 1967)

The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn

by Colin Dexter (Inspector Morse, 1977)

Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station

by Dorothy Gilman (mystery, 1983)

Finishing School, The Happy Ending to That Writing

Project You Can't Seem to Get Done

by Cary Tennis and Danelle Morton (on writing, 2017)

A Hundred Pieces of Me

by Lucy Dillon (novel, 2014)

Gina, recently divorced, wants to make a fresh start and throw away

all her possessions except for the one hundred things that mean the most to her.

(Borrowed this from the library years ago but it wasn't there

when I hankered a reread, so I bought my own copy.)

Walking Home, A Poet's Journey

by Simon Armitage (2012)

"The Romantic poets tramped all over the Lake District searching

for inspiration. How does a traveling poet fare in the modern world?"

-excerpt from back cover

Three More Books Read From My 'Unread' Shelf

The Royal Librarian

by Daisy Wood (historical WWII novel, 2024)

A young woman from Vienna, at the outset of war, flees to England

where she ends up working in the Royal Library at Windsor Castle.

Summer

by Edith Wharton (short novel, 1917)

A young woman living with her adoptive father in a

small village is desperate to escape the tedium of her small world.

Lovely descriptions of the surroundings.

Louisa May Alcott, A Personal Biography

by Susan Cheever (2010)

(Still reading, and enjoying, this bio. I see how

much I didn't know about Louisa May Alcott's background.)

Five. This catches my eye

"No one will ever know

that we lived,

that we touched the streets

with our feet

that we danced joyfully,

No one will ever know

that we gazed at the sea

from the train windows,

that we breathed

the air that settles

on the cafe chairs,

No one will ever know

that we stood on the terrace-of-life

until the others arrived."

NINO PEDRETTI, "Nobody Will Know"

(Italian poet, 1923 - 1981)

Those first two lines especially grabbed me. That's probably why those of us who write, write, isn't it? So that someone will read our words one day, maybe even in the distant future, and know we lived. That we once stood on the terrace-of-life, just as they will one day. I'm glad for Nino Pedretti who wrote these poignant words.

❦

Sending bunches of wishes to you for

a beautiful day and week ahead,

Brenda

Photo credits:

(Top) Image by Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

(Sunflower) Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

(Raspberries) Image by ... from Pixabay

(Magazine) Image by Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life

(Books) Image by Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful LIfe

(Cafe) Image by Christel from Pixabay

Guest Blogging Elsewhere: The Season for Gathering Memories

Everything has seasons, and we have

to be able to recognize when something's time

has passed and be able to move into the next season.

HENRY CLOUD, found on BrainyQuote.com

I have a new blog post up on InScribe, my writers' fellowship blog. Our theme this month is seasons of life, so I'm chatting about the season when I turned 60 - how it became a season for gathering the  memories.

If this interests you, grab your mug of tea or coffee and meet me over HERE.

Hope your August is unfolding in summery, soft ways for you. I wish you grace for whatever you have going on. I'll be back next Friday. 

❦

Wishing you a beautiful day,

Brenda

Photo credit:

Image by CongerDesign from Pixabay

Hello August: Daybook Post

"August is like the Sunday of summer."

UNKNOWN

I woke alive and fresh every morning over the last four weeks, so August did not sneak up on me. But I ask you, how can it be August already? Oh my goodness, the summer weeks are flying.

We have a new tree arriving this morning to replace our beautiful mountain ash which died a couple of years ago. I felt quite bereft with the empty space it left in our yard—and heart—when we cut down the old trunk and branches. We've missed the height and the shade and the screening it gave us and our neighbours (so we weren't peering into each other's backyards). But soon... there will be a new lovely serviceberry tree to fill our lives with blossoms in spring, greenery and shade in the summer. It's not huge now but it will grow.

Without further ado, here is August Daybook edition to start the month on a cheery note.

For Today

From my window...

The skies are blue. There are few clouds at this point. The wind is up.

And I stare out into my garden marveling at how the cotton-candy pink

hydrangea stands in contrast to the showy fuchsia-pink lavatera

that fills the corner with such loveliness.  

I am wearing...

Comfy white capris, a sleeveless top with a floral-leafy pattern, dangly

earrings also in leaf motif, and generous spritzes of rose-scented fragrance.

A clutch of quotes that caught my eye recently...

"And what is happiness?

Happiness is when the door of your house closes,

and everything you need is inside - the people you love,

the warmth of a cozy home, and the sense of belonging." 

ROSANNA B.  LUNDBERG

"Humor is just one of the ways we can resist

the chaos and uncertainty we're living through."

STACEY ABRAMS, as seen on Facebook

 

"In the morning when I wake, I ask God to

get into my head before I do."

POSITIVE LINES, as seen on Facebook

"Do weights for muscles,

Cardio for heart,

Ice cream for mental health."

MISSNUTRITIONIST, on Instagram

One simple pleasure...

To watch these lilies burst open in the

front garden as July comes to a close.

I love their frilly edges.

"Flowers seem intended for the

solace of ordinary humanity."

JOHN RUSKIN

Update on my 2025 reading goal...

Back in January I mentioned wanting to read more books from my own

shelves before acquiring new ones (and not to hold me to that). To focus

on reading from the 'never been read' shelf which holds around 130 to 150

books that have been collected through the years from various sources.

So far, I have read 70 books this year, and of those, 17 have been from my

'never been read' shelf. Using my rusty math skills, I figure about

24 percent of what I have read meets my goal. I mentioned that

stat to Rick, and he said, "You've got some reading to do."

Yes, sir, I'm getting right on that! (wink, wink)

If you want to see what I've been reading,

check out my page HERE.

On my 'to do' list...

. Make salmon salad sandwiches on whole grain bread for lunch

. Buy some fresh peaches for peach tart

. Finish this blog post

. Meet friends for a coffee (maybe iced)

. Enjoy the heat of the summer day in the shade of the umbrella

with book in hand and iced lime water nearby

A treat...

Drives along country roads are a treat on these high summer days.

The ditches and edges are filled with wild flowers. It is so good to see

vetch and clover and alfalfa and foxtails and goldenrod

and chamomile... all waving in the breezes.

Turn your window down and smell the air.

A couple of favourites books I reread in July...

The Scent of Water (novel)

by Elizabeth Goudge

Prodigal Summer

by Barbara Kingsolver

In the kitchen...

I had some cremini mushrooms I wanted to use for supper.

Something simple, quick, and yummy. I found this recipe for

Sautéed Mushrooms with Garlic. It fit the bill. It was delicious.

You'll find the link HERE.

Not to rush summer but...

I can't wait for the release of these NEW books coming out

this autumn. Do you have any titles that you are waiting for?

The Summer Book

by Susan Branch

To be released Aug 15th

The Country Commonplace Book

by Miranda Mills

To be released Sept 23rd

My Beloved

by Jan Karon

(a new Father Tim/Mitford novel)

To be released Oct 7th

The Black Wolf

by Louise Penny

 (a new Gamache crime novel)

To be released Oct 28th

Book of Lives: A Memoir of Sorts

by Margaret Atwood

To be released Nov 4th

The Queen Who Came in from the Cold

by S.J. Bennett

(5th in Her Majesty the Queen Investigates series)

To be released Nov 11th 

Closing thoughts...

"Summer’s lease hath all too short a date."

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, Sonnet 18

It's not over yet so...

. Go out for ice cream.

. Run through a sprinkler with a child

. Sit on a sidewalk cafe, savour a beverage

. Eat watermelon - see who can spit the seeds the farthest 

. Walk in the evening when shadows lengthen

. Stay outside long enough to smell evening scented stocks on a cool breeze

. Eat fresh tomatoes with mayo and basil on crusty bread

. Watch for the full moon in a few days

❦

Wishing you a lovely August,

Brenda

Photo credits:

Raspberries Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Typewriter graphic from TheGraphicsFairy.com

Pink Lily Image by Brenda Leyland @ It's A Beautiful Life