Boots and Blue

On Education....

"Education, to be real, must be synonymous with edification. Its whole purpose must be to 'bring out' and to 'build up' the man that is buried in the boy, and build him up to the gigantic stature of Jesus Christ. Secular education is not and cannot be education, because a man can never be educated unless he is 'built up' and led to God. The modern public school system, from kindergarten to state university, may teach a man how to make a living but it will never teach him how to make a life, and until a man knows how to make a life, he is not truly educated.

"Do understand me! I know that the laboratories of our schools and colleges are wonderlands of marvel and mystery. It is a good thing to have gone through them; for it is a very good thing to know about physical and chemical changes, but it is much better to know about Transubstantiation, for that is higher than any physical or chemical change; that is a miracle . . . Secular education teaches about the stars and the planets, and that is a good thing; but it does not teach about our home beyond the stars and about the Maker of the planets, and that is a very bad thing! For the first without the second might be knowledge; the first with the second is wisdom! Until we aim at this wisdom in all our teachings, we will ever be the 'blind leading the blind' and that combination never had a happy ending."

~Fr. Raymond

Simplicity of Soul...

"Simplicity of soul is one of the prerequisites of sanctity, and it's one of the things our children already possess. We must be very careful not to contribute to the great cluttering up. We must make a heroic effort to rid our lives of all but one motive, that 'impractical' spirituality of the saints, a life in union with God. If this is the undercurrent of our existence, we can expect the spiritual training of our children to bear fruit."

~Mary Reed Newland

On Joy...

"Grief can take care of itself,

but to get the full value of a joy

you must have somebody to divide it with."

~Mark Twain

Boston Cream Pie.......

for my dear father's birthday yesterday.

It was my very first attempt, and I am so glad I had the foresight to make the cake (~all three layers of it!) and the custard filling the day before. So it was a simple matter to assemble it and make and apply the chocolate glaze yesterday. It really turned out better than I expected.

(And yes, I did have a left-over piece with my coffee this morning;)

On Friday night, we had our first bonfire....

.....we even roasted a few marshmallows.

The children were in heaven.

Hope your weekend was as lovely as ours!

Morning Glories....

Growing like crazy out back.........and finally blooming!

Such a beautiful blue too.

I do love morning glories!

Zinnias and the Feast of the Immaculate Heart

Today has been perfectly beautiful in every respect.

Happy feast day!

An Unexpected Trip....

 ......a thousand miles away......

It was truly wonderful.

But it is also good to be home again.

Mandevilla.....

This was a plant I picked up a couple of weeks ago for just five dollars!

Gorgeous.

(~As long as I can keep the deer away, that is. They have already nipped off three buds that were just on the verge of blooming. Grrr!)

Peach Tart

I just pulled it out of the oven to cool a bit. The dinner dishes are almost done, and I am hoping to get a few minutes to put my feet up and enjoy a nice cup of tea! These past few days have been absolutely beautiful. Just like early autumn. Which brings me back to the peach tart. When the weather turns chilly my thoughts turn to pies and tarts and hot cider........bonfires and raking leaves and hot soups and stews.....

And you know the best thing about making up a tart or pie.....

....one can always set aside a modest piece to enjoy the next morning with a cup of coffee or tea.

Mmmm! :)

More Roses....

My Knight in S.A. certainly does spoil me....

Today has been overcast and breezy, with a definite nip in the air.~Feels more like late September than early August! But I must say that it is a welcome change after the oppressive heat we've experienced this summer. Perhaps we will have an early autumn...

....I would dearly love it, especially since it is my favorite season!

Summer Sun and Sea Shells

Feast Day Quote

"God commands you to pray,

but forbids you to worry."

~St. John Vianney

What I Would Like to Know....

.....is where on earth this day has gone!!!!

Feast of St. Dominic

I have a pot of St. Dominic's soup simmering on the stove. It's so nice to have dinner all prepared. Now I must get back to a bit of cleaning........and possibly a quick nap. Today really has turned out to be another "slow Saturday", and I love it!

Happy feast day!

My First Granny Square.....

It's not perfect.

And I stayed up 'til the wee hours last night completing it.

But I am so proud of it!!!

Just to think that as of yesterday afternoon, all I could crochet was a simple chain stitch!

It's all thanks to youtube and these wonderful lessons! 

Feast Day Quote

"All perfection consists in the love of God; and the perfection of divine love consists in the union of our will with that of God."

~St. Alphonsus Liguori,

in "Conformity to the Will of God"

Shopping Day.....

....and I am so exhausted!!!

But, I did happen to find some beautiful plants on sale (one of which is the gorgeous red geranium pictured above........Have I ever shared with you how much I love red geraniums?)......and a huge dusky~red pot that I intend to fill with beautiful botanical goodness soon.

And when I do, I'll share a picture.

I promise:)