Lesson 962: Letter Carrier

 Hello, Readers.

Eloise, here,

delivering you a bit of good news.

The tomatoes are ripe!

We only have a few plants in pots,

but prefer the cherry tomato plants

so our resident gardener has lots to pick.

Between the teeny tomatoes

and her bean teepees,

Natalie is keeping quite busy

and her thumb polished green.

She painted up her old wagons this week.

Locals, 

if you see the wagons parked at the end of the driveway

with flowers in them,

stop and take some.

They are free!

If you see this machine parked at the end of my driveway

with this guy strapped inside,

he is NOT free.

From now until the snow flies

you'll catch us in the vineyards

going for 

(often shoeless)

rides.

Sam discovered hacky sacs this summer.

We told him old news.

We were aces in the 80s.

He and his teammates from

Wesleyville Post 571

will be playing in the state tournament

this weekend.

One correction to my earlier facebook post.

The game schedule switched

and we are playing Pittston

instead of Philipsburg.

Ellen Louise traveled to see Cousin Jack

and had a great trip to the big beach.

With so many things going on,

a once a week blog can't cover it all.

But a letter could.

Maybe you'll be receiving one of these

brightly colored envelopes in your mailbox soon.

Inspired by my two favorite books of 2026,

The Correspondent

and The Mailman

Natalie will be starting her 

Happy Mail project.

The act of practicing her printing

will help with the bit of the summer slide we see

every summer when she is away from her job.

It is much like what students experience

being out of the classroom for two months.

She becomes more echolalic

and she forgets how to spell some of her

known words.

In fact,

she started a stamp collection this week, too.

She picked the horses

and my favorite,

Mr. Rogers!

If you receive a Natalie Note,

please send her one back.

She absolutely loves to get mail!

If you want to get into reading,

or back into reading--

start with The Mailman.

I think it is a book 

everyone will enjoy

and learn a lot from.

Baseball before Books!

When the season is over,

I'll schedule a book party at the Lamp Post!

Have a great weekend!

Eloise

Lesson 961: A Me Moment

 Hello, Readers.

Eloise here,

if you look hard through the

smoky haze of wildfire smoke.

Our hearts go out to our Canadian friends.

How terrifying.

I spent the last few days wishing 

there was something I could do to help.

It is very hard for me to feel helpless

when someone is hurting.

It got me thinking about my worth as a person--

you know,

the Why Am I Here

kind of thought train.

Have I done enough in life?
Have I contributed positively to this world?

I was outside all day today--

unavoidable, really.

My plants needed me

and American Legion baseball

has commenced.

I was pondering life

while I stopped to spy on a bird nest,

built in the crook of a downspout

right outside of my childhood bedroom.

I was standing at my bean teepee

in my toe shoes,

camera strapped like a weapon crossbody,

book in hand

when the thought hit me: 

Right here

That's where I'm supposed to be--right here,

doing what a do.

It was quite A Me Moment.

Go a little further,

you can see my Princess Diana commemorative ring

my FitBit that tracks my steps, sleep, and heart rate,

and tracks of sourdough on my forearm.

a remnant of this morning's loaf prep.

Right here.

That's where we are all supposed to be.

In my Me Moments

you'll find me picking flowers

photographing wildlife--

We found twins this week!

And reading some books.

This book is excellent.

I'll probably do a post just on this book.

Others are having their Me Moments, too.

Penny got her photo taken at Pet Supplies Plus

for her birthday!

Gus had his birthday two days later.

Natalie is happy with her first CSA delivery!

The Wizard was out when the guys drove through

Leeper, PA.

Always a thrill.

The gamers of the house also won big

at the Cherry Festival.

We made out annual outing

for a doughboy,

some BINGO,

and a game or two.

Three Pill Game wins

and two BINGOs

made us head home with our 

winnings.

Ellen had a Lucky find, too,

with a drink she took up 

to a weekend trip.

--A collab with Pet Rescues!

My Sis had a Me Moment

and earned her Iron Man medal

with these two teammates.

Kenyan is one tough lady

and 

Eloise is one tired lady.

We play an early game tomorrow

so I am going to dream of rain

and a land free from smoke and fire--

unless the bats iginite tomorrow.

That will be fine.

Praying for our Canadian friends.

Eloise

Lesson 960: Little House

Hello, Readers.

Eloise here,

wishing you a happy summer. 

It's been going well at my house,

The Lamp Post.

The lake has been beautiful.
Here is the sunset from

the little blue cottage

on July 4th.

An eagle flew over us right before sunset.

Happy Birthday, America!

We've been busy with American kind of things this month:

Ellen was not celebrating USA's big birthday stateside.

She was in Italy for a week!

Check out her best photos on her 

social media accounts.

This little house has been overflowing with activity.

It has been the biggest producer of flowers this summer!

We love flowers!

It's taken two summers,

but we finally got our hollyhock!

We saved seeds from our giant zinna from last year.

We named it Sam.

His offspring bloomed again,

towering above the others.

On the subject of giants,

Natalie is trying her green thumb with some pumpkins

this year.

We got this one for fun.

Cinderella may have to go to the ball on a skateboard--

this is all he's grown.

Natalie loves labeling her plants.

Evidence of Natalie's touches

are all around.

Her butterfly garden is coming in nicely this year.

Last year it was a flop.

These are the American Legion poppies

she is pretty proud of.

We got one strawflower

and it is so unique and beautiful.

The Forget Me Nots 

are coming up around Josie's grave.

We have them timed to bloom on her 

the day she died--

which was also the day Hazel was born.

That is also the stump of one of the 22 ash trees

we lost due to the emerald ash borer in 2020.

The ash tree is regenerating!

We have a lot to learn from the land,

and it is fun trying

and failing

and trying again.

That's what the pioneers did--

just like the Ingalls family.

I pre-gamed and reread this book 

on Monday to be ready for the Netflix reboot

of the 1970s and 80s tv show.
It ran for 9 seasons!

It has been extremely interesting watching the new portrayal.

I've spent much of the week in rabbit holes

looking up different perspectives,

particularly of the Osage tribe.

I highly recommend watching,

and reading, of course.

Speaking of reading,

I am having a Book Party as soon

as American Legion baseball is over.

Look for announcements as to the time 

in a week or two.

Come to the Lamp Post for the best book-sharing session around.

I'll have plenty of sourdough for you to snack on

and you will leave with a long reading list

and a bouquet of flowers!

Here's is my favorite summer reading spot

in my little house--

the front porch swing with my soft blankey.

It's the best spot to watch the sun rise

and begin the day with a story.

I'm almost done with my summer saga.

It's soo good!'

Here's my evidence from the text as to why.

Funny thing is that I'm reading Covenant of Water

next to my dry creek bed.

I started this one today, too.

Anyone else reading this 

very entertaining

and well written true story?

Headed to watch another episode of Little House.

Let me know in the comments if you are watching it too!

Eloise