This Perfectly Imperfect Life

It's late July in my garden, and the Coneflowers are blooming away! I can't get enough of taking photos of them, every day, at different times of day, in different light. There aren't as many of them this year, so I'll have to be sure to save seeds and get them planted for next. Soon, the Zinnias will be blooming, and as the coneflowers wane, my focus will switch to them, and their colorful, happy faces. The late Summer and Autumn garden has always been my favorite! What's blooming in your garden now? #dirttherapy #summertime #gardenwalk #julygarden #summergarden #apartmentgarden #coastalgarden #inmygardentoday #simplepleasuresgreatestjoy #myperfectlyimperfectview #thisperfectlyimperfectlife 

With everything going on, (see prev post) I forgot to post this 🤦🏻‍♀️ With Memorial Day now behind us, aka the unofficial start of Summer, it's officially time for Summer Reading y'all 🎉 And while beach reads are pretty great, lakeside reads are pretty sweet too ☺️ Happy Summer Reading!  #summerreads #lakesidereads #summerreading #bookish #booknerd #bookworm #bookstagram #bookclub #bookblogger #readinglife #readersofinstagram #reading #mayreads #junereads #frommyshelf #beachreads  #myperfectlyimperfectview #thisperfectlyimperfectlife @mgablewriter @stmartinspress

#READSavannah has come & gone, and I have so much to tell you, but first I have to finish wrapping my mind around it all.  A big shout-out to Marybeth Mayhew Whalen and Ariel Lawhon of SheReads for making it happen! What an amazing and inspiring experience. The people I met - readers and authors alike! If I go on there will just be too many "!!!" right now. (And please send some healing love & prayers out to Marybeth who hit a "bump in the road" so to speak on her way home from Savannah). *I already had Truly Madly Guilty, but since #LianeMoriarty was the keynote and it's her latest, I had to include it here! (She signed The Husband's Secret).

September morning's are so quiet... Especially with "Hermine" (the Labor Day storm that wasn't) still off our shores keeping things cloudy and gusty. Well, it's quiet... Once the garbage truck comes & goes (can you spot it in the bottom photo?), and the school buses finish their routes, and the commuters are done streaming down our road to & fro the highway & ferry, and the bluejays have their morning fights over the acorns... 😉 But after all That! Then it takes on a kind of quiet that only seems to happen in the fall. 💛 Find joy in your day no matter what!

What an amazing morning! Took a tour of the sailing ship "America" (a replica of the original) which was anchored just outside the mouth of the harbor (due to low tide). I haven't been on a boat since I was a kid, so the boat ride to and from the America, and seeing part of our beautiful town from the water for the first time (though we've lived here over a decade), as well as the tour and history, was a fantastic experience! I hope you're all having a fabulous Saturday and find joy in your day no matter what - especially in new and unexpected ways! 

Happy Saturday! It has been a rough, rough couple of weeks, with being sick and with trying to work the kinks out in mother's new home care routine, all on top of a major RA pain flareup. But, this morning I picked what I'm thinking are the last two cukes (since despite some flowers the vines are turning pale) and they're sliced up & in the jar pictured above now. Me I'm back on the couch under a throw blanket, sipping soup & nibbling saltines as my sinus infection has roared back up before it was even gone 😝😷🤒 Hope y'all are well! Find joy in your day no matter what! 💚

Having a day. Being a spoonie + being caregiver kind of having a day.  Exhausted. Overwhelmed. Ugly crying. Clueless. Anger returning. Trying to keep my head above water, but after all of these months, starting to slip under.  Thankful it's not as hot here today so I could spend some time in the garden. It is my great comfort.  

Good morning & happy Friday! Find joy in your day no matter what ☺️🙏🏻🙌🏻  #goodmorning #happyfriday #upheavalintorevival #findjoy #simplepleasuresgreatestjoy #autumnjoysedum #sedum #gardenwalk #augustgarden #summergarden #latesummergarden #mygarden #inmygardentoday #apartmentgarden #containergarden #summer #summertime #august #nofilter #thisperfectlyimperfectlife

Belated good morning & happy Tuesday! Snapped this right before heading over to mom's side of the #perfectlyimperfecthomestead to get her ready for her first day of adult care. So far it's reminding me of when I was a little girl and I hated going to summer camp: lots of crying and protesting 🙁 But it's what I expected and I'm not surprised, as sad as it is. Fingers crossed it won't be like this every time she's scheduled to go, but I won't get my hopes up. Regardless it will be a relief for me to have her there, she absolutely needs the programs they have in order to stay healthy & functioning until and while the long term home care process begins in a couple of weeks. Plus this and the home aid gives me peace of mind and some much needed break, because this ole spoonie is running on E! Find joy in your day no matter what! #upheavalintorevival #goodmorning #happytuesday #sunrise #august #summer #summertime #augustgarden #summergarden #mygarden #inm...

Today I'm sharing with you The Gilly Salt Sisters by Tiffany Baker, my fifth 5 star read of the year! Genre: Fiction Synopsis from the publisher, Grand Central Publishing, first trade edition paperback March 2013: "In the isolated Cape Cod village of Prospect, the Gilly sisters are as different as can be. Jo, a fierce and quiet loner, is devoted to the mysteries of her family's salt farm, while Claire is popular, pretty, and yearns to flee the salt at any cost. But the Gilly land hides a dark legacy that proves impossible to escape. Although the community half-suspects the Gilly sisters might be witches, it doesn't stop Whit Turner, the town's wealthiest bachelor, from forcing his way into their lives. It's Jo who first steals Whit's heart, but it is Claire-heartbroken over her high school sweetheart-who marries him.  Years later, estranged from her family, Claire finds herself thrust back onto the farm with the last person she would have chosen...

The Gilly Salt Sisters - Review coming soon! What's everyone #reading on this #summer #Sunday?  Any recommendations for coastal lit with a great sense of place?  #bookrec  #bookworm #booknerd #bookstagram #bookphotography #summerreads #summerreading #julyreads #booksofsummer #readinglife #frommyshelf #thisperfectlyimperfectlife 

Good morning and happy Sunday! #Sundayblessings #Sunday #morning #hostas #hosta #gardenwalk #summergarden #julygarden #thisperfectlyimperfectlife

Today I'm sharing with you Last Ride to Graceland by Kim Wright , one of the SheReads.org   Books of Summer , and my fourth 5 star read of the year. Genre : Fiction (Southern lit) Synopsis from the publisher, Gallery Books, first trade paperback edition May 2016 : "In Kim Wright's delightful novel, blues musician Cory Ainsworth is barely scraping by after her mother's death when she discovers a priceless piece of rock 'n' roll memorabilia hidden away in a shed out back of the family's South Carolina home: Elvis Presley's Stutz Blackhawk, its interior a time capsule of the singer's last day on earth. A backup singer for the King, Cory's mother, Honey, was at Graceland the day Elvis died. She returned home pregnant to South Carolina and married her high school sweetheart. Yearning to uncover the secret's of her mother's past - and possibly her own identity - Cory decides to drive the car back to Memphis and turn it over to Elvi...

Front porch. As the sun set last night, I found myself among my plants again, where I usually turn when I'm at a loss, or need comfort, and I couldn't help but wonder if there will ever be a day or week without a horrifying tragedy now in our world? Last week Dallas (US) while we were away for a couple of days, last night, Nice (France). It's bad enough when our personal worlds are in a state of upheaval. Deeply sad, and afraid for the world. Again. Still. I've always believed love trumps hate. I'm not sure what's happening anymore in the world at large 💔 #upheavalintorevival #morelovelesshate

I'm not actually a day late and a dollar short, yesterday's post disappeared! But, that's alright because now I have a couple of more photos to share with you from my  garden taken later in the day yesterday, and this morning. The solid yellow rose is 'Julia Child' floribunda, and the multicolor rose is 'Love & Peace' hybrid tea. (Many more photos on my Instagram !) Do you garden? What are the stars in your garden right now? (PS: How is it June already?! 2016 needs to slow down a bit).

We remember and honor the brave souls who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy our Freedom.  Please take at least a moment to remember them and their families. We are able to enjoy this unofficial start of Summer because of their sacrifices.  Remember and Honor our Fallen, and give Memorial Day and our Fallen the proper Respect they deserve.  **And please remember, it is not appropriate to say "Happy Memorial Day" it's "Honor Memorial Day."**

Hello friends! Yes, I'm still here, but this Summer has been on the hectic side, medically and otherwise, so, without meaning to, TPIL has been on hiatus. (And I've been mostly off social media as well). Hopefully after this coming week, things will begin to settle down some, and then I can find my way back here again. I have finally, FINALLY started writing my book though, so that's exciting news! In the mean time, you can find me on Instagram (see the right hand column). I hope Summer has been full of blessings for you!

I originally shared the following post in 2012 (click here ) and because I'm making it today and love it so much, I wanted to share it again with you now: I originally posted this recipe in 2009 (click here for that post). I still have no precise measurements - it's all a matter of what and how much you like any one thing!  (I love cooking this way and that's why my baking doesn't always turn out so well LOL!)  Today I added chopped zukes, fresh corn from the cob and diced chicken to what's listed below.  You can also use a pre-bottled red wine vinaigrette dressing instead of the one listed below as well. Don't like the veggies I've used? Switch them for the ones you do!  Or use whatever you have on hand .  There's so much you can do with a pasta salad to make it a great, healthy meal for a hot day. A big change I've made to the original recipe is to keep the dressing separate from the pasta salad and toss it with individual bowls vs with...

New Jersey summers are infamous for many reasons like the shore and tomatoes, but unless you live here, you may not know the biggest one. To say that it is stifling outside is the understatement of the summer so far. The humidity is shocking and suffocating. Disgusting. Stunning. Oppressive. Sickening. Breath taking. And not in a good way.  I gasped loudly when I walked out into it this morning and got assaulted by air thick enough to bite it's so dense with moisture. Thank goodness for small favors and it's not hot too.  Here on the bayshore at the Portable Homestead, and up at the lake, everything is damp to the touch or sticky. Bed linens and curtains have to be washed more frequently now or they'll smell sour, like sweat. Powdery mildew (mold) will soon be sprouting up on anything that's made of real wood or leather, an unwelcome annual ritual we've learned to live with because we can't keep it from happening, no matter what we've trie...

What a fantastic Independence Day so far!  Cool, mostly cloudy, some rain most of the day. Now it's turned into the perfect Summer late afternoon! Clear, sunny, not a stitch of humidity to be had and a refreshing on-shore breeze. Did I mention the Quiet?! Quiet days here at the Portable Homestead are rare and downright lovely, and the weather has only enhanced the peacefulness of the day, so we don't mind one bit that it hasn't been not hot and sunny on this 4th of July. A lazy morning spent sleeping in, then venturing into town for breakfast just ahead of the shore crowds. More lazing around once we returned home, watching tv, watering and tidying up in the garden, even a load or two of laundry, then hot dogs on the grill with fresh tomato onion cuke salad for lunch. Reading Dollbaby by Laura Lane McNeal, set around Independence Day. So glad Hubbs has been able to relax today after a busy day off yesterday! He doesn't get too much relaxing ...