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I come across old lists that I have made
A list of baking for the ladies' aid,
A note pinned on the wall lest I forget,
To pay some little unaccustomed debt,
A grocery list for Dad's next trip to town,
A list of trimmings for a brand new gown.
A pair of hinges for the hen house door,
A can of paint to do the kitchen floor,
A list of seeds from a new catalogue,
(And Jimmy wants a collar for his dog)
Grandma a bag of old Scotch peppermints,
And sister wants some samples of new prints.
Here is a list I made one day last year,
Of some old friends who live not far from here,
I vowed I'd visit every one in turn,
And take my time at every house and learn
How they were getting on and stay a bit
And yet I never got around to it.
I listed trips I'd like to take some day
To ancient countries dim and far away,
The Holy Land perhaps . . . the British Isles,
Or maybe Paris and her lovely styles,
Rome on her seven hills and if I'd dare
A little camping trip in France somewhere.
Old words and phrases on a frayed old list
Just to remind me of the things I've missed.
~Edna Jacques, Lists
The Golden Road, 1953
I have always been a list maker. When I was a child I would make lists of what I was going to do at the weekend or on my summer holidays, books I wanted to read, things I wanted to do when I grew up, etc. As an adult and young wife and mother, there would be other lists, and it delights me when I happen upon them. A list of gifts to save up to give to the children at Christmas time, a list of clothes to purchase before the start of school, grocery lists, menu plans, housekeeping lists, lists of chores, etc. I have always had such plans.
I still make lists. Prayer lists. To do lists. Wish lists. Dream lists. Recipe plan lists, things I don't want to forget, etc. I am looking at one right now, a list of things I want my sister to add to an order we are planning on making online.
Are you or have you ever been a list maker? What are your favorite kinds of lists to make?
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Dad and Maryann enjoyed their little outing yesterday afternoon. Although they are not a "couple," they are very cute together. Dad is looking frailer these days. He does have mobility problems, but he does what he can. He needs to rest frequently as he goes about doing things or going places. We noticed yesterday that his trousers are getting too big for him, so he is losing weight, although he does eat three meals a day. He has his breakfast in the morning, which my sister prepares for him, and then if he is not going to Tim Hortons he will have a sandwich or some such for his lunch. If he goes to Timmies he has a donut there with his cup of tea. My sister cooks him a lovely supper every night. He has a snack in the evening.
I can remember sitting on the sofa with my sister when we were teenagers watching my father run on the spot. They always had fitness requirements in the Military and a fitness test they would need to pass each year. He would be practicing for the running one by running on the spot in our living room. I can remember him making faces as he did so, tongue hanging out like he was dead tired, etc. I remember laughing at the faces he made.
It is hard to watch your parents get old and frail. The roles seem to reverse as they age. Those who were once the caregivers become the ones who need care. I know my father is blessed to have children who do whatever they can for him.
I don't do much for him really, my sister does the most, but for the things I do have an opportunity to do for him, I feel it is a great privilege.
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The crocus are beginning to show their pretty little heads again. Each day brings a few more of these pretty little delights. I don't have any here myself, but I do so appreciate the ones that I see on lawns and in gardens here in the valley as I drive past. They are a cheery spark of color after the dull and colorless months of Winter. They are such hardy little souls. Enduring the cold nights and mornings. It is not truly consistently warm out and yet there they are to delight us. Harbingers of hope and warm days to come.
Cindy and I were talking yesterday about how long it has been since we have seen a lady slipper. I remember seeing them as a child and knowing not to pick them. I remember also finding a robin's nest in a tree once, filled with little blue eggs. I knew also not to touch the eggs.
Occasionally you will find the broken shell of one on the ground. I like to think that it is there because the chick has hatched its way out into the world and that we will soon be blessed with a new robin's song.
I have not seen any robins yet this season, but I am sure that many people have. It is early days yet.
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I am a half full glass kind of girl. Most of the time anyways. I am not perfect and sometimes I do let myself down with a less than stellar attitude, but most of the time I am able to find the blessing, the positive, the up rather than the down.
Sometimes it can take a lot of digging, but by working at it, day by day, you will find that your life begins to transform from one of lack into one of abundance.
That is where I find myself now. Living a life of abundance. It is the best way to live your life. Abundance it not having everything you want. Abundance is having everything you need and wanting everything that you already have. Abundance is being able to give back some of what you have been given and to be able to do so joyfully and without thought or regret.
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Life. It can batter us whether we are rich or poor, famous or infamous. Life is no respecter of persons. The rain falls on the righteous and unrighteous alike. Sometimes the wounds are nothing more than a scratch and at other times they can be a slow, silent hemorrhage of the soul. Some people handle change with ease, whilst even the smallest of changes can devastate another.
We can all experience days where we can feel small, fragile and afraid. On days like that we need to know enough to be kind to ourselves. We would be kind to another who was feeling in this way, why can we not find some compassion for ourselves?
Remember always that your feelings are valid. They matter. Love yourself the same as you would love anyone else in the same situation. Take time to care about you and your feelings, not to the exclusion of anyone else's, but do remember that you matter also. Hug yourself. You don't have to do everything and be everything for everyone else. It is also okay to just do and be for yourself from time to time. Buy yourself flowers. Take a few hours to pamper yourself in whatever way you need to feel pampered. This can be as simple as popping a bag of popcorn and putting on your favorite feel-good movie to watch. Running a bath and lighting the candles. Putting your phone on silent. Being there for yourself.
As Martha would say, it's a good thing.
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Someone remarked on one of my food posts the other day, "what the heck" had I done to the green beans. The post was not about the green beans, but about the chicken that was sitting next to it. We live in a world where everyone has an opinion on everything and is not afraid to voice it, often in such a way as to try to drown out the smaller kinder voice next to it. I guess people are just not kind anymore. Oh, not everyone. There are still plenty of kind people about, but the unkind people shout louder. It is like they have this need to lace whatever kind words they might share with a taste of venom. It can often be distressing. The comment went like this . . . "The chicken looks tasty, but what the heck did you do to the green beans?" That's like saying to someone, "What a pretty dress. It's too bad you have such fat knees."
We are surrounded these days by good people who watch horror going on around them but say and do nothing to combat it. There is a very famous saying that goes like this . . . “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men should do nothing.” Millions of Jews were murdered because good men did nothing, and yet at the same time, many Jews were saved because some good people did something, often putting themselves at risk to do so.
This is the same world we are living in today. Please don't be a good person who does nothing. Don't be afraid to speak up for what is right. Kindness is much more than simply doing or saying nothing. Being kind is an action word. Let your kind voice shout louder than the unkind one next to you. May it be heard and counted.
This is just my two cents worth.
And with that I best finish this off for today. I know I have not said a lot today. Cindy and I are going out to do a bit of grocery shopping this morning and I have a few things I need to get done first.
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A thought to carry with you . . .
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˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
*.The great way to get on with a cat is to
treat it as an equal -- or better yet, as
the superior it knows itself to be.
~Elizabeth Peters ° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
In The English Kitchen today . . . Cinnamon Churro Muffins served with a Hot Chocolate Sauce. Deliciously delightful. A real treat.
I hope that you have a beautiful weekend. Be happy. Stay safe. Be blessed. Whatever you get up to, don't forget!
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And I do too!
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And I do too!
