A scrapbook that just sort of grew
Over the years along with you,
without a set of rules or plan,
Just a plain tale that somehow ran
From birth to death in bright array,
The small events from day to day.
A Christmas card that took your eye,
A recipe for raisin pie,
The picture of a prairie town;
A young boy in a cap and gown,
The spittin' image of his dad,
When he was just a half-grown lad.
A post card frayed and worn a bit
And yet how much you treasure it,
Because it came one lonely dawn
When all your faith and hope was gone,
It's happy message "Cheer Up, Mum,
Hold down the old place til I come."
A golden wedding briefly told,
A picture of a four-year-old
Blowing her birthday candles out;
A grandma growing nice and stout,
All dressed up for some affair,
In a new dress and lovely hair.
And here between these happy ones
A recipe for raisin buns,
A way to mend old table cloths,
And what to do to rid out moths;
A snap of grandad if you please
pruning his precious lilac trees.
A record sort of hit or miss
Of joy and sorrow . . . tears and bliss,
Of weddings . . . funerals . . . holidays,
Marching along Earth's varied ways,
A scrap book that just sort of grew
Over the years . . . along with you.
~Edna Jacques
I've shared the poetry of Edna Jacques on here before. She is probably my most loved poetess of all time . . . next to Emily Dickenson that is . . . partly because she was Canadian . . . and partly because her poems were some of the first ones I ever fell in love with. There was an old green book in our small bookcase at home . . . entitled "Fireside Poems." I remember reading the words on it's pages often and then my mother gave it to me one year and I carried it with me back and forth across the expanse of Canada. It disappeared on one of my moves and I was very distressed to have lost it. I found another copy several years ago and was able to purchase it. It cost a lot more than I would ever have dreamed of paying for a book like this . . . but I paid it because it was filled with happy hours and memories spent . . . but not the least it filled my heart with memories of my mother, and a childhood spent devouring it's words and taking them in to my heart. Money well spent.
I meant to show you this yesterday. Progress on the bathroom. Pipes were replaced with copper ones and the floor well and truly finished off and ready for the final flooring. Yesterday all of the plumbing pipes in the bath were covered over and boxed in, again in preparation of the final flooring. The tiling is all done except for the grouting. I think they said the electrician was going to be in on Monday to do the wiring. I think there has to be a special light and of course the shower itself is electric.
Many thanks from Todd for all the lovely Birthday Greetings yesterday. He had quite a few on Facebook as well, and a few cards through the letter box and my mom and dad each called him from Canada. All the thoughtfulness of each person that stopped to spend a few precious moments in their day to give him these Happy Birthday wishes meant the world to him, and to me.
I am off to Tesco this morning to trade in my vouchers which I sadly exchanged for frozen good vouchers thinking that I was doing a good thing as their value doubled. Little did I know that I would only have until the end of this weekend to spend them (whereas the original ones gave me til 2014) and that I would have to spend £10 of my own in Frozen Food to get the £10 for each voucher. I would not do that again, as now I am going to have to scramble to try to fit £60 of frozen food into my freezer. But I am stubborn and I will NOT lose them! I worked too hard to save them up!
(Source: wasbella102, via wistfullycountry)
A thought for today . . .
It's possible to forget how alive we really are. We can become dry and tired, just existing, instead of really living. WE need to remind ourselves of the juice of life, and make that a habit. Find those places inside that jump for joy, and do things.
~anon
Happy day all!
Baking in The English Kitchen today . . . Everyday Maple, Bran & Sultana Muffins!
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