Monday 18 January 2016

Small and Wonderful Things . . .


 


"The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But who gets excited by a mere penny?...It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. what you see is what you get." ~Anne Dillard 

A few of the small and wonderful things which bring untold joy into my life. It's the small things in life which truly mean the most. Simple abundance . . . it's the best.

 

I have a new pillow!  Yay!  For the past few months, my old pillow was falling apart.  All of a sudden, all of the stuffing in it had kind of broken up and so I kept having to wake up and flip it around numerous times every night.  Finally . . .  I was able to get a new one on Saturday and I've slept like a baby ever since.  I got one specifically for people who sleep on their stomach. I got it at Dunelm and it was only £9.99, which isn't an awful lot for a pillow.



Series six of Call the Midwife started last night.  I won't tell you anything that was in it because I don't want to spoil it for any North Americans, but I'll just say this, they have NEW Uniforms and they're cute, cute, CUTE!  Oh, and bring a hankie.  I blubbered through about half of it!

So happy that this series is back again.  It's so very well done and we both really enjoy it.   The only negative thing I might say about it is that there are not enough episodes! We want MORE! haha





I sold an art print from my Etsy Shop at the weekend, which means I can pay my Etsy bill now.  I listed a bunch of things last week and you have to pay 20p for each listing.  I was worried I wouldn't sell anything and would  have to take the money from out of our budget to pay the bill.   20p might not seem like much, but in reality, when you are living on a very limited budget all the 20p's add up!

I also got some money from LuLu Press, which means I sold some of my Recipes From the Big Blue Binder Cook Books as well.  Whew!  God is good!

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Winter has arrived and brought with it, it's own pleasures.   I find simple joys in each of the seasons.  In Winter it is the luxury of warm blankets and hot soup.  The roaring of the fire which works in so very well with the tickings of our clocks.  Good books and herbal teas . . . that special light in the sky when the sun shines.  It's weak . . .  faded perhaps, but still beautiful.  The puffiness of the birds in the garden.  The robins.  We see more of them in the Winter than at any other time of year and they are bold and friendly.  Not shy at all.


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Sunday Night Skype Dates with Eileen.  Well, date.  We had our first one last night.   We had not been able to find each other online before at the same time.  Last night all our stars were aligned and we made it!  It was fun and so good to see my baby girl in person.  Well, she is not a baby anymore, she's 39 now, which is hard to believe.  In my heart she will always be my baby girl.  I suppose we feel that way about all of our children.  They may grow up and move away from home . . .  become husbands and wives and parents themselves, but  . . . they are always our babies.  (That's my first ever selfie.  I was not good at it then, and I am not good at it now!)

And that's it for my small and wonderfuls for this week!  Oh for sure there have been many, many more.  My cup doth always overflow.

 A thought to carry with you through today  . . .

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄ƷღೋღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄ƷღೋღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
“There are two important days in a woman’s life: 
The day she is born and the day she finds out why.” 
~Elaine Cannon
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄ƷღೋღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄ƷღೋღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Spiritual Enlightenment

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Cooking in The English Kitchen today   . . .  Spicy Potato Tacos.  Delicious!


May the week ahead of you be filled with loads of small and wonderful things! Don't forget . . .

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ ⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
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And I do too!



11 comments:

  1. Good morning Marie,

    God bless your day. He has blessed mine as Bethany is safely home. I haven't had much chance to speak with her yet but we will catch up sometime in the next few days. I am glad you managed to speak with Eileen.

    Isn't a new pillow a treat?

    Suzan

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  2. So happy to hear that Bethany is home safe and sound Suzan! What a load off your mind that must be! xoxo

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  3. Hi, dear Marie! Inspiring, as always to be here seeing what's happening in your world--and not least creatively too! So very good to be back here, and to be catching up with you. I've been in a post-holidays slump and down a tech issues rabbit hole... ((LOVE & HUGS)) P.S. can't wait to see the new series of Call the Midwife...weeeee!! :)

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  4. Yes, you are always a season ahead of us. I just watched the 3rd episode of Downton Abby here last night. I'm sad that this is the final season. Will look forward to seeing the Midwives when they come here too.
    Hope you have a wonderful Monday.

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  5. My family are anxious for the series to start here. I think it does this week.

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  6. Swwwet sweet face!
    I can't wait for CTM..although I have a few things going on TV wise;) But I adore that show..if I had to ick THE one ..it's that one.

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  7. Thanks for the one-up on the next season of Call the Midwife. Can't wait!

    And yes, it's wonderful to find a new pillow that you actually like. I unfortunately bought what I thought were very good pillows for me ..... only to find out from my massage therapist that it was very bad for my neck and shoulder pain. Oh well! I went with the $10 ones next time, and they'll do!

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  8. So pleased you got a new pillow, never knew that there was a special pillow for different lying positions, wonderful that at last your getting a good sleep...I was absolutely over the moon to be watch the midwife..and the story was wonderfully done, I won't say more either !!!...roll on next week....

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  9. Tracy so good to see a comment from you! I hate tecchie problems and with your husband working in IT, that must have been pretty bad for there to be so much trouble working out the kinks! I hope you are out of your slump now! Love and hugs! xoxo

    It's the best Suzan!xo

    It's THE one for me too Monique! Bummed about Downton ending, but hoping that CTMW goes on forever! What are the chances?? xoxo

    WE allowed ourselves to get talked into getting some really expensive pillows when we bought our bed Sandy, and they were the worst ever. They spend their lives in the linen cupboard. I like my cheap pillow. Its great! xoxo

    Wasn't it just a wonderful story Sybil! I cried and cried! I love it when a show can touch your heart in that way and this always does. xoxo

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  10. I think I need to get both my husband and I new pillows. We finally got a new mattress not long ago. Our old one was not good at all. I love the new one. I think it is awesome that you are selling some of your creative projects. You are so amazing; I think you should be making a lot of money. You are so talented I so many ways.
    I haven't watched the MIdwives but I am sure I would love it. I am not sure if we get that channel or not. We don't really get much time to watch anything. However, my grandmother was a nurse and had a maternity home and of course, I am a nurse; so I am sure I would love this one.
    You are so right our babies are always our babies. I don't think they get that until they are a bit older.
    Sending hugs and love your way!

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  11. My great grandmother was a Midwife LeAnn! I know you would love this program. I am pretty sure that it is broadcast on the PBS stations! I have almost all but given up on my artwork ever amounting to anything. People with talent are a dime a dozen these days and a lot of art is done using computer graphics. I can't do that. I just do what I do by hand and nobody wants it. Oh well! I enjoy doing it regardless! Love and hugs! xoxo

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