Monday 16 May 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.

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Look what came in the post!  I bought it second hand on Amazon for a few pounds and all of the bits are there.   I have been collecting these and filling them up.  One day I hope to have one ready for each of the grandchildren.   My legacy I guess.  I won't have any money to leave them, thats for sure, but a cookbook filled with my favourite recipes and photographs might be a nice thing for them to have.

I think so at any rate!


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Finding remembrances such as these in my journal.   A message from my son in law sent to me on Mother's Day 2015, and a pressed wild daisy, buttercup and a feather I found one day when I was thinking about my Aunt Freda.  It was like a tiny message from above.   My journal is filled with little things like this.  I've been very slack about writing in it.  I need to do better.


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All of the promise held in  a packet of seeds.   Climbing French Beans.  Three colours.   Probably mostly green, but who knows!  Hoping to get them planted today.  I love fresh garden beans.  These are colourful for sure!  I wonder how many of the purple ones we will get.  This is so exciting!


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Petit Pois, Tomatoes and Marigolds . . .  all ready to go into my pots.  These will be my babies.  Just for me to take care of.    If they fail it will be all my fault.     I thought that the marigolds would help to keep the slugs away.  Slugs don't like marigolds.  I will put some in each pot.  That's my plan anyways!  We will see what happens!


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We got  a new BBQ on Saturday.  It was on sale.  That's the best time to buy things like this.   We hadn't planned on buying a BBQ on Saturday.  It was spontaneous.  We knew we wanted to get one before too much time passed as our old one was no more, so when we saw these marked half price, it was an offer we couldn't refuse.


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The District Elders came over and helped Todd to put it together.  They got it half done and realised there was a piece missing.   So they all toddled back to B&Q armed with the receipt and a photograph of it and the putting it together pages so that they could show them and get the piece.   At the end we had an extra ignighter button.  wierd that.   Made in China.

What isn't made in China these days.   This kind of thing frustrates, frightens and amazes me.  What happened to homegrown.  I feel we are doing ourselves a great disservice to outsource all of this stuff all the time.  No wonder we have high unemployment.


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You never know what you are going to find on your camera after you have let the Missionaries take charge of it to go to B&Q.  Elder Launer selfies.   haha    Made me laugh when I discovered them.   He is so cheeky.   He is our Swiss Elder.   He goes home in September.  He's an amazing artist and singer.  His grandmother is from South of  Montreal, Canada.  She moved there from Liverpool.  He says he has many fond memories of visiting there as a child.

We are having a BBQ here on Saturday for all of the Missionaries in our District.  Before the next transfers.  Undoubtedly we will be losing several of them to other areas and we wanted to christen the new BBQ while the group we have now are all still here.

I baked Rock Cakes on Saturday and must have been inspired to do so because by the end of the day they were all gone.   First the District Elders were here and then the Zone Leaders.  Life is busy and it is good.   I was happy that between Todd and them, the rock cakes disappeared.   Rock cakes are meant to be eaten on the day.  I loved that I had something fresh and tasty to share with them!  Its a good thing as Martha would say  . . .

 

I haven't forgotten the giveaway of my little painting.   Here are the comments sitting in a bowl, just waiting for one to be picked.  Who will it be . . .  not too many to choose from here, but that's okay.  These are all choice people and I wish I could send a little painting to each of them.

And the winner is  . . . . drum roll  . . .



Noëlle Perry-Earle!!  Wow, what a surprise!  Noelle lives in Halifax, but she used to live here in the UK.  Noelle you will have to send me your details so I can get this wee person off in the post to you asap!

I do wish I could send each of you one  . . .



One final thing.   This is a statue from the mortuary in St George, Utah.  It depicts an elderly woman going through the veil at the end of her life and emerging on the otherside as a young woman entering the Saviour's arms.  I just love this.  Welcome home . . .  welcome home.

Not in a hurry to go, but happy I have this to look forward to.

And with that I will leave you with a thought for the day . . .

Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄ƷღೋღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ
"It is by obedience that 
we gather light into our souls."
~Dieter F Uchtdorf
Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄ƷღೋღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ

Spiritual Enlightenment

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In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Layered Cobb Salad.  One of my favourites!

May your week ahead be filled with an abundance of small and wonderful things! Don't forget . . .  


═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ ⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ 


and I do too!


4 comments:

  1. I love the look of the cobb salad Marie. Yum to a good salad and to a new barbie.

    Dad fell again last night so we were back at the nursing home today.

    God bless your day.

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  2. So sorry to read about your dad's fall Suzan! I hope he is okay! ((((hugs))))oxo

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  3. Poor Suze:(

    Marie..happy for you and the new Barbq..you will put it to such good use!

    Very sweet note you received that yr:)

    Fun looking forward to what our seeds will do..it's freaking cold here!!

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  4. I did receive a very nice note that year Monique. From my son in law. Nothing this year. I try not to be disappointed. I have taken some pics of the gardening today and will reveal all tomorrow! ;-) xoxo

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