Sunday 26 June 2016

Let us think of happy things . . .


  

"Come, Let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things."
~Chaim Potok

After all the negativity being spouted on FB and on the Telly and well, just everywhere I look at the moment, I am going to flood my blog with happy things, or things that make me happy.

Life is too short.


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Under the sweet-peas I stood 
And drew deep breaths, 
they smelt so good. 
Then, with strange enchanted eyes, 
I saw them change to butterflies. 


Higher than the skylark sings 
I saw their fluttering crimson wings 
Leave their garden-trellis bare 
And fly into the upper air. 


Standing in an elfin trance 
Through the clouds I saw them glance…. 
Then I stretched my hands up high 
And touched them in the distant sky. 


At once the coloured wing came back 
From wandering in the zodiac. 
Under the sweet-peas I stood 
And drew deep breaths. 
They smelt so good. 
~Alfred Noyes, a Child's Vision


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The ladies of Cranford.  What a lovely show that was.  We have it on DVD and revisit it often.  Nobody does vintage escapism quite like the BBC.   I love all of their vintage dramas.


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Of course they aren't the only ones to do vintage drama well.  ITV brought us Downton Abby, and that is another great way to escape.


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Country walks . . .  myself, Todd and the dog and nothing but blue skies over head and the crunch  of dry grass beneath our feets, and the bird chattering in the tree tops . . . the whisper of unseen worlds beneath the hedgerows as they rustle to and fro . . .

I used to so enjoy our walks when we lived down South . . .  just outside our doorway.  We spent many happy hours doing just that with our Jess.

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She didn't need to be on a lead.  There was no place for her to get into trouble, no road, no cars . . .  just open countryside.  Good times  . . .


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Chives from the garden.  They go so well in so many things.  My father had a big chive patch when we were growing up.   He had them in a large cement planter at the top of our drive.  He so loved them in sandwiches and all sorts.  I think I get my love of them from him.  A lovely oniony taste without the harshness of a raw onion.  I like chives!

And their flowers!


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Do you remember doing this when you were a child?   These two things . . .  a clothespin and a piece of cardboard . . .  had the capacity to turn any bicycle into a roaring machine of power.  Again  . . .  good times!


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Snuffle time.  Is anything on earth so sweet?


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Belly snuffles . . .  yep, yep, yep!


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Baking pies  . . .  what's your favourite?   I am not sure I could choose really.  It would be between Lemon Meringue and Cherry . . .  but then a slice of apple pie and cheese is nice, and so is a slice of strawberry rhubarb.  Oh heck!  Can I have a slice of each please?  And don't be stingy with the coconut cream pie!

I just love pie!


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melt  . . .  melt . . .  melt . . .


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Oh yes  . . .  could listen to them clucking and scratching all the day through . . .


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 Oh, mmm . . . yes, please!  Homemade if its not too much trouble!


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Lots of happy berry picking memories.  Did you pick wild strawberries?  Oh those wild strawberries were so sweet . . .  small as a baby fingernail, but so much flavour in those tiny berries.  They used to grow along the railway track which ran behind the two bedroom house we lived in when I was a girl, back in Gimli, Manitoba.  One of life's pleasures is a bowl of fresh berries, with a light dusting of sugar and some real cream poured over top.  Sigh  . . .

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 Heavenly avenues . . . wherever will we end up.  I hope there's a pub at the end of the lane where we can have a sit down and a cold glass of lemonade.


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Thought of good friends.


I cannot even imagine 
where I would be today 
were it not for that handful of friends 
who have given me a heart full of joy. 
Let's face it, friends make life a lot more fun.
~Charles R Swindoll


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 There, I feel better now. Don't you?

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 Baked Lemon Donuts.  In the English Kitchen today  . . .

 And really, this is one of the things in life which matters most  . . . and which will never change.

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and what makes it even better is  . . .  I do too! ;-)

Happy Sunday!


4 comments:

  1. Yum. The donuts look delicious. I could eat some of those. I am craving sweets as it is cold here. It was 4 this morning and we don't have heating. So after we visited dad I made some leek, potato, English spinach and garlic chive soup. Yum. I quite pleased with this batch,

    Have a blessed Sunday.

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  2. It is wonderful to think on good things, it makes you appreciate what you have. Hope you have a blessed Sunday !

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  3. They were very delicious Suzan, and not as bad as fried donuts. A little bit of what brings a smile to the face does the mind a lot of good. Your soup sounds delicious and just the thing to make you feel warm! Hugs and blessings! xoxo

    I hope your Sunday is likewise blessed Pam! xoxo

    I love that little three holed vase of mine Monique. It always makes me smile, especially when filled with sweet peas! xoxo

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