Sunday 29 April 2018

Sunday this and that . . .


I thought I had not shown you a picture of Mitzie in a long time, so I set aside some time to take a few of her yesterday afternoon. She's become very obedient. She sat very still for me. I just told her to sit and then stay, and she did. I think they turned out quite nice. Mitzie is the queen of our house, just as our Jess was. 


 It's hard to believe that she has grown so much since she came to live with us. She is so very loved as you can imagine. I had not thought that I would ever be able to love a dog as much as we had loved Jess . . . but we do! A good friend of ours just had to have her furry family member put down. She was a little Jack Russell terrier and 13 years old. Just a few months ago she was full of vim and vigor, but this last week we saw the light go out of her eyes, and she had stopped eating completely and only lay in her bed and slept. She was wasting away, and so a decision had to be made. That is always such a hard one to have to make . . . but in truth she had already gone from our friend, and it was painful to watch her going down. She didn't appear to be suffering at all, but there was no life left in her . . .  


Not like this little madam. We had to go out and get her a new bed this week as she had scratched the whole bottom out of her old one. It had only been a cheap one we picked up at the market and the bottom was only cheap fabric. You know how dogs like to scrunch up their beds before they lay down . . . well she had scrunched all the way through the bed. She won't be able to do it to this one. It cost a pretty penny and the bottom is well stuffed, with a nice big fluffy mattress. Todd remarked that she is more comfortable now in bed than he is. I told him Mitzie would be more than happy to change places with him, haha.  

 

 Our garden is coming to life again after it's long winter's sleep. There are the same old jobs to do . . . the digging and the hoeing . . . the path to weed and the beds to plan. Planting and sowing, the same routine to follow, but as ever the joy of it all is new . . . when winter ends and the garden calls to you, you know Spring has finally sprung.

I've noticed something about gardening. You set out to do one thing and pretty soon, you're doing something else, which leads to some other thing, and so on. By the end of the day, you look at the shovel stuck in the half dug rose bed and wonder what on earth you've been doing.
~Anne Raver  



There is the kitchen plot to clear and to rake, and seedlings to be tended to. The lawn needs to be mowed and it's edges trimmed. Fences need to be mended and nesting boxes in place . . . there is no time to sit and read these days, the chair by the hearth stays empty as the garden takes up every spare minute. We don't mind really. There is something that is so very beautiful about earth that's just been dug and the feel of it in your hands is so very soothing.

One is nearer God's heart in a garden
than anywhere else on earth.
~Dorothy Frances Gurney


Even Mitzie has been doing her gardening . . . 


 This is her "I'm sorry" face . . . after she had dug up all the fuchsia that Todd had just planted a few days ago. We thought she had outgrown that phase, but apparently she hasn't. It is difficult to stay annoyed with her though . . . how can you when those big brown eyes look at you in that very contrite manner. So soft and so sweet . . .

Gardens are not made by singing
“Oh how beautiful”
and sitting in the shade.
~Rudyard Kipling

Our rewards will come at the height of the summer, when all in the garden begins to bloom profusely and we begin to harvest the rewards of our labours . . . in tender young vegetables . . . and soft and sweet fruits . . . can anything at all taste as delicious as something which you have grown yourself??? I think not! 


Its quite chilly in the house this morning.  I could see a big red moon hanging low on the horizon when I got up  an hour or so ago.  Today is the Chester Marathon, so some streets will be closed for half the day. That means it will take a bit of fiddling to get to church . . . figuring out which streets we can use that aren't closed. It can be done, just not without a lot of forethought. It does look however as if the sun is going to shine.  Bet there are lots of people happy about that! 


  

We watched a good film last night on our Now television.  Hidden Figures. It was about three anonymous black women that were instrumental in getting John Glenn into space and back again safely back in the early 1960's  Very good. I like films based on true stories.  I was thinking during the film about how very brave those first astronauts were to do what they did, when it was such a new thing, this flying into space on rockets.  Such courage is amazing.  And those women, facing such odds that they faced with segregation, prejudice, etc. I bet they could never have thought that one day there would be a black man in the white house. Thankfully we have come a long, long way from those disgusting days.  We still have a ways to go, and with that I will leave you with a thought for the day  . . .  


° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~\。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ | 田田 |門 ★

 *.˛.
Its okay to be a glowstick,
sometimes we have to break
before we can shine.
~Unknown  •。★★ 。* 。


Spiritual Enlightenment 

 

In the Kitchen today  . . .  Cherry Croissants.  Tasty, tasty!

Have a great Sunday!  Don't forget . . . 

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And I do too!! 

10 comments:

  1. Hi Marie, you couldn't possibly be cross with that gorgeous bundle of fur, no matter what she'd done! Those eyes, she's adorable!!

    I miss having a garden of my own now that we're in the flat, but I certainly don't miss doing it. We had a big garden, in fact we bought the house cos John loved the garden. But he loved gardening, so after he died it just became a chore. Here at the flats we do have garden space and benches and some of the residents keep it all looking nice but its not the same as having your own space. I'm such a bad insomniac and after John died I often sat in the garden at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning listening to the wind through the trees and looking at the stars. I could feel him with me.

    Hope you get to Church ok and don't get too tempted to join in the marathon! Have a lovely Sunday, lots of love xxx

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    1. I don't think we would miss it really either Kate, not really. It is a lot of work, and Todd does the Lion's share of it. At almost 80, its getting to be more and more difficult! I am a bad insomniac also. Something else we have in common! No worries about me ever joining in on a marathon! haha Love and hugs. xoxo

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  2. What lovely pictures of your garden and that sweet adorable pup you have. Digging seems to be one of a dogs favorite things to do. Whether digging in their bed to make it comfortable or digging in the dirt. I used to hate it when the dirt got in their nails and seemed forever to get out again. Sometimes nothing but a foot bath would do. Happy Spring and happy Sunday !

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    1. You are right there Pam! They do love to dig. Happy Spring and Happy week to you! xoxo

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  3. She is your Princess:) Visibly:)
    Love the bunnies in your gardens..I hauled a few out yesterday and Marie..your description of being in a garden..and one thing leads to another? My everyday in the gardens.You Nailed It!!Happy Sunday..I have booked that book out twice and not read it yet!!

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    1. Thanks Monique! Time to read it methinks! xoxo

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  4. Hi Marie!

    Mitzie is so adorable! Isn't it wonderful how they just become part of the family!? Your garden is lovely, I can't wait to see it in full bloom! Our trees are finally starting to leaf out, and the grass is getting greener by the day. On Friday, it was almost 80 degrees out. That's a little too hot for this time of the year, but it didn't last, today it is only 48 degrees... :0(

    Have a wonderful Monday, enjoy your sweet pup, and be safe! Love you tons!

    Hugs and Love,
    Barb

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    1. Wow, that IS warm temps for this time of year Barb! Love you also. xoxo

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  5. I love those adorable photos of your Mitzie. You can't not love those big eyes. You can't possibly get mad at this sweet one. Our Sammy can get a way with some stuff because he is so cute. We love these fur babies just like our own in many ways. We have lost pets through the years and it is so hard.
    Yes, spring has sprung and it is planting time. I hope this year we can do a bit more. That being said we had 80 degrees a couple of days ago and then it snowed today. Yup! Very strange weather, i think.
    I really liked that movie and thought it was a fantastic story. I too love those true stories.
    This was a fun post and I loved your thoughts as always.
    Blessings and hugs for you three!

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    1. Thanks LeAnn, and you are right! Those eyes are really hard to resist! Happy Spring has finally arrived for you love, hugs and blessings to you, Roger and Sammy! Xoxo

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