Saturday 30 June 2018

Stars and things . . .

The Northern Lights, Scotland

I have been in places with night skies wide and brilliant with stars, so many that one could never fathom how very many there are.  I have lay in my bed of a night and watched the Northern Lights dance across the broad expanse of sky, in undulating waves of brilliance and colour.  I've sat in the back garden on a lawn chair with friends and watched the night sky on the banks of the Georgian Bay . . . as the stars shone and sattelites passes over our heads.  Yes, these places still exist . . .  although it's been a very long time now since I have seen them in such abundance . . . modern light pollution keeps them hidden, for the most part . . . from my eyes.

The poet Longfellow called them the "forget-me-knots of angels."  Thomas Carlyle referred to them as "street lamps of the City of God."

Stars have always brought out the best in thinkers and writers.  Matthew Arnold was inspired to write, "Still, let me, as I gaze on you, feel my soul becoming vast like you.  


Heaven's Trail, Ireland  


My favourite star quote of all is the one which the late President of my church, Gordon B Hinckley told  in an address to the youth of our church a number of years ago . . .

I have mentioned before the experience of my youth when my brother and I would sleep outside during the summertime. We would lie down in the bed of a big farm wagon and gaze into the heavens. The whole sky seemed to move . . . all but the North Star, which remained in its permanent and predictable place.

It was a thing of stability in a world of shifting values. It became an expression of a desire to pattern one’s life after the Polar Star, this astronomical wonder, to be true and dependable . . . true to God, true to self, and true to fellowman.


It is true . . . even though all of the artificial light pollutes the sky I gaze upon of an evening, making the stars I seek scarcely visible, I can still find the North Star.  Light pollution or not, it always remains in the sky, glowing bright as a beacon, reminding me of the promises and the covenants I have made to my Heavenly Father, and the promises He has made in return to me.  



There is so much light at night where I live in a highly urban area at the edge of a city that we don't really see a lot of stars where we are.  Also it is overcast a lot of the time, so much so that a clear starry night is a rare oddity.  I have always wanted to visit a planetarium where you can really see the stars and get up close and personal with them. 

It is an amazing thought to think when I do look up at the night sky, that
those very same stars and moon I am watching are the very same
stars and moon my loved ones can also see
halfway around the world.


  


I received the most amazing little gift basket yesterday.  There is a big food festival in Liverpool this weekend and the promoters of it had sent me this basket filled with goodies, which I had completely forgotten about so it came as a huge surprise to me.  




My favourite things in it, aside from the lovely basket itself, were these chopsticks and rests, some French Macaroons, a gnocchi roller and this sweet little red tea pot for one!  There were lots of other goodies as well . . .  hot sauce, cookies, breadsticks, small bottles of port, brandy and tequila,  Earl Grey loose tea,  BBQ sauce, etc.  Alas, no chocolate  . . .  sigh  . . .  lol 


  

The prize that I won on Instagram also arrived, this food chopper.  Its very different than anything I have seen before.  The motor is in the top, and it has two speeds. The bowl that you put what you want to chop in is made from glass and has a removable rubber table grip on the bottom.  That lid is plastic and with the exception of the motor part, it's all dishwasher proof. To operate you just push down on that thing on top.  I was so excited when I was opening the box.  I felt as excited as Ralphie's father, old man Mr Parker (Darrin McGavin), in that movie "A Christmas Story," when his genuine award arrived  . . . 


And Todd was about as excited as Mrs Parker was about the "leg lamp."  I dare say my award is a bit more useful than a leg lamp might be. 


  

I asked Todd to bring me back some spring onions when he went out yesterday morning.  He came back with spring onions, but they are the Paul Bunyan of spring onions.  More like smaller sized regular onions with the green bits still attached.   I had to laugh.  He does try.  Bless him . . . 

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

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

 *
Life is a series of tiny little miracles.
Notice them. ~Unknown  •。★★ 。* 。 


 

In the English Kitchen today.  Strawberry Cupcakes.  There are mashed berries in the buttermilk batter as well as in the cream cheese frosting, for a lovely moist cupcake with beautiful strawberry flavour!

Have a wonderful Saturday. We are off to a Baptism today!  Whatever you get up to, don't forget!

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And I do too! 




Friday 29 June 2018

Fun Friday Finds

 

A few of the things  I find each week that pique my interest, bring me joy, inspire me to learn, create, do, become . . . Maybe they will do the same for you!



If you are into scrapbooking and paper crafts and there is a new baby on the horizon, this really pretty baby girl album from Terry's Scrapbooking is a delight! So pretty! 
  




From Delicious. A fabulous looking Rhubarb and Coconut Meringue Tart.  I adore rhubarb. 



The Veggie Mama, little bags for little girls.
  


Lion Brand on Ravelry. Behop girls cropped cardigan.  


Daisy Farm Crafts, Modern Double Crochet V-stitch Blanket.  Love this, and the colours.  



Hannah Nilson Designs, free printable A5 Floral Planner set.  So pretty. Such a nice blog. 




Lia Griffith, Printable Floral Greeting Cards.   



Watercolour technique, for testing colour mixing. Watercolour Painting . com.  



Purl Bee, Simple lined Zipper Pouches.   Complete instructions. 



Craft and Creativity. Little Housies.  Cute! 


DIY Cardboard pompom makers with sizes small, medium and large.  The Craft Train.  



Balancing Home. Tic Tac Toe Rocks.  



I heart Crafty Things. DIY Funny Face Flip Book.  



Krokotak.  Origami Eye.  Older kids would love doing this!  




A Piece of Rainbow.  Bubble Paint Hydrangeas.  How very beautiful! 



Stained Glass Bumble Bees, to buy.  I love these.  From Kell Kraft on Instagram.  Her stained glass work is beautiful.  She also has an Etsy Shop.  






Crated to Bloom. DIY Sweet Peas.   



Skinny Mom. How to walk off the pounds. 




Cafe Curtains, Women's Day. How to.  

 



Fellow Fellow. Sweet DIY Votive holders.  Love these!  

And those are my finds for this week.  I hope that you found some of it interesting and inspiring as well!  I love creating and dreaming about creating new things!

A thought to carry with you . . . 

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

 *
Your life only gets better
when you do.
Work on yourself, and
the rest will follow.
~Unknown  •。★★ 。* 。 

I have finished all of my anti-biotics now.  I am waiting to see if there is an improvement.  They don't feel hot, but they are still a bit red and the left shin is a bit sore.  I am crossing my fingers that it will continue to improve.  I really don't want to go into hospital. I have too much to do. 


 

Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  Mom's Tuna Casserole.  The original.  Simple and tasty. 

 
Have a wonderful Friday. The sun is shining gloriously again today!  Don't forget!

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

Thursday 28 June 2018

My Favourite Things

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A few of the things in life that make my heart go pitty pat. Maybe they will do the same thing for yours. ♥♥♥  



Using our new Space Grill. I adore this new BBQ of ours! I can see me using it whenever the weather is good this summer. Its so easy to use. You just flip it up and turn it on. Plus it cleans like a dream when you are finished, then folds right back down. It also takes up hardly any space on the patio. This is a winner all round! Can't wait to use it on Monday when we have all the Missionaries over for burgers and dogs to celebrate a combo 1st and 4th!!

   


Only a little more than a month and our Tatiana will be here for two weeks.  I can't wait.  She is one of my favourite people in the whole world. She is a friend/daughter to me. I love her so much! Its been two years, almost 3 since we have seen each other.  I am so looking forward to this time together and so is Todd! 




Fresh Cherries and Cherry Season!  Oh, how I adore fresh cherries.  When we lived down South the sellers would come over and set up stands by the road side and we would buy them by the kilo in brown paper bags.  Most of them never made it home. They were so good.  We are not so lucky here, but they are showing up in the shops. We treated ourselves to some yesterday and enjoyed them last evening while we were watching the telly. Soooo tasty!  


   


Porcelain Half Dolls.  I don't own any, but I collect pictures of them on Pinterest. I would LOVE to own or collect some. Generally speaking they are the half figure of a doll, without any legs, that were manufactured to be used as pincushions/broomholders, etc.  As a lover of dolls anyways, it is only natural that I would also love these. I think most of them are quite beautiful. 
 



Vintage Greeting Card Illustrations.  I don't know if they remind me of my childhood or what. But I adore vintage greeting cards.  I think too, some of them also remind me of paper dolls and when I was a child I adored my paper dolls!  




I decided to pick some flowers from our garden yesterday and bring them indoors to brighten up the house.  These are some of the beautiful blush pink roses from our front garden, carnations, lavender and a few hydrangea blooms. I think they all look very beautiful together.  I have the stuck into an old bottle green glass jug I picked up at a charity shop many moons ago.  I love this little arrangment.  It makes me smile! 




She is my constant companion and looks down at me whenever I am writing here at the computer, as if in approval.  She is a beautiful reminder to me of family and the love of family.  A gift from a cousin, she is one of my special treasures, worth more to me than diamonds or gold. 
  

  


Sarah Plain and Tall. I love this story and film. It is one of my favourites.  This story of a Mail Order Bride from Maine gone to live on the Kansas Prairie.  It always tugs at my heart strings. 




Bluebirds. I have never seen one for real. But I love them.  I also love bluebirds on anything . . .  china, embroidery, etc. 


 

My doll house.  I still play with it for a few minutes every day.  Tweaking it here and tweaking it there. 

 

Moving Norah about  . . . etc.  I used to blog about it. You can read that here, The Doll's House.  I haven't updated it in a very long time now.  It just takes so long to take photos, edit them, etc.  I don't have the time. 


 The Cottage Book, by Sir Edward Grey.  I love this book. It is filled with watercolours, photographs, woodcuts and maps. It reads like a diary and is totally charming. 




 Bumble bees . . .  on anything.  Pillows, jewelry, china.  I adore bees.  I like to watch them in the garden also.  They fascinate me.    




Words and the way we can string them together to paint beautiful pictures . . .   



Day dreaming  . . .  I am a day dreaming kind of a girl . . . 


  

McD's Raspberry Ripple Iced Cooler.  Seriously tasty.  I finally tasted one this week and it was heavenly. I do not want to know how many calories or how much sugar is in it.  I have since repented, but I did enjoy it while it lasted! 

I used to always treat myself to a Rootbeer Float every summer,
but Rootbeer is actually scarce over here,
so a Raspberry Ripple had to do.

And those are my favourite things for this week.  Its a totally gorgeous day out there again today.  We really are being spoilt.  We had a text last evening to say that our money had been refunded, which was good news.  I haven't actually logged in yet to check, but I am assuming it is so.  Whew!! Someone a bit more well off might not have bothered much about the wait, but when you live by with your knuckle pretty close to the bone as we have to, its a really big deal! 

A thought to carry with you . . . 

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

 *.˛.° ˛°We can complain because rosebushes
have thorns . . . 
or we can rejoice because thornbushes
have roses  . . . •。★★ 。* 。


 

In The English Kitchen today  . . . Moroccan Spiced Grilled Chicken with Couscous Salad.  This was lovely. I cooked it on the new grill, and was very pleased with its performance.  It was also a dream to clean up afterwards. (BONUS!)

Have a beautiful Thursday. We  might go for a picnic. We will see.  Whatever you get up to, don't forget!  

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