Wednesday 1 April 2020

Wednesday things to think about . . .


I think one of the best things to come out of these past few weeks is that in many ways we have ben forced to slow down and reassess things in our lives.  Maybe that is not the case for everyone but it sure has been for me.  Certainly a lot of the things that I felt were important before have become not-so-important now.  Life has slowed down in many ways. 

I have pretty much shut down my food blog page on Facebook.  Mind you that was somewhat exacerbated by the fact that FB was pretty much marking all of my recipes as spam and removing them.  I am not sure if that was an individual reporting them as spam or if it was a bug with facebook, but that small thing has added quite a bit of time to my days, time better spent doing different things.  I used to spend several hours each day on that page, posting, responding to comments, etc.  I have this thing where I feel that anyone who makes a comment deserves a response and some days there were literally hundreds of comments to respond to, or questions to answer.  In all truth, I am somewhat relieved to not have to do that any more each morning. 


I have seen a great outpouring of love and help in the world, in my own community, which far overshadows any negative.  People are stepping up and reaching out to others in amazing ways.  Hundreds of thousands have volunteered to bring things to those who are not able to get out and do anything for themselves.  Neighbor is checking up on neighbor.  Families are re-connecting, slowing down . . .  spending time with each other in small and important ways, that they never had time for before. 

People are reaching out through the miracle of modern technology to uplift each other and put somehing positive into other's days.  Many famous singers and actors, etc. have taken the opportunity to put out sweet little videos, impromptu concerts, etc.  We all have extra time on our hands, and using that extra time to bless others is what I see happening, again and again.  

My neighbor asked me yesterday did I want some apples, she had too many.  I have lots of apples also, but I said to her, I do have plenty of apples but let me turn yours into something you and your son will enjoy.  Please. And so today I am baking them a crumble and Todd will leave it on their doorstep and ring the bell.  And they will be happy and I will be happy.  She has been buying loaves of bread and leaving them for us and not letting me pay for them. Now I can return the favour, which really makes me happy.  Small things.  

Yesterday I had a video call from someone at church.  We normally only speak on Sundays, but yesterday we had a chance to laugh together and share and I just know both of our days were brightened by it. Its not a bad thing and I have vowed now to contact at least one person each day to let them know I am thinking about them and share a few words together. 



Everything has become that much more precious. Nobody knows who is going to get out of this alive.  This virus is no respecter of persons. It doesn't care if you are rich or if you are poor, if you are a future king or a bin man. Nobody is safe from it. Nobody.  Not the young, nor the old, nor leaders of countries and governments.  To be sure that the elderly and those with underlying health problems are more at risk of dying if they catch it.  But anyone can catch it. We are all at risk. There is so much that we don't know about it.  A first this was really frightening, and I am not going to lie, I am still frightened, only a fool wouldn't be . . .  but the silver lining is that everything in my life has become much more meaningful.  Oh to be sure, I was always an appreciater of small things, but I am even more so now, and I know I am not alone in that.  



Hopefully we have all become less wasteful.  I know that I have become less wasteful.  I now think twice before I throw away something which is out of date.  Over these past few weeks I have eaten pasta that was ten years out of date, tuna and salmon that was out of date, tinned tomatoes that were out of date, out of date beans,  and the list goes on.  I am beginning to think that there is a conspiracy behind sell by/best by dates that makes us buy more instead of using what we already have.  Oh, I know  . . .  they do it  to protect themselves, but the facts are, if it smells okay, the colour is okay, the can isn't bulging, it is probably safe to eat.  It might not taste at its best, but you can still use it and it will go great in a casserole.  This applies to loads of things.  Even freezer burnt meat. 





This has been a time to be grateful and to express gratitude.  For the helpers, for the health care system, for each other, for out of date salmon that still makes a great salmon loaf,  for extra hours to explore our talents and to finish unfinished projects, for more time to connect with the things that matter most. 

No, its not all bad.  For sure I will be happy when it is all over and when things hopefully get back to normal, but I do hope that some of the things I have learnt in the process will be things that I never forget and will become habitual.  It only takes 21 days for something to become a habit, 3 weeks . . . and we all certainly have 21 days  . . .
  

A though to carry with you  . . . 

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

 *
We are each of us angels
with only one wing
and we can only fly by
embracing on another.
~Luciano de Crescenzo•。★★ 。* 。
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 


Roasted Pears with Honey, Cinnamon & Cardamom 


Diamonds from dust.  I had a bag of really hard pears so I roasted them with some honey, cinnamon and cardamom for the win!  In the English Kitchen today.

Have a wonderful Wednesday.  Stay home and stay safe and stay healthy.  Be the reason someone smiles today. Don't forget! 

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

  And I do too!! 

 




8 comments:

  1. I don't know how you kept all that up..good for you especially if the joy was no longer there.
    Extraordinary sad times.
    I see little babies born on IG of accounts I follow..♥
    The best things to see..
    How appropriate was the first epi of CTM? I know yours was a while ago..the diphtheria epi:(Take care.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I need to send you a photo. I will today. Loved this latest series but then again I love all of them! God Bless! xoxo

      Delete
  2. I don't know how a food post could possible cause them to think it was spam. Although you now have more time, It's a shame you had to qui. I've learned never take anything for granted. A simple trip to the store, isn't really a simple thing at all. I don't think anything will be like it was before. We're different people now. Hopefully we learn the lessons well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not sure why Pam, but for some odd reason it does! No, never take anything for granted and I don't think things will be the same after. Hopefully we will have grown and learnt the lessons well as you say! xoxo

      Delete
  3. Have heard of other strange removals on FB...it is not understandable HOW they decide to dump things on there. You made a good decision...and you are too good a cook to waste your time on such!! SO nice you have figured out how to bless your neighbor!! Like the "good ole days" isn't it?? We have not seen any of that in our area, but then we have been told to stay home inside. Fortunately our daughter here runs to get us what we need!! I have been able to share some things with her too, that we have. Yesterday was the granddaughter's birthday...would have been nice to have celebrated...but one grows used to such. Other grandkids birthdays when we lived closeby, we were not invited to, so by now, it is no longer a issue. But we are chatting long distance with friends here and there...so that has been nice!!
    sending hugs, Elizabeth xoxo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Marie!

    What a wonderful, positive post! I love that your neighbor brings you bread...and I'll bet she loved that crumble! I have been trying to deal with a lot of emotion, worry about Taylor, our septic tank pump went out...ouch...and Bob hasn't been feeling well, all adding up to me shutting down. Today I decided that I needed to get up, put one foot in front of the other and start living instead of worrying! Amber's husband works at the hospital, and tells us that things will most likely get worse before they get better...yes, it scares me. I have been looking through blogs today, watching some YouTube channels that I follow and looking through recipes. We are in the process of making a family cookbook, and I hope you don't mind if I put a few of your recipes in it, after all, you are family ;0) It's just for my children.

    I think FB should fix the problem with your posts! I loved being able to see those recipes, that's just not right. But you know, I haven't seen hardly any recipes on FB lately. It's still not right, it's a public forum.

    I eat outdated canned food and I have never gotten sick. I'm careful, but I really hate waste. I have enjoyed staying in. I thought it would drive me nuts, but really, it hasn't been that bad. I felt like we were being pulled from one thing to another all the time, so down time feels really good to me.

    I do think that life will be different after this is all over. I think we will hug a little tighter and longer, smile at strangers, lend a hand, say "thank you" more often, give more kisses, hold hands, talk on the phone instead of texting, slow down, be more polite, more thoughtful, quieter, the list goes on and on. I have learned a lot about myself during the last 3 weeks...I hope I keep learning.

    Love you sweet friend, stay well, give Todd a hug!

    Hugs and Love,
    Barb

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't mind you including my recipes in your family recipe book, oh how I would love to have a copy, even a virtual one. I am sure it will be fabulous Barb! Family recipe books are the best! ((((hugs)))) Praying your granddaughter gets back to stateside safely. We have a young man from our Ward stuck in New Zealand while his wife and new born baby are here missing him. He is trying to get home also. LOve and hugs to you and Bob. oxox

      Delete
  5. Thank you sweet friend for all these lovely thoughts. I too see so many good things happening and much more caring and being aware of one another. Life has slowed down and we can now even do somethings we have wanted to do for years. At least, I am thinking about all that. I know that our loving Heavenly Father has a purpose for us all and we will learn many lessons from this one. It also makes me a little excited to think that our beloved Savior might not be that for away. I am so excited for conference. We all need more oil in our lamps and more faith to go forward and do as the Savior would have us do.
    Sending lots of love and hugs your way!

    ReplyDelete

Your comments mean the world to me, and while I may not be able to address each one individually, each one is important to me and each one counts. Thanks so much!