Dear Neighbor . . .

 

(source)

 

ESTATE LANE, N.S.
-5*C/24*F
Dry and cold

Dear Neighbor,

We are back to freezing cold again after having had some pretty mild days and there is a snow warning in effect for tonight on into tomorrow.  It's possible that we just might have a white Christmas after all, but anything can change so I am not getting my hopes up, but it is showing snow for Saturday and Sunday, and Tuesday and Wednesday, so it's looking very good that way.

I feel like I need to get a couple of frozen Christmas dinners for Eileen and Tim, just in case we can't get out.  I will try to do that today when Cindy and I take dad and his friend MaryAnn out this afternoon.

I had thought that I would drop my youngest son's gift off on their doorstep and sent an e-mail to my DIL to tell her that I was going to do so, just so that they wouldn't think that anyone had left garbage on their doorstop. (I was going to put it in a black plastic bag so that nobody would steal it.)

I am not going to do that now.

 

(source)

I had an email waiting for me this morning from my son telling me that moving forward he does not want me to send any cards, gifts, etc. to my grandson. That it confuses my grandson, and he doesn't want to have to explain things to him. And for the mental well-being of his family and to prioritize peace he wants no contact from me at all moving forward.

I will of course honor that.  I don't know what I am supposed to have done or what the reasoning is behind this.  It makes no sense to me and never has done. My heart is totally broken and to be honest, I am not feeling very Christmassy at all now.   But I will do my best to shake it.

 

(source)

It will be nice to see some snow and have it stick. I know that sounds crazy. I love the winter world after a heavy snowfall. It has a quiet, pristine beauty that almost feels like a wonderland.  Songs have been written about Winter Wonderlands.  I think this weekend I will have a Christmas movie festival here in my home. Me and the cats.  We will watch every Christmas movie that I can find and inject some Festivus into us, or into me at least.

My next-door neighbor to the right of me was taken to hospital in an ambulance yesterday. Poor old guy. His wife passed away last year.  Sheila was in to my place as soon as the ambulance left to tell me she did not think he was going to make it.  She seemed quite shaken about it.  I suppose on this part of the street, at least, there was only she and him left from the old brigade. Once he is gone there will only be her.  I felt bad for her.  I took her over some food a bit later on and visited with her for a bit.

A few of them on the street are having Christmas Dinners brought in for them.  They have to pay for them of course, but there is some organization in town that brings in dinners for people who are on their own. It is good that that is available, even in such a small town as this one.

I know that the church that my daughter attends does a free meal every Tuesday supper time. I am not sure if this was the Christmas one or not. I think that the Baptist church is also doing a turkey dinner on Christmas day for people who have no place to go.

I think that the Capital Pub in town does the same. You can go in also and pay for a meal for someone to have.  That is a very nice thing, I think.

 

(source)

I will have to find a charity today to give my gift to.  I will put it on Facebook. Free gift for a four-year-old boy. I am sure someone will take it, and it will be appreciated and played with.  That thought makes me happy at least.

I did not go to emergency with the rash on my neck. I didn't want to take up important time that somebody else might need. I don't think it is anything sinister.  Just a rash and it will get better in time. I am putting anti-itch cream on it, which seems to be helping a bit.

I baked some cookies yesterday.  I still need to decorate my Christmas Cake.  I will not be doing a video about it. I don't think I will do a video again now at least before Christmas. I just do not have the time. This happens every year and I know I am not alone in feeling this way. I run out of time and do not get to do all the things I had planned to do. I need to prioritize things now and just do the things that I absolutely NEED to do. The holiday will come and go regardless, so best to just do the things I must do.

 

(source)

I expect it will be very busy out there today. The last Friday before Christmas. Everyone getting in their last-minute bits.  It was very nice to see Hazel on Wednesday.  Cindy and I each had a card and some chocolate for her.  Chocolate. That is the gift you give people when you can't think of what else to give them. It's not a personal thing, but everyone likes it, and at least you thought of them. She had two lovely cards for Cindy and I.  Her daughter makes cards.  I really liked mine. An old-fashioned Santa on it, very Victorian vintage looking.

When I was a child, my parents had this Santa mask thingy that my mother would hang up every year, at least when we were in Germany. It was one of those German Santas, so Saint Nicholas I guess, with the tall pointy hat and long pointy beard. No roly poly rosy cheeks.  I remember being terrified of that Santa mask.  It did not look or feel very festive to me.

In fact the shadow cast into our bedroom from the hallway reminded me of that Santa Claus and always gave me the heebie jeebies.  I had a very vivid imagination as a child.  I knew that there were monsters beneath my bed.

I was always afraid of Santa Claus.  It was very much a love/hate thing.  I wanted the presents, but he was not a character I wanted to spend any time with.  I never enjoyed my visits to Santa. I endured them. I have always been a people pleaser and if visiting Santa made my mother happy then I did it.

 

(source)

I made a nice pot of stew for myself yesterday.  Not a large one, just a small one. I do like a beef stew every now and then.  I made it with a thin gravy like my mother always made.  I like it that way and then I mash the hot vegetables on my plate and spread them with butter. It is not about the meat. I could care less about the meat in it, although it does give the broth flavor.  I just love the vegetables. Potatoes, carrots, parsnips, swede (rutabaga). They taste so delicious mashed down and spread with butter.

I am a person who likes bread and gravy also. A tasty supper for me would be a slice of thick white bread, buttered and then some good gravy ladled over top. I would be quite content.

I can remember sometimes when we were children if we ran out of cereal my mother would give us buttered bread, with sugar sprinkled on it and milk drizzled over top.  It was not toasted bread, just plain white bread. I loved it.  To me it was a real treat.

There used to be bread on the table for most meals.  And butter. Real butter.  We were allowed to spread as much butter on our bread as we wanted to.  I can remember my father asking us if we wanted some bread on our butter, we would spread it that thick.

I still love butter. And it shows.

 

(source)

There I am with the sheep again.  Funny, before I moved to the U.K. I had not ever seen a real sheep. I suppose I had never lived anywhere that there were real sheep.  I had no idea that they had tails, and that they wagged their tails.  I remember the first time we went up to the horseshoe pass in Wales and seeing all the sheep there. They are just left to wander the hillsides and across the roads, etc.  They are everywhere.  Such gentle creatures they are.  I love to listen to them.

When we stayed in the south of France in that cottage in the countryside there was a field of sheep next to the cottage. It was lovely throwing the shutters open in the morning and letting in the sunshine and the sound of the sheep in the field, the cool morning air. That was a nice holiday.

I have had some really nice experiences in my life. Many more nice ones than bad ones. In the balance of things life has treated me very well for the most part. I cannot and should not dwell on the negative and let it take away from the positive.

And so, I won't. I will attempt to move forward with positivity, and think of happy times and situations, people who love me and do want to spend time with me.  Bread with butter. Lashings of butter.  And sheep.

A thought to carry with you . . . 

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

 *.˛.His appearance changed 

from the inside out,

right before their eyes.

Sunlight poured from his face.

His clothes were filled with light.

~Matthew 17:2  ° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • 

In The English Kitchen today, Creamy Artichoke Dip.  This was something I used to make often as a dinner party nibble when I worked at the Manor. They loved it as did their guests. It is delicious for sure and very simple to make.

I hope you have a lovely Friday. If you go out and about do be safe.  Stay happy, be blessed. Don't forget . . .

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