Dear Neighbor . . .

 

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3 ESTATE LANE, Nova Scotia
-3*C/27*F
Cold and dark, sunrise soon

Dear Neighbor, 

Its chilly this morning but not as cold as it has been. Cold is relative I find. The temperature doesn't really matter much. Once you are cold, you are cold. I am really thankful for my heat pump which helps to keep my wee place warm and comfy. Also, the heated floor in the bathroom, which I only discovered this year.  No need to shiver me timbers in the shower any longer. I keep the heated floor on and it makes the bathroom just right. The cats also love it. I will often find them in there "sunning" themselves all stretched out on the floor.  Animals always seem to gravitate towards the warmest spots. Spots of sunlight, heating vents, heated floors, cozy laps.  They know best.

 

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When I was a child, I (being of a certain age) was taught the value of Good Sportsmanship.  How to be both a good winner and a good loser in the arena of life.  I was recently disappointed in reading about the boos and jeers given to the American National Anthem at a Hockey Game by Canadians and then again in reading about the same thing happening to the Canadian Anthem by Americans at another game.  I hate, really hate, that these kinds of things are happening.  This is not the way I was brought up. I might not like the political atmosphere at the moment, but booing and jeering at social and sporting events is just poor form. And that is my opinion I know, and everyone is entitled to one.  I just thought that Canadians were better than that. It disappoints me.  Its disrespectful.

I, like most Canadians, am making an effort to buy Canadian, but isn't that something we should always do? Support the business of our own country.  But booing National anthems . . .  sorry, this is bad sportsmanship. Politics have no place in the sports arena.  Again, just my opinion. 

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Someone in a community near where I live was outraged yesterday when a fox killed all of their geese. I can understand their sadness at such an event, but unfortunately, we live in an area with foxes and coyotes, wild cats and even bears, etc. If you don't protect your animals from them and are not vigilant, a wild animal will do what it does to survive. Nature can be so cruel at times . . . a lot of the time actually. It is what it is. 

I remember reading a newspaper article when I was living in the U.K. about the urban fox and how some woman had gone into her child's bedroom to see one curled up on the child's bed. 

We have encroached so much upon their habitat that they have nowhere else to go to get away from humans, and stuff like this will happen.  Sad but true.  People regularly have their garbage gotten into by bears and the like around here and many a small dog or cat has been taken by coyotes. If you care about something you need to protect it.

That's why I have indoor cats, and if I had a dog, it would never be left outdoors unprotected.  That is just inviting potential heartache into your life.  Again, just my opinion!

I will stop with my opinions now and share something nice, or that made me happy. My yarn came for my next blanket and as you can see, I have already done one square.  It is called Stylecraft Heather's DK yarn and has a rustic look and feel about it. Kind of a tweedy look. Those are the colors I chose. Each will be crocheted into squares which are edged in a brose/ecru colored edging and put together with the same edging all around the blanket.

It is quite difficult to describe but if you look at it closely you will see that the colors are not simple but composed of a variety of shades in the same color group.  Each ball has this same quality. I quite like it.

I ended up having to pay duty, taxes and customs on it. That is the first time.  I have been buying my yarn from LoveCrafts in the U.K. for a number of years now, and this is the first time that has ever happened. I have never had to pay customs or tax, duty, etc. on it before. I suppose I should count myself lucky that I haven't!

Something else that I have in the pipeline.  This is the inner square of a pillow cover I am making.  I got the pattern a long time ago on Etsy.  A seller called Simply Eilene.  I like her patterns. That small cushion I did a few weeks back was one of her patterns also.  Simple to follow and you don't end up having to print out 25 pages, etc.  I highly recommend.

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Had a lovely lunch yesterday with Cindy and Sheri. Dad actually paid for it as well, which was nice of him.  Cindy and I each had fish and chips and Sheri had grilled haddock and rice.  Cindy and I both thought our fish batter, although lovely and crisp, was a bit greasy. I suppose it is hard to get around that. The fish inside was beautifully cooked.  

The best part however was being together and having the opportunity to visit like we did. I think Sheri is the one most like her mother, our late Aunt Freda. Aunt Freda had a heart for everyone. When she passed there were so many people that attended her funeral that they had to open up an extra building to hold them all. She was very much beloved in this valley.  And Sheri is the same. She was always very good to mom as well. She often came and stayed at mom's place and took care of mom's cat when mom was away from home. Mom always trusted her. She is good, good people.

We did enjoy our visit, had a few laughs, and it was just nice to be together.  I am sure that our mother's were both looking down on us with approval and that it always makes them happy when we get together like we do.  We are going to do coffee here at my place one day next week before Sheri has to be back at work.  (She just had carpal tunnel surgery.) Sheri is who I got my two babies from.

 

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This afternoon we are going to take Dad and pick up his friend MaryAnn and take them to the mall. We haven't been able to do that since before Christmas, the weather has just been so bad, and the timing not right.  Today is the day however. I am sure Dad is looking forward to it as is MaryAnn.  She is his deaf friend. He used to pick her up and take her to the mall three times a week before he moved, but now it is only whenever we can take them both.  They are both in their 90's.  He can't hear and neither can she, lol, so it works. They sign with each other and get along. 

We drop them off and then go off and do a few errands while they are there. Then we pick them back up and drop MaryAnn back at her daughter's place.  

After that we are going to go up the mountain and get some eggs.  So far, the Bird Flu hasn't been affecting us here where we are, but who knows how long that will last. I like eggs. They often make a simple supper for me.

 

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The world has been so crazy as of late, and I am not even a person who watches the news.  It seeps in no matter how hard I try to avoid it.  This is my mantra these days. I just keep telling myself "Everything will be alright."  It requires a lot of faith to believe this, but I do believe that everything will be alright in the end.  It may be a bit painful getting there, but I am a firm believer in good prevailing. God has a plan for each of us and for this old world of ours.  In the end, it will come to pass. 

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope." ~Jeremiah 29:11

This has always been one of my favorite scriptures. It is no bad thing to trust in the Lord.

What a winter we have had this year.  Admittedly we have not had as much snow here in Nova Scotia, the valley as they have had elsewhere, and I hope it stays that way.  My brother made a reel earlier this week where he measured the snow that had fallen in his back yard in Ottawa.  Over 60cm, and I dare say more has fallen since then.  The worst of ours has been over these past couple of weeks.  Things are bound to improve now.  Spring is just around the corner with the month of March in the offing. Oh, there will still be more stormy days to face this year I am sure, but I think we are through the worst of it now.  At least I hope that we are.

My brother will be having ablation therapy for his cancer in the kidney. This is the least invasive of the procedures. I believe it is radiotherapy of some sort.  Please continue to pray for him and his recovery.  He is hoping to be able to come and see dad this year and I think his wife is going to come with him. It would be nice if that can happen. He did not make it home last year.  We don't know how much longer we will be blessed to have our father with us.

 

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In other news, the gentleman across the road was taken to hospital in an ambulance yesterday and has not come back. There is an older fellow who comes and does yard work for him, etc. he arrived and then the ambulance arrived shortly thereafter.  He was back several times to pick up stuff, I assume to take to the hospital, and I saw the maintenance guy there later in the day, I am not sure why.  Hopefully he will be okay, but I know he has not been well for a while now.  The man next door to me has been in the hospital for a few months now. His son comes every couple of days to check the post, etc. They are the only two men on this whole street.

That is the nature of living in a community such as this one. We are all of a certain age . . . 

 

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It is very quiet in here at the moment. All I can hear is the clock ticking, the air from the heat pump, and my fingers clicking on the keyboard. The cats are quietly asleep, Nutmeg under a throw on the sofa and Cinnamon in the basket by the window. I only know Nutmeg is there because bits of his anatomy are sticking out. 

He is such a ham.  God bless him. 

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

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

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

 *.˛.Embrace uncertainty.

Some of the most beautiful chapters

in our lives won't have a title

until much later.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

~Bob Goff° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In The English Kitchen today . . .  Scottish Bannock.  This simple bread is very similar to a scone.  Baked as a whole round, then cut into wedges to serve with whatever you fancy.  On the day I baked this I served it warm and split with some Christmas marmalade, butter and double cream. Delicious!

I do so hope that you have a lovely day. Stay warm, stay safe, stay positive.  Don't forget!

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And I do too!