Wednesday Witterings . . .

 

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We ended up not going out to lunch with our cousin yesterday as I felt the roads were a bit too icy and the snow was blowing up too much, creating white out conditions.  In fact, they never came to grit and salt our little road here until much later in the day.  I went out to check my mail about 4 pm and the salt had started to break down the ice on our road a bit, but my driveway was still sheet ice, covered with a layer of snow. I had to be very careful walking down my drive. (I worry so much about falling and breaking something.) 

They did come and hand shovel the thin layer of snow off of the ice about 5-ish, but the ice is still there.  I am not sure what shoveling the snow off of it did, except make it more slippery. And it is still slippery this morning. Probably because it is still very cold. It's not supposed to warm up much today at all. I am grateful for my wee place of comfort!

 

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The wind yesterday morning took my garbage for a wild trip down the road, skidding to the end over that ice.  A bag was in the yard across the way, another two at the end.  I don't know where the other one went.  All that was left was the heavy black bag, which holds the scooped kitty litter.  I fretted about it all morning.  Would it continue to blow away??  How could I chase and pick it all up when the road was so icy??? Then Sheila called to say that someone from the next street over had called her and told her that the garbage pickup for yesterday was cancelled, which threw another wrench into the works. I had already checked online, and it had said on the waste collection page that they WOULD be picking it up, and sure enough they did.

But not until I had fretted about it all morning.  I was so anxious about it. That's my adhd, right there. My son Doug called me from PEI, and he was fretting about having to drive from Kensington to Summerside to go to work. He is adhd also.  ha ha  We both sat there feeding each other's anxiety, but had a nice facetime anyways, despite it. He must have got there and back safely as I haven't heard otherwise.  And my garbage was all picked up.  So, there you go. all that anxiety for nothing.

Will we never learn? An ounce of worry never did change a thing, except for your peace of mind.

 

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How do I love this, let me count the ways.

I didn't really get a lot done yesterday to be honest. I facetimed Doug and then my friend Christine called, and we spoke for a bit. Sheila called. I did manage to get some vacuuming done and a load of laundry and I took my self-reliance class. 

Somehow, I dyed all of my undergarments grey/blue.  Sigh . . .  and they were fairly new too, only a few months old. Something dark got into my whites and I washed the load on hot (I always wash my whites on hot) and voila.  Like magic. Grey/blue undergarments. I think I need to have two separate laundry baskets. One for whites and one for darks. This is a case where my trying to save money by having only one laundry basket has ended up costing me much more than the cost of an additional laundry basket. 

Is there a secret way to get rid of the grey/blue? 

A plus is that I did manage to finish my blanket so now I am ready for the new yarn to arrive. Hopefully sometime within the next few days.  I have had emails to say it is in the country.

 

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This is my next project. A bit different than the blankets I have been making all along, with larger color block squares, banded with ecru. I ordered colors from the Highland Heather's collection on Love Crafts. Nine different colors and then the color Brose for the trim.  Cindy has some cotton yarns coming in the same order. She has been making the cutest little key chain pets. 

Here is one of her doggies. Very cute. She has a lot of patience to work with such small stitches.  She is also doing foxes and I forget all what else, but several different ones. They require a type of cotton yarn. They are so sweet.

 

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Sometimes I spend too much time in my own head and get mired in the thick of thin things.  I overthink. I start to think that I am a rubbish friend, mother, sister, daughter, etc. That I could be doing better on all of those fronts.  I don't think those are particularly healthy thoughts to be having. 

I know that I might come across as quite a secure person but trust me when I say I have many insecurities and doubts about who I am as a person. I grew up with a guilt complex.  I can remember being at school in glee club and the teacher saying someone is singing out of key and then only lip-sinking for the rest of the year because I was sure it was me, even though I basically knew it wasn't me. I think I have spent half of my life apologizing for things that never happened, that I never did, and that were not my fault.

Really all I need to do is to try to do my best in all things and nobody can ask any more of me than that. If you have done your best, what is there to find fault in? We all have different levels of best. Some of us are naturally better at some things than others. Their talents do not and should not ever demean your trying.

The only true failure is in not trying, or in doing less than your best.  We are not and should not be expected to be perfect . . .  not in anything, but so often we demand perfection in ourselves and accept far less than that in others. We are our own worst critics.

I need to remember to tell myself this the next time I start to be uber-critical of my own efforts.

 

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I love this pink house. I don't think I have ever seen a pink house before.  It reminds me in a weird sort of way of this book that was my brother's favorite story book when he was really young.  Mr. Pine's Purple House.  He loved that story book and every time I see a purple house I am reminded of that book, and oddly enough seeing this pink house does the same thing. 

The premise of this book was Mr. Pine being dissatisfied with having a white house like everyone else on the street. A generic house in a generic neighborhood. With a can of purple paint and a brush he sets out to make his house stand out from the rest. It's a great book about cherishing and celebrating individuality.

How boring life would be if we were all exactly the same.

 

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Oh no, now I want a sheep blanket. I love how the sheep are white on one side and then black on the other.  I first saw a whole herd of black sheep, many years ago in a place called Chirk in Wales. I had seen one or two black sheep before, a few white sheep with black faces, but I had never seen a whole flock of black sheep. I found them so fascinating.  We had gone with Audrey and Peter Lee to go on a walk through the Welsh countryside and happened upon them in a field.

Oh, how I miss Audrey and Peter. We used to do a lot together. Mostly walks and visiting historic properties.  Picnics. They were the nicest people. Audrey went first and then Peter followed her a few years later. He missed her dreadfully.  Peter used to email me several times a week after I moved back to Canada to check up on me and see how I was doing. He was a good good friend.  They were both good good friends and the first friends I made when I moved over to the U.K.

I have been blessed in my life to have very good friends.

 

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I have always held a great love and a fascination for covered bridges. We used to have quite a few single lane bridges here in Nova Scotia, but no covered ones as far as I know.  I did visit a few of them when I lived in New Brunswick many years ago and of course, there is that film The Bridges of Madison County.  I believe this one is from somewhere in New England.

New England is probably one of my favorite places on earth. I have always loved visiting there.  We used to always drive down through Main, New Hampshire and Vermont when we were going West, preferring that drive more than the Canadian route. I have quite a lot of family in that area as well.

We first visited Vermont and Massachusetts as children with our parents. My mother had an aunt that lived there with her husband and of course their children and grandchildren. I have very fond memories of visiting them, and we are all in touch to this day.

That's what makes me very sad about everything that has been going on Politically lately. I know in my heart that Americans are very good people, and not all that different from ourselves. I have always loved them and their country. I pray every day that everything sorts itself out and have faith that it will. And that is about as political as I am ever likely to get on here.  Let's just love and respect each other and hope for the best.

 

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I just love, love, LOVE this living room area. The puffy couch and pillows, the covered ottoman, the cozy armchair, that beautiful corner cupboard and of course the window seat and all of the light coming into the room.  Oh, how I would love to be able to get my living room to look like that! I am fascinated by that puffy throw cushion on the sofa seat. That just looks so very comfortable. The whole thing is just very welcoming!  It says to me "Come in!  Sit and stay a spell!"

And I love geraniums.

And with that I best close this off for the day.  I have a bazillion things to get done and time is passing by quickly.

A thought to carry with you . . . 

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

*.May I live this day compassionate of heart,
clear in word, gracious in awareness,
courageous in thought and generous in love.
~John O'Donohue° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • ˚ 

In The English Kitchen today, Scored Baked Potatoes.  Potatoes are halved and then scored before rubbing a delicious herby spiced oil into their surfaces. Roasted to golden brown perfection. They are quite simply delicious.

I hope that we have a beautiful day today.  Let us all be kind to each other.  Love it the key.  Stay safe and stay warm. Don't forget!

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And I do too!