Dear Neighbor . . .

Lupins beginning to bloom

at Cindy's

FRIDAY,  June 6th, 2025

Estate Lane, Nova Scotia

14*C/57*F (early morning)

Partly sunny skies

Dear Neighbor,

I hope that this missive finds all to be well in your little corner of the world. Things are bright here at the moment, but the sky is covered in a bit of a haze from the wildfires out West. It has made for spectacular sunsets. The temperature is supposed to reach a high of 25*C/77*F today. We need some rain as conditions are dry, and the grass is looking burnt on my lawn out front. There is a burning ban on at the moment with open fires only being allowed between 7 pm and 8 am everywhere in the province. This is wildfire season, so we need to be careful.

The talk of fires reminds me of one year when my father decided to burn our lawn as he had read that it would help the grass to come in thicker and greener, that it was good for the lawn.  He lit the lawn and had it pretty much under control for the most part, but the winds picked up. It got away from him and the fire department needed to be called down to extinguish it as the fire raced towards the motel which lay right next to our home. This is right across the street to the East of where I now live. Life has come full circle for me it seems.

 

(source)

Cindy and I had a fairly uneventful trip up the Valley yesterday.  We left about 12:30 and went up as far as Greenwich. We stopped at Michaels first. I didn't think I needed anything but did pick up a couple of crochet hooks, some fresh pipe cleaners and some silver heart beads. I am always thinking that I am going to start making my wee wire dolls again. That is the plan. We shall see.

Cinnamon has a passion for pipe cleaners and as soon as she sees that I have some out she is all into them. 

We went to the farm market not too far from there in Greenwich, just outside of Wolfville. I got some rhubarb, broccoli and asparagus. Farm markets are so tempting these days. They are filled with lots of baked goods and meats. The farm market in Greenwich (Hennigars) bakes a lot of their own baked goods.  Cindy picked up some sweet potato biscuits. I resisted. I don't know why but I am always overwhelmed by the taste of baking powder in their biscuits, etc. It almost burns my mouth.  She cannot taste it at all, but I am extremely sensitive to it. It does not happen when I bake these things at home.

Their British pies were very tempting, but then again, I think to myself I can bake a much better one here at home as well, and for a lot less money.  I did pick up a bag of Neal Brothers Cheese Puffs which I opened up to snack on last night and they are actually quite disappointing. They don't taste like cheese at all. Sigh . . . 

From there we stopped at Noggins, working our way back down the valley. There I did pick up some russet potatoes that looked nice, some oat cakes and two packs of sausage, Bratwurst and British Bangers. Not cheap but good sausage never is.

We went to the Cambridge Convenience and picked up our bread that we had ordered from Costco. It is an organic 21 grain bread.  

We really like it and it comes in a two loaf pack. I freeze it and take it out as and when I need it. My brother really enjoyed it while he was here as well. 

 I also got two jars of this delicious bean salad. It's delicious and it never hurts to have it in the larder. I opened the jar I had while my brother was here, and it disappeared quick time as it is that tasty.  With chickpeas, kidney beans, green and yellow beans it goes down a real treat. You could not make this as cheaply as you can buy it. We love the stuff.

I also got a big bag of frozen haddock and some frozen chicken.

Finally, we ended up at Jonny's Cookhouse for a cheeky early dinner of fish and chips.  Very naughty I know. 

And along the way we solved all of the world's problems. Oh, if only we could. 😐

The cats are always both eagerly awaiting me when I arrive back at the house. It doesn't matter how long I have been away, be it five minutes or five hours they are very happy to see me return.  Nutmeg always talks up a storm as if he is giving me heck for having been away so long and Cinnamon comes to greet me as well. She would like a scratch behind the years, but Mr. Jealous always tries to get between us. I think she would be a much more affectionate cat given the chance, but he steals her thunder. 

I have her as screen saver on my phone at the moment in black and white. I quite like it. 

I think they love me.

 

(source)

I got home and got everything put away and then I thought I would vacuum. I love the way the sunshine dapples the walls with light this time of year. This is not my house but an example of what I mean.  Later in the day it turns to gold, which I find quite delightful. The human eye is always attracted to light. It brings us joy and hope.

I have ordered a bookcase for my bedroom. That will be something for me to put together when it gets here. We shall see. It was an inexpensive metal one, but it does have wooden shelves. 

It's this one. Hopefully I won't have too much trouble getting it put together. I know Dan would do it if I asked him, and I may end up having to do that, but I do hate to trouble people to do things for me when I know they already have a lot to do on their plate. 

I have a new course starting this next Monday. It is called Sticky Blogging.  I have wanted to take it for a long time. It was not cheap to be honest, but I am hoping it will be worth it. We have had a few pre-lessons. They only take a few people on the course at a time so that they can devote more time to each student. I hope that it will add a few more tools to my toolbox and help me to engage more people when it comes to my food blog. As this is my main source of income that is really important to me.  I am getting to the stage in life where I need to be slowing down a bit and if I can work a bit less and still make a living, then this will be a worthwhile investment on my part. Here's hoping! I guess you could call it an investment in my future.

I hope it is not throwing good money after bad as my mother always used to say.

Life is good, richly blessed. My days are full and filled with peace and with joy. I do not need a lot of excitement to keep me happy. I am very content with simple things and ways. A bit of this and a bit of that. Small and simple pleasures.  Day by day. Faith, family, home. I know I say that all the time, but it is true. A good life is not built on extravagance but on the small and simple things that feed our souls with joy. Oh, don't get me wrong. An extravagance every now and then is great. We do need treats from time to time, but the real meat of our lives comes in the simple things and ways that richly embroider our days.  Light which flickers along the walls. Soft bellies to tickle. The smell of bread baking. A comfy chair to sit in with a good book and a hot drink. The sound of birds singing in the garden. The simple chores of every day that help to remind us that we are alive.  And much, much more.

I live in a peaceable kingdom, and I am it's Queen.

And with that flight of fancy, I will leave you with a thought for the day  . . . 

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

 *.˛.The cure for boredom
is curiosity.
There is no cure for curiosity.
~Dorothy Parker° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Gingerbread Energy Balls. These are so simple to make, and they really do taste like Gingerbread. Gluten free, nutritious, naturally sweet they make a great snack and are healthy option to enjoy when that craving for something sweet hits!

I hope your Friday is filled with Light and with Love.  Whatever you get up to, stay safe and don't forget!

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And I do too!!