All things Nice . . .

 

 

A smile can be as lovely as a prayer,

If there is understanding in the eyes;

A smile says: "I'm glad to see you there,"

A look that whispers something sweet and wise.

Old people often smile like this when they

Have some special love and kindness to convey.

A baby's smile, a wee three-cornered thing,

A bit uncertain of its right to be,

Can lift your heart clear up where angels sing

And show you realms unguessed, eternity

Come down and held in crumpled rosy hands,

Frail in themselves yet strong as iron bands.

The smile of friendship where two eyes unite

In friendly gossip o'er a cup of tea,

Where little happenings of the neighborhood

Are gold with relish and a kindly glee.

A lover's smile bent to his lady's face

Can make a palace of the meanest place.

The smiles between a husband and a wife

Across a room can tell the world so much

Of living shared and love's redeeming grace

As intimate and tender as a touch.

A smile can be as lovely as a prayer

If there is love and understanding there.

~Edna Jacques, A Smile

Back-Door Neighbors, 1946

Smiles. Everyone loves them and one size fits all. A smile from someone you meet on the street or in the shops or wherever just brightens up the day. Those first smiles from baby, oh how heartwarming they are.  

But did you know?

• Smiling lowers blood pressure and releases endorphins, which can relieve stress. 
• It is often referred to as a natural pain killer. 
• Smiles are contagious; people find it hard to frown when they see someone smiling. 
• People who smile more often are less likely to develop heart disease and high blood pressure. 
• Smiling is the most universal form of nonverbal communication. 

All good reasons to turn that frown upside down and share a few smiles today!

 

 

This is a photograph that I took yesterday afternoon. The rain was just pelting down.  We got quite a bit and the ghosties across the way at Midges were dancing in the wind. The skies cleared by late afternoon however and by 4 pm the sun was shining.  I still got quite a few trick-or-treaters.  I only have a few handfuls of candy left. A lot were older children this year. I did get one child in a push chair. I had several children remark on what good candy I had, and another little boy ran to his parents in glee saying "I got some teeth!" I think buying my treats at Dollarama and keeping away from the chocolate this year worked out to be a great idea.  Next year I will do the same, but I will also buy some little baggies to put an assortment in to be handed out. Last night I was just grabbing small handfuls.

My first trick-or-treater came about 4:15 and I had my last trick-or-treater around 7:15 or so. It was a good evening. The cats were locked up safe and sound in my bedroom, so I didn't have to worry about them getting out the door. 

I loved seeing all of the costumes, etc. Some were really cute. I did notice an abundance of really violent characters this year.  But one little boy looked like an old-time film-star, Charlie Chaplin, and I noticed his grownup companions also were dressed as old-time film stars. I think he was my favorite one of the evening.

My friend Ginny, in New Hampshire, sent me this photo of a rainbow yesterday morning. She had taken it to the West of their property. Now that's a great way to start your day by having someone send you a picture of a beautiful rainbow.  If you look closely, you can see it is a double rainbow. Twice the blessing.

I love rainbows. The sight of one always warms my heart. God's promise.  Hope. 

I love that Ginny shared this with me. It made my day.  She said I could share it and so I hope it will also make your day. It really is a magnificent rainbow.

 

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Today we get to turn our calendar pages over to a fresh month. Happy November everyone! This weekend also, here in North America, we turn our clocks back an hour, supposedly giving us an extra hour's sleep. I am not sure about that. Maybe for some.  For me it just means I will be waking up at 5 a.m. for a while instead of 6 a.m. or at least until my body clock adjusts to the change.

We have Remembrance day on the 11th, a day in which we get to remember and honor those who have fallen fighting in Wartime to help protect our freedoms. Most will wear a poppy for the first half of the month in their honor when we are out and about. 

Both my grandson Jake and my son Doug have Birthdays this month.  I sent my cards to them yesterday. A bit early, but with the revolving strikes I wanted to make sure they got there on time.

Later this month our friends in America will be celebrating their Thanksgiving. I have to admit that I like the timing of theirs a lot better. It seems to usher in the whole holiday season. What better way to begin celebrating God's greatest gift to mankind than by celebrating a day of Thanksgiving.

And I know many (not myself) will be chaffing at the bit to start tearing down their Halloween decs and putting up their Christmas decor. I prefer to wait until December myself, but there is nothing that says I can't start enjoying my Christmas movies early this year.  That way I might actually get them all in!

 

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What a brilliant reminder to us not to take anything in our life for granted.  Life truly turns on a dime and can change in an instant. I try to take a stance of gratitude every day.  Sometimes it can be really heard, especially when you are going through a difficult time, or an illness, etc. But you can usually find something to be thankful for in most situations, and even the most boring day will have a silver lining and something to grateful for. 

We often take things like home, faith, family, friends, healthcare, peace, education, etc. for granted.  But these are all gifts and things that many in the world do not have access to. 

Life often turns out quite differently than we had imagined that it would, but that doesn't mean that it is not a good life.  I am grateful for every corner of mine.  And yes, even the bad stuff, for it has helped to shape and strengthen me. I like me and I would not be me without having lived through and experienced all of it.

I am grateful just to be able to say "I like me."  There have been many times in my life where I  couldn't.

 

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I love cherry anything, especially in decor and this tile made me smile. It reminds me of my mother's old spice rack. It has ceramic jars in it with shapes of fruits, etc. that stick out on the sides and are colored.  I loved that rack when I was a child. I don't think mom ever really kept any spices in it. It was more a decoration than anything else.  But it made me happy just seeing it.  It still does.

This tile also reminded me of the new tiles that Kirsten and Jorg have gotten for their kitchen. They posted a video the other day "Why We Still Believe in Small Beautiful Things." I thoroughly enjoyed it.  They shared their tiles in the video. (10:13 in the video) They are lovely. Delft like.

I love anything blue and white.

I also love this couple. I watch all of their videos. They live not far from where I lived in the U.K. They just seem like really nice genuine people.

 

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Is this not the cutest thing you have ever seen?  Such a sweet hanger. Obviously meant to put in a young child's closet. It looks vintage but was created by a person named  arica-aki on Instagram. If you look at her Instagram page you will fall in love. She is so talented.  I am in awe of all the talented people we have in this world.  That is one thing I love about the Internet. It affords us the possibility of discovering new and beautiful things to appreciate that we might not otherwise have seen or noticed.

You will get lost on this beautiful page of wood carvings.  I know I did.  Simply beautiful.

 

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Nutmeg just made me smile. He just went dashing into the back bedroom. A leaf was dancing against the door (which is a big window). He was intent on watching and trying to catch it.

He does make me laugh.  Sometimes he goes on what I call his "Zoomies."  He will gallop full speed back and forth through the house, his little paws thumping and bouncing off the floors.  It makes me smile every time. 

Sometimes he looks at me, and it looks like he is smiling and very happy. It is very palpable. The joy. And in turn he brings me joy. Joy shared is joy doubled.

From day one those two have been bringing joy into my life. I would not want to be without them. They have grown a lot since this photo was taken. They were still babies here. 

 

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At the beginning of every month, I get offered the choice of a free read on Amazon. Its an opportunity o read a book on your kindle before it is released to the general public. This month I picked one called The Wonderous Life and Loves of Nella Carter.  

"A young woman at the crossroads of life and death embarks on an extraordinary journey across time in an epic novel about beauty, hope, endurance, and endless loves. 

 Most humans cower in the face of Death. Not Nella May Carter. She sees him. She doesn’t hide. Instead, she bargains. 

 Born enslaved in eighteenth-century Georgia, Nella still believes in the will to survive amid the most untenable of conditions, in the glory of life, and in the ultimate goodness of the human race. She asks that Death, doubtful and curious, allow her to live long enough to prove it. He’s giving Nella all the time in the world. 

 Challenged, Nella embarks on an epic journey across the globe and centuries. Each new incarnation records the joys and losses, and the friendships and heartbreaks, throughout her lifetimes. When she meets handsome and passionate professor Sebastian Moore—the first man to whom she has ever revealed her secrets—Nella yearns for the mortality that escapes her. She can’t bear to leave this love behind. 

 As Death keeps watch, has Nella’s journey come to an end? Or is a new one just beginning?"

It just sounded very good.

Free books.  A very good thing and very nice.

And with that I will bring this to a close . . . 

A thought to carry with you . . .

☾ ° ★° * 。  

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

*Give thanks to the Lord

for His love endures forever.

~2 Chronicles 20:21 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。

• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛  

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Butter Pecan Cornbread.  This is hands down the best cornbread I have ever baked and eaten! A small batch recipe. Its made with buttermilk and sweetened with a tiny bit of brown sugar.  Loaded with pecans and then topped with buttered pecans before baking. I am in love.

I hope that you have a beautiful weekend!  Cloudy and windy today.  Time to bring in my few little Halloween decorations. Have a great Saturday!  May it 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!    

   

Dear Neighbor . . .

 

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FRIDAY, October 31st, 2025
Estate Lane, Nova Scotia

13*C/56*F light rain with

heavy rain expected soon

Dear Neighbor,

Happy Halloween on this dark and rainy last day of October. The rain is supposed to continue all day, along with some high winds, but is expected to clear by this evening. I expect we will still get plenty of trick or treaters. I do so love to see the wee ones in their cute costumes. I don't mind seeing the older ones either, but the little ones are always so cute and endearing. I love to see the parents also. It brings back a lot of happy memories of taking my own children out trick or treating. 

I remember one year our oldest boy wanted to be a robot, so we fashioned him a costume using some cardboard boxes and dryer hose. My husband covered the boxes with plaster of Paris, and painted everything silver with a can of spray paint. It ended up being quite heavy, but Anthony wore it anyways. He was thrilled with his costume even if it weighed him down.

Such an exciting night for the children. 

 

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My brother's procedure went well yesterday, and he messaged to let us know he was home and resting. Our Sister-in-law gave the following update:

"Thanks for your prayers. Dave is home now, has had some soup, and is ready for bed. No heavy lifting for a while. Dave's ablation procedure was tricky, but the doctor felt she was able to get the two tumours. Follow up CT scans will confirm this. The biopsy results won't be ready for 10 days or so. Tomorrow will be a quiet day of rest."

It was quite a long day for them yesterday. I am sure that they are both really tired after the ordeal, and my sister-in-law takes care of her father who has dementia as well. He is in a care home facility, but she still spends quite a bit of time there with him making sure everything is okay and seeing to his needs. It is one where each resident has their own little apartment. He is as independent as he is capable of being, which is a good thing in many respects.  Cared for, but independent. Everyone should be able to end their days in this fashion.

 

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I remember when my children were, well . . .  children. We used to get them each their own small pumpkin to carve.  I would line the dining room table with newspaper and put a big bowl out to put all of the insides of the pumpkins and the trimmings in. (Remember those big green Tupperware bowls. It was my bread making bowl.) This was a real fun time for them. So exciting. The faces would be drawn on first with a marker and then carved out, with much supervision I wish that I had photos of these times, but alas I do not.  I carry the memories of them in my heart.

Did you carve pumpkins when you were a child, or with your children?  We didn't make Jack-o-Lanterns when I was child. I suspect my mother couldn't abide the mess, or the expense of buying a large pumpkin that would not be eaten.  It's okay. I don't remember ever feeling deprived.

I never quite knew what to do with the seeds. I remember roasting them one year, but I wasn't sure how you were supposed to eat them.  Do you peel the white outer skin off or what?  I found them to be most unpalatable and never roasted them again. It was like eating a mouthful of straw.

 

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Our leaves are mostly down now and after the rain and wind of today I suspect that not many will still be hanging on the trees. Oh, how I have always longed to visit New England in the autumn.  The photographs that you see are so beautiful, with the old wooden houses, barns and churches. I suspect that in reality it is not all that different than it is here. It is the Maple trees really that bring the most color. I saw a beautiful photo of the blueberry fields in the Wentworth Valley the other day and they were scarlet.

What a wonderful thing it is that we are treated to such a special sight as the changing of the leaves in the Autumn.  A final blessing before the cold grey starkness of Winter descends upon us.

I don't mind the Winter, not really. I know it is cold and that it can be dark, but I am one who enjoys the cozying in of it all.

I am having my winter tires put onto my car on Monday as well as having the oil changed and everything Winterized. It seems that it was not long since that I was having the summer tires put on. I do hope that I get another season out of all of them. We shall see. Hope springs eternal as they say!

 

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Our clocks fall back this weekend.  I am not a person who embraces change very well, and I hate time changes most of all. It seems to take me forever to catch up with them.  

The days are getting much, much shorter now as the nights begin draw in earlier. It will be getting dark around five p.m. after the time change.  

Darkness is descending. And I know for many this is associated with negativity. Certainly the limited daylight hours and lack of sunshine do take their toll. But I have always found that changing my mindset, ever so subtly helps me to reclaim this time and to savor the darkness. Embracing your inner child is the key . . . and for me it began with the unadulterated magic of transforming trees.

Then there is the delight of the first frost when Jack Frost paints all of the dead branches and dry grasses with his crystal brush, making everything sparkle in light of the rising sun. 

 

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Unexpected fairytale mushrooms that sprout up in the yard. I pointed one out to my sister the other night as she dropped me off after our supper out with dad. It looked like a small table sitting in the now green grass of my lawn . . .  just awaiting the ministrations of the fairies to set it up for their midnight feast.

Bare branches . . .  dried berries clinging to them, a treat that awaits the birds that winter here.

Whether you are in the countryside or in the city, so much daily magic can be found. You just have to stop, slow down, and look around. 

 

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I have finally switched on my heating. The cats are enjoying the in-floor heating in the bathroom. I had no idea it existed prior to last Winter. It has made a huge difference in the temperature in the bathroom when I come out of the shower. I would not want to be without it.

Blankets have come out of my cupboard and feature here in the living room on my sofa.   The fans have been cleaned and put away until next year. Knitwear is becoming a staple.  

It is hard to know what to wear some days.  You begin the day in woolies and sometimes by mid-afternoon you are shaking them off.  It is a time of transition I suppose. A bit of Winter in the morning and a touch of summer in the afternoon.

I light my candles with abandon now and enjoy their glow as it warms my heart of an evening, or even sometimes in the afternoons. Today will be such a day.

 

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Time in the kitchen soothes the soul. Bubbling pots of soup, squash roasting in the oven, tea warming on the back burner. This is the time of year that comfort foods, heartier foods call to our souls.  I start to crave a good stew, loaded with lots of root vegetables and a thick gravy to dip my bread in. One of my favorite things is just a slice of thick rustic bread, buttered thickly with hot gravy ladled over top. I could quite happily sup on that any night of the week. 

I suppose it is a bit like nursery food.  And this is the time of year we do crave that sort of food, comforting and soul warming.  Thick rice puddings, pasta bakes, soups and stews.  Bakes filled with the seasonal deliciousness of autumn fruits and warm baking spices.

The wind can whistle down the chimney all it wants if I am sitting in front of my electric fire (just to take the chill off) with a hot bowl of sustenance in front of me, a wooly blanket across my lap, in a room lit with candles, soft jazz playing on the radio. One cat laying next to me snuggling into the warmth of my side and the other across the back of my chair, paws outstretched and caressing my shoulders.

This is bliss.  And it doesn't happen any other time of the year but now.  It may feel like the world is willing us to hurtle through the season . . .  headfirst into the festive countdown, but there is still much of autumn left to make the most of, especially when the darkness begins to descend . . . 

And with that I will end this missive to you on this cool wet morning with . . . 

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  

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

*Go placidly amid the noise & haste

& remember what Peace there

may be in silence.

~The Desiderata  • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。*

• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 

In The Kitchen today  . . . . Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. A small batch. 18 delicious cookies to enjoy with a hot drink or a glass of cold milk.

I do hope that you have a beautiful day this last day of October.  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!    

   

My Favorite Things . . .

 

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens . . . these are some of the things in life that I enjoy, and which make me happy, inspire me, or put a smile on my face. Maybe some of them are yours too.  Let's share!  

 

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The art of crochet. My sister taught both our mother and I to crochet when I was in my teens and I have been enjoying this craft ever since.

 

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I have always loved dolls and small figures.  I love to make them as well.

 

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I love to embroider, anything.

 

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Neat as a pin and full of light.

 

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Wooly jumpers to keep you warm  . . . 

 

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Fresh crisp apples  . . . 

 

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Time  . . . . 

 

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The scriptures.  Everything you need to know about why, what, when, how, where, etc. life, is in there.

 

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Home sweet home  . . . 

 

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Working with my hands  . . . 

 

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Seasonal mugs  . . . 

 

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Onions  . . .  I love onions.

 

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A warm fire . . . 

 

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Snoopy  . . . 

 

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Gingham bedding  . . .  checks . . .  lovely.

 

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Notions  . . . . 

 

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Buttons and small pots  . . . 

 

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A place for everything and everything in its place . . . 

 

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Pretty place settings  . . . 

 

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Wooly throws  . . . . 

 

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A meal in the making  . . .  ingredients.

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It doesn't get much better . . .  a cozy corner, a comfy spot, something to read, a gingham cover, plenty of light.

 

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Majesty  . . . 

 

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They always know the best spots  . . . 

And those are my favorite things for this week. Maybe some of them were yours also. 💖

A thought to carry with you . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  

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

*The universe is 

full of magical things
patiently waiting for 

our wits to grow sharper.
~Eden Phillpots • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 

• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★  

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Old-fashioned Amish Cranberry Cake with a Butter Sauce. Sweet, moist, tart, delicious.

I hope you have a wonderful Thursday. We will be waiting on tenterhooks as our brother goes through his procedure. Wishing him well in all things.  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!