Dear Neighbor . . .

 

SEPTEMBER 4th, 2026

Estate Lane

Nova Scotia

18*C/64.4*F

Rain coming

Dear Neighbor,

Looking at the forecast for the coming week I will say that we are in for quite a bit of rain. It says rain every day.  I don't mind overly much. One thing I learned in all the years I spent in the U.K. was that you don't melt in the rain. Rain makes things lovely and green and beautiful, whilst making your hair all frizzy at the same time. You win some and you lose some. That's life.

Its super quiet in here at the moment. The cats are off sleeping somewhere, having had their fill of breakfast and treats. They are "sleeping it off." The first of many naps they will take today. Eileen always laughs at all of the "cat napping" that goes on in this house.

Some days I wish I were more like a cat and that I could fall asleep as quickly as they seem to do.

 

(source)

It is cooling down nicely in the evenings now. It will soon be time to shake out the winter blankets and put them in place. All summer long I sleep with only a sheet over top of me and very occasionally a throw on top of that, but now the very occasionally has become the norm so I think its time to place another layer on top of the sheet. I can always push it down if we get a hot night.

I finally found a source for this blanket. It's not your usual granny square. I have printed out the free pattern, and this will be my winter project this year. I have the yarn already. I got some of the Highland Heathers yarn in ecru's an greens. That is the same yarn that I used for my blanket with the larger squares that I love so much.  At first glance the yarn looks like it is just one color but then when you look closer you can see other glints of color in it. I think it's a beautiful yarn. I quite love it.

And I love the colors in this blanket.

 

(source)

I recently ordered a "Batch" loaf of bread from a British shop that I sometimes get food items from. It is so lovely. I really miss British bread. Their bread is not so sweet as ours and there is a type of sturdiness to it. It feels like it has substance. In any case, this loaf is like a really old fashioned-loaf with a dark crust and sturdy crumb. Without sugar you can really taste the bread.  A slice of this, slathered in butter is like a little taste of heaven. I know  . . .  I should be making my own bread. I just haven't had the time. I did, however, make a batch of my granola the other night. 

I love the smell of my granola while it is baking. It is a simple recipe, olive oil, maple syrup, old fashioned oats, lots of nuts, big fat raw coconut flakes. I could eat it by the handful, but don't. I content myself to have a small bowl of plain yogurt in the mornings with some of it scattered on top. Admittedly however, sometimes when I am feeling a tiny bit peckish  . .  I will enjoy a small handful. Its better than a cookie.

And I like to think . . . healthier.

 

(source)

One thing I am looking for is a nice pattern to make a shawl. I think I would like a shawl to put over my shoulders this coming winter. Just for when I am sitting watching television or whatnot. I did make one for my mother the winter before she passed. It is white. Cindy gave it to me when I returned to Canada. It lays across the back of my easy chair. I have looked at a lot of patterns, but have yet to find one that I really like. 

One thing about shawls is that one size pretty much fits all. You can drape it over your shoulders, or even, if you are out and about, over your head to keep the chill away.  I don't think they ever really go out of style, not that I am a person who follows the latest fashion trends. I am not.  I prefer comfort over fashion and substance rather than style. If that makes sense.  I just want to be comfortable . . . and warm, and I often find sweaters too confining to wear. Maybe if I was thinner. I do like a good cardi . . . 

 

(source)

Remember what it was like when you were small, and the

leaves were bigger than your hands? When the world smelled of wood smoke

and spun slower on its axis because school started over and Christmas was years away?

Remember the crackling sound of the leaves as you tromped through the back yard, that

slight rustle . . .  or the sound they made as the wind made them dance and skitter

across the pavement? That smell as they settled down into what they would become

before Winter graced us with its presence  . . . 

Autumn . . .

I am ready for autumn now . . . I am longing for the colors and the smells and the feels that it brings. The earlier nights when I can light all my candles and sit in my chair all cozy reading a book, one cat tucked into my side and the other right behind my head on the back of the sofa. Darker mornings when I am awake to watch the sun rise behind the houses that lay to the back of my wee place, and take in the golden light and shadows that it paints on the sides of the houses to the front . . .  the way it moves across the grass and melts the frost on each blade it touches  . . . 

It will be weeks yet before we get the pleasure of seeing a frost on the ground. I love to watch it melt off the rooftops. All aglitter until it silently disappears  . . .  on some days you can almost see a whisp in the air as it evaporates beneath the heat of a sun that lays low in the sky this time of year.

I am reminded of when I was staying in that motel when I first arrived back. How broken I felt and yet invigorated by the sight and glitter of the frosty ground and the call of the blue jays echoing in the air. Two things I had really missed when living so far away.  Eileen's morning visits as she walked past my room on her way to work.  She would knock on the window and then stand back and wave. Her sweet smile  brightened my days. It still does. 

I love her so much. We have not heard anything as of yet. She was excited when I spoke to her this morning as a bunch of them are going out for lunch today to celebrate a birthday and then tomorrow I will be picking her up for a "long" weekend this week. Due to the Labor day holiday. She is excited about that as well. Admittedly so am I. Monday is my church's annual corn boil. I am hoping I can convince her to come with me. I think she would enjoy it.

 

I have started a new study in the Psalms on prayer. We have been studying the Old Testament all this year and I love the Psalms. I am not a scriptorian. I do not often understand completely what I am reading. I find myself, more often than not, turning to YouTube in my studies and listening to the thoughts of others. Unshaken is one that I enjoy, however he is a bit wordy. He does help me to understand things a lot more. I also enjoy Don't Miss This, however I did like it more when Emily Freeman was one of the hosts rather than her daughter. It feels a bit young to me now.

Anyways, I got this book on studying prayer through 31 Psalms. I have wanted to deepen my prayer life. It seems that I say the same prayers over and over again. And I do continually pray in my mind. I want them to have more meaning . . .  to be more like a song than rote  . . . to draw me into a closer relationship with my Heavenly Father. This book may help. 

I do love the scriptures and I am really looking forward to studying the New Testament in the next year, starting in January.  Books about the Savior and His teachings. I love Jesus. He is my friend.  He is real to me. He has been real to me since I was a very small child. My father taught me to pray . . . just the Now I lay me down to sleep prayer  . . .  but still. I confess, it is how I still start my prayers at night. I cannot kneel any more. Would that I could. There is something special about being able to kneel before the Lord and speak your petitions out loud. Its just magic to me.  Instead now, I sit  . . . 

He hears them regardless, even the unspoken ones. He answers them too, in His timing and sometimes in the most mysteriously magical ways.

 

(source)

I am a romantic at heart. But then  . . .  you already know that if you have been reading me for very long.  (And I have been doing this for a very long time now.) Part of "romanticizing life" means making everyday life beautiful and special in every way. This means elevating even the most mundane parts of our days. I like to think that I do that.

I’ve come to realize that we may not always have that perfect mindset that we all chase: the come what may, the see the beauty all around you, the stop and smell the roses. Those moments can be difficult to find in our fast-paced world, especially when you’re constantly driving yourself forward. 

Lately, I’ve been tricking myself into it. I call this “romanticizing my life.” I use this technique when I’m struggling to see the beauty in a situation, to add a little romance to the everyday frustrations and low moments that sometimes come up in life. It’s a perspective shift, more than anything else, paired with words that will take something that is often just a concept and turn it into something more solid. Something actionable. It’s less effective to simply say, “I need to slow down and re-frame what I’m experiencing,” than it is to force yourself to notice actual details and commit them to written words.

 Mine are usually only one or two sentences, but I have noticed that writing them down does consistently improve my mood and help me to see the beauty in what I’m experiencing, even when only a moment before I couldn’t see any there at all. I write the moments down on little scraps of paper and stick them in a pretty jar. I have Eileen doing it as well. Glimmers of ideas for stories and projects often spark and sputter in my mind. I do not have enough days left in my life to do all the things that I would like to do and that's okay. Sometimes even just thinking about them is enough. 

The idea is that I will be able to open the scraps of paper at a future date and be inspired again by the words I have written, perhaps in my low moments they will help to lift me up.

 

(source)

Believe it or not it is already gone past 9:30 and I really have to be on and about my day. I am going with Cindy later on to take Dad out with his friend Maryann. It was her birthday a week or so ago and we did not know if. I have a small gift and a card to give to her. She is so good and caring to Dad and has always been good to Cindy and myself. I think she fancies herself as being his girlfriend . . . even though he is very noncommittal about it. He has always just seen himself as a friend. Truth be told, he likes to keep his options open. Funny that.  At the age of 92 he is still keeping his options open.  In any case I hope she likes my small gift and that she feels seen and appreciated.

And with that I will end this with a thought to carry with you . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  

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

*Each day comes

bearing it's own gifts.

Untie the ribbons.

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Creamy Bow Tie Pasta Salad, sized just for two. A little something for labor day perhaps?  With small bits of ham and chunks of cheese, sweet peas, sharp red onions and a creamy rich tangy/sweet dressing.

I hope your Friday is all that you want it to be. May it be a day filled with joy and peace, and hopefully a bit of sunshine, even if it has to be of your own making. 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!