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OCTOBER 9th, 2026
Estate Lane, Nova Scotia
7*C/44*F
partially sunny, rain expected
Dear Neighbour,
It's very quiet in here this morning. Eileen got up to use the bathroom not too long ago, I helped to get her back in bed, to pull her blankets up, etc. She is doing very well, although she finds the stitches down below were really bothering her yesterday. It wasn't until later in the day we realized that if she sat reclined in the recliner it felt better, so today she is going to be sitting there. She has been getting up and walking for between 5 and ten minutes every hour or so, which is good. It helps to keep the blood circulating, avoiding clots. All told, however, she is doing very well. Prayers are being answered, left, right and center, and we are grateful.
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My phone appointment with my Doctor went really well. Nothing showed up on my Ultrasound. No kidney stones. Everything looks good. I got my prescriptions renewed and am picking up a requisition for blood tests, etc. and he has put me on the waiting list for a colonoscopy. (happy happy joy joy) Just what I wanted. But we endure what we have to I guess. It won't be happening any time soon. Dan has been waiting over four months for his.
I treated Eileen and I to a movie last night. It was something we had not seen in a very long time and we were just feeling like watching something funny. It was just as funny as it was the first time we saw it. I did have to rent it from Amazon as I couldn't find it streaming anywhere, but we didn't mind. It was still cheaper than going out for a movie.
Cindy stopped by with a sweet arrangement of flowers for Eileen yesterday and a quick visit after her Thai Chi class. Eileen was just thrilled. That was such a thoughtful thing for Cindy to do. I don't think Eileen has really been given flowers before. It meant a lot to her.
But that is Cindy, thoughtful to a "T." I wish I was more like her. She has always been the one who picks up the bird with a broken wing and tries to fix it.
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There were a great many holidays at Plumfield, and one of the most delightful was the yearly apple-picking. For then the Marches, Laurences, Brookes and Bhaers turned out in full force and made a day of it. Five years after Jo's wedding, one of these fruitful festivals occurred, a mellow October day, when the air was full of an exhilarating freshness which made the spirits rise and the blood dance healthily in the veins. The old orchard wore its holiday attire. Goldenrod and asters fringed the mossy walls. Grasshoppers skipped briskly in the sere grass, and crickets chirped like fairy pipers at a feast. Squirrels were busy with their small harvesting. Birds twittered their adieux from the alders in the lane, and every tree stood ready to send down its shower of red or yellow apples at the first shake. Everybody was there. Everybody laughed and sang, climbed up and tumbled down. Everybody declared that there never had been such a perfect day or such a jolly set to enjoy it, and everyone gave themselves up to the simple pleasures of the hour as freely as if there were no such things a care or sorrow in the world.
~Louisa May Alcott, from Good Wives, 1869
That is one of Alcott's books I have never read. To be honest I have only ever read Little Women. Perhaps I need to read some of her other books? Have you read any of them? All the byways and lanes are filled with wild asters at the moment. Purple and so pretty. I love wildflowers. Every season has their own, and each one delights in it's very own way.
Quite a few leaves came down yesterday as it was quite a windy day, but there are still plenty to enjoy. I need to really get those pots at the front of my house emptied and put away for the season. The flowers in them are mostly spent now. Perhaps today I will go out and take down all the other things which need putting away for the season. The decorations, like flower stakes, etc. I still haven't gotten my windows washed, but I really must get it done soon. It depends on when the rain is coming. right now the sky is turned out to be a brilliant blue. That October blue that the golds and oranges, ochres, and reds look so beautiful against.
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It is time to start thinking about Halloween again. To get in the treats to hand out. Nobody on the street has put out any decorations yet, but this weekend is Thanksgiving so I expect that they will start showing up once that is done.
We are going to try to go to my sister's on Sunday for Thanksgiving dinner. We are having roast chicken. I had picked up a large one at Peltons a few weeks back. Whole turkeys are so expensive these days and I am really the only one who enjoys turkey. Well, Eileen does too, but that's a lot of money to spend on something only we will enjoy. For me, it's more about the sides. The stuffing, the sweet potatoes, etc. My sister makes the most delicious stuffing and sweet potatoes.
It is just nice to be able to get together with a family to celebrate the holiday. They don't do Thanksgiving in the U.K. so I missed them a lot when I was living there. Oh, I used to do an American one for the Missionaries every November, but the Canadian one was largely forgotten.
I have many happy memories of making Thanksgiving Dinners for my family throughout the years. It was always a really big deal. We would pick up our Turkey's in the states in September. (Cross border shopping.) We usually picked up three or four to have in the freezer. They were always a lot cheaper down there and I always thought they tasted better. I never had a dry American turkey. There would be dressing/stuffing (lots of that), mashed potatoes, mashed turnips, mashed squash, sweet potatoes, carrots and peas, gravy, homemade rolls and usually two pies for dessert. Always a pumpkin one and then another one, usually apple. My favourite part has always been the leftovers. The turkey sandwiches with cranberry and stuffing. The pot pie. The soup. Enchiladas. You can get a lot of mileage out of one big bird.
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We had a nice little facetime with Anthony and his family yesterday. It was nice to see Anthony, Anne and the boys. I expect Anthony will be cooking a big turkey this weekend. He is just like me. He makes a big production of the holiday meal. I remember him and Anne coming over for my last family meal prior to my marriage breaking up in 1998. Amanda was home from University for the weekend. Doug was in his last year of Highschool. Mom was still alive. Eileen and Bruce were just Eileen and Bruce. It was a great weekend. My house was full to overflowing. Amanda stayed at mom's so she could have some privacy for studying. Lots of noise and good food. Anne made her apple/cranberry pie. It was a great time. It is too bad we all live so far apart now. Also the fracture in the family makes it difficult as well, but at least we have our happy memories of the past.
I have run out of things to write about now. Eileen will soon be getting up. I think she wants fruit and yogurt for her brekkie this morning. I need to get out and get some milk. Mine had gone sour yesterday so I had to dump it. Other than that, not sure what is on the agenda although I am sure I will come up with something!
A thought to carry with you . . .
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• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 。° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
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˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
*Sometimes it's the words we
choose not to say that speak most
loudly about our character.
~Lysa TerKeurst
I made these really delicious stuffed peppers for our supper last night. Italian Peperoni Ripieni. There is this channel I watch on YouTube, Pasta Grammar. Its really cute. A young American and his Italian wife. The food is always really tasty looking. I watched a video the other day and she was stuffing vegetables. Three kinds. I decided to try the stuffed peppers and we were amazed. So delicious. So much so that I am still thinking of them this morning. Seriously tasty.
Well, I hope that you have a lovely day. If you are a Canadian, Happy Thanksgiving Weekend! In any case be blessed everyone! Don't forget!
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And I do too!
