Dear Neighbor . . .

 

(source)

 

 OCTOBER 23rd, 2026

Estate Lane, Nova Scotia

5*C/41*F

windy with rain expected later

Dear Neighbour,

Not quite as cold this morning although my weather app says because of the wind it is feeling a lot colder out. I can believe that. I have turned on the in-floor heating in my bathroom so that it is warmer in there. 

Eileen is still sleeping. She got up when I did this morning to go to the loo. She's been doing that most mornings.  But then she goes back to bed and sleeps for a few more hours. She is doing quite well, all things considered. She still has not ventured out of the house and she is still half reclining in the lazy boy chair when she is awake, Still not doing diamond art. But she is walking around a bit better and is toileting herself now. For the most part. I still have to help her pull up her pants, etc. She cannot bend or reach.

She had quite a busy day yesterday. My cousin Maria came to see her in the morning and brought her a nice little vase of flowers (artificial) and a little teddy bear. Eileen was thrilled. We had a lovely visit together the three of us, and then her worker Amy was here for another couple of hours. After that Eileen did have a nap.  She sleeps a lot, but that is to be expected and I think is aiding in her healing. Overall, I think she is doing very well. Each day brings small improvements. It has only been 2 1/2 weeks.

 

(source)

The trees around the street are looking barer with every day that passes. Winds, rain, etc. these all bring them down. I think we have seen the best of them now. One thing I have always wanted to do is to see the leaves in New England in the autumn, although I suspect that it is are not all that different than the leaf show we are treated to here in Nova Scotia.

Vermont/New Hampshire is an area I have long romanticized in my mind.  I often thought in years past that if I could live anywhere in the world, it would be there, and dreamed of winning the lottery and moving there. Not so much these days.  But now that I am older, my wanderlust has lessened a lot and I am quite content to just stay home. 

 

(source)

It seems hardly possible that Halloween is a week tomorrow.  It just doesn't seem like Halloween this year. I do have treats in, ready to hand out for the children. Eileen is hoping that she can be the treat hander-outer. We will see how that goes.  

Halloween is always very exciting on this street. Because we have relatively no traffic here on my street and there is a sidewalk that leads through to the next street over where they also have no traffic, we get lots of children. It is quite a busy night. I love to see all the children in their costumes, especially the younger ones. They are so excited.  A lot of the parents seem to dress up as well, which I enjoy as well.

Such an exciting time for the kids.  

 

(source)

I am feeling a little bit bummed this morning. I am not sure why. Perhaps I am feeling a bit stir crazy, I  don't know. I certainly don't have any reason to feel sad.  Eileen is doing well and things are going alright, but I was a bit upset last night when we were talking and Eileen let it slip that her youngest brother had been in the car with them when her dad took her in to Halifax. I didn't let on that I was, but it disturbed me a bit that she hadn't said anything before.  She told me that her dad was taking him to the airport to pick up his wife, that wherever she had been and was returning from, she had broken her arm and that she wasn't able to drive her car. Their little boy was spending the day with the Stepmom's daughter and then the stepmom was going to be taking care of him overnight.

I think that is the part that is making me feel sad. I never got to see or spend time with any of my grandchildren when they were small. When I returned here six years ago (in just a few weeks time) I had such high hopes that I would finally be able to spend time with one of my grandchildren while they were still small. Liam would have not been quite a year old at that time. I bought that tiny rocking chair for in my house, thinking it would be Liam's chair and I have never even seen him, or gotten to spend any time with him.  He will be 7 on his birthday next, and I think it dawned on me yesterday that I probably never will and that has made me feel incredibly sad.

 

(source)

It just makes me feel incredibly sad that this woman who has been incredibly mean-spirited throughout all the years is deemed more worthy to spend time with my grandson than I am.  It really does break my heart. I just think I am coping well with all of that, and then something like this will happen and my heart breaks all over again.  I used to think that maybe "one day" . . . but I have come to realize now that "one day" is never going to come and I have lost hope. At least about that.

These things are things that I struggle with on a daily basis, and most days I am able to stuff the feelings down and move past them. I am usually a very positive person, or at least I try to be, but at the moment I am really struggling with them.

I felt almost angry at one point yesterday.  When my cousin Maria was here.  I was angry with Todd for all that he took from me. What his lies and deceit had stolen from me. Over 20 years with my family. All of the births of my grands. The opportunity for me to maybe find someone that I could have shared my old age with. Relationships with at least two of my children. Not being able to spend the last years of my mother's life with her. The list is rather lengthy. I try not to dwell on it, most of the time, but for some reason at the moment my feelings are very tender about it all.

Nobody wants to hear this. This too shall pass. I know it will.  I need to dwell on my blessings a bit more.

 

(source)

Eileen and I started watching this show on Prime yesterday with Jennifer Garner in it. Five Star Weekend. We both really liked it, so much so that we binged two episodes. The wealth in this film however is outrageous. It is hard to believe that people are actually that rich, but I know they are.  I mean I worked for them.  But it's nice and the storyline is quite compelling and the scenery is beautiful.  And . . .  Eileen is enjoying it so we will watch the series all the way through.

Plus I really like Jennifer Garner.

It will soon be time to start watching all the Hallmark Christmas chick flicks. I like those. They always have happy endings.

 

(source)

Normally on Fridays I would be going out with my sister and dad to take him to the mall. That's not happening this week. I don't think I could risk leaving Eileen on her own for that long. Maybe next week. I am missing my outings a bit, but its okay, I would not trade the privilege of being able to do this for my daughter for anything, or all the Friday outings in the world.  Things will be back to normal soon enough.

Her goal is that she can move back into her apartment after Halloween, but I really don't think that is going to happen. Especially where she is still not venturing out of the house, can't face sitting on the sofa, not doing her diamond art, etc. Unless something drastically improves over the next week, I don't see her being able to move back to her place. And that's okay with me. I am here for her as long as I need to be.  But I did suggest that we get a small notebook and that she write some goals in it and then start actively working towards them.  I will dig around the house today and see if I can find one that I don't mind parting with.

In any case, my life being as narrow as it is at the moment, I have run out of things to talk about, so I will end this now  . . . 

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  

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

*But they who wait for the lord

shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings

as eagles; they shall run and

not be weary; they shall walk

and not faint. ~Isaiah 40:31

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Meatloaf Pie.  This is a tasty version of meatloaf that everyone in my family always loves. No small wonder as it is incredibly delicious!

I hope that you have a lovely Friday.  May it be filled with light and with love.  Don't forget!

═══════════ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ═════════════ 

⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ════════════  

And I do too!    

   

Dear Neighbor,

 

(source)

 

 OCTOBER 16th, 2026

Estate Lane, Nova Scotia

0*C/32*F

light rain expected

Dear Neighbour,

It's quite chilly in here this morning, and there's a heavy frost on the rooftops across the way. Its that time of year.  We had quite a bit of wind yesterday and a lot of leaf came down. They were dancing all up and down the street most of the day and the back garden is full of them now.

Eileen cancelled her visit with her worker yesterday as she was not feeling up to it. She spent a lot of the day napping. I managed to get out while she was having one of her naps, but it was a quick trip so that I wasn't gone too long.  I think she is feeling a bit fed up with it all. I feel for her. I think she was a bit depressed yesterday.  Her mood lifted a bit when we got a package in the post from my friend Eileen (who I named Eileen after) out west.  Eileen (out west) has been a friend of mine since Kindergarten. That's a very long time. She had sent us two jars of her homemade strawberry jam, some popcorn puffs, a box of DAVIDsTEA in my favorite flavour, and a cute little stuffed kitten and some cat patterned ankle socks for Eileen. She was thrilled.  Especially with the little note that Eileen included for her. It was a very kind gesture for her to do this and Eileen's mood was greatly lifted by it. She has been sleeping with the kitten every since. Something to cuddle.

I am sure she is quite bored and it is no fun being in pain all the time. I wish I could take it all away. I keep trying to get her to focus on her blessings. Most of the time she does really well. 

  

 

(source)

I am pretty tired myself. We have been in bed most nights this week by 8:30 and I am sleeping through til amost 7 a.m. most mornings. We have gotten into an evening routine.  Dishes, feed the cats, scoop the litter, then I help her to have a shower and dry her off, get her dressed, etc. Then we watch a bit of television and are in bed by 8:30.  There is a bit of routine behind that as well. I help her to use the loo, help her to clean up, get her her tablets, fill her sleep machine, etc. etc. I say we are in bed by 8:30 but by the time we do everything it is closer to 9:00.

I am very grateful, however, to be able to be here supporting her as I am. This is a special blessing for me and I don't want anyone to think I am complaining about it because I am not.  Not in the least.  This is a privilege for me to be able to do this for my daughter, and I am grateful.

 

(source)

October was well advanced, but steadily burning with a warmth

that made the early months of summer appear very young and

capricious. Great tracts of the earth lay now beneath the autumn

sun, and the whole of England, from the bald moors to the Cornish

rocks, was lit up from dawn to sunset, and showed in stretches

of yellow, green and purple.

~Virginia Woolf (1882-1941) from The Voyage Out, 1915

It always amazes me at how quickly our world changes between the seasons. It seems like it was only a few weeks ago we were driving through tunnels of green and then within days they became tunnels of azure and ochre, gold and russet and now you can see glimpse of bright blue sky peeking through the branches as they gradually empty, and this in only a matter of weeks.

It will be Halloween in only a few weeks now. I picked up some treat sized Rice Krispie treats in the grocery store when I was there yesterday. They had them on special.  Halloween treats have gotten so expensive. I have been buying them a bit at a time.  Even so, when I left the grocery store yesterday I had spent close to $300 and had only three (albeit very full) bags of groceries. I had to buy milk and cat food and a lot of other bits that I had run out of. These things all add up.  I got Eileen one of her favorite Chicken Salad sandwiches to try to tempt her appetite and a box of cut up fruit. She took one bite from the sandwich, which was so not like her. She loves those sandwiches. She did eat all the fruit though, so that was good. I put the sandwich in a baggie and it is in the refrigerator. Maybe she will want it today.

I miss the Autumn in the U.K. at times. Yes, it was often wet, but there was a lovely smell in the air. Coal fires burning.  I loved that smell, kind of acrid and almost sulphur-like, but very comforting at the same time. Smoky and earthy. Combined with the smell of the fallen leaves it was something I really enjoyed. Here we used to be treated to the smell of burning leaves, but that is seldom the case these days.

 

(source)

I always have the radio on in the car as I drive. Yesterday on my way back from the grocery store a song by Andy Kim came on, Be My Baby. I was instantly taken back to my teenage years when I heard it. Friday lunch time sock hops at school. 1969. I was 14 then. 

I had no idea that Andy Kim was Canadian, (I did a bit of exploring on Google when I got home.) or that he had had as many hits as he had in his career. I ended up listening to a lot of them while I was puttering, the old memories coming thick and fast.  

Its funny how music can do that for you. Instantly transport you to a different time and era and all the old feelings come rushing back. So I guess for a little while yesterday I felt like a young teenage girl.

 

(source)

Well, this is going to be very short this morning, as it is getting very late now and I have a ton of things to do today. I hope you will forgive me for being so brief.  Thank you for always being interested in my nonsense.

A thought for today  . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  

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

*I believe in kindness, also in mischief.

Also singing, especially when singing is not

necessarily prescribed.

~Mary Oliver

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Nutty Honey & Maple Granola.  I have been making my own granola since my children were very young. I love it and would never buy a store-bought granola having made my own. There is just no comparison. I hope maybe some of you will want to try it for yourself. This is an excellent version.

I hope you have a lovely Friday, once again.  It crept up on us eh?  Be blessed, be safe, and don't forget!

═══════════ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ═════════════ 

⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ════════════  

And I do too!    

   

Dear Neighbor . . .

 

(source)

 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.

 

(source)

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.

 

(source)

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.

 

(source)

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.

Days of thanksgiving in Canada originated in the colonial period, arising from the same European traditions as those in America, in gratitude for safe journeys, peace, and bountiful harvests. The earliest celebration took place in 1578, when an expedition led by Martin Frobisher held a ceremony in present-day Nunavut to give thanks for the safety of its fleet. In 1879 Parliament established a national Thanksgiving Day on November 6; the date has varied over the years. Since 1957 Thanksgiving Day has been celebrated in Canada on the second Monday in October.

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.

 

(source)

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  . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  

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

═══════════ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ═════════════ 

⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ════════════  

And I do too!    

   

Dear Neighbor . . .

 

Deer crossing the low river last year.

 

OCTOBER 1st, 2026

Estate Lane, Nova Scotia

12*C/54*F

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

Dear Neighbour,

Sorry I couldn't resist. Every time I say it's a cloudy day I want to say that.  Yes, this IS a day early, but tomorrow my sister and I are going on a road trip so I won't have time to write my usual missive. I knew you wouldn't mind. Things are going to be a bit chaotic over the next few days. I am still figuring out how I am going to fit everything in, but I will get it done. At least the important stuff anyways.

We had our usual Wednesday night supper out last night, but it was a bit discombulated.  There had been a really bad accident involving a car and a transport truck just the other side of the river on the way to Cindy's house early in the day yesterday, sadly involving fatalities. At the usual time for she and dad to leave, the road was still blocked so they had to come a different way, and when they went to go home, sadly it was also still blocked so they had to go a different way home as well. It's always upsetting when something like a bad accident happens. You are filled with a mix of sadness and relief that it wasn't you, especially when it is a road you take all the time.

Dad also had an accident just before they went to leave so Cindy had to get him changed, etc. He seemed very out of it last night. He is just not himself these days. I am seeing a rapid decline. Of course he did not have his hearing aids so that might have added to his confusion, but in all honesty I am not sure how much longer he can handle these outings, as much as he does love to go out. I think he even chose himself not to go a few times over this past week, so not like him.

 

(source)

Here we are now into the month of October. I think it is going to pass in a blur.  This weekend is the Autumn General Conference for my church, with four sets of talks going.  Eileen will be here Saturday night and I will get her settled in for what will probably be a couple of week's stay. She leaves on Sunday afternoon for Halifax, has her operation on Monday, and hopefully returns on Tuesday.  Canadian Thanksgiving is next weekend, the 12th of October.  Then there are weeks of recovery and Halloween to look forward to at the end of month. A busy, busy month when all is said and done, but I have to agree with Anne Shirley in saying I am a girl who loves Octobers. Every season here in the Maritimes holds it's own glory, but October  . . . that is the jewel in Autumn's crown. 

The air becomes as cool as an old metal teaspoon, and there is a faint tang of blue woodsmoke spice carried in the air. The colour of the maples dazzle the eyes, giving forth light like closer suns. The oaks glow with garnet fire and all the thickets are ablaze with scarlets, pale gold and cinnamon. Autumn's tune is in full swing and we cannot help but dance to it's sweet melody. It's such a pretty song.

 

(source)

Is not this a true autumn day? Just the still melancholy that I love -- that makes life and nature harmonise. The birds are consulting about their migrations, the trees are putting on the hectic or the pallid hues of decay, and begin to strew the ground, that one's very footsteps may not disturb the repose of earth and air, while they give us a scent that is perfect anodyne to the restless spirit. Delicious autumn. My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

~George Elliot (1819-1880), from a letter to Miss Lewis, 1 October 1841

I know just how Mr. Elliot felt. It is the season of glorious.  I am really looking forward to our trip up the valley tomorrow.  If I can remember I will take some photos to share on the weekend of the colours. I can't wait to get a jug of fresh apple cider. Maybe some good apples and of course there is the squash. I love the huge variety that we have available at this time of year.

Its funny how much I love squash. I would have never thought that I would as it was something I really disliked when I was growing up. I think, perhaps, that I just disliked the way that our mother cooked it. It was always boiled and soggy, without a lot of flavour.  I do not blame her, she didn't know any better. That was just the way it was always done in her family.

As an adult I have come to appreciate this wonderful gourd for all of it's delicious properties. Steamed or roasted  . . .  I have not yet met one I did not enjoy.  Done properly the flesh is sweet and earthy. I love it with lots of butter, salt and pepper, simply mashed, but I would never turn down a plate of it caramelized and roasted in the oven. I always add a pinch of brown sugar to it when I mash it and when I am roasting it a drizzle of maple syrup is never a mistake. There is NOTHING wrong about that!

 

(source)

The neighbour across the way has fully moved in now and has stayed there the last few nights. These places never stay empty for very long. That is how great the demand for housing is in this area. The luxury apartments that have just been built in town now have a huge banner hanging on them saying "Now Leasing."  They are quite expensive for what you get, but each (even those on the ground floor) has it's own balcony, heat pump, and there is underground parking along with a private gym and laundry facility.  I am not sure how many people will be able to afford the rents, however.

There is a house that is just finished being built just down the road. There had been a lot for sale there for many years, filled with lovely big trees. I don't think it ever sold, but the person who owned it chopped the trees down and has built a house there which is now for sale. A simple 1100 sq foot bungalow, two bedrooms, one bath, open concept and they are selling it for almost $400,000. In an area which is economically depressed. I cannot imagine anyone from here being able to afford it.  It will be bought, no doubt by away folk, same with the apartments. The rents for those are over $2000 a month. 

That may not seem a lot if you live elsewhere or in the city, but here in the valley it is somewhat astronomical.  Unless you are in the military you are not making huge sums of money. But people will somehow scrape it up.  To be honest, I do not know how family's are making ends meet anymore. It must be so hard.

 

(source)

Sometimes I do get a bit afraid of how I am going to continue to pay for where I am living. My income is so reliant on the whims of the internet and google, to be honest, and AI is really playing with that a lot. I would be lying if I said I don't get scared at times.  No fun when you are in your 70's at a time in life when you should be able to just sit back and enjoy your golden years, but it is what it is.

It does add a layer of stress to my life, I'm not gonna lie. I was feeling a bit stressed out by it the other day and then I read this, just when I needed to:

I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?

Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you - you of little faith!

~Luke 12: 22-28 NIV

Talk about a reminder, and yes a chastisement. When I look at all the things He put in place for me to be here, now, I should not worry. I know it is only human to do so, but really . . .  He has been taking care of me all along.  Why would He stop now. And so I just keep plugging along, believing and hoping that all will be well. Things have a way of working out, one way or the other.

 

(source)

I am not sure what all I will get up to today. I have some work to do of course, probably double or trip the work that I would normally do to make up for tomorrow and then Saturday.  Aside from that I will be tidying up and just doing the normal stuff I do every day. I do have laundry to put in and a few other things. Nobody has invented self cleaning clothing or houses that tidy themselves up yet, unfortunately. At least I never get bored. And so, with that in mind I best wind this down now.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  

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

*We love our bread

We love our butter

but most of all

We love each other.

~Unknown

In the Kitchen today, something I made yesterday. Classic British Sausage Casserole. Delicious comfort food for cooler days. I divided it up into freezer containers and took it over to Eileen when I went to pick her up for dinner. It did taste fabulous and I knew she would love it. She is going to have one today for her supper and freeze the rest. Hearty chunks of thick sausage, in a lush and tangy onion gravy. What's not to like?

I hope your Thursday goes very well.  Whatever you get up to, I hope it brings you joy and peace. 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 . . .

 SEPTEMBER 25th, 2026

Estate Lane, Nova Scotia

5*C/41*F

mostly sunny

Dear Neighbor, 

Well, I have had to put some heat on this morning. Four days of the temperatures dipping down into the single digits each night means I need to warm things up in here. My front window has been dripping in condensation every morning. The sun doesn't get around there until much later in the day as it is North Facing.

We took the phone calls from the hospital for Eileen yesterday morning. There are a lot of instructions to follow in preparation for the surgery. I have written them all done accordingly and will give her a copy to give to her father, since he will be the one in charge for those few days.  Of course, her sister (the one they will be staying at) is a Nurse Practitioner so she is probably well versed in the protocols necessary, but I have written them down anyways. 

She is having a "robot" surgery, so it is going to be much less invasive than they used to do in the old days. That was nice to hear.  She still has to go for an MRI, but that is this week sometime. Blood tests as well. Things are moving right along. It's a good thing. I am grateful for that.

All will be well.

 

(source)

The lights from the parlour and kitchen shone out

Through the blinds and the windows and bars;

And high overhead and all moving about,

There were thousands of millions of stars.

~Robert Louis Stevenson

The cool and sparkling days of late September flow like a bottle of golden wine into the bowl of autumn. I cannot have enough of each day; I try to measure the minutes sparingly, for this is the time of enchantment. The leaves are turning, each day bringing more and more colour into our lives, and I wonder whether I ever saw them before, for the colours are a new miracle of blended tones. Surely this year it is a lovelier autumn than in years gone by. (I know I say that every year.) The maples have a clearer fire, the oaks are a richer burgundy and the goldenrod . . . was it Thoreau who called it spilled sunshine? The wild asters break their purple waves over stone fences. The upland meadows are beautiful, a brown suffused with gold . . . I almost mistyped "god" there, and really is there much difference between the treat we are experiencing at the moment and God?  It is a gift for sure.

When I walk down to the end of my road where it meets the main road up towards the North Mountain and the TransCanada, it is like looking through a living vivid kaleidoscope of colour, with golds and scarlets and burgundies, oranges, ochre and vermillion . . .  lining the way, some of the trees arching over the road . . . a tunnel of colour leading to the mountain which grows in splendour with each day that passes. I have tried to photograph it, but no photograph really does it justice. It must be seen in person to get the full effect.

  

(source)

With shorter days and cooler air, I can't help but look forward to all of the magic autumn brings to our doorsteps.  Crisp air, cold and limned with the promise of frost.

Pumpkins, hollowed out and carved with faces, some happy, some a little gruesome with their jagged teeth.  Or stewed into soups and made into pies, cakes, breads, cookies. Oddly enough, pumpkin was not something I really enjoyed as a child. It took me maturing into adulthood for me to fully appreciate it's gifts and benefits. 

Each year I am tempted to buy a bag of gourds to decorate my table and each year I don't. I never have, but I so admire the gourd heaped bowls of those who do. I really admire the larger ones that are dried and then hollowed out and used as bird feeders. How very clever people are I think.

Warmer jackets and coats. Not quite of winter weight just yet, but the time for walking about in our shirt sleeves is done. I had bought myself one from old navy, waterproof with a hood, but then I thought of Eileen walking back and forth each day to Tim Hortons in rain and whatnot and so I gifted her with it. I can always get another one. She was pleased, and that in turn pleased me. I do have my old powder blue one. I think I have had it for nigh on 25 years or more now. I have replaced the buttons on it several times.  Why break with tradition. It is only for a few weeks, and when I do go out, it is mostly in the car. I am not in as much need of a new jacket as she is.

Life lived in little squares

There is nothing really aesthetically pleasing or captivating about my Instagram life. I dutifully post every morning. I post a gazillion photos of each recipe I share. I don't really know how to turn them into a perfectly cohesive story or reel.  I do add music, that that is the extent of my knowledge. I so admire those who know how to do more with what they share.  There is no personal brand I am trying to exhibit, or a hyper-controlled narrative. Its simply food. No exciting photos of my non-exciting life. If I was smarter or more creative, or had more knowledge,  it would/could be done so much better. But it simply is what it is. In reality not many people look. I guess that's okay. I don't know what I would do if it suddenly blew up overnight. That comes with all kinds of things I don't really want to have to deal with.  That anyone comes and looks at all has always been a bit of a mystery to me. It is the same with this page. Many of you have been coming here and reading for years and years now. I am grateful for that.  

I have had to ask myself the question on occasion . . .  would I still do this if nobody came to read?  I think the answer is yes. I would. It is my diary and chronicles my life as it were. I started it for my children to have a place where they could catch up with my goings on. Or at least that is what I tell myself. I wanted to have a place to store my memories and happenings.  I can still remember how excited I was when I got my first comment. I still get excited although with my bad back I am very slow to respond these days. I wish my iPad would let me as that is a lot easier to cope with, but for some reason blogger and my iPad do not get along. If I could ever figure it out and change it, I would do so in a flash. 

My kids never come to read this. I am not sure they even know it exists and if they do, its not really of any interest to them, but someday it might be, and so I keep it up.  Besides  . . .  it is a great exercise in keeping my mind alert and working, this penning of my thoughts each day. Sharing. And I do so love the ones who do come and read and make their presence known.

But viral?  Please no.  I do not wish to be viral in any way, not here and not on the IG where I share little squares of what I've been cooking. In a world obsessed with  image and status I am a small fish, and that is what keeps me happy.  What I hope my friends see most on my pages is my heart.

"When I die, what do I want people to remember about my heart?"   Perhaps this. Moments that mattered to me.  Food I shared that I enjoyed that I wanted others to enjoy as well. The day to day minutia of my wandering thoughts.  The fact that I loved and I cared. Most post reflect where my heart wants to go and has wandered, now and in the future.

That's it.

(source)

 

I had not thought that I was lonely.  I know I am alone, but I had not thought that I was lonely, or missing the affections and attentions of someone of the other sex.  But I have come to realize as of late that I do miss the specialness of that companionship and relationship between two people who care about each other in that way.  I see Glenna across the way stepping out with her beau, and She is no Scarlet and he no Rhett, but they are happy and I envy them that.  Mind you, I am not free to look as I am still married and in my church you can't date or look for anyone in that special way if you are not divorced and single. Furthermore I have no desire to hand over half of what I have worked for and accumulated to that degenerate   . . .  and so I sit in limbo. 

I do cry about it sometimes, mostly late at night when I am in bed and done my prayers. That's when the loneliness descends and I wonder as to why I was not ever able to find a special someone worthy of sharing my life with. I look up and down the street and I know I am not alone in this. We are all on our own. I find myself wondering do they cry at night with a longing to be held by someone who wants to share their lives? I don't know. I am too embarrassed to ask. I did try to join a chat site, just for friendship, but I quickly gave that up because of men who were messaging me and calling me darling. They don't even know who I am, and are looking for much more than friendship. It seemed most insincere and false, and I am done with lies. I want truth. Lies like that chat site are what got me where I am today anyways. It's too easy to pretend to be someone you are not.

I listened to a talk last night by Dieter F. Uchtdorf and in it he spoke of just such a thing, people feeling lonely. I had been praying about it and then thought I would listen to a talk, and oddly enough this is the one that came up. It suggested to lose myself in serving others.  I don't know if I do that enough. Perhaps I need to do more. 

When I was a girl I went through a period of time where I wanted to become a nun.  I think sometimes I probably should have done so. Life would have been a lot less complicated.

 

(source)

Over the past couple of weeks I have gotten quite a few emails from a supposed book writer, and one from a supposed editor at Harper Collins. I did respond to the first one from the author answering a couple questions they had, but after that when the emails came a couple of times a day, I started to ignore them. The one from the editor at Harper Collins looked legit, but I am sure it was a fake as well. I have ignored most of them, except for that first one.  I think I was right because I got one from that author this morning which said,

HI    Marie

I KWON THAT YOU HAVE ALREDY READ MY MESSAGE WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO SEND A DETINLAD PROPOSAL

To be honest this creeped me out. All of the other emails were well written and sounding legit and conversational. They were not asking anything of me really. This one sounds a bit threatening to me. What think you?

 

(source)

I have just looked out the window and the fog has rolled in, probably it's come down the mountain from the shore.  So much for the sun.  It will break eventually I am sure.  In the meantime, my day is marching on and I have a ton of things I want/need to do so I best end this now. 

I hope this finds you well.

A thought to carry with you.

☾ ° ★° * 。  

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

*There are many paths but

only one journey.

~Naomi Judd

 In the English Kitchen today  . . .  A really good Bolognese Sauce. This is the product of years of trial and testing and is what I love. The bare bones of something that can be adapted to your own tastes, loves and flavours.

I hope you have a great day.  We have hit 10*C/51*F already so the day is warming up.  Be happy, 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!