Five Things About Me . . .

This is a painting called Praying Hands by Albrecht Dürer, Austria in 1508.   I love the simplicity of it.  I have always loved it.  That is because I am a person who prays.  I have always been a person who prays.  My mother taught me to pray.  I cannot remember ever going to bed at night without first saying my prayers.  I may fall asleep while I am saying them, and often do . . .  but I always wake up at some point during the night and finish them off.  Sometimes when I cannot fall asleep, I start to pray about alphabetically for everyone I know and care about.   If your name starts with a "G", then you are out of luck because I never get past that letter without having fallen asleep.   I often pray during the day for people . . .  especially if their name pops into my head.  I see that as an opportunity to say a little prayer for that person.  You can be pretty sure that if you know me I will have prayed for you on at least one occasion, but more likely more than one.   Because.

I am a praying person, and that is number one in a five things about me post.



I love to embroider.   It is one of the very first needleworking skills that I learned.  My mother taught me how.  At first it was just back stitch embroidery, but it did not take me long to master other types, such as Swedish Huck, silk, counted cross stitch, etc.  I could sit and embroider for hours.  I love to embroider pillow slips and other linens.   I find it to be a very soothing pastime.  When I am sitting and embroidering I feel as if I am connecting to my ancestors.  I am not sure why that is . . .  it just has a historical feel to it.

 

I was sitting yesterday thinking back to when I was in school and trying to decide which had been my favourite subject.  I loved English and Geography to be sure, and had somewhat of a soft spot for history . . .  but when it boiled right down to it, Home Economics was my absolute favourite subject of all.  And not just the cooking part either.  I enjoyed all of it.  The sewing bits.   The bits about housewifery and how to keep a house clean and running smoothly.   My mother still had her own Home Economics text book from when she was at school.  I just about wore the pages of it out when I was a child looking at it.  Perhaps as a career I might have enjoyed being a Home Economist, but I think more than that I was lucky enough to have enjoyed being a House Wife for  most of my life, and blessed enough to have been able to do just that for many years.





I am a rule follower.    It bothers me when others are not.  I always play by the rules and I never cheat.  I learned very early on in life that cheaters never prosper, and that it wasn't whether you won or lost but how you played the game that counted.  If the speed limit is 30 you can bank on the fact that I am doing 30.  If the sign says no cameras allowed or to turn off your phone.  I do just that.   Lazy texting?   Not me!  I will put in every letter, correct my spelling, etc.  Perhaps it is a tad bit boring to be a rule follower, and there are times when I wish I could just throw caution to the wind . . .  but life and experience have taught me that rules are there to protect us and others . . .  just like the ten commandments.  I know that so long as I follow the rules, I will be safe and reasonably happy.

The only bad thing is not everyone follows the rules and sometimes we have to suffer the fallout caused by their disobedience.  That's life!  So long as you do the right thing, that's what counts.



I like Martha Stewart.   I know there are people who say she isn't a very nice person.  That may be so.   I still like her and admire her.    I trust her knowledge on most things.   I don't think she would ever give anyone a bum steer.   When I was in Canada, I watched her show religiously and couldn't get enough of it.  I bought her magazine.   If I could get it over here, I would still buy it.  I know she went to prison for insider trading or some such, but I don't think she did anything that any other rich person wouldn't have done or still does.   I think she got caught.  Hundreds of others haven't.   I admire her for having been caught and owning up to it and paying the penalty.  That took guts in my opinion.  Maybe her time in prison was a bit cushy . . .  I don't know . . .  but I am sure it wasn't easy no matter how cushy it might have been or seemed to others.  Call me crazy, but I like her and probably always will.

And that is five things about me for this week!

  

Happy Birthday to my darling daughter Eileen who turns 38 today!  She is my oldest daughter and I am so very proud of her.   She has accomplished so much in her life thus far and  has over come and mastered many challenges to fulfil her dreams.   Like me, she struggles with her weight, but she doesn't let it get her down.   She is always ready with a sweet and infectious smile that lights up the whole room.  I hope that she knows how very much I love her and that she has a beautiful day!

A thought to carry with you through the day  . . .

* ✻ღϠ₡ღ¸.✻´´¯`✻.¸¸.Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ..
We need time to dream,
time to remember,
time to reach for the infinite.
Time to be.
~Gladys Taber
* ✻ღϠ₡ღ¸.✻´´¯`✻.¸¸.Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ..



Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  Lazy Cabbage Roll Bake.  Delicious!

I hope you have a Thursday as special as you are!  Don't forget . . .

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 And I do too!

Five things about me . . .

I am a laid back, fairly easy going person.  Not a lot gets me frazzled.    I guess I am more like my dad in that way.  He is fairly easy going also.  My mom is a lot more nervous about things and gets upset and stressed a lot easier then he does.  Don't get me wrong . . .  there are some things which stress me and get me nerved up, but not  a lot.

And that is the first in a five things about me post!



 “We have had for breakfast, toasts, cakes, a Yorkshire pie, a piece of beef about the size and much the shape of my portmanteau, tea, coffee, ham and eggs... and we have eaten all the toast” 
~Charles Dickens 

I like toast.   I might be able to live without a lot of things, but don't ever take away my toaster or my grill.   I adore toast.   Cheap bread. Posh bread.  Seeded bread.  Fruited bread.  Banana bread.   I just like toast.  I could quite happily sup on some toast with butter and honey or jam and nothing else, and sometimes we do just that.   Toast is bliss to me.  Crisp edged.   Slathered with butter  . . .  all of that richness sinking down into those crisp corners.  Yum.  And my favourite bit of toast is what my father calls crispy toast  . . .  the toasted ends of the bread, or the heel as it were!  Oh my . . .  all crisp with butter on it and some honey.  A tiny bit of heaven on earth.



I am a fairly optimistic, half glass full type of person.   I always think things could be worse.  I try to stay away from negativity.  I cannot think of any situation, experience, etc. that could not be made worse by only looking at the down side of things. I prefer to look at the upside.  I believe that every person is at their heart a good person, and that something positive can be taken from every experience.  It may be sometimes very difficult to find the good in something bad, but it can be done.  Perhaps I just have not been truly tested as of yet.  I don't know.   I just think life is better if you choose to look on the sunny side of things.  The only way to get through things is to keep putting one foot in front of the other and moving forward.  Standing still is not an option.



I care.  I truly care.  About the environment.  About child poverty.  About suffering people.   About the sick and the infirm.  The elderly.   The poor of spirit and heart.   The downtrodden.  The weak and the weary.  etc.  I just simply care.   I wish that I could heal every one and every situation, but we live in a fallen world and so I pray.  Continuously.   In my heart and in my head.  There is pretty much a continuous monologue conversation going on between myself and my Heavenly Father.  And I get answers too.   Sometimes amazingly incredibly out there hard to miss answers . . .  and sometimes the answers are no, or not right now, or never . . .  but it does not ever stop me from caring.   We need to care.   Others need us to care.  What a transformation there would be in this world if everyone was just even a tiny bit more caring.

 

I can be quite serious about some things, but I can also be very whimsical.  I think that this whimsicality comes out in my art work and my creativity.  I may look like an overweight woman who has no sense of style . . .  but on the inside I really have pink hair, toenails painted like ladybugs and I am wearing pretty funky clothes.  I may even have a tiny tattoo.  You may not be able to see them, but I would be the first one to say that just because you can't see something that doesn't mean it's not really there.  A bit of whimsicality never hurt anyone.  ☺

And that is my five things about me for this week!

Oh . . .  and I have shingles.  I wish I had been diagnosed a week ago when I first went to the Docs about my arm hurting so much, but alas I was not.  The rash broke out night before last.  I said to Todd, I think I have a bug bite as a raised red welt had shown up on my collar bone, and I had had to remove my bra earlier in the day because it was irritating me . . .  yesterday morning when I went to take my shower I noticed a rash all up and down my upper left arm on the underside and immediately I thought to myself.  I bet I have shingles.  I made an appointment to see the Doctor and yep.  She took one look and said, you have shingles.  I am on medication now.  I am in a lot of pain and the rash is very irritating, but hopefully I caught it early enough that the ramifications won't be too bad and it won't linger too long.  I would hate for it to spoil my Christmas, in fact I am just not going to LET it spoil my Christmas no matter what.  I just am not.  End of.

A thought to carry with you through today  . . .


✿¨`*•..¸¸.•*¨`✿¨`*•..¸¸.•*¨`✿¨`*•..¸¸.•*¨`✿
If you will call your troubles experiences,
and remember that every experience develops
some latent force within you,
you will grow vigorous and happy,
however adverse your circumstances seem to be.
~John Heywood
✿¨`*•..¸¸.•*¨`✿¨`*•..¸¸.•*¨`✿¨`*•..¸¸.•*¨`✿



Cooking in the English Kitchen today   . . .  Lamb Samosa Hash.  Delicious leftovers!


I hope that you have a fabulous Thursday!  Don't forget . . .

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And I do too! 

Five things about me . . .

I have no eyebrows.  By that I mean, I have them, but they are very sparse.   I have always wanted pretty eyebrows.  I wish I had them naturally.   I thought about getting that new stuff called Wunderbrow, but it's very expensive and I think you need eyebrows to begin with for the stuff to stick to.   Eyebrows are something I have never had . . .  and yet I have hair which grows abundantly in other places like my upper lip or chin.  It is infuriating.  I use an eyebrow pencil now and every time I put it on I think about little old ladies with painted on eye brows.  I hope that I don't look like that, but if I do . . .  then oh well!

And that is the first in a five things about me post for today!




I am a very loyal person and supportive of those I care about.   People can hurt my feelings and I'll come back for more.  I guess that is a bit like a dog in a way.   You can be really mad at them, and they will know it, but leave the room and come back in and they are wagging their tails like crazy.  (Not that I am ever mad at Mitzie, because I am not.)  I might not always agree with the decisions that my loved ones make, or with their opinions, and I may get hurt by them from time to time and some of my loved ones seem to permanently hurt me, but I am loyal to them to the end.   I never give up on someone I care about, even if they disappoint or hurt me.   I'm very forgiving.




I am positively crazy about Christmas!  I love everything about it.  It is my favourite holiday of the year.  I love the spiritual side of it and the meaning of it in every sense of the word, but I also love all the hooplah, Santa Claus, Christmas films and adverts, music, food etc.  I really love the Christmas carols like Silent Night and Oh Come All Ye Faithful and Oh Holy Night, but I also love Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree!  White Christmas/Green Christmas  . . . it matters not.  I just love Christmas.




I'm a giver not a taker.   I seriously love to give to others.  I don't do it because I expect anything in return, and . . .  to be perfectly honest, I am a bit embarassed when someone gives something to me.   I just love serving others.   I give away almost everything I bake.  I love to bake.   Todd can only eat so much.  I don't need to eat any of it and so my friends and neighbors and the young missionaries are often recipients of my labours. (I haven't had any complaints yet!)  I love knowing that I have made someone else happy, or blessed someone else's life, in both small and large ways.  I suppose it is kind of selfish in a way because I always end up feeling better than they do I think.   The commercials on the television about sick children, or hurt children or starving children really break my heart.  I would love to be able to do something for each of them, but cannot because I don't really have very much financially to give, but I would if I could.   I give what I can and try to make a difference where I can.  I give up my place in line if someone behind me needs my place more.   Generosity is a way of life for me.   It brings me a joy that I can't find words to express.  A selfless life is an abundant life.




I love LOVE Garden Gnomes, but I don't have one.   I need to change that.  Seriously.  Next Spring I am going to buy me a Garden Gnome.  They make me smile.   So do hedgehogs.

And that's my five things about me for this week.   I love thinking about what makes me tick.  OOPs that makes six!  *wink*  PS- I have a wierd sense of humor at times.  Seven.  Ta da!

A thought to carry with you through today  . . .

•~♥♥♥~•.~•~♥♥♥~•.~•~♥♥♥~•.~•~♥♥♥~•
I don't want to get to the end of my life
and find that I just lived the length of it.
I want to have lived the width of it as well.
~Diane Ackerman
•~♥♥♥~•.~•~♥♥♥~•.~•~♥♥♥~•.~•~♥♥♥~•



Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  Crunchy Chicken Casserole.  The low fat version.   It's high protein, low sugar, and very delicious.


I hope your Thursday is brilliant!!  Don't forget!


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And I do too!

Five Things About Me . . .

You drum your fingers or tap your feet when you’re bored. You use your hands when talking. You probably like sports, cooking or handcrafts. When someone is speaking you focus on their body language. 

This is me to a "T."  I am a tactile learner.   I learn far more by "doing" than I ever do by simply "watching."   Watching and reading alone never ever did it for me. In school, when studying, I had to write what I was trying to take in onto  paper again and again, that was the only way I could remember it.  This also means I get bored really easily.

And that is the first in a five things about me post for this week!



I have an amazing sense of direction.   I can find my way almost anywhere and I only ever have to go someplace once and I can remember not only how to get there again,  but how to retrace my steps and get out of there when I am ready to leave.  I am not sure what that means about me, but I think it basically means that I am extraordinarily aware of what is all around me at all times, soaking it in.   I am always watching, even when I am a passenger.   I take note of what I am seeing.  I am always an active participant in the journey, which means I am also a bit of a back seat driver, much to Todd's annoyance!




 I have always been a deep thinker . . .  pondering the whys and the what-for's of everything.  And if I can't figure it out right away, then I be looking it up.  I am the google queen of answers.  When I was a child it was always the encyclopedia that I was burning my fingers through. I am not content to just be told things.  I want to ponder them.  To sink my my mind and metaphorical teeth into things, to find out what makes things/people/the world around me . . .  tick.    I like to take things apart to see how they work.  When I am watching a film or a television show, I want to know everything about the actors and the parts they are playing.  Which leads me to thing four . . .



 I am extraordinarily good at Trivial Pursuit.   I love that game, probably because I have a brain stogged full of useless bits of information and trivia.   I love trivia.  I collect it like I collect quotes and poetry.   I think Todd finds it a bit annoying at times, this need I have for collecting useless bits of information, but that is a skill that comes in very handy on quiz nights and in the game of Trivial Pursuit. ☺



I love jig saw puzzles and solving puzzles, crossword puzzles, etc.  I could spend hours doing them, but really only do virtual ones now because I have no space to keep a puzzle up all the time until I have finished it. I especially love jig saw ones though.  I always have.   I also love puzzle games or guessing games.   I'm also a GREAT speller!

I am not sure what all these things say about me as a person.  A pschycologist would probably have a hey day figuring it all out! And that's five things about me for this week!



We had a great time in Manchester yesterday at the Mission Tour/Thanksgiving meeting.  In attendance was Elder Paul V Johnson of the First Quorum of the Seventy and his wife.   I think I took 8 pages of notes during the first session alone.  We had a really wierd experience on the way there.  For some odd reason the Sat Nav took us off in what seemed like the wrong direction, which made me really tense.   I couldn't understand why and I was afraid we were going to get lost, but we ended up going where we were supposed to go.  I had awakened with a sense of foreboding in the morning, almost feeling like I didn't want to go, but we went anyways, and there we were seemingly going around in circles.   It turned out that there had been a bad accident on the motor way between a tractor trailer and several cars during the time when we would have been exactly in that area.  So God's providence meant that we were kept safe and not involved.  I love it when things like that happen.  Not accidents, but knowing that I have been kept safe by the providence of my Heavenly Father.  It was great seeing a lot of the Elders and Sisters that had served in Chester and moved on to other areas again.   It was great seeing our Mission President and his wife again, seeing the other Senior Couples, and it was great getting to hear Elder Johnson and his wife speak and to share in a question/sharing time with everyone who was in attendance.  Oh, and it was great to be able to break bread with them all as well!  We did not stay for the whole time because Todd felt it was too long to leave Mitzie on her own and he was right.  So we skipped the afternoon bit.  As it was we were away for 6 1/2 hours, which was plenty long enough for Mitzie!  But I was grateful for the time I did spend there.

And with that I will leave you with a thought to ponder all the day through . . . this is something our Mission President, President Ulrich said to us at the beginning of the meeting yesterday.

✻ღϠ₡ღ¸.✻´´¯`✻.¸¸.Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ..
If all that you hear, 
is the only thing that you hear . . . 
then you have not listened.
✻ღϠ₡ღ¸.✻´´¯`✻.¸¸.Ƹ̴Ӂ̴Ʒ..

That bears thinking about  . . .

 

Baking in The English Kitchen today  . . . Little Crusty Cheese and Mustard Dampers.   Delicious!

Have a fabulous Thursday.  HAPPY THANKSGIVING to all my American Friends and Family.

Don't forget!

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And I do too!

Five Things About Me . . .

 

This is a photo of me with Jean Christophe Novelli, the French Chef.  It was at the BBC Good Food show a number of years ago.  I'm not even sure at the time I really knew who he was actually.  I only knew he was quite handsome and French.  He signed my guide.   And then he gave me a kiss.   I texted Todd saying . . . .  "I've just been kissed by Jean Christophe Novelli."   He texted me back  . . .  "You're dead."   I replied . . .  "I know, coz I'm in heaven!"

And that is the first in a five things about me post.   I have a great sense of humour.   In fact all of my family have great senses of humour.  My brother has a dry and witty sense of humour.  My dad is a bit ribald.   My mom just laughs about everything and my sister is also somewhat dry and witty.  In any case we all enjoy a good joke and can come up with witty responses.



I love hats but I never wear them.  That's because I don't think I look good in a hat.  I wish I did though.   I can remember when I was a little girl you always wore a hat to church or on special occasions.  I had one hat in particular which was kind of like a head band but wider.  It used to hurt my head.  It pinched.  I did not like it at all.  When I was fifteen I got a white leather jockey cap, which was all the rage back then. (late sixties/early seventies)  I felt very fashionable in it.  Over here they do fascinators a lot.   Those are like headband hats.  I love watching the ladies at Ascot and seeing all of their hats.  On "Race" days in Chester you see a lot of ladies in hats as well.  I think ladies, hats and racing go together over here.  It's a tradition.



I have a thing about properly made beds.  They are a thing of beauty, both to behold and to sleep in.   I hate messy beds and wrinkled sheets.   Beds should be tidy.  I can remember being taught how to properly make one in Brownies and I have never forgotten those instructions.  I used to practice on my Barbie Bed.  I'm quite good at bed making.  I love white bed sheets most of all.   I am not fond of coloured ones, although I do like a bit of colour in the bed spread and pillows.  I like things to match, although not necessarily in the same fabrics.  I love a bit of variety that way, but all things following the same colour scheme.




I'm a Collector.  I love to collect things that I love.   Buttons.   Red and White Toadstools.  Salt and Pepper Shakers.   Tea Cups.   Quotations.  Sugar and Cream Bowls, etc.  That's probably why I love Pinterest so much.  It allows me to collect things without them costing me any money or taking up space in my home.  I can see how . . . unchecked . . .  this could become a serious problem for people.   ie.  Hoarders.   My heart aches for them.  It must be so hard.  Much better to collect imaginary things on imaginary  boards that take up no space.  They do take time however.  I could look at them, and add to them,  for hours.  I don't let myself. About half an hour is good.  Anymore than that and I am obsessing.  Looking back, I have always had collector tendancies . . .  paper dolls,  animal cards, Beatles Cards, etc.  I still had some Beatles Cards.  I put them somewhere for safe keeping, but can't find them now.




I love, Love, LOVE Cardigans and Twin Sets.  If I could I would have one in ever colour under the sun.  They make me happy.  I have two at the moment.  Okay, I lie . . .  I have more.   I have lots, but only two are new.  The rest are very old.  There is something very comforting about a good cardigan.  I especially love embroidered ones.  Or printed ones!  I have one which is a coffee aux lait colour which is printed AND embroidered.   I adore it.   I also have a pink one which is highly beaded and embroidered.  I adore that one also.   I have a blue one which has big buttons, each button different.  No two buttons alike and it has deep pockets on the front an inch or so above the hem.  I love that one also.   Another tweedy cable one, with scalloped edges and silver rose buttons. 

I just love cardigans.

And that's it for this week.  Five more things about me.  I hope I never run out of new things to say.  I enjoy these posts.

A thought to carry with you through today  . . .

❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥
Reach high,
for stars lay hidden in your soul.
Dream deep,
for every dream precedes the goal.
~Pamela Vaull Starr
❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥ 

 

Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . . Pork, Sage and Apple Pie.  Not a pie per se, but a delicious casserole made with leftovers!

I hope your Thursday is special for you, filled with a multitude of good things which bring you joy.   Don't forget  . . .

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And I do too!

Five Things About Me

This is a statue of Robert The Bruce.  He was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert was one of the most famous warriors of his generation, and eventually led Scotland during the first of the Wars of Scottish Independence against England. He fought successfully during his reign to regain Scotland's place as an independent nation and is today remembered in Scotland as a national hero, and he is one of my ancestors.  I can also claim Alfred The Great, Charlemagne, Eleanor of Aquitane and a few other notables including the First Duke of Wesminster and Sir John Howard (grandfather to Anne Bolyn and great grandfather to Queen Elizabeth l)  as ancestors.   I love doing geneology.   I find it very fascinating and quite rewarding.   I love to watch television programs on geneology as well.

And that is the first thing in a five things about me post for this week!




This is the Astronomical Clock in the Cathedral as Strasbourg.  I love visiting old cathedrals and churches.   Most are open to the public on week days for people to go through and most are free of charge.  I find them all very fascinating, especialy the onion domed ones in Germany and Austria.   Most are painted beautifully with murals inside and there is lots of gilt and statuary to admire.



This photo is a corner of the church which was in the town in Austria where we stayed about six years ago.  Simply stunning.   One church which we visited in Todmoos, Germany was a Pink Onion Domed church and inside the artistry, etc. was quite simply stunning.  I marvel at the beauty of these buildings and wonder about the people who built them.




I quite simply adore history.  If you had told me when I was going to school that I even remotely liked history I wouldn't have believed you.  I found history (when I was going to school) quite boring actually, but take it out of school and I am (and was) totally fascinated by it.   The past is what led to the now.  I am not that good with dates and such.  Don't ever ask me when the battle of Waterloo was fought or where.  I would not be able to tell you.  (Waterloo?)  haha, no I am not quite that bad.  As a child I loved visiting the Habitation Fort in Port Royal, which is the reconstructed fort at the site of the first French Settlement in Nova Scotia.  I loved visiting the Church of Evangeline in Grand Pre, and I loved visiting any other historic site I was lucky enough to visit.  Out West, it was Heritage Park Historical Village in Calgary, the Manitoba Museum in Winnipeg, etc.   I loved visiting all of the historical sites in Utah when I visited there.  I just adore museums and historical sites and learning about the people of the area and their history.   I feel so priviledged to live in the UK where we have an abundance of these things.  It was not until I was taking Canadian History at University that I realized just how very much I did enjoy history.  It is a love which Todd and I have in common.  I firmly believe that in order to understand a people, you have to understand their history.




I am very much a girly girl.  I love ruffles and flounces (in linens and furnishings and nightware) and really pretty things  Cabbage roses.   Pink.   Gilt.  Dolls.   Tea sets and tea parties.   Pretty hats.  Etc.   I just adore all things feminine.  I like being a woman and I adore being treated like a woman.  I am not a tom boy by any stretch of the imagination.  I don't mind equal pay for equal work, but I think women have a very important role to play in society and that we have things to do that only we can do and do right.   I think that men also have important roles and things to do that only they can do and do right.  That is just my opinion and you are quite free to differ!  I just enjoy being a girl!




I am really quite old fashioned.  I love old things in furnishings and homes, decorating, etc.  I am nt overly fond of modern art or furnishings, or even dishes for that matter.   I love old and traditional.  They are beautiful to me.  Victorian homes with gingerbread trim.   Flounces and frills and lace.   Cabbage Rose fabrics. Lace curtains.  Aprons.   Candlelight.  Wood floors and scatter mats.  Antique stoves and tableware.    I just embrace all things old.  That is probably why I love history, old churches and buildings, programs on the television about such things and vintage films and programs, etc.

Maybe I was born before my time?  And that is my five things about me for this week!

A thought to carry with you through today  . . . 

❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥.¸¸.✿¨¯`❥✻❥
Books.  
People have no idea how beautiful books are.  
How they taste on your fingers.
How bright everything is when you light it
with words.
~Rachel Kadish, Tolstoy Lied
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Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . .  Spaghetti Salad.


Have a wonderful Thursday.  We are going out to celebrate our anniversary today at some point.   They do a brill Asian Buffet at a restaurant not too far from our home (Chinese, Thai and Indian food) so we are going to explore it for the first time.  Wherever you go and whatever you do have fun!  Smile and don't forget!


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And I do too!

Five Things About Me . . .

This is a photo of me taken at the beginning of the year in Grade 11.  I was sixteen.   That dress I was wearing was a jumper I had made and it was of a psychedelic corduroy fabric.  Very colourful.  I remember it had purple patch pockets on the front.  I always hated my hair.  I wanted straight hair.  Not curly hair.   I remember a boy telling me once that for hair that looked like wire, it sure was soft.  I guess that was supposed to be a compliment, but I'm not sure, lol.  That was a year of firsts for me.  First kiss.  First dates. First boyfriend.  First driving lessons.

And that was a first in a five things about me post.



I have always held a fascination for small worlds and hidden places.   The first small world I remember being fascinated with was Susie's mousehole on Chez Helene.  Some of my favourite episodes were when we got to visit inside her mouse hole.



Chez Helene was the CBC's (Canadian Broadcasting Channel) attempt to indoctrinate all of us English children in the French Language.   The whole program was bilingual.  I learned a lot watching it.  My favourite character was Susie the mouse however.  She was a puppet.  She spoke English only.  Helene spoke only French, and Louise (the girl), she spoke both.

My love of small things also led me to be fascinated with The Friendly Giant (and his arm chair big enough for two to curl up in) and Mr Rogers and his "Neighborhood of Make Believe."




As a child I was a big "chicken."  Just like the cowardly lion.   I would run a mile to avoid confrontation.  I suppose I am still kind of like that in many ways.   I avoided situations where I would have to stick up for myself, etc.  I hated doing oral compositions for anything.   I can remember a girl passing me a note in home-room in Grade 11 telling me she was going to beat me up after school, and using my milk money to call my dad and asking him if he would come to pick me up because I was afraid to go home on the bus.  I was a big coward. I could never say no to anything either.



I actively seek out hearts . . .  and I find them.  In nature, in food, etc.   If I find a natural heart, I leave it for someone else to find instead of picking it up.   That way I feel like I am sharing the love.  I have only ever found one heart that I have kept.  It was on a Sunday after church.   Some Sundays are particularly difficult for me.   I have always thought that my church is a difficult one to belong to if you don't have a family that goes with you, or if you don't have a family that understands or accepts your choices.  You sit there, week after week, surrounded by families.  A great many of the hymns are to do with love and family, the lessons etc.  I often feel saddened that I am not with my own family, or they are not with me as it were . . .  and I get a bit weepy.  Don't get me wrong.  I LOVE my church and I love being there on a Sunday, but it can just be hard sometimes.  I would not be anywhere else however.  Anyways, one Sunday I was feeling particularly tender and a bit unloved by my family,  and on my way out to the car afterwards I saw a scrap of paper on the ground and I picked it up.  It was a little paper heart and on it was written two words.  Be happy. 

"Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they may have joy" (2 Ne. 2:25)

I know this is true.  I seek and find hearts and they are always a confirmation to me of my Heavenly Father's deep and abiding love for me, and a sign that He is always there for me.



There is a sound that as soon as I hear it, renders me completely and totally homesick.  The sound of Geese flying overhead on their journey towards the South for the Winter.   I don't know why this sounds makes me feel so homesick, only that it does.  It creates in me a longing for all things familiar . . .  for my family . . .  for my mother's arms.  It can bring a tear to my eye, and makes my heart ache.   It's a strange thing.

And that is my five things about me for this week.

Keep me in your happy thoughts.   I am feeling really anxious today.  I hardly slept all night.   I just keep telling myself . . .  all will be well.

A thought to carry with you through today  . . .


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We are all here on a journey.
We were not put here to stay.
Perhaps 'tis why we all must make
the most of every day.
Dreamers dream, and plotters plot,
we build our castles high . . . 
but facts are facts, and truth is truth,
we are all just passing by . . . 
~Me . . .  this morning as I sit here.
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 There is a real mix in the English Kitchen today  . . .  a few of my favourite things.


 Have a wonderful Thursday.   Hope its swell!  Don't forget!


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And I do too!!