Small and Wonderful Things . . .

"The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But who gets excited by a mere penny?...It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. what you see is what you get." ~Anne Dillard 

A few of the small and wonderful things which bring untold joy into my life.   It's the small things in life which truly mean the most.


(source)

Prayer.  It's not just for big things.  It is one the foundations for my life and I could not go a day without this constant communication with my Heavenly Father.  I pray constantly, even if I am not on my knees when I am doing it.  This morning I could not find my eye glasses.  I cannot see or do very much without my eye glasses.   I've been wearing them since I was six years old.   I looked, and I looked and I looked.  I looked in all of the usual places and even in some unusual places.  I felt sick at heart about it as Todd and I cannot afford to buy a new pair of glasses and I was worried that . . . like his teeth . . . Todd had accidentally flushed them down the toilet as the last time I remembered having them was when I took them off to wash my face in the bathroom before I went to bed last night.  I came downstairs and let Mitzie out and then I went back up so the bedroom to have one final look and as I did I knelt by my bed and said a little prayer to my Heavenly Father, asking Him to help me find my glasses, and then I opened my eyes and looked to the left and there they were . . . tucked underneath the edge of a book on my night stand.  And then I prayed a prayer of thanksgiving.

Prayer . . . it works for the small, seemingly inconsequential things too.


(source)

Yesterday in Relief Society we had a lesson, beautifully taught by Shirley on a talk which was given to us by President Dieter F Uchtdorf during April's General Conference, entitled The Hope of God's Light.  This talk is about how the love of our Heavenly Father through the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ can surround and uplift us.  If you click on the title, it will open up a new window where you can read this amazing talk for yourself.  Yesterday I was feeling quite low about something which had gotten me really down.   Family stuff . . . you know how that goes.  Anyways, I was having a difficult time finding the light.   My whole being felt as if you would only just barely touch it, I would split open and spill out all over the place.  My very soul was aching . . . and then I heard this lesson and it pricked my heart in such a way as I was able to rise about the feelings which were bringing me down . . . 

"But even though we may feel lost in the midst of our current circumstances, God promises the hope of His light . . . He promises to illuminate the way before us and show us the way out of darkness."
~Dieter F Uchtdorf.

No, the path of life is not easy and was never promised to be easy . . . darkness exists.   There is an opposite in all things though and as dark as things may seem to be, there is an equal light to make up for it and to lift us beyond it's grasp.  It's up to us where we choose to dwell.   That did not mean I didn't cry myself to sleep last night . . . but it did mean that they were noted and important to Him . . .

Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book"
~Psalm 56:8



Fur-baby cuddles on the sofa.  The love of an animal is unconditional and constant, no matter what.   You can depend on it.   I love our little fur baby.  No matter how I am feeling she is there ready and waiting for a cuddle . . . and she cuddles back.   We could not have any of our own children . . . but we have had our fur babies and they have enriched our lives in innumerable ways.   Where would we be without them.


(source)

Todd planted an envelope of wild flowers in one patch of our garden this year and there are lots of wild daisies blooming at the moment.   They are so beautiful.  I love them.   They remind me of the sun, and smiles and summer.   Small, and yes . . . pretty wonderful.

 

Heartfelt and meaning conversations with my sister.   She has always been my best friend.  I can always trust in her to tell me the truth, even if I don't always like it.   I hope that she knows how very much she means to me.  Family . . . it is the greatest gift that we have been given here on earth, even if for some people it doesn't always feel that way.  You share a history with your family that you do not share with anyone else.   I am grateful for my mom and my dad and my sister and my brother.  There is a tie there that will never be broken, no matter what, no matter how, no matter when.  Loyalty.   Fidelity.   Love.  Support.  They are everything to me.

A thought to carry with you through today . . .

“There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.” 
~Albert Einstein



Proof yet again that it is the simple things which bring us the most joy.  In the English Kitchen today . . . a Simple Rice Pudding.

Have a good week everyone!

A visit to Chester . . .

Lovely are the borderlands
where  Wales and England meet . . .
the secret lands of hidden vale
and mountainous retreat.
A can of noble castles
marks the ancient boundary . . .
from Chepstow to the old walled town
of Chester on the Dee.

Blood and tongue
are mingled here
where once were feud and strife . . .
loyalties and cultures merged
into a common life . . .
And here is beauty unsurpassed,
unspoiled by vandal hands:
The wild romantic beauty
of the lonely borderlands . . .
~Patience Strong

I love living in Chester.  It's probably one of the most beautiful cities in the UK.   I know I haven't been to a lot of cities in the UK, but . . . of all the cities I have been to, Chester is the most beautiful . . .

 


It has a history that goes back nearly two thousand years, having originally been built as a fort built by the Romans in the year 79AD.  Through the years many battles have been waged here between Saxon Kings and the marauding Welsh.  In fact, I think it's only been in recent years that the city by-law disallowing Welsh-men to be within the city walls after dark has been rescinded!



It was once a great sea-port until larger vessels took over and Liverpool was a much easier port for these to access . . . but the city did not die, even if the sea trade industry did.  It's natural beauty has turned it into a mecca for wealthy people the world over to come and holiday . . .



We boast a lovely Race Course where  quite a few races are held during the racing season.  I do so love to be in town when the races are on, even if the traffic makes it somewhat of a pain to get in on those days . . . the town centre is filled with lots of Dandies and their Ladies, all made up in their finery . . . the men suited and tied . . . women wearing outrageous hats and high heels.  It is comical to watch them walking on the cobbles . . .but a fabulous air of gaiety is present and really quite intoxicating.  It is hard not to get caught up in it.

I have not gone to the races per se . . . but I have watched them from the wall . . .



There is an ancient wall which circles the inner city area, dating back to the time of the Roman occupation.   You can walk it's entire length, some two miles, which form an almost entire circuit of the city.  You can stand where King Charles I watched his troops fighting on the meadows during the great civil war.  In fact it was very near here that King Charles I was taken prisoner.   Indeed there is a pub in the city centre which dates back to that time and is purported to have been the King's hiding place before he escaped across the bridge and out of the city . . .



All history aside . . . I just love this city's great natural beauty and charm.   It is lovely to go into town on a sunny day and walk about.   There is a lot to see and to do . . . one can take a picnic lunch to the  park, which is beautiful with all of it's flowers, or even sit down by the river and watch the riverboats pass, feed the swans or ducks . . . and feast on Mr Whippy cones of ice cream, with Cadbury flakes stuck inside . . .


We even have a museum, the Grosvenor Museum,  which you can explore completely free of charge.  There are often different exhibits showing besides Chester's natural history . . . 



The Grosvenor Museum exhibition programme covers a diverse range of topics from the Vikings to portraits, habitats to transport. Most explore the subject’s links with Cheshire and the surrounding area. I always find it a fascinating visit as some of the exhibits change from season to season . . .



We also have the East Gate Clock, which is a turret clock built above the Eastgate of the ancient walls of Chester. The clock was added to the gate during the  Victorian era to celebrate Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee.  Considered to be  a landmark of Chester, it is the second most photographed timepiece in the United Kingdom after Big Ben!

 

We also have one of the country's finest zoos.  You can check out webcams of different areas here.  Todd and I have not been to the zoo yet.  We started off to go one day, but so did about a billion other people so we just turned around and went home.   We don't like crowds very much.  Apparently there are over 11,000 animals housed there and 110 acres of gardens.  It's a very popular spot, but like all zoos, it's expensive to get in . . . a lot of families buy season passes though and it's something the children love to see.



Most often though Todd and I just go down and sit by the river on sunny days . . .  just enjoying being together.   We amble along it's shore whilst sunlight dapples our heads through the leaves of the trees and the water glints and glistens, sparkling with a thousand diamonds of light . . .

We are quiet folk . . . 



We watch the boats pass . . .



We admire the beautiful homes of people lucky enough to live on it's banks . . . we talk, and we laugh . . . we snack and we walk the dog . . . but mostly . . .



We just enjoy the bliss of being . . . together.  The bliss of being is free for the asking . . . and costs not a penny.  We are not hard to please.

A thought to carry with you through today . . . 

“The happiest people I know are not those who find their golden ticket; they are those who, while in pursuit of worthy goals, discover and treasure the beauty and sweetness of the everyday moments.” 
~Dieter F Uchtdorf



Baking in The English Kitchen today . . . a Blueberry Oatmeal Cookie Pie.  Scrummo!!

Happy Saturday everyone!   Whatever you do, wherever you go, whomever you are with . . . may you find joy . . . and the bliss of just being.
 

Picnic days . . .

  

"Among the delights of summer were picnics in the woods."
~Georg Brandes

I love picnics. They're one of my favourite thing to do in the summer months.  Over here in the UK, you learn very early on that you make hay whilst the sun shines because it may be very short lived and one of the best ways to do that is to go on a picnic.  We are a nation of picnickers!

It can be as complicated or as simple as you want.   Sometimes it involves nothing more than a basket containing some fruit, a loaf of fresh bread, some sweet butter, a wedge of good farmhouse cheddar, a bottle of piccalilli and a thermos of something cold to drink . . . there's not a lot of work involved in putting that together . . .

 

One of my favourite picnics was taken with a bunch of girl friends.  We assigned each other a part of the picnic to prepare ahead of time and on the day we drove to the top of Beachy Head down in Eastbourne and picnicked up on the cliffs.   We dined on "Sit" sandwiches, Victoria sponge, grapes and apples . . . fizzy lemonade and ice creams from the ice cream van, whilst gazing out at the grande expanse of water and sky which lay before us . . .  we sorted out all of the worlds problems, with a few giggles thrown in now and then for good measure. 

I had not long been over here when one sunny day Todd and I took ourselves off in the car to Wales, Llangollen to be exact.   We decided to picnic outside the town and we found a small little place just outside the populated area . . . a clearing in the woods where there were a few picnic tables.  It was secluded and green, and we could hear the whistle of the steam train from the distance as it passed through the trees.   After we had eaten our sandwiches we took ourselves off for a walk down a gravel road and found ourselves in a seemingly ancient churchyard, perusing the headstones and wondering about all those who lay there . . . all churchyards over here seem ancient to me . . . it is one of this country's great charms.



Another picnic was spent on the banks of a river as we watched it racing past . . . streaming rivulets  of white water bashing itself on the rocks in front of us as we dined on cheese and pickle sandwiches, fruit cake and  little bottles of re-constituted squash that I had frozen previously . . . then partially thawed and slushy . . .  most refreshing when consumed beneath the warm summer sun . . .

"a waterside supper with riparian entertainments"

We seldom talk much on these outdoor feasts . . . both content to simply be . . . sometimes questions are asked . . . answers rarely given, both lost in thought, our words a mere trickle.   Other times our conversation spurts like water over a dam . . . but silence is a golden thing.

There can be great communication in silence, as we sit there drinking . . . eating . . . watching peacefully, gazing at the blue skies, hearing the insects buzz, in the green of the woods as sunlight dapples itself down upon our heads through the leaves . . . beneath a cloudless June sky.  We need do nothing at all . . . simply being is all we can do at the moment, all we must do . . . enjoying the here and the now . . .

 

Most of the year we busy ourselves with all the things that need doing . . . the dog needs bathing, the garden needs grooming . . . dust has gathered over all of the furniture overnight and the sunlight does show it up . . . we DO busy ourselves too much sometimes,  I think.   Now and again, we need some time to fill up the well of our spirit so that we can draw from it again . . . a time to sit and watch the butterflies and admire the opening roses, a time of restoration and there is no better way to do that than to go . . .
on a picnic.



Guess who won a new bicycle at the local bicycle rodeo again this year?   Yep, Jonathan.  That makes two years in a row now!  He's one very lucky little grandson!

I wonder if he is any good at picking lottery tickets???

 

This little guy had himself snipped yesterday.  By all accounts though it hasn't slowed him down one little bit.   He is one cute rambunctious puppy is Baxter!  We love him to bits!   Well, Todd hasn't actually met him yet . . . so I am using the royal "we" I guess!

 

Something else I did for my art course yesterday.  I spent a good part of the day working on it.  We were supposed to incorporate words into our work.   How do you think I did? 

Bad news at the dentist yesterday.  I need to have a tooth pulled.   The dentist was amazed that it wasn't causing me any pain actually.   There is a huge hole in one of my molars, beneath the gum line.  He wouldn't have known about it but for the fact he did x-rays yesterday.  The way it is placed, he says it would be impossible to fill.   I did have a toothache there before I went to Canada, but thought it was an earache and when I went to the doctors I did have an earache so I was given anti-biotics for that.   The pain went off then.   The dentist says the tooth probably died . . . 

The sun was shining brilliantly when I first started writing this morning . . . and now it seems to have disappeared.  It is rather cool too . . . not sure what the day will bring.  When the sun was shining I thought it was a picnic kind of a day.  It may still turn out that way.  We will have to see!

In the meantime here is a thought for today . . .

"Remember the best, friendly words, kindly deeds.
Remember the roses and not the weeds.
Remember the pleasure, forget the pain . . .
Then only sweet memories will remain."
~Patience Strong

 

Cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Brownie Torte!

Have a wonderful Thursday!  (No baby yet and today is my daughter's due date!)

 

Small and Wonderful Things . . .

"The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But who gets excited by a mere penny?...It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. what you see is what you get." ~Anne Dillard 

A few of the small and wonderful things which bring untold joy into my life.   It's the small things in life which truly mean the most.


    

The roses which are blooming profusely in my garden at the moment.  They're so beautiful.   We have a lot of different kinds.  I don't know their names . . . just that I love them and they are gorgeous.   How can anyone look at all of the intricacies and beautify of any bloom and not see God?

I see God everywhere . . .



Meals shared with good friends.   We had some good friends over to supper last night and had such a lovely time.   I think there is no finer way to enjoy friendship with each other than to break bread together . . .  mi casa est sous casa . . .

I just love having company for supper and getting to cook for others.   That's what I used to enjoy most about my job down south . . . getting to cook for others all the time.   It was like having company every night of the week!

 

I haven't share a photo of this little dear in a while.   She brings so much joy into our lives.   She is really enjoying these drier warmer days.   She loves to run about in the garden and keep it safe from predators, like the neighborhood cats!  They like to hang out in the reeds by our pond and mither the fish.    She likes to chase them out of the reeds by our pond . . .

And yet they still come back?   They can't be very smart cats.



This little dear warms my heart.  She is so sweet.  Those boots are never very far from Maryn's feet.  I think they are her favourite thing to wear.  Her mom's baby is due any day now . . . I think Maryn will be a great big sister.  No idea if it will be a boy or a girl . . . but this is one Grandma who is pumped no matter what!



I know . . . it's two minutes of my time that I will never ever get back . . . but the laughs are priceless . . .  there is this program on the iPad that you can take distorted pictures with.   When I was home recently . . .



Eileen and I had so much fun playing with it!   We laughed and laughed.



Tim was not amused . . . although he did enjoy The Ultimate Dog Tease on YouTube.

Family times . . . they're the best of times.



It's bad . . . I know . . . but it's sooooooo good.   I confess.   I cannot resist having cake for breakfast if there's a cake in the house.  I am such a bad puddy tat.

This is probably why I look the way that I do . . .



Dandelion wishes . . . I can never look at one of these without feeling the magic.  I know to some they are weeds . . . and weeds which breed hundreds and thousands of other weeds, but I see wishes.   Multitudes of wishes and dreams and . . . as we all know dreams can come true, and wishes too!

 

“Youth can not know how age thinks and feels. But old men are guilty if they forget what it was to be young.” 
~JK Rowling, Harry Potter, The Order of the Phoenix

I am grateful for my "young" heart which enables me to be silly sometimes and laugh at myself in a multitude of ways.  Oh, I know . . . that first look in the mirror in the morning is a real kicker some days, but I still feel inside as I did years and years ago. 

That's probably one of the reasons I can eat cake for breakfast and not feel overly guilty about it.



Chives and chive blossoms . . . they add immeasurable goodness this time of year to my salads and dinners.   What savoury thing doesn't taste or look even tastier with a smattering of these scattered over the top!  Not much . . . in my opinion.

 

Baked Top Hat Pork Chops.   They're whats cooking in The English Kitchen today . . . and they're mighty good too!

A thought to carry with you through today . . .

"Smile!  It may never happen.   And if it does, well . . . we'll deal with it then."
~The wisdom of . . . moi

Happy Day All!

The Simple Woman's Daybook

 FOR TODAY June 18th, 2013

Outside my window...
I think we've have a glorious day ahead of us.   It did not rain yesterday, but neither was it full on sunny.  It was dry though, and I'll take that when I can get it!

I am thinking...
.

Letting go is the hard part.

I am thankful...
I am thankful  that my sister and her partner are safely ensconced in Nova Scotia.  Praying now that the transition will go well for everyone.

In the kitchen...




That's a Chicken and Ham Lasagne, over in The English Kitchen.   It was seriously delicious!   REALLY delicious.   Scrummo!
.I am wearing...
Nothing new here!  Except today it is a light cotton nightie.  I've put away the flannel for now!

I am creating...


A painting I did yesterday.   I have been taking an online watercolor class from Tascha.  She's another Canadian.  This is the second course I have taken of hers and it's good.  I highly recommend her classes.  They are affordable and you always learn something new.  That's not a bad thing, learning something new.  ☺



I am really loving these Stones.   I used to paint on rock with acrylics all the time.  I think a few stones like this in a bowl would be a real conversation starter upper.   You can find them here. 



Love this idea of freezing wild flowers in ice cubes.  They are so pretty and would be perfect for company and it's an easy thing to do!



I also love, LOVE this ruffled Tote.   These would be so easy to make and you could color co-ordinate them with your clothes.  You can find the tutorial here. 

I am going...
I have an appointment with the Dentist this week for a check-up.  I hate going to the Dentist.   I am sure they are used to people hating being there.   I have really sensitive teeth and the cleaning process causes me untold amounts of agony.  It really hurts.

We have people coming over for supper tonight.  Doing pork chops.  Todd will be a happy man.  He loves pork chops.

The guy missionaries are coming for their tea on Saturday this week.  We have one from Portugal and one from San Diego, California.  As you know, I love spoiling the missionaries whenever I can!

I am wondering...
I am wondering whether I should put my artwork back into the gallery or not.  I removed it all before I went to Canada.   It is tourist season now . . . and we do get a lot of tourists in Chester . . . what do you think?

I am reading...




The Ice Cream Girls by Dorothy Koomson
 As teenagers Poppy Carlisle and Serena Gorringe were the only witnesses to a tragic event. Amid heated public debate, the two seemingly glamorous teens were dubbed ‘The Ice Cream Girls’ by the press and were dealt with by the courts.

Years later, having led very different lives, Poppy is keen to set the record straight about what really happened, while married mother-of-two Serena wants no one in her present to find out about her past. But some secrets will not stay buried – and if theirs is revealed, everything will become a living hell all over again . . . 

I guess there was a television mini series of this book whilst I was away that I missed.   I would have liked to have seen it.

I am hoping...
My mother's memory begins to improve.  I can't really say with any assurity that she hadn't been already losing her memory before the operation. I only had a couple of days with her before she went into hospital and one of those was spent sleeping and feeling tired.  Talking to her on the phone every day like I did before I flew over for those six months or so, I had noticed that she was repeating herself a bit . . . but then again I do that sometimes myself . . . 

I am looking forward to...
Todd is giving a talk on the Plan of Salvation in church on Sunday next.  I am looking forward to hearing what he has to share with us! 

I am learning...
I am learning to be more patient with myself.  That's not easy.  Some days it's like taking two steps forward and three steps back! 


Around the house...


(source)
 Oh that I had a closet that I could do this in!  This is a most fabulous idea.  A closet baking centre.  I'd like that Kitchen Aid mixer too!!  (A gal can dream, right?)

I am pondering...
There are days when I wonder why I get up each morning and do this.  I don't get many readers these days . . . . but then I stop and ask myself why do I do it?   The answer is . . . that I do it because I love to do it, and whether anyone reads it or not, it is fulfilling some sort of desire in me and is a form of journaling for me.  I do enjoy it very much.  In the beginning I blogged because I wanted to share my thoughts with my children.  They could not care less.   It has turned into something I do for myself and so I will continue . . .



A favorite quote for today...
“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer."
~Psalm 19:14

One of my favorite things...

I love chickens.  If we could afford it we would have chickens.  The expense scares us off . . . that and the thought of what you do with them if you have to go away . . . plus they would ruin the grass in the garden and eat our berries.  I do love them though . . .

A few plans for the rest of the week:
Dinner guests today, Dentist tomorrow, Missionaries on Saturday.  A bit of work, a bit of play and everything in between.   A good week.

A peek into my day...


I do some of this each day.  I just don't look as "perdy" when I do it!  I do wear an apron though . . .

A thought to carry with you through today:

"Judge not, that ye be not judged."
~Matthew 7:1

Have a wonderful day everybody!