My Friday Finds . . .

 

 

A few of the things  I find each week that pique my interest, bring me joy, inspire me to learn, create, do, become . . . maybe they will do the same for you!   

 

 

 

You just know this is good. Most recipes from Community Cookbooks are!  

 

Sarah Milne Creative. Inspiration only.  

 

Kup Kup Land, more inspiration! Paper Doll on Canvas.  So cute! 

 

Purl Soho.  Little Moons Lace Wrap.  

  

Studio Knit. How to change yarn colours easily.  

 

Studio Knit.  I need this.  Knitting with double pointed needles.  

 

Pickled Barrel.  Rag rugs.  

 

 

Sweet Cayenne, diy coffee cup candles.  I want that cup with the bird on the handle!  Cute! 

  

A Bird and a Bean.  Pin Cushion Frame. 

  

Gina Michelle. DIY Gold Dipped Magnets.  

 

HGTV.  DIY Map Luggage Tags.  

 

 

Carnet Parisiennes.  DIY Wooden Bead Trivet. 

 

 

 

 

Martha Stewart. No sew market tote bag.  

 

 

  

 

Make It Love It.  Fabric Tortilla Warmer.  

 

 

 

 

BHG.  Beautiful Floral Table Matt.  

 

 

 

 

shtf Preparedness.  DIY Dandelion Paper Weight.  

 

 

 

 

 

A Beautiful Mess.  Cactus Pin Cushion Tutorial.  

 

 

 

 

 

Twinspiration. Shell ring dish.  

 

 

 

Omundodejes.  Tutorial on how to make a Succulent Clay vase.  

 

 

 

 

Design Mom, pompom bookmarks.  

 

 

And those are my finds for this week!  Hope you found something of interest here! 

 

A thought to carry with you . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *Don't trust 

everything you see . . . 

Even salt looks like sugar. 

~Unknown •。★★ 。* 。 

 

 

 

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Mediterranean Red Snapper.  This delicious fish steams in a foil packet stuffed with Mediterranean flavours.  Fabulously healthy as well!

Have a fabulous Friday.  Don't forget!  

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And I do too! 

 

My Favourite Things . . .

 

A few of the things which catch my eye, inspire me, pluck at my heart strings, make me smile, or that I just enjoy.  Maybe they will do the same for you.     

  

 

I'm back from the Temple. We got back mid afternoon yesterday.  I was exhausted and in bed by 8:30 last night, slept right through to this morning.  The Temple is one of my favourite places to be. Its so beautiful there and restful. We stayed in the accomodation centre.  The bed was the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in. There was everything in the room, a small kitchenette, a full bathroom, etc. I don't sleep well in strange places however, so I didn't fall asleep until the wee hours of the morning and was up bright and early, hence me being so tired last night!

 

The best part of being there ( I always hate all photos of me, so blah...) was being with my friend Tina.. Mal was there also, but she was working. Tina and I only ever very rarely have time together alone.  Todd and Tony are usually there, so it was nice to just spend some together time.  Walking around the grounds, inside the Temple doing Temple work, eating lunch and supper together, etc.  Time spent with good friends is a favourite thing.

  

The flowers at the temple are so beautiful.  I love flowers. I took lots of photographs of them. (on my phone) They were simply breathtaking. Roses are one of my favourite things. And red roses are really lovely.  How can one not see the hand of God in such beauty. 

 

Another area of flowers.  There was Sweet William, Delphinium, Snap Dragons, and som eotehrs I did not know the name of. Every area is filled with these little gardens, small vistas of beauty. Even if you can't go inside the Temple, it is always worth a trip just to walk around the grounds and take in the beauty and the spirit of the place. You can feel it outside as well as inside.  There are many, many Temples in the world today. If you live near one and just want to feel some comfort and peace, take a drive, park the car and just walk around outside.  There's always plenty of parking. Nobody will bother you and its free.  The gardens are always beautiful and there are benches all over the place where you can just sit and think. Quiet places to sit and think, another one of my favourite things. 

 

Finding small white feathers.  When I opened my box of eggs in the morning on Tuesday, there was a white feather on one of them, and then at the Temple we were walking and there was a white feather and then when I was in my bed on Tuesday evening I found another white feather.  Call me crazy but I think my mom was with me and I felt very close to her at the Temple, and all these little white feathers  . . . they say that when you find white feather's an angel is near.  My mama angel was near me. It was nice.  

  

I interrupt to show you a random photograph of delicious donuts because they are also one of my favourite things, but not something I have very often.  Truth. I love the Glazed Sour Cream Donuts at Tim Hortons back home.  Either the vanilla ones, or the chocolate ones.  They are my favourites.  What are your favourite donuts?  How do you spell donut?  Is it Donut or Doughnut?  Or are both okay? 

  

(source)

Strawberry Season.  They are bursting out now in abundance.  We have them coming out our ears.  Love, LOVE strawberries!  

   

(source)

Sea glass  . . .  bashed about and polished by the waters of the sea . . . where did it come from. What did it start as  . . .  I just think it is all wonderful . . . 

 

Nature books  . . . especially ones that are illustrated such as The Diary of a Country Lady and the like . . . I could look at them for hours . . .  

 

When I got home yesterday, Todd had picked two bowls of berries, done two loads of wash and hung them out, washed the car, hoovered through the house   . . . done all the dishes . . .  he must have  missed me or something.  Being missed.  That is a favourite thing.  Blessed is the person who has someone  to miss them. 

  

Someone else really missed me as well  . . . 

 

 (source)  

Cinnamon Buns  . . . all yeasty and sweet  . . .    

 

(source)

Sunny days and open windows  . . .  there is only one thing which bothers me.  We have a neighbour along the back who loves to listen to rap music, and on warm sunny days, persists in playing it full blast.  I said to Todd, we should blast them back with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  I wonder if they would notice? 

 

(source)

 The love scripture  . . . . 

 

Knowing in my heart that this is true  . . .   

  

Each of you.  I missed you  . . . 

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

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

reflect your hopes and not your fears.

~Nelson Mandela•。★★ 。* 。

 

I have no new recipe to share in The English Kitchen today, but I thought you might like to revisit this one.  Buttermilk Dressed Rose Salad Bowl.  Delicious and healthy!  Salad is also one of my favourite things . . . 

 

Happy Fourth of July to all my American Family and Friends!

Have a beautiful day!  Love and be loved and don't forget!

 

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And I do too!    

   

 

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 from the past week which brought untold joy into my life. It's the small things in life which truly mean the most. Simple abundance . . . it's the best.   

 

 

 

 

Fresh chives from the garden.  They remind me of my father.  He had a huge cement planter out front of our house in Green wood filled with chives that came up every year.  They were his pride and joy. I throw them on everything this time of year, revelling in their abundance and enjoying them every moment that I can.  When I eat them I think of days gone by where, as an adult,  I would make my father grilled cheese and bologna sandwiches, with mustard and a few chives tucked in the middle.   He loved coming to my house for these sandwiches.  God-willing I will have the opportunity to make more for him some day . . . 

 

 

 

 

I love the gardens this time of year.  They are filled to overflowing with blooms, all the dusty hopes of last Winter coming to fruition right in front of our eyes.  The roses are bursting as are the hydrangea, clematis, etc.  They put on a lovely show.  One can't help but believe in God when surrounded by such beauty . . . 

 

  

 

The Lavender which is beginning to bloom in the garden now.   Every time I walk by it and my legs brush against the blooms, I am gifted with the most luxurious smell.   This year I AM going to remember to cut some of it and dry it so that I can enjoy this smell all winter long . . .

I love Lavender . . .   mmmm . . . Lavender sugar.  MUST MAKE THIS YEAR. Also drawer sachets. 

 

 

 

Putting a few extra potatoes into the pot and making a hot dinner to take over to an elderly friend who rarely gets one.   The smile on her face was worth having one less sausage on our plates.   It didn't cost us anything much and really made her day.   It is good to think of others and serve them whenever you can in whatever way you can.    I am grateful that I still have extra sausages to share. 

 

 

   

 

A rare shot of these three together out and about and enjoying the beginning of their summer 2019. They are growing up so quickly.  Its hard to believe that Jon is already a teenager.  Where has the time gone!  

 

  

 

Jake's enthusiasm for life. It is contagious. You can't help but smile.  He goes at everything with abandon. He is so full of life and energy.  I wish I could bottle some of it up for myself!  

 

 

 

 

 

There was a local food festival where the local restaurants were all offering samplings of their foods at a taster price.  The boys really enjoyed trying all of the different types of food.  There was food from all over the world.  I love that my grandchildren are growing up in a world where they can learn more about other cultures first hand. Taste things like real South American food or Middle Eastern food locally, and not have to rely on pizza from a box. They had little passports to check and fill out about all the different things they tasted.  I love it that these small towns pull together and do things like this! Its good for the community and its good for business. 

 

  

 

It is nice to see my son out and about spending time with the boys on this latest adventure. I love all my children.  After Doug's recent brush with a very serious illness, I am very grateful for answered prayers.  His recovery is going well.  He is quite understandably a bit paranoid, which is to be expected.  Anyone would be. I just pray that his recovery continues to be positive and that he is soon back to normal.  Your prayers have all been very much appreciated! 💗 The story could have ended very differently.  So grateful to my Heavenly Father that it didn't.   

 

 

 

Being able to partake of the Sacrament worthily each week.  To renew my covenants, to repent, to remember Him and take His name upon me.  It is the highlight of my week, the perfect end to one and the perfect beginning to another. 

 

 

  

 

All of the love and trust which has been given me by this delightful little madam.   Oh, she does bring us so much joy, each and every day of our lives.   She is so sweet and so loving, if not a tiny bit bossy.  She hasn't a mean bone in her body.   There is not a day go by that I am not touched and totally be-smitten by all that she is and all that she does.   Oh I love her so very much.  She is a pure and utter joy to us, and we ARE a family. 

  

 

 

Being able to dry the laundry out on the line.    It smells so nice and I love that snapping sound it makes when we get a little breeze going.   Bliss . . . pure and utter bliss . . . so grateful for the few sunny days we have had since all of that rain. It looks to be showery again today. 

 

 

  

 

 

The luxury of being a homemaker.  I have been both a working woman and a homemaker in my lifetime and I have to say I much prefer being a homemaker.  I love my home and I love being in it and I love everything that goes along with being in it.   I love being where I love being most, taking care of it, making it comfortable for my husband and myself, keeping it tidy and polished . . . making it a home, filling it with love and joy and  everything else.   It is not a mansion on a hill, and thankfully it is not a mud hut in a field . . . it is somewhere in between those two and I know we are blessed to be living the lives we are living. 

 

 

 

 

Living close enough to a Temple that I can visit it regularly without much problem.  Tomorrow Tina, Mal and I are going up to the Temple in Chorley and staying there overnight.  We will have two blissful days to partake of its peace and comfort.  I have never done this before.  I am looking forward to it.  There is accomodation on the Temple grounds that you can stay in for a very small fee, just to cover the cost of cleaning/bedding/etc. Each room has its own fridge, microwave and bathroom/shower/tub.  Oh and a bed, lol. I am going tomorrow morning and won't be back until late Wednesday so don't worry if I haven't posted anything on Wednesday morning.  I have much to be grateful for and a lot to reflect on. It will just be nice. I am bringing three of my female ancestors with me. 

 

And those are my small and wonderfuls for this week!  There are a whole lot more things that I am grateful for.  Life is good. 

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *"Real love begins 

where nothing is expected in return."
~Antoine de Saint-Exupery  •。★★ 。* 。 

 

 

 

 

Happy Canada Day to all my Canadian family and friends!  I cooked some Down East Fish Cakes as an homage to my Maritime up-bringing!  Todd thoroughly enjoyed them!

 

I hope your week ahead is filled with many small and wonderful things!  Don't forget! 

 

 

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And I do too!