Friday, April 4th, 2025
3 ESTATE LANE, Nova Scotia
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˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ | 田田 |門 ★
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And I do too!

These are some of the things in life that I enjoy, and which make me happy, inspire me, or put a smile on my face. Maybe some of them are yours too. Let's share!
This . . .
Old marmalade jars . . .
Alliums . . .
Pearls . . .
Pretty florals . . .
Pommes frites . . .
China plates . . .
Garden statues . . .
Tulips . . .
Climbing roses . . .
Lighthouses . . .
Foggy dawns . . .
Vintage color plates . . .
Glazed pear fritters . . . sounds yummy.
Yellow . . .
Wooden ironing boards . . . white linens . . .
Blue skies . . .
A breakfast nook . . .
Green . . .
Light . . .
Love . . .
Gingers . . . just watching the world go by . . .
Purple . . .
And those are my favorite things for this week. I hope you enjoyed them.
A thought to carry with you . . .
There is some nasty weather coming our way today. Tis the season of transition when Winter doesn't want to leave and Spring is itching to begin. Hopefully we won't be putting up with this swinging back and forth for too much longer! I hope you have a beautiful day! Be happy, be blessed, and don't forget!
Not sure how it happened but it's already April and we are into the fourth month of the year already! My car is sitting in the driveway, summer tires loaded and ready to go to the service center later this morning. And I still haven't done my taxes. I am such a procrastinator. Every year I say I am going to get them done early and every year I don't. The crunch is on now though.
This is a busy month of the year, what with my church's General conference this weekend, Easter and everything else that is going on.
We had the beginning of our April showers yesterday, but by the end of the day it had turned to sunshine. -4*C/25*F out there this morning however so it is cold. Sunny and cold and not expected to get much warmer today. I am glad that I put my heat back on before I went to bed last night. I had kept it off all day yesterday.
I had Sheila at my door yesterday morning. She had been messing with the controller for her heat pump and couldn't figure it out. The maintenance guy had been over to look at it and put everything straight, but she said she didn't recognize half of what the symbols on it were saying. I popped over to see if there was anything I could do to fix it. There wasn't anything wrong with it as far as I could see. Other than the fact that her heat pump was a bit noisy, it all looked fine to me. Anyways, I was able to reassure her that all was well. I had roasted a chicken yesterday also, so I brought her some of that and some mashed potatoes and veggies, which she appreciated.
She can't understand why my electric bill is so much less than hers and I cook all the time. I told her I think it is because she has her electric baseboard heating on all the time. I do not have mine on at all. That electric heat will gobble up the electricity like nothing else. That makes a huge difference.
I had to pick up one of my prescriptions yesterday. It cost me $111.39. Pharmacare doesn't cover this one at all. Over in the U.K. the same prescription cost me 7 pounds, and in fact since I was over 60, it actually cost me nothing. If you are over 60 there, prescriptions are free. As are eye care and dental. They take good care of their seniors, or at least they were when I left to come back to Canada. Most countries do take very good care of their young and their old. I do not think that is so in North America, but I cannot complain because many things here are very good.
Oh, another thing in April. A federal election. Make sure you vote people, this could be the most important election in our lifetime.
Anyways, My prescription was quite pricey yesterday, but it should last me three months, so I guess if you divide it up by three, that is only $37.13 a month. That sounds much better. My deductible on Pharmacare is the maximum however over $450 which I just paid. So, I have spent a lot on prescriptions so far this year. The joys of aging! ha ha It could be a lot worse.
We live in a world of plastic people. Especially younger people. Lips pumped and plumped, eyelash and hair extensions, liposuction, Botox, fake tanning, etc. They have ribs removed to make their waistlines smaller, injections into their butts to make them rounder, breast implants . . . it goes on and on. We are living in a world of wannabe Kardashians, I guess. People are just not happy with looking normal. I do not understand it.
When I was 30, I had four young children and didn't know if I was coming or going most days. It took all of my energy and time to just take care of my home and family. There was no money for going to McDonalds let alone Botox injections and, if there had been, I am sure I wouldn't have wanted or needed them.
Life was full and it was busy. I loved being a mom, wife and homemaker. I had never really wanted to be anything else, and I never ever experienced a lack of fulfillment for being such. Not that I can remember anyways.
This was the kind of house I lived in. One bedroom down, a living room, small eat-in kitchen, bathroom and two bedrooms up. It was also the same as the house I had grown up in. I don't remember ever feeling deprived. There was a bedroom for the girls and one for the boys and one for us. We had a fold out couch in the living room for company. (They got our room, and we slept on the couch.) Life was simple but it was good. It was busy. I was busy.
Even after we had our fifth child, our house did not get really bigger, not until we decided to build our own home anyways, and then we had six bedrooms, two full bathrooms, a family room, a shop, a laundry room, a living room, kitchen, dining room, mud room, etc. It was huge in comparison. I loved that house. We were in over our heads. We went from that to a rented farmhouse that was overrun with mice and had no furnace. It was appalling when I think back on it.
I could write a book, on all the changes and seasons of my life. Good times, bad times and everything in between. I have always landed on my feet, no matter the difficulty of the journey. I am grateful for that.
Not sure what I will get up to when I get home from having my tires changed. Perhaps I will get started on my taxes. Perhaps not. Maybe I will leave that for tomorrow and just focus on giving the house a good vacuum and mop the floors, do some laundry, etc. Then tomorrow I can start with a clean slate.
Yes, that sounds just the ticket, but I must get them done this week. Oh, and Cindy, if you are reading this, don't forget to let me know the days you are free to come with me to the eye doctor so I can make my appointment. (I need a driver because of the drops.) Putting it here to remind us both!
And with that I will end this as I need to get some stuff done before I leave for the garage.
In The English Kitchen today . . . Hot Cross Buns, the small batch. This is a rather unique recipe in that you can have these made and be enjoying them in not much longer than half an hour. I kid you not. There is no messing about with rising doughs, etc. And they are a yeast dough as well. I saw them first on Monique's IG and then got the recipe from another. I adapted to make a small batch and changed the flavors, etc. slightly. Very good. I was very pleased with them, and I think you would be also.
I hope you have a lovely Wednesday. Be happy and blessed no matter what you get up to! Don't forget!
FOR TODAY, April 1st, 2025
OUTSIDE MY WINDOW ...
It's garbage day and it's raining as you can see. I think Tuesdays must be the one day of the week where we get the most precipitation as it is very rare that we have a dry garbage day. In fact, today there is a heavy rain warning in effect, but the temperature is in double digits and was so when I woke up at 5:30.
I AM THINKING ...
The warmer days and double digit temperatures should become more frequent now we are in April. April showers and all that. Can the flowers be far behind? I think not! We know how quickly a month can pass!
I AM ALSO THINKING ...
Can I find the time to do some of these things this month? Here's hoping! Well, all except for the person I love one. That one is out of the question. I can try to manage all of the others though!
IN THE KITCHEN ...
Maple Pecan Granola. Low fat, high fiber, low sugar and delicious. Also, very quick and easy to make. I have always loved to make my own granola. I have been making my own since the early 1980's. I always enjoy eating it with some Greek yogurt and fresh fruit, on this occasion some fresh berries.
ON MY "TO COOK" LIST ...
These puff pastry Breakfast Bars from Jenna Baked look really good. Filled with sausage, bacon and hashbrowns, and well puff pasty. Can you ever not love anything when pastry is involved?
SOMETHING I KNOW TO BE TRUE ...
I would not trade my simple and modest life for anything else. These words ring with truth. Oh, there may be the occasional exception for some people, but the best things in life truly are free. Money cannot buy happiness, love, peace, etc.
SOMETHING THAT'S NICE ...
Our church's Spring General Conference is coming up this weekend. These happen twice a year. It is an opportunity to listen to and watch inspiring and uplifting talks from the leaders of my church. An opportunity for spiritual nourishment in an unbelievable way. I always come away feeling well and truly fed. You can find out more on how to watch and participate here.
SOMETHING ELSE THAT IS NICE ...
Some of our best lessons about life and being alive come from nature and the natural world around us.
I WOULD LIKE TO CREATE ...
Paper bouquets . . . I used to do this.
Paper apples. Art classes . . .
House bookmarks . . .
Papier Mache houses . . .
A Papier Mache Fox . . .
SOMETHING I ENJOY ...
Seeing the spring blossoms appear . . .
SOMETHING ELSE I ENJOY ...
Soup and bread. I used to be a soup and cracker girl, but living in the U.K. I came to really appreciate the finer qualities of enjoying a hot bowl of soup with bread, any kind of bread. Now that's comfort.
OH MY GOODNESS ...
If I can't see you then you can't see me.
JOY MAKERS .;;
Sunrises . . .
Wildflowers, sunsets and wide open spaces . . .
I AM READING ...
THE CORNER THAT HELD THEM, by Philip Hensher
The Corner That Held Them is a story of many small lives lived both with small hopes and grand dreams. It is the story of the convent of Oby. It was founded in the 12th century by a man 10 years after he discovers his wife in bed with her lover and righteously slaughters the lover. We meet the nuns 200 years later and peer into the intimate details of their lives. We find that the location of the convent is not the most advantageous – its farm land is frequently flooded. It is in a swampy location. The prioress is the CEO of the convent, scheming to attract novices with good dowries, planning on how to maximize its income, enticing a new priest, meeting and mingling with the worldly most particularly those who can or may help the convent with its affairs, designing a magnificent spire to increase its prestige and wrangling with her fellow nuns. It is the same whoever the prioress is, whoever the nuns are. They make little economies, they make large economies, they say their offices every day, they are political and they are religious and they are domestic. They fight and bicker and quarrel like any small community. They survive the Black Death, the changing of bishops, a priest who is not a priest and mad nuns. They survive being robbed and being oppressed. There are side stories and stories that illuminate their surroundings. It is brilliantly done and a marvelously realized world.
THINGS THAT CATCH MY FANCY ...
Fresh asparagus . . .
Cotton dresses . . . feeling feminine . . .
Cute arrangements . . .
Pretty pockets . . .
I AM GRATEFUL FOR ...
The birdsong of nesting birds . . .
ALSO GRATEFUL FOR ...
Forsythia . . . not long now . . .
SOMETHING TO WATCH ...
A Dinner of Herbs, Catherine Cookson, Acorn TV.
A THOUGHT TO CARRY WITH YOU ...
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