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.
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.
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
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 ★
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _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!
