Everyday Miracles

"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

I like to think that from the moment we awaken in the morning and hop out of bed, until the end of the day when we close our eyes at night, that we are witnesses to a myriad of miracles. Sprinkled throughout the day, we'll find them if we only take the time to look . . .



A spectacular sunrise . . . birds singing . . . a helping hand at just the right time . . . a beautiful piece of music that inspires . . . the feeling of sunlight on an upturned face . . . bees humming amidst the lavender . . . all simple joys, all free for the taking, all soul uplifting and heart enriching

Our days are just filled to the brim with simple pleasures such as these and miracles that are ours for the taking, if only we have the eyes to see . . . They paint our days with glorious colours and are all around us, quite simply waiting to be noticed . . .



We had occasion to go to our Temple last evening, and it was lovely to be able to end the week in such a Holy Place and frame of mind. I just love being at the Temple and being able to be there with the one I love and cherish is just the most special feeling ever. As we drove up, through winding country lanes, they seemed to sparkle with golden sunlight that dappled down, filtered through the leaves of the many trees that hung above us across the roadway . . . kind of like driving through a green fairy tunnel. It truly was beautiful.

Afterwards, at the end of our evening and before we left to drive home, we took the chance to wander about the grounds, hand in hand, just drinking in of the special spirit which dwells there. It was quiet and peaceful and oh so very lovely. We hated to have to leave to come home. I wish everyone could feel these things . . .



For those of you who have asked, Terri is doing alright. She is still waiting to have her operation, and is in a lot of pain, but the painkillers they have given her help to keep it at bay somewhat. They need to give her a new shoulder. She is having her operation on Tuesday so please keep her in your prayers. An operation can be a traumatic thing at the best of times, but when you are 84, well . . . I told her we would be able to call her the bionic woman afterwards, and she laughed. We'll be going to see her after church tommorrow.

We had an early supper yesterday and I threw together a tomato salad using some tomatoes I had ripening on my countertop. Oh, but it was good. I just love tomatoes. I always keep them on the countertop and let them ripen at room temperature. There is just no comparison in flavour when you do this. When you bring them home from the shops, they are hard and tasteless, but after a few days on the countertop, they are sweet and juicy and full of flavour.



*Tomato Salad*
Serves 3
Printable Recipe

You could roast the tomatoes before using them in this salad, but why bother. If your tomatoes are lovely and ripe and juicy they taste lovely just the way they are.

3 ripe tomatoes
1 tsp capers, rinsed and drained
3 fresh basil leaves, torn
1 spring onion, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
1 TBS balsamic vinegar
1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 teaspoon honey
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste



Cut the tomatoes into quarters and lay them on a plate. Scatter with the spring onion. Whisk together the capers, basil leaves, olive oil, vinegar, garlic and honey. Season with some salt and pepper and drizzle over top of the cut tomatoes. Toss gently and serve.



If you'd like to see what we had with it, hop onto The English Kitchen to see what I cooked next!