Making every day count . . .

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“Today a new sun rises for me; everything lives, everything is animated, everything seems to speak to me of my passion, everything invites me to cherish it.” ~Anne De Lenclos

I’ve often heard it said, that you should live each day as if it were the last day of your life, making every moment count. We shouldn’t squander one thought, one moment, one sunrise . . . we should try to live each day in every single way that will make us feel good about it, so that even if it were all over tomorrow, we’d be content and say to ourselves . . . well done.

Right now I am sitting here in front of my computer, and all around me the earth is awakening to face a new day . . . it first started as little chirps and peeps, invading the darkness that was beginning to creep away as daylight crept in along the horizon, and now is a cacaphony of the sound and music of birdsong, that is echoing thru the early morning light. It is my favourite time of day.

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My head has not long left my pillow, and the whole day stands before me . . . fresh and clean, like a new page waiting for me to write upon it. What words will I write today, what new things will I find to cherish? Will I spend it wisely, or will I waste it in a frenzy of activity and fog, not stopping to cherish all the small blessings that are mine to experience and appreciate . . . Will I take every luminous moment that is mine, each “everyday epiphany” and see them for what they are, precious gifts not to be taken for granted, small pockets of joy and awakening?

Will I stop to cherish the ones I love, and the ones who love me back, and even the ones I don’t love so much? Will I try to do my best in all that I do? Will I sing a little louder, a little stronger, the song of my heart and weave a song of promise and joy around the fibres of my life today?

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Will today be not only the first day of the rest of my life . . . but indeed, the best day of my life thus far?

This is what I tell myself each morning. Today is the best day of your life. Today you will stand a little taller. Today you will rise up and conquer every challenge that comes your way. Today you will cherish every moment, every smile, every heartbeat, every teardrop . . .

Know what? It works . . . coz every day is, indeed, the best day of my life . . . and every day counts as never before. May you today recognize the poet within your soul and register every precious moment of your life, before this too, passes . . . and it is once again, too late.



Here's our precious little Maryn enjoying her first snowfall of the year! Isn't she a sweetie pie! Nova Scotia got a lot of snow day before yesterday and it was dig the shovel out time again! I haven't spoken to my mother, but I am sure she had to call out the man to plow her drive according to the weather reports that I saw.

It seems hardly possible but Christmas is one month from today!! I think I may be able to start decorating the house, do you think? Surely one month ahead is not too early! Todd may have other ideas though . . .



Speaking of Christmas. I always like to do a special card to send my close friends at Christmas time. This is my card for this year. I painted it yesterday afternoon and then printed out a bazillion of them and spent a good couple of hours putting them together and glittering them. They turned out really nice I think. Not sure if you can read the verse or not, but it says:

From home to home,
and from heart to heart,
from one place to another.
The warmth and JOY of Christmas
brings us closer to each other.
~emily matthews

I better get cracking on writing them out and getting all my parcels ready to send. I only have about a week to get the ones out for Canada. I am so late doing it this year. I think it's because I have been battling this rotten cold for going on six weeks now. I am going to go to the Doctor today because this cough is really dragging me down. I think I need anti-biotics.

I guess I've nattered on long enough this morning so I will leave you with my recipe. I hope that all my American friends had a lovely Thanksgiving yesterday and were able to enjoy the warmth and love that comes from having family close. I expect there's lots of leftover turkey going today! Here's a delicious mayo that would go very well with that turkey sandwich I think!



*Lemon and Basil Mayonnaise*Makes 1 cup
Printable Recipe

Next time you are desirous of a toasted bacon and tomato sandwich try using some of this lovely mayonnaise. Full of the subtle flavours of basil and lemon it really heightens the flavours of the tomatoes and lifts the simple up into the sublime. Delicious! It’s also very good with fish!

1 cup good quality mayonnaise (I use Hellman's)
2 TBS chopped fresh basil leaves
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon (I buy un-waxed)
2 tsp lemon juice
Sea Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients with a small wire whisk. Store, covered in the refrigerator until ready to use on sandwiches, salads or with cooked chicken or fish. Absolutely lovely!



I've used it here on a Toasted Bacon and Tomato Sandwich. This is a really delicious way to use it. Try it on a Turkey Sandwich! (Use up some of the Thanksgiving leftovers!) It's really tasty on those too!



I'm cooking Macaroni Peas over in The English Kitchen today. Very colourful and delicious too!