Here in the UK, we're now experiencing that beautiful time of year which I like to call Lilac-tide. Spring is in full thrust and all the daffodils are long spent, bluebell woods are blooming profusely, the ground cover a wide carpet of blue, such a beautiful smell . . . but my favourite of all, the lilac is in full bloom and the air is filled with their sweet fragrance . . . ane never more beautiful than after a spat of rain. Through dripping branches fragrance drifts and thrushes call . . .
The garden across the way has a beautiful big lilac tree and it's branches are heavily laden with blossom . . . it drips and hangs over their hedge, almost onto the main pathway and I am sorely tempted to clip a few blooms to bring into the house so that we can enjoy nature's air freshener in here for a few days. I wonder . . . would anyone notice? Best not hazard it. I think I will ask Todd can we please get ourselves a lilac bush to plant out front.
The hedgerows are filled with bloming hawthorn and may blossom . . . when one travels through the rural areas, it is as if we are driving through a green tunnel, tinted here and there with pale pink and white froth and the air sings with the petals which drift along on the spring breeze, for all the world looking like snow falling. Can there ever be any more beautiful time of year?? I think not!
A bit of an upset again yesterday as I realized that once again, my e-mail had been compromised. Having done all that I can, I am hopeful that the problem has sorted it self. Only time will tell. I fear that Todd may have the problem now though as he was sitting in his chair last evening with his lap top and he said to me . . . "Why did you send me a page about viagra?! . . . as he is sitting there looking at the link he opened up! I told him, shut that page now! I said to him, what have we been trying to sort out all afternoon, and why on earth after that would you go and open up that link that my e-mail sent you!! His reply . . . well, it was from you so I thought it was ok! DOH!! MEN!! Anyways, he changed his password right away and logged out, so hopefully it didn't stick.
I was ever so encouraged by all the positive feedback from my little cookbooklet! It really made my day to get such a positive response from all those who had purchased it. I did put a lot of my heart and soul into it, so I am ever so pleased that it's been appreciated!
(Don't forget to turn the music off down below to watch this video. You'll love this. I did!)
We had the Missionaries for supper last night. We do so love having them in our home. They bring such a wonderful spirit with them. We have a new one now, Elder Starr . . . whom Todd has christened Elder Twinkle! He's a very tall American! Before they go they always share a special spiritual thought with us and yesterday was no exception. It is always so refreshing to have these fabulous young people in our home, who . . . at a time in their lives when most young people are only concerned with carousing and having a good time . . . have given up two years of their lives to serve the Lord and their fellow man. During that two years they will not see their families. They will only speak to their families twice a year . . . a telephone call on Christmas Day, and another telephone call on Mother's Day. A mission is a sacrifice of love given both by the young person serving, and by their families who give them up for two years. (18 months for girls.)
In a way I think it is a special protection given them by the Lord . . . this call to serve a mission. He takes them during those very vulnerable years, when many could go astray . . . tucks them under His wing and sets their feet upon higher ground. I think it's all pretty marvelous . . . and I think that if you asked most of them in years to come, which were the best years of their lives . . . most, with very few exceptions, would say . . . when I was on my mission.. They leave their homes as boys, at the age of 19 . . . and return as men at the age of 21, having experienced fantastic growth, strengthened testimonies, and being spiritually and emotionally prepared for all the rest that life will throw at them in the years to come. It's all pretty amazing to me. (When a young woman serves a mission call, it is for 18 months and begins at age 21 if they so choose to serve, and many do.)
What's even more amazing is that as I just wrote that last bit, I looked up and saw the missionaries on their morning jog passing by the front of our house!! Talk about co-incidence??? Or is it God-incidence??? I think the latter! (They only live around the corner from us and their landlord is our landlord too!)
We're off this morning to have Mitzie, puffed and fluffed. We take her to the same person that bred her. They also happen to be dog groomers and specialize in Spaniels. We did take her to a different person once, and were not happy at all with the results, so we stick with the place in Neston. They're ever so good. I'm not sure Mitzie likes it all that much. She's always very happy to see us at the end of it all! She always smells so nice and looks so pretty when they are finished with her. The walls of the waiting area are filled with portraits of her ancestors, each of them beautiful dogs, in their own right, and it's not hard to see where she gets her beauty from!
I shall leave you now to get on with your day, as ever with a nice thought to carry you through the coming hours . . .
“Since the beginning of time, love has been the source of both the highest bliss and the heaviest burdens. At the heart of misery from the days of Adam until today, you will find the love of wrong things. And at the heart of joy, you will find the love of good things."And the greatest of all good things is God.”
~Dieter F Uchtdorf
Cooking in The English Kitchen today, a delicious Steamed Cherry Bakewell Pudding . . . with custard sauce!
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