Small and Wonderful Things . . .

"The world is fairly studded and strewn with pennies cast broadside from a generous hand. But who gets excited by a mere penny?...It is dire poverty indeed when a man is so malnourished and fatigued that he won't stoop to pick up a penny. But if you cultivate a healthy poverty and simplicity, so that finding a penny will literally make your day, then, since the world is in fact planted with pennies, you have with your poverty bought a lifetime of days. It is that simple. what you see is what you get." ~Anne Dillard

A few of the small and wonderful things which bring untold joy into my life. It's the small things in life which truly mean the most. Simple abundance . . . it's the best.

 

A son that texts me from work just to say I love you and then facetimes me on his break to tell me he's thinking of me.  Made my day even if I was in my PJ's and no make-up! Things like this mean a lot to me, I'm not denying it. They fill my heart with joy. I am so thankful for our Doug and his love for me, and that he and I have a good relationship with each other.  He is a very thoughtful son.  He always has been.  We share a love of dogs, good knives,  and cooking.  He has a very tender heart.  He has always been tender-hearted.  When he was little he had the hairiest arms and I always called him my fuzzy bear.  He looks a lot like my mother's father, and he has the "Simpson" nose which is a family trait from my mother's family.  A lot of us have it.  I don't, but my brother does.   Along with the "Bum" chin from my father's side . . . it is a family trait which carries on through the generations.

Puppy Dog snuffles.  I know you must get tired of that, but its true. It is one of the great blessings in my life. Lately she has taken to going up and sleeping on our bed when we go out, and sometimes she even shuts the door behind her. She sleeps right next to my side of the bed on the little doggie mattress we got for her at night.  I can just reach down and stroke her anytime I want to. The unconditional love and loyalty of a dog are amazing. I don't think that there is anything else on earth that quite approaches it.

Knowing this to be true.  Not just believing this, but knowing this. It is life changing.   I am reading a very good book at the moment called The Continuous Atonement, by Brad Wilcox.  Christ is not just our Saviour, but He is also our redeemer. The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but that, miraculously, we can feel at home there.  This book is amazing and I am discovering so much in reading it.  Every page has an "Aha" moment on it.

I had a moment of inspiration yesterday and quickly wrote it down on a piece of paper on my work desk so that when I get the chance I can convert it to something creative.  I love having a workspace.  It is not something which I take for granted, although to be sure, it is often much messier than I would like it to be.

Buttercups.   Buttercups have always featured in my life.  Can you remember holding one beneath your best friends chin when you were a child to see if they liked butter?  If there was a yellow light on the chin it meant yes.  Of course everyone's chin held a yellow light, a special glow, a reflection of the colour of the buttercup . . .   buttercups are special things. Sunny and bright, they bring delight.

My big blue binder which is a constant source of inspiration and holds a bazillion memories for me.  I love it.  It is as much a part of me as my hand or my foot.

I know I say this every week, but its true.  My Sunday afternoon talks with my mother.  They fill my heart with joy, even though we always talk about the same things. I dread the day when this will no longer be possible. I have a letter all ready to post out to her today.  She seemed to think that yesterday was Mother's Day, although I kept reminding her that it wasn't until next Sunday.  I finally gave up and let her think it was Mother's Day, even if it made me feel a tiny bit bad because my card is not there yet.  It will arrive this week and I have flowers ordered also.  A vase of Orchids.  I hope that they look as nice as the photograph of them did in the online flower shop.  My sister said that she would take a picture to show me. My mother has the "Simpson" nose, although she had an operation when we were still at school to have the bump removed. It had always bothered her.

I love this photograph of our Eileen from a few years back.   I get to talk to her every day.  I love that we have such a close relationship.  We always have had.  She was the little girl I always wanted to have when I was growing up.  I dreamed of having a little girl with blonde hair and brown eyes and I did.  When I was a girl, I always said that I was going to call her Honey, but of course I did not, she was Eileen, named after one of my good friends from school and my husband's regiment with the PPCLI.  Eileen Patricia.  We talk about everything under the sun, what we are cooking, memories of things we have done together, we laugh, we talk about fairies, etc. I love that we have a friendship with each other.  It is not as I had always imagined it would be when I had grown up daughters, but it is still very good.  I am grateful for our Eileen and her love and loyalty to me.  We share the "Bum" chin.

Grateful also for this son and the love that we share.  I think he is brilliant.   I was in love with him from the moment I knew I was having a baby, and the moment I held him in my arms is a moment I will always cherish in my heart.  The first baby  is always special.  Oh yes, so are the others, but there is only ever one first.  I don't have favourites.  I cherish and love all of my children.  Anthony has always been there for me, since I was 19.  He has been through all of my ups and my downs and his love for me has never faltered, nor has mine for him.  We are the best of friends and talk often.  He also has the "Bum" chin, and so do his boys.  But he has also inherited his father's cheek dimples, and his father's thespian tendancies.   He is a great dramaticist and a good writer.  Maybe he gets that from both of us.

This is my Great Grandmother Best's (And Grandfather's) house up in Inglesville.  My sister went up and took some photos a week or so ago.  It is largely derelict now.  My mother was born in that house.  It used to have a wrap around porch . . . which is now gone and it used to be white.

It hasn't been lived in for a very long time.  I have been in it a few times through the years.  My sister says that you can still see a shoe rack through the back door window with some shoes and a pair of slippers on it   . . . . and in one of the out-buildings there is a tractor and a yellow rocking chair.  We wondered if maybe it wasn't our Great Grandmother's rocking chair and if she might not have rocked our mother in it at one time . . . its nice to think that she might have.

One wonders how long this property will stand and when it might be pulled down.  I wish I had a million dollars to buy it and keep it in the family.

And with that I will leave you with a thought for today  . . .

.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *.˛.° ˛°. . 
˛°To get the full measure of joy,
you must have someone to divide
it with. ~Mark Twain  •。★★ 。* 。

I suppose another way of saying that is to say that a joy shared is a joy doubled!

Spiritual Enlightenment

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Quiche in a Bun.  Simple and delicious.

Have a great day. May your week ahead be filled with lots of small and wonderful things.  Don't forget!

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And I do too!!