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.

 

Yesterday we took the day off.  We did not go anywhere, not even church.  We all need a day off every now and then. We sat around our cosy little home doing nothing, but watch old conference talks and talking about how we felt about what we had been listening too.  Re-assessing our life. Preparing ourselves for the upcoming bi-annual world-wide church conference at the end of the month . . . just relaxing without the rush and bustle of having to get showered and dressed and out the door, etc. I made Todd pancakes for breakfast and we just relaxed all the day through. It was nice.

After watching some conference talks we watched some films.  To Kill a Mocking Bird and Close Encounters of a Third Kind.  We ate popcorn.  I heated up leftover stew from the other night.  We ate that in bowls with bread and butter and pickled beets that Tina and Tony had gifted us with the other day.  It was great!  We had not watched either one of those films in a long while.  You can't beat the classics. In between the films I called my mother and we had our Sunday afternoon conversation.  It is pretty much the same every week with little variations here and there. I love my talks with my mother. They bless my heart. 

My mother used to write me once a week every week, and then it got down to once every couple of weeks, and then once a month, and now not at all . . . I saved all of her letters and I have them in a box upstairs.  Every once in a while I dig one out and read it. I think they are just wonderful.  Every time I read one it is just like I am getting a hug from my mother.  I am so happy that I saved them through all these years.  I saved all the cards she sent me as well.  This year was the first year in my whole life that I did not get a Birthday Card from her.  I knew that day would come eventually.  I did get to speak to her on my Birthday however, which was a blessing, even if she didn't remember on the day that it was my Birthday.  I knew that if she was her normal old self she would have done, and I know that she loves me.  I have saved up all the years of her doing those things in my heart, soul and mind so that when this day did come, I would still have them with me, no matter what. One day I will not even be able to talk with her, and so I cherish and hang onto every chance I get to do just that . . .  talk with her.

 

Cloud watching . . .  I love to watch the clouds that float across the sky at the back of our house. We have a really long garden and so the sky isn't totally obliterated by somebody else's house.  I get to see the sky in all its glory.  Sometimes I like to take photos of the clouds.  I find clouds fascinating. 

 

In science in Grade Six we learned all about the different clouds and their names  . . . Cumulus, Nimbus, Cumulus Nimbus, etc. I could not tell you what is what now, but I do love to watch clouds and take photos of them from time to time. 

 

Just now I looked out the back window as I sat here typing and noticed a rainbow, reaching down its finger from the clouds in the sky. I had to take a photo of it. Its not really that noticeable from my photo, but if you look just to the right of the palm tree, you will see it reaching up in a slight arch above the rooftop behind.  The colours did not show up properly in the photo, but trust me when I tell you they were there.  All the colours of the rainbow.  Rainbows at seven in the morning.  I feel like it was put there just for me. I wonder how many people noticed it?  Probably not many. Most would be too busy at this time of the morning getting ready for their day.  Blessed I am not too busy to notice things like this.

I took this photo of the clouds behind our house the other day.  They were beautiful I thought.  Totally contrasting each other.  The top layer dark and solid and forboding, and yet in the background some fluff, just floating beneath the darkness  . . . 

And here was that same sky just a few minutes ago.  The rooftops were glowing . . . its already changed and gone quite dull, but for just a moment I saw the glow  . . .  the gold of the changing leaves on the trees that grow along Blacon Point Road across from the school . . . the birds that sit on the television antennae every morning of every day.  At least when its not raining.  They are like dark sentinels, standing guard . . . . 

Jackdaws and crows . . .  sitting there every morning.  I love how the moss grows along the tops of the rooves and down the clay tiles, don't you?  So much colour  . . . 

This truly is the season of gold!

 

A thought to carry with you  . . . . 

.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *.˛.° Whatever it is that stirs your soul,
listen to that.
Everything else is just noise.
~Nicole Lyons  •。★★ 。* 。

Spiritual Enlightenment  

 

In the  kitchen today  . . .  Roasted Root Vegetable Soup.  Quite simply delicious!

Hope the week ahead of you is filled with a multitude of small and wonderful things.  Along the way don't forget . . . 

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And I do too!