The Button Bag . . .

 

What a gay host of memories
That faded button bag contains,
Leading me back across the years,
Down stony roads and quiet lanes
Making me see as plain as day,
The gentle folk of yesterday.  

 

Here is a button of fine jet,

My grandma had it on a basque,
I see her in her corded silk,
Her face as rigid as a mask,
Waving her fan serene and sweet,
In the old church on Maple Street.

 

This one was on my brother's coat,

And I can see the little boy
That he once was . . . his chubby face,
And eyes that sparkled from sheer joy,
Driving his dog on a red sleigh,
Coming in rosy from his play.

 

This pink one with the little bows,

Was on a waist my mother had,
And I can see her plain as plain,
Smiling across the room at Dad,
Her cheeks as rosy as the gown,
And her dear eyes of shiny brown. 

 

So the old faded button bag,

Is magic in a world of woe,
Giving me glimpses clear and bright,
Of that safe world of long ago,
When love was there serene and warm,
To shelter us from wind and storm.
~Edna Jacques

 

Two things I love here this morning . . . the poetry of Edna Jacques and Buttons.   Oh how delightful!   Did you have a button jar in your home when you were a little girl?   We did . . . well actually we had several old grey netal tins filled with buttons that were in my mother's sewing box. They had masking Tape Labels on the top that my father had written the names on of what were the contents.   I have one still and I cherish it.  It still has the same buttons in it that were in there long ago, the same . . . untouched as always.

Oh, the hours I spent with those button tins when I was a girl . . . and I would dream of what they used to be on, and who might have worn what they were on.   Dipping my fingers into that tin felt like what I imagined a Pirate would feel dipping his fingers into a trunk of glittering lucre and treasure.   Oh the imaginings of my little girls' heart were so wonderful.   I have several button tins now . . . and I love all of the buttons in them.   I almost cannot bear to part with any of them.   I can spend hours in sewing stores and craft stores looking at . . . buttons!   I still cannot resist picking up a card of ones that catch my eye and bringing them home with me, and every time I find one that I like . . . it's like finding something wonderfully special, just for me!

 

I got another letter yesterday from my son, this one included photos of Jon and a letter from him also.  I can't tell you how much these letters mean to me.  I think I am going to get a small scrapbook and start putting the letters into them, and then when I am gone it can go to my son and he will have a lovely memory to hold onto in my absence.  I know how very much my mother's letters mean to me now. They mean the world.  I think personal letters are so rare these days, that each one is worth it's weight in gold!  

 

Look at what we watched yesterday on YouTube.  April Love.  I had never seen it before.  I only just recently figured out that you can watch some pretty great old films on YouTube.  The other day I watched The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.  It was not quite the same as the book I enjoyed as a child, but very entertaining nonetheless.  I am keen to see what else I can find on there.  Any suggestions? 

  

Another film that we watched this week and really enjoyed was Lion. Not all good films are filled with filth and violence.  

"Five year old Saroo gets lost on a train which takes him thousands of miles across India, away from home and family. Saroo must learn to survive alone in Kolkata, before ultimately being adopted by an Australian couple. Twenty-five years later, armed with only a handful of memories, his unwavering determination, and a revolutionary technology known as Google Earth, he sets out to find his lost family and finally return to his first home."

I really love a films based on a true story. 

A quote from Jim Carrey that my sister shared with me yesterday (thanks sis!) . . .

"Hope walks through fire, Faith leaps over it."

I am going to try to do a Pot Roast in my electric pressure cooker today.  I don't use this appliance very much.  I have told myself that this year that will change!  And with that I will leave you with a thought for today  . . .

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *Art is not what you see.

its what you make other's see.

~Edgar Dagas   •。★★ 。* 。 

 

Baking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  Small Batch Maple & Oatmeal Muffins.  Perfectly sized for the smaller family, but easy to double if you want.  They also freeze very well.

Have a great Saturday!  Try not to forget! 

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And I do too!