Small & 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 from the past week which brought untold joy into my life. It's the small things in life which truly mean the most. Simple abundance . . . it's the best. 

 

 

The gift of a beautiful sunrise every morning and then the day is wrapped up by a beautiful sunset at night. God is good. 

 

We are not wealthy by any stretch, but we have enough, and that is more than a lot of people have throughout the world. I have never been a wealthy person, at least not in the ways of the world, or as the world judges as being wealthy, but I have always had enough for my needs.  I have never known what it is to be truly poor and without even the most basic necessities of life.  I have come to an age now where I recognise that the trials in life are oftimes blessings because they help me to grow and to become a better me . . . that if it weren't for sorrow, I could never truly appreciate joy . . . that indeed opposition in all things is a gift from above, for that is how we know, learn, appreciate, value, grow  . . . 

  

 So grateful to have had people that I love so much in my life, and to have been loved by them.  Grateful also for the knowledge that we will see each other again. 

  

A heart that prays.  That is one of the things that I am so grateful to my mother for, she taught me to pray. I am so grateful for the power of prayer in my life.  I don't know where I would be without it.   It is a constant thing with me.  I have a constant prayer/conversation with God going through my mind.   I tell Him about everything.  I know I don't need to because He knows,sees, understands all . . .  but I also know that He likes to hear it from us.

You know your friends because you talk to them.  It is the same way with God.  The more you talk to Him, the more you come to know Him. 

 

  

 

 How many people waste their lives looking for happiness, never realising that it was already theirs?  I know a few people like that, without naming names.  They have spent their whole life looking at the other side of the street and wanting to be there, rather than where they are.   Inevitably when they get to the other side of the street, it also doesn't fulfill them, and they continue to search and to chase.  The pot of gold isn't really at the end of the rainbow, its right where you are.  Joy in life comes not from wanting the things you don't have, but in wanting and appreciating the things that are already yours.

I am grateful that I have a grateful heart. 

 

 

Puppy Dog Snuggles, 24/7.  She is coming up to the season of boring now, where it rains so much and she is confined to the paved part of our garden.  Oh how I love her.  She has added such a wonderful dimension to our lives. I am a nurturer and I have loved nurturing her, loving her, being loved by her.  Its very much a mutual exercise in adoration.  

 

The blessing of being able to grow old, for there are many who do not get this gift . . . 

  

The wisdom of Forest Gump. For a man who wasn't supposed to be very smart, he sure was smart.  I may not be a smart man Jenny, but I know what love is.  My favourite line from the movie. 

 

 This is the key to a happy life.  Gratitude.  Focusing on what you have instead of what you don't have.  Finding joy in the now.  Every single day has a silver lining.  Dwell on that.  When you choose to be happy and live life seeking for the positive, life just gets better.   It is better to appreciate what we have already been given.  Why would anyone give us more if we can't find joy in what we already have?

Food for thought there methinks. 

 

 Random acts of kindness and the kindness of strangers.

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. ~Matthew 25: 35-40

If you have ever been the recipient of random acts of kindness, or the giver, you will know how very much they bless your life, and in a multitude of ways.  Kindness is a gift which blesses both the giver and the receiver.

 

Each one of you and your lovely comments, for your prayers. I feel the love and support and I thank you for that. Always.

My life is filled to overflowing with so much to be grateful for  . . .  I hope yours is too.

A thought to carry with you through today  . . .  

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *Sometimes I need only
to stand where I am
to be blessed.
~Mary Oliver •。★★ 。* 。 

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Fried Egg & Cheese Toasties.  Simple. 

I hope your week ahead is filled with lots of small and wonderful blessings.  Don't forget along the way! 

 

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And I do too!  

 

 

This and that . . .

 

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away; 

Lengthen night and shorten day; 

Every leaf speaks bliss to me 

Fluttering from the autumn tree. 

I shall smile when wreaths of snow 

Blossom where the rose should grow; 

I shall sing when night’s decay 

Ushers in a drearier day. 

~Emily Bronte, Fall, Leaves, Fall

 

I love the fitful gust that shakes

The casement all the day
And from the mossy elm tree takes  
The faded leaf away
Twirling it by the window-pane
With thousand others down the lane

I l♥ve to see the shaking twig  
Dance till the shut of eve
The sparrow on the cottage rig  
Whose chirp would make believe
That spring was just now flirting by
In summers lap with flowers to lie
~John Clare, Autumn

 

In the other gardens
And all up in the vale,
From the autumn bonfires
See the smoke trail!

Pleasant summer over,
And all the summer flowers,
The red fire blazes, 
The grey smoke towers. 

Sing a song of seasons! 
Something bright in all!
Flowers in the summer, 
Fires in the fall! 
~Robert Louis Stevenson, Autumn fires 


Oh I do so love the autumn when all is gathered in and we can snuggle by the fire and toast our toes, reading good books, sipping hot apple cider stirred with cinnamon sticks, listening to good music.  The wind may howl outside the door, the rain may beat upon the windows, but we are hunkered down while pies bake and firelight glows.  Oh yes, I do love the autumn.

 

I baked a weekend cake for Todd yesterday. Just a simple Victoria Sponge Cake.  Two buttery layers filled with strawberry jam this time. I'm getting ready to make a bunny . . . just because. It will bring me joy making her clothes and filling her suitcase . . .   

 

And I painted a little girl. I took ages getting the eyes just right and even now I'm not quite sure I have gotten it so  . . .  doing a bit of what you love to do, does the soul a lot of good.

Have a wonderful Sunday.  Don't forget! 

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And I do too! 

Letting Be . . .

 

I experienced a huge blip yesterday. Life got on top of me I guess. That seems to be happening to me quite a lot lately. Yesterday I found myself just feeling so very sad for most of the day, which really is quite unlike me. This is not to say that I don't have sad moments, everyone does . . .  but usually I can shake them off quite easily.

Lately the sadness has felt like a huge weight bearing down upon my shoulders . . .  threatening to drown me. It hits in tsnuami-like waves, requiring all of my strength just to stay upright.  There are times when I just want to let go and allow them to carry me away.  

 

Sometimes I hate myself for feeling this way.  I am not the first person to lose someone they love, nor will I be the last.  I feel incredibly lucky to have had someone in my life that I loved so much that letting go has been so incredibly, heart renderingly difficult to do.  It scares me to know that this will not be the last good-bye that will feel this way, and I stagger beneath the weight and knowledge that more will come . . . 

Losing my mother is probably the hardest, most soul-wrenching thing I have ever had to go through and I don't think I will ever get over it.  I might stand a chance if I didn't also have other incredibly painful things that I am going through at the same time . . . . 

  

Lately I find myself having to acknowledge that there are people in my life who just, for whatever reasons and no matter how much I love them . . .  don't want me to be a part of theirs. Over the past few weeks this has become increasingly and shockingly clear to me, and yet I love them with every fibre of my being.  Did I not, it would not hurt so much.  I don't want to give up on anyone . . . but I find myself coming to the point where I think that in order to survive myself, I must.   But in the next breath I ask myself how can I.  How can I ever give up on people I love as much as I love them . . . 

I have always been a forgiving person. I would not change that part of me for anything. 

My father always taught me that there were two sides to every story.  That it takes two to tango.  I am so grateful for parents that, although they broke up and got divorced, did not force us to take sides and allowed us to love each of them in equal measure. I recognise what a gift that was to us, as their children. 

My father would be the first one to tell you that he misses our mother as much as we do. That he has lost the best friend that he ever had.  Yesterday he told me that he telephones the house sometimes when he knows my sister isn't there just so that he can hear my mother's voice on the answer machine and that he leaves messages for her.  

It is a very different story in so many other families . . . not all people are so kind to each other . . .  and especially those who should know better.

  

I apologise for the blip yesterday.  I can't explain it because there are some things in my life and people  I am not privy to talk about.  I live in a country filled with people who don't really get that close to each other. I don't have anyone I can really talk to about things and so sometimes when I am really sad I let it spill out here.  I shouldn't do that. 

I miss my mom. I could and did tell her anything and everything, knowing she would love me always no matter what.  Even when I know I might have really disappointed her.   Because that is what mom's do.  They love.  Always. Forever. No matter what, and with all of themselves.  I am the same. I love, always and forever, no matter what and with all of myself.  

  

Grief is the price you pay for love.  This is true not only when we have to say goodbye to our loved ones when they pass over and go to the other side, but also when for whatever reasons the people you love choose to cut you out of their lives.  

Death is the easier one to deal with because you know that it is only a temporary separation and that you will be together again. You know the separation was not because of anyone's choice . . .   The other separation is not so easy to deal with but the grief is no less profound and may even be deeper. I am not sure.  Yes, grief IS the price we pay for love, but  . . .  in all truth I would love and love and love again. It is a price that is worth paying.  Letting go is easy . . .  letting be is the hard part.

The End.

My Friday Finds

 

 

 

A few of the things  I find each week that pique my interest, bring me joy, inspire me to learn, create, do, become, inspire memories . . . maybe they will do the same for you!  

 

 

 

 

I love this sweet little family. That they have found happiness with each other and turned two into three is just wonderful in my books.  I wish people would leave them alone and stop the negativity.  What is it about the media that they love to build people up and then knock em down again.  Wouldn't be a royal for anything . . . 

 

  

 

And congratulations to this young couple!  I hope the wedding is televised! 

 

 

 

 

Anna Wegg on Etsy. Now that's a poppy that makes a statement!  

 

 

   

 

Niki Trench.  What an adorable baby poncho. No instructions, just inspo!  Grace would be so cute in this. 

 

 

 

 

Speaking of Grace. She is walking perfectly now and everywhere. She is so adorable. Her hair is coming in whispy and curly. She is such a little beauty, just like her mom. 

 

 

  

 

Breaking down how to draw a bird  . . .   

 

 

  

 

The Tea Rex tea infuser. On Amazon, for the dinosaur enthusiast in your life.  What a cute gift. 

 

 

 

Teak measuring cups. They are marked unavailable on Amazon. I really like them however.  

 

  

 

Pink Tiny House and white picket fence?  Yes please! 

 

  

 

Cake Merchant.  Pumpkin Layer Cake. Love the naked look.  

 

 

 

 

Domesticali.  Origami wreath ornaments.  Complete tutorial. 

 

 

 

 

Aunti Kara's Crafts.  Wire angels.   These would even make great gift tag decorations., or place card holders.  Check it out!  

 

  

 

Lia Griffith. Pine Cone Elves.  

 

 

 

 

I still love this beetroot headed doll, but have never been able to find out who makes them. 

 

 

  

 

Look at this beauty. Oskana Shpilka on Instagram. 

 

 

 

 

 

Love Crafts.  Baby Hat with Top Knot.  

 

 

 

Rookie Mag. How to turn a t-shirt into a dress. 

 

No Source, but with some strong glue and a bunch of mismatched white china cups and plates you have a really unsual tea cake display/holder. 

  

And again I couldn't get the direct source, but these candle pillars are lovely. 

 Little Dear on Etsy.  So sweet! 

 

 

 

Carnation. German Hot Chocolate.  That reminds me of a trip we took to Germany, the first one together, and we went into a cafe and ordered a hot chocolate.  The waitress said would you like whipped cream.  We said yes and it came with a MOUNTAIN of whipped cream on top.  Amazing!

And those are my finds for this week!

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
 *The leaves are changing,

I feel poetry in the air.

~Laura Jaworski•。★★ 。* 。 

 

 

 

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Steamed Sea Trout Supremes with a Ginger & Tomato Sauce.  Deliciously healthy!  

 

I hope you have a wonderful Friday!  May it be filled with the people and things that you love.  Don't forget!

 

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And I do too!