Monday 10 February 2020

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. 


I received the most delightful little package in the post on Saturday.  Monique, bless her heart, had sent me this sweet little packages filled with some really lovely treasures and it cheered my heart to no end to see them.  When she sends you a gift, large or small, they are always a feast for the eyes and the heart from the outside in.  




Can you see the Washi sticker on the padded envelope of the woman in the dress and oxfords?  Cute!  I have been looking for stickers like that which don't cost the moon and I found some the other day on Etsy.  Lovely little buttons that say handcrafted with love.  I know where they are going.  A wee baby  . . .    




So many lovely little treasures tucked into this package, SB stationary, beautiful notecards with Moniques own photography on it, a vintagecrochet potholder, a packet of stickers, more smaller stickers, tiny glassine envelopes, some of my favourite "monique" photos, etc.  This truly was such a delight to receive. I cannot pick a favourite thing in it. I love it all.  If you don't know Monique, you should.  She is one of the many blessings I have received in life as a blogger. I think we probably met through the Daring Baker's Group many, many years ago now. I was sitting there trying to figure out how we met, and that is what I came up with.  In any case, she is a sweet, sweet person and so kind. We have never met in person, and it unlikely that we ever will, but kindred spirits you know . . .  I always call her my Susan Branch of the Great White North.  She is just so talented, but humble as well. 



We've been battered and bashed about by Storm Ciera this past weekend, with great disruption across the country due to high winds and torrential rains.  Some gusts of wind were measured at well over 90 mph, and there has been severe flooding in many areas.  No loss of life that I know of.  Thankfully here in Chester we sit above the plains around us and so no severe flooding here  and we did manage to get to and from church safely.  But it has been very windy and the rain was blowing in our back door underneath it and even around the panes of glass in the window part of it. My back door curtain was all wet from it.  I haven't looked outside yet today to see if anything was blown over, but our house is still intact and that's what counts!  



We had a power burp in our area on Thursday last and it set the house alarm off.  We could not get it to turn off.  Todd called the landlord. We never ever even use the alarm. Haven't since we moved into this house.  Its not maintained and nobody pays for it, so it is doubtful that if it did go off anyone would even come to check on it. Case in point Thursday. The darn thing was going for a good fifteen minutes or longer before we got it off. Our landlord told Todd to cut the wires to it.  So Todd trots off to the kitchen and armed with the kitchen scissors goed to cut them.  I had to shout at him to stop.  You never go cutting live wires with the power on! DUH!  He was mad at me for shouting at him, but . . .  seriously.  On what planet is it a good idea to cut live electrical wires with scissors???  Thankfully I caught him before he actually did it.  Sometimes the brilliance of men really astonishes me. 

  


Sunday evenings with Call the Midwife.  I surely love that program. Every bit as much now as when it first began. It is just a nice nice show.   It touches on some really thought provoking issues as well, but its all done with good taste.    



I've never gotten to bake cookies with my own grandchildren but my friend from church, Kari made their version of my peanut butter cookie with her children yesterday and then tagged me in the photos.  You can't know how much this made me smile to think that somebody's kids were enjoying my recipe and creating a family moment. It did my heart so much good and brought tears to my eyes.  Thank you Kari and family!



Don't laugh.  This was dinner yesterday.  A total carboholic feast of boxed mac and cheese wih tinned tomatoes, buttered white bread with a sprinkle of goldfish crackers on top.  Sometimes the heart just wants what the heart wants  . . . 

And with that I will leave you with a thought for the day . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~\。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ | 田田 |門 ★

 *
The best way out is
always through.
~Robert Frost•。★★ 。* 。 


I reviewed The Food Bible in the kitchen today and made the delicious Guacamole recipe from the book.  Very tasty!

Have a great Monday.  I hope you are blessed.  Don't forget  . . . 


═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ ⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ 


And I do too!  







10 comments:

  1. How sweet this little ones were using your recipe and tagged you in the pictures. It does make one feel good, even though were weren't in attendance. Good catch on stopping Todd from cutting those live wires. He should have know better, but then he has you to watch over him, so he is safe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, he doesn't think most times before he does things. He is not the "handiest" handiman around. I was happy that I managed to stop him before he did something stupid! xoxo

      Delete
  2. Marie..go see Jeanie..Marmalade Gypsy..she just made one of your recipes too:)Swedish Visiting Cake..we ALL make your recipes..
    I love a great guac.

    Had no idea the weather had been that bad..:(Glad you are high up Marie..
    Happy the trinkets arrived..
    You're so easy to package up things for...anything pleases you and you are grateful for everything..plus we have the same likes lol:)
    Bonne journée!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I will pop by to see for sure! She is such a sweet lady. My friend Tina got a foot of snow dumped on her in the Welsh Mountains, and she is only about half an hour away. Wierd weather! Your trinkets really cheered my heart! Thank you so much! xoxo

      Delete
  3. PS nothing more nerve fraying than a dang alarm..LIVE wires..oy...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I know! We were panicking when we couldn't get it to turn off as we thought our neighbors were going to be really annoyed! xo

      Delete
  4. What a lovely little package of surprises from Monique. I collect those little red and white crochet pot holders so I am pea green with envy as Scarlett would say. Just kidding. I'm hearing from other bloggers about the stormy weather in England. So glad you seem to be on high enough ground to escape any flooding. Cute picture of Kari's children making your peanut butter cookies.

    Your lovely letter and sweet owl valentine arrived today just 4 days after you wrote it. Way to go Royal Mail! I'll write back but I wanted you to know it had arrived safely. Lovely to read a hand-written letter, Marie. Thank you so much. Hugs and love, Elaine

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, we have had horrible weather here Elaine, and more o come this weekend! I did not know you collected the red and white crochet pot holders! I like learning new things about you. I am so pleased my letter arrived to you in time for Valentines day. Your's is not here yet, but soon I hope! Love and hugs to you always, xoxo

      Delete
  5. Hi Marie~

    What a wonderful gift!! Monique knows how to make you smile! Those buttons are so sweet. I always love reading her comments, you can tell she is real...I like that. I will definitely go check out her blog! How scary to have flooding and high winds, and good job at saving Todd's life, Marie ;0) Stress sure does make us do funny things. The cookies are so sweet, what a wonderful compliment! I love cooking from your cookbook, I don't always tell you what I make, but trust me, it's all delicious!

    I love, Call the Midwife, it's just a good show, that always makes me cry and make me think. Right now I'm watching a show about slavery, it's doing the same thing, making me cry and think.

    One of my favorite comfort foods is macaroni and tomatoes, it just makes my soul happy!!

    Have a wonderful Tuesday! Much love to you, and I'm glad you are safe!

    Hugs and Love,
    Barb

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, CTM always makes me cry also. They know how to touch your heart and they do it without sex, violence or vulgarity, although we know plenty of sex happens because there are so many babies! lol Oh, what show is that about Slavery? I would be interested. I think mankind has a lot to answer for really, especially when we think about how white people have dealt with blacks and indigenous peoples through the years. Love and hugs to you and Bob. xoxo

      Delete

Your comments mean the world to me, and while I may not be able to address each one individually, each one is important to me and each one counts. Thanks so much!