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 picked up the keys to my flat last night and moved a few bits in.  I will do more tomorrow.  Its all been painted, all of the light bulbs replaced, cleaned, etc.  Its pretty much immaculate.  They removed the curtains however, which I was kind of disappointed about as now I will have to get curtains before I can move in.  I had hoped to be able to use the ones that were there for a while before I needed to go to that expense.  Oh well, hopefully lockdown won't continue for much past the two initial two weeks!! 

I hope to take some more stuff over today.  If I do this every day it won't take long. I don't have much to move really! 

 

There's all kinds of stuff coming up in the gardens at the new place.  I won't have to do much this year.  I even have chives growing in the back. They say you should wait a year to plant things when you move into a new place so that you can see what comes up. I might get a hanging basket a bit later on.  I know for sure I want a hummingbird feeder!  That's one thing I am looking forward to. I missed them in the UK! 

I have a whole list of things to do today. I need to go to the Post Office and sort out my post.  Go to the bank and get the money to finish paying for my furniture. Pick up some cleaning supplies. Take some things to the new flat, etc.  I also need to somehow get a post written in the Kitchen blog.  I will manage somehow!  Its a beautiful sunny day so at least I don't have to do any of it in the rain! 

 

Eileen and Tim are so cute.  I had bought myself a few t-shirts online (won't do that again).  The sizing was all wrong and they came from Hong Kong or some other  place like that.  Anyways, it would have been more trouble to send them back than it was worth. (They count on that)  I decided to give them to Eileen so dropped them off (properly masked, etc.) last night. Eileen was thrilled.  And it was nice to see them, however distanced.  I had ordered a few other things from another company and expect the same thing will apply, so she can look forward to getting some more clothes I imagine. 

Lesson learned.  Don't buy clothes from these places, unless you know they are really reputable.  Most are from the East, etc. and they get the sizing all wrong. 

 Some of these online companies have mastered the art of deception actually. 

 

I should have learned the lesson from my sister.  She bought one of these fish for her cats online. The ad showed the fish flipping around and the cats going crazy, so she sent for one for her cats to play with. I think she paid $30 plus tax and shipping for it.  She got  . . .  a stuffed fabric fish.  Cheap fabric, etc. It didn't do anything. She could have sewn two pieces of fish shaped fabric together and saved her cash. haha. 

 

 

My friend Val thought she was buying this Santa last Christmas.  What she actually got was this  . . . 

 

There is no real resemblance . . .  

 

I mean really  . . . and it gets worse . . . 

 

Her son removed the head and discovered this underneath . . . 

 

Talk about creepy  . . . .  And they get away with it because even if you tried to return anything,  you can't figure out how to do it. It takes weeks for the stuff to get to you and weeks to return it if you even can.  Lesson to learn, don't buy in the first place. You have to laugh though!! I guess in many instances you don’t get what you pay for. Buyer beware!

 

Watermelon. I pick up a small package of cubed watermelon every second day or so and enjoy it so much.   I couldn't get any on Saturday so bought cut up cantaloupe. Not near as enjoyable as the watermelon and more expensive.  The watermelon is much juicier and sweeter. Its so good.

 

My sister's roast beef dinners.  So delicious. I will miss them. Even my father loves them and he is not fond of roast beef. My sister is a great cook!!

 

The morning chorus.  I love listening to it every morning.  It is never more beautiful than it is in the spring when all the birds are pairing up and nesting. I could listen to it for hours. 

 

 

Warmer, sunnier days.  Life somehow seems more bearable when the sun is shining.  Ever notice that dogs and cats like to find a sunny patch and then lay there enjoying it. We all need to find our sunny patch and enjoy it. 

 

Letters.  I love getting letters and I love sending letters.  I have every letter my mother ever sent me, and then some  . . . that's a lot of mail. At least I hope I have them in my boxes. I will soon find out!  Its just nice to know that someone thinks enough of you to send a letter. I know most people e-mail these days and that's nice also, but snail mail never gets old and has a special charm. 

 

(source) 

Love, love it . . . . Looks like it has been done with pressed flowers. I love pressed flowers.  Creating things of beauty, surrounding yourself with beauty, no matter how simple or humble.  The sentiment  . . .  just lovely. 

Life is very good.  Even in the dark spots. The dark spots help you to appreciate the light spots even more. Maybe I have never truly been tested . . . 

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

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

 *.˛.There are flowers always

for those who want to see them.

~Henry Matisse  •。★★ 。* 。 

 

 

In the English Kitchen today  . . .  Potato Recipes You Can Really Sink Your Teeth Into. I can't wait to start creating great new content again.  Maybe about another week or so and I will be back into the thick of it. 

I hope you have a beautiful day and a beautiful week filled with many small and wonderful blessings.  Along the way, don't forget! 

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And I do too.