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.   

One more Christmas with my father. He turns 88 on the 17th of January.  We are so blessed to still have him with us and I feel an extra special blessing because just a few years ago I never thought I would see him in person again.  This past year has been an extra special gift for me.  Time with my dad, time to let him know how much he means to me in a multiple of ways. I never got to do that for mom, but I feel especially blessed that I am able to do it with dad. 

 

Having a family to celebrate Christmas with in safety.  I know many have had to celebrate it on their own again this year. I am especially blessed that I was able to spend it with my close family bubble. Cindy, Dan and dad.  We opened gifts and enjoyed a special meal together. It was really lovely.  Its not the food, nor the other gifts, but the gift of family togetherness that means the most.  I am truly blessed to have this in my life. 

On a side note, I love, LOVE this vintage Christmas table cloth that Elaine sent to me. It went beautifully on the table.  I used the place mats she had given me for my birthday turned over to the bottom in each place setting. They went perfectly. Thank you for being a special part of our Christmas Elaine! 

Christmas Dinner. How blessed we are to have such abundance on our table.  Turkey, gravy, mom's stuffing recipe (made by Cindy), mashed potatoes, squash, turnips, carrots and brussels sprouts, my sister's special sweet potatoes, rolls, butter and pie for dessert. I don't know how we managed to stuff it all in, but we did and we really enjoyed it.  Of course the icing on the cake was getting to enjoy it with each other! 

The wonderfulness that is Jake.  He just makes me smile no matter what.  We are hoping that we can spend a few days together at some point this year. Then I will have been able to spend time with all of Doug's boys!  Facetimed with them on Christmas Day briefly and then again yesterday. It was lovely seeing them all.

Jake colored me a picture.  Its from his new Sponge Bob coloring book. It made me smile! 

Grandsons who like to cook.  They made Tiramisu. I bet it tasted delicious too!   

 

The littlest chef  getting the turkey ready for the oven.  I love that all my grandsons like to cook!  At least the ones I know about.  Their dad's do too.  I guess those apples did not fall far from the tree! 

I facetimed with Anthony and his family also. Although it was not quite the Christmas that we had planned, we were grateful to be able to celebrate it in whatever way that we could. On Christmas Eve Anthony got a message from Gabe's school to say that one of his close contacts had tested positive for Covid.  Gabe did two of those rapid tests, one on Christmas Eve an one on Christmas Day, both negative. Lets hope and pray it continues.  

Anthony had found a photo album in his storage that came from his Paternal grandmother and we looked at the photos together on the facetime.  We were both blubbering at the end of it. So grateful for this son of mine with this tender heart.  There was one photo of my brother, dad, mom, myself, and Cindy (holding Anthony) standing in front of my father's car. I think Anthony must have been only about 6 months old in the photo. That one made us cry.  And there were others of me posing as a young woman, probably from when I was dating his dad.  I hope he is able to scan them and send them to me.  

But it was nice to get to talk to him and to Anne and the boys.  

And then yesterday I was able to bring a meal and some gifts over to Tim and Eileen.  They were happy with that.  Eileen is excited that she got an Air Fryer for Christmas so I have ordered an air fryer cookbook for beginners, for her birthday which is on the 7th of January. It is hard to believe she will be 44. How can that be!!  The years fly by so quickly.

 

My book officially goes on sale tomorrow.  It is another pinch me moment. I still have not figured out how to fill out the IRS tax forms so that I can get paid.   H&R Block said they had no experience with that, but they have given me information about some man they thought might.  So I will try to get in touch with him this week.  That is the last time I am going to write a book for an American Publisher methinks. Far too complicated when it comes to being paid.

But I am still grateful for the opportunity I have had to write it.  I used to dream of writing books when I was much younger and that dream has come true.  

 

My sister had to drive over and help me out yesterday. Nutmeg had gotten himself into a situation.  He had used his box and some had gotten stuck to his bottom and he had tried to rub it off but instead rubbed it in worse. I was trying to get it off, but he is big and he is strong, so I called Cindy and she came over to help me. (So grateful for a sister who can help me like that!)  It took the both of us but we managed to get him cleaned up. He wasn't very happy about it at first. What cat likes a bath?  He doesn't for sure. His sister was standing on the counter next to us watching as if to say to him, "What a maroon!"  Anyways, he got cleaned up. I ended up with an inch long cut to the palm of my left hand from one of his back claws as he was trying to escape us.

Now today I have had to take him off my island and the top of the stove quite a few times. He has finally figured it out how to get up there.  I hope and pray that jumping on a hot stove is not his next adventure. I will have to put pot lids on the burners now to try to dissuade him. Sigh  . . .  but I love these two little munchkins that bring so much joy into my life. I really do.

When I look back on the year that has just passed, I can see how very blessed I am and what a wonderful life I am living, despite all the hardships I have had to overcome to get here.  God is indeed very good.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

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

 *By changing nothing, 

nothing changes.•。★★ 。* 。 

In The English Kitchen today, Chicken Pie. C O M F O R T!!  Delicious. 

I hope your week ahead, the last of 2021 is filled with lots of small and wonderful things!  Don't forget! 

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And I do too!