All Things Nice . . .

 

 

 I know it seems a little thing

That she so loves her new plaid dress,

And yet her face is all aglow

Reflecting girlish happiness.

The skirt is pleated and she takes

Swift dancing steps to make it swirl

Then runs before the looking glass,

To fix a little bobbing curl.

She's just fifteen and growing up

Into a woman slim and tall

And somethings when I look at her,

She doesn't seem like mine at all,

Where are those cheeks so round and fat,

That used to jiggle when she ran,

The little hand outstretched to me,

For money for the ice-cream man.

I know she couldn't always be

A little girl with games to play,

Too soon the greedy hands of Life

Will come and take her games away,

But oh while hearts are warm and sweet,

And laughter rings upon the air,

Let them be happy 'ere they go

To climb the rocky hills of care.

~Edna Jacques, Her New Dress 

I remember the year I went into Grade 7, my mother bought me a dress at the New to You shop which sat just outside the married quarters area we lived on near the base my father was stationed at. It was a pretty plaid dress with  a full skirt, and a button placket down the front, a Peter Pan collar. It was red and I loved that dress.  It did not matter that it was not brand new, it was new to me.

I was at that in-between stage. Still wanting to play with my Barbie Doll, but at the same time starting to notice the cute boys in my class at school. I think children stayed children a bit longer back then, or maybe it was just me. There wasn't this rush to grow up into grownup things, makeup, dating, etc. 

I was still very innocent really. There were the Friday noon sock-hops in the gym at school, but after school I was still riding my bicycle on adventures, swinging on swings, skipping jump rope, bouncing my ball against the side of the row of townhouses we lived in  . . .  poor neighbor at the end.

Almost all my life lay in front of me, with all my hopes and dreams yet to be fulfilled. It is hard to believe that 54 years have flown by as seemingly quickly as they have, and yet  . . . they did! 

I used to love to read romance novels.  I loved historical romance. I think the first real romance I ever read was a book called Forever Amber by Kathleen Winsor.  It told the story of an orphaned Amber St. Clare, who makes her way up through the ranks of 17th-century English society by sleeping with or marrying successively richer and more important men while keeping her love for the one man she can never have.  

I progressed to stories about Scottish lairds and Viking Conquerors. I was so in love with the idea of being in love.  I used to read Harlequin Romance as well.   I gradually grew out of the appeal of those kinds of books. Now I enjoy contemporary stories for the most part.  The romance novels became too smutty.  I was not a fan of the smut.  I used to skim over those pages for the most part.  They all followed the same formula for the most part. Girl meets boy. Girl hates boy. Girl secretly falls in love with boy, but feels it is an unrequited love.  Girl and boy finally get on same page and are both in love with each other and they live happily ever after.   I like my books to have a little bit more meat on their pages these days.

I did go through a stage where I loved Steven King novels.  My favorite of all his books was The Stand.  But I outgrew them as well.  I do confess, I read all of the Twilight novels, and yes . . .  saw the films. 

There was a time when I was young that I read everything I could get my hands on, even the dictionary.  Now I mostly only read in bed, and that puts me to sleep. haha My father, bless him, reads for hours every day. Still.  He has a penchant for Danielle Steele books.  I find them boring.

 

(source)

I have wanted to learn how to play the piano since I was a very young child.  I did have one of those little kiddies pianos when I was really tiny.  When I was in Grade four and five I had a friend who had an actual sit at child's piano and I envied her that thing.   I adore piano music.  I harbor a great desire in my heart still to learn how to tinkle the ivories.  When I worked at the manor there was a piano in our cottage that belonged to the couple I worked for. I was trying to each myself how to play it, but of course when we moved the piano did not move with us.

I am toying with the idea of getting myself a keyboard so that I can actually finally learn how to play . . .  to finally achieve a childhood dream.  Or am I just flirting with nonsense here.

I have already achieved so many of my childhood dreams. I became a wife and more importantly a mother, and raised a family.  I have lived in England and see where the fab four started and actually sat in the club they played in regularly.  I have designed rubber stamps and greeting cards. I have had books published.  I  have proven to myself that I can support myself financially.  Is learning how to play the piano a dream too far? Is this just another flight of fancy?  Do I have enough time left to really learn how?

I would like to think so.  I am pondering it.  Too often I have acted in haste upon things, and found myself in a pickle.  Now I wish to think about it and then act perhaps.

Am I too old to learn?  Have I enough patience?  Will I actually have time to practice?

 

(source)

I am anxiously awaiting a time when my cats have settled down enough that I can actually start to ply my needles and threads and yarns and hooks again.  Right now all I have to do is rustle my yarn bag and they are eagerly waiting to get involved. I never used to just sit and watch tv. My hands were always busy. Now I do . . .  sit and just watch.   Will they ever outgrow the need to get involved with my needlework?  I hope so.  But in the meantime, I do so enjoy their antics.  The cuddles and purrs.  They are great company.

 

(source)

It won't be long now before we can put up the hummingbird feeders again. I look forward to it.   I will have to ask my sister when is the right time. I really enjoyed watching them last year.   

I have grape hyacinth growing in the back garden and the chives are up.  I have already cut some. The ants will soon be pestering.  I need to get some ant bait traps and put them out. Last year I sprayed my house, but I am loathe to do it this year with the cats. I can spray outside the house, not inside.

Today I am taking my rent checks down to the motel for the next year. It is hard to believe that I have already been in this place a year at the end of this month. They say time flies when you are having fun, so I must have had a really fun year!

I don't really get lonely too much.   I have always enjoyed my own company.  When I was married before I used to spend a lot of time on my own. My ex was away from home a great deal of the time, and even Todd used to go out every day.  I have never minded too much. I enjoy solitude. I like to get together with people too, from time to time, but I don't mind being on my own either. I am very blessed in that I have family close by now. I will never take that tender mercy for granted. 

 

(source)

I am still pondering taking that course by Jean Haines re art.  I love her style and would really love to learn to do it, but at the same time it is a course that needs to be done in a month and I am not sure I would be able to finish it in that length of time. Also its not cheap  . . .  I remember signing up to an art course at the University of London before I finished work at the manor, and I did not get that done at all.  Mind you I had a lot of disruption with all the changes that happened, but still . . .  do I have enough stick-to-it-ness to be able to cope with an art course  . . .  I wonder. 

I spend far too much time working and not enough playing methinks  . . . 

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

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

 *.˛.And Spring arose on the garden fair,

Like the spirit of love felt everywhere;

And each flower and herb 

on earth's dark breast

rose from the dreams of its wintery rest.

~Percy Bysshe Shelley•。★★ 。* 。 

I took the opportunity to bake some brownies of a dubious nature, in The English Kitchen today. I did a small batch, from scratch using homemade cookie dough and brownie batter.  This recipe makes only 12 whilst the original used boxes mixes, etc. and made twice as much!  Seriously tasty. Its a good thing I am giving them away!

 

I hope you have a lovely Saturday filled with lots of nice things. Whatever you get up to, don't forget! 

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And I do too!