All Things Nice . . .

 

She made a feast of little things,

A brown egg in a pretty cup,

A candle on a birthday cake;

A few stray flowers gathered up

And put in an old fashioned vase,

As beautiful as Flemish lace.

She made a little daily rite

Of dressing up for afternoons,

And laid the table extra nice

Using her precious silver spoons,

The woven mats from Mexico,

The table napkins white as snow.

She made a feast of love and joy,

Of every common household task,

Sweeping the hallways and the stair,

Keeping them beautiful . . . nor ask

A finer mission than to make

Her home a heaven for his sake.

She made a feast (oh lovely word)

Of ordinary common things

Of bread and butter . . . jam and tea,

Her home a place where shining wings

Hovered above the summer night

And touched the roof with splendid light.

~Edna Jaques, She made a Feast

Back Door Neighbors

Life is more beautiful and full of joy when we allow ourselves to seek out and enjoy the small and simple gifts each day has to offer us.  Its not the big things that matter most. Life is composed of small and meaningful moments and joys. As Emily Dickenson said, Forever is composed of nows.  

 

This little guy sits and guards the feeder off and on all day, chasing off any interloper who dares to encroach upon his kingdom. Its quite fun to watch. 

It is hard to get a good photo of them in flight.  They move so quickly.  But I try.  Cinnamon and Nutmeg enjoy watching all of their antics as well. Not much gets past their vision. They are seemingly ever alert to everything which passes by our door or window.

 

I discovered Cinnamon relaxing in the cat bed I had gotten for them way back when they were just little kittens.  I had no idea that she or he ever used it.  She looked so very comfortable in it and it is just the right size for one to relax in. 

In the meantime Nutmeg was stretched out on the sofa. He is quite a large cat. When he stretches out he takes up half of the sofa.  Right now he is sitting next to me here on my desk. I can feel the warmth of his little purrs and breath beating against my elbow. He likes to be close to me. I don't mind. I like to be close to him as well.

I only wish that they would settle down at night. I would love for them to sleep with me. Alas that does not happen. I try each night, but always end up putting them out of the room and shutting the door. It is not her so much as it is him. He wants to jump around and play! 

 

(source)

I bought the cutest little bear ornament pattern earlier this week. I bought the pdf on Etsy.  I love to do this type of thing.  Maybe this year I will be able to have a Christmas Tree. You never know. The idea of a tree makes me a bit sad when I think of all the Christmas ornaments I had gathered and had to leave behind.  Half the reason I did not have a tree last year was that the thought made my heart ache. The other half was the cats.

 

(source)

I also got this little guy, well the pattern anyways.  I hope that I will be inspired enough to actually make him. I just need to find the stuff for his beard.  I thought he was really cute.

They are both really cute!

 

(source)

It is hard to believe that we are already at the end of July.  The corn in the fields is already as high as a man and it seems it was only a few days ago that it was knee high. I blinked.  Because it was not a few days ago, it was weeks.

I am going to pick up a cabbage today methinks and do something with it. I am in a cabbage mood.  I drove by a whole field of onions the other morning and the smell was wonderful. It made me think of the smell of Leeks in the farmers fields around where I lived in Chester.  It smelled quite wonderful. This is such a bountiful time of the year.  We are surrounded by abundance. May it ever be so. 

 

My great grandparents had a big farm up on the South Mountain. It is largely derelict now, but at one time it was  going concern. It got our family through two world wars.  My mother remembered sitting on that front porch with a turnip and a spoon, scraping and eating the turnip.  They had sheep and chickens and all sorts. My great grandfather grew plenty of vegetables. They never went hungry.  I wish I had written down more of my mother's memories while she was alive to tell them. I wish I had asked more questions.  I do ask my father, having learnt my lesson.  I need to be better at writing them down however.

His Uncle Stanislas used to own a store across from where they lived. He called my father the penny boy. My father used to go and visit all of his Aunts and Uncles each day and they would each give him a penny. Great Uncle Stanislas would say here comes the penny boy again.  

It is hard to think of my father as being a little boy, but he was once upon a time. I am sure he had a jaunty walk and way about him.  He has a great sense of humor now and is very easy going.  He gets a lot of joy from simple things. Being able to spend this time with him is the silver lining, but I have said that before. Its true though. I never thought I would see him alive again.  But miracles happen, and here I am. 

(source)

“No matter who you are or where you are, 

instinct tells you to go home”

~Laura Marney 

I believe there lies within each of us a desire to return back home.  To our roots, to our family, to familiar tracks and ways and earth. It is a natural thing. My father longs in many ways to return to his home in Bagotville (La Baie now), but there is not much left for him there now. There is nobody to care for him like we do.   As my sister does.  He has only one brother and one sister left, out of all the children that were.  The rest have returned to their heavenly home. He was one of twelve children. The third oldest.  When he was a very young boy, his mother was put into a sanitarium for TB.  He and his two older siblings were put into an orphanage because his father could not care for them. He remembers looking through a fence, crust of bread in hand, and watching his older brother and sister playing on the other side. He did not thrive in the orphanage and so his Tante Hilda took him out and home with her to live until my Grandmother got out.  My Grandmama was always a sickly woman but she lived to the age of 71. I did not know her very well. There was the whole language barrier. 

 

(source)

“They are not long, the days of wine and roses: 

Out of a misty dream Our path emerges for a while, 

then closes Within a dream.” 

 ~Ernest Dowson. 

It is said that as you get older, your mind goes more and more to the past and the things you can bring into your remembrance. My mother could not tell you what she had for breakfast, but she could tell you what she did years before, even down to the dress she was wearing.

I have a good memory for things, but sometimes I grasp for words. I will be in the middle of a sentence and I cannot think of what comes next even though I can see it in my head.  I hope that is normal. It is hard to think of myself as being what I once thought of as elderly. That sixteen year old girl that I was is still in my head.  I hope that I never lose her.

 

(source)

I did have these once upon a time. Katie Alice.  I was so proud of them. One of these days  I need to pick up my tea cups from my sisters.  I need to have a place to put them first. My mother had given them to me already once, many years ago . . .  but when my second marriage broke up, she went into the house one day when my ex was not there, and took them back from out of the cupboard and back to her place for safe-keeping. Its a good thing that she did!  Who knows where they might have ended up.

My brother thinks that in order for healing to take place in my family, for the relationship with my estranged children to be fixed, that I need to fix my relationship to some extent with my ex.  That until I do, I will always be on the outside.  I think that is true, but I cannot see that ever happening as he is not allowed to communicate with me at all. He never has been, not since he got hooked up with his wife, which happened shortly after we split up.  He has never really been allowed to talk to me, not ever. She is incredibly manipulative and insecure. She will never allow for fences to be mended. It is what it is, and I just have to learn to live with it, but this mother's heart will always mourn the loss. 

I started watching This is Us again last night for the fourth time. I wonder if the last season will ever be on Netflix. I love to watch that show even though it always makes me cry.

It is a rather gloomy overcast morning out there today. I think its going to rain, but we need the rain. I am off to do my duty cleaning the chapel this morning. Not my favorite thing to do, but we all take our turn.

I will leave you with a thought for the day now  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

•。★★ 。* 。

° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛

˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*The thankful receiver

bears a plentiful harvest.

~William Blake•。★★ 。* 。 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Flourless Chocolate Cake.  The small batch.  Delicious!  Decadent.  Fudgy.

I hope that you have a beautiful weekend. I will probably not be on again until Monday because of church tomorrow.  Be happy. Be blessed and don't forget! 

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And I do too!       

Happy Friendship Day!

  

Happy Friendship Day!  I had no idea there was such a thing, but apparently there is, and its today. So I am celebrating it today with you and saying thank you, my wonderful invisible friends.  You have been such a wonderful support for me over these past years.  Some of you since the beginning.  Thank you. Thank you. Thank you!  I wish only the best for each of you!

I have always been a person who has friends.  Unusually for an airforce brat, I have some friends who have been my friends since I was a young child, just beginning school, and they are still my friends today. We have been in contact with each other for all this time. 

 

This is us at the end of the Grade one school year getting awards for scholastic achievement from our teacher.  From left to right, my friend Susan, myself, I am afraid I don't remember her name, my friend Eileen. We have remained friends all these years and it has brought me joy to do so.  

Susan and I lived not too far from each other when we were very young, just down the road. We spent a lot of time playing together. I remember being devastated when her father got posted overseas at the end of Grade four.  They moved to Germany.  We kept in touch with letters for many years and she was able to come to my wedding when I got married to my first husband. It was so good to see her then.  We have seen each other off and on through the years and remain food friends to this day. 

My friend Eileen is who I named my oldest daughter after. She is the one who introduced me to French toast.  She had the best birthday parties. She came over to see me when I was working at the Manor in the UK. It was so much fun to see each other again. We have also been blessed to stay in touch for all these years.

All of my other childhood friends have passed away now. I guess that is what happens as you get older.  My life has been greatly enriched from knowing each of them however and they live on in my heart. 

I have moved around a lot in my life.  As the daughter of a military man and then the wife of a military man, I have made my home across Canada and back again in a variety of places.  I have been very fortunate to have made some very good friends everywhere that I lived. Friends who also remain good friends to this day and whom I am still in contact with.  I can think of at least two good, good women whom I remain friends with to this day, that I became friends with in almost every single place that I have lived.

Friends are those who remain with you through the good and the bad and who always love you no matter what. I have been blessed to have some very good friends in that way.   Friends for life. I have had other friends that I thought were friends for life as well, but who ended up only being friends for a season. That's okay too. There is great value in them as well.  Everyone who touches your life brings something to the table, and we are better for having known them. 

Whoever has a friend has a treasure. 

I was able to dig up some facts about friendships this morning. I am not sure how many of them are really true, or how many apply, but I thought they were interesting anyways. 

1. Men and Women can't be friends.  A study at the University of Wisconsin discovered that although men and women can try to be friends, it is impossible without some sort of sexual tension  and moments of seduction always enter the relationship.   I am not so sure how true that actually is.  I have had male friends through the years. Peter Lee for instance and there was nothing sexual in that at all.

2. Animals have friends too.  They can have friends within their species and outside of their species. It is thought that the reason behind this is that friendship has certain benefits. Better health, less stress, and better reproductive success.  Well, in the animal kingdom I guess.

3. Friends help us to be more empathetic. The ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes is a key human characteristic, but with friends we take it to the next level. People close to us become a part of us, and that is not just metaphor or poetry, it’s very real. 

4. In lifetime you will make at least 396 friendships, but out of those only one out of every 12 will last forever.  Apparently that is a proven scientific fact.

5. Not having any friends can be dangerous to your health.  That makes sense.  Everyone needs someone to share with. The good, the bad and everything in between. A sorrow shared is halved and a joy shared is doubled.

6.  It is the friendship aspect of the marriage relationship that helps it to last. Successful marriages are based a great deal on deep friendship. Mutual respect for each other's company plus a good knowledge of each other's quirks, likes and dislikes, is good for the marriage. Spouses who are friends try harder to make repair attempts during a spat.  

7. When faced with major health issues, people who have a healthy social network are in a much better position to survive. People over the age of 70 with an extensive friendship network, tend to live 22% longer than those without.   This makes sense too. Generally speaking, women live longer than men and women are more likely to have a larger ground of friends than men.

8. It is scientifically proven that the company of good friends reduces stress in life. 

Lets face it  . . .  we need each other.

 

Over my life time and throughout my ups and  my downs it is the friendships that I have fostered which have helped to get me through all of the rough and the smooth patches. I do not know where I would have been over these past months in recent years without the love and support of friends. 

 Friends are those who don't allow your failures or your sorrows to tear you down, but who step up to the plate and help to carry you when you are feeling weak or needing someone to help you shoulder the burdens and challenges you are facing.  Many of my friends have been invisible friends. Invisible or not, they have always been there for me, with a kind word, with prayers, with tangible aid, listening, advising, caring.  I count you all amongst them and am so appreciative of all the help you gave to me, and most especially for the prayers. I have felt your love.  It has meant everything to me. 

I have been so blessed in the years to have been able to meet some of my invisible friends in person. Over in the UK, several of them came to see me at my home, which was always a thrill. I am really excited that I will be able to meet another one at the end of August this year.  Ginny and her husband are coming to the Maritimes camping at that time, and we are hoping to meet up, even if it is only a front porch socially distanced meeting.  I am  really looking forward to that!

Would that I could meet you all!

When I look at my two cats, I can see that they are not only siblings, but also great friends to each other. I think that having a friend who is a sibling is one of life's greatest blessings.  I know you get tired of hearing this, but my best friend is my sister, my brother too in a different way (He is a man after all. They see and think about things from a much different perspective.)  A sibling shares a history with you that you share with nobody else. Although your life's experiences and observations might be different in some ways, they come from the same roots. I have always felt that the greatest gifts my parents ever gave me were my sister and my brother.    

These two people have been the greatest blessing of all in my life.  There is a bond there that is special and unique and that I share with nobody else on the planet. Not spouse. Not child.  Not parent.   I love my sister and brother very much and my life is made all the better for having them in it.  They have been the sense of reason for me many, many times in my life, and support always. They probably know me better than I know myself.  Warts and all . . .  and they love me anyways.

Happy Friendship Day everyone!!! I hope you are as blessed to have some good people in your life as I am!  Life truly is better with friends.

This little fella was guarding the hummingbird feeder last evening.  Chasing off any other hummer who dared to enter his air space, and he is back at it this morning.  I so enjoy these little creatures. Watching them truly brings a lot of joy into my life. When we were at my father's the other day his was covered with wasps and hornets.  Nasty things. I think they are worse this year, probably because it has been quite a dry year.  

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

•。★★ 。* 。

° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛

˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*Good friends help you

find the important things you have lost.

Your smile, your hope, your courage.

•。★★ 。* 。•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Everyday Maple Bran Muffins, the small batch version. This recipe makes six delicious hearty moist buttermilk bran muffins, filled with lots of dried cranberries, chopped dried apricots and roasted sunflower seeds.

I hope you have a beautiful Friday.  Be happy. Be safe. Be loved. Be blessed.  Don't forget! 

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⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
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And I do too!       

ZZZzzz . . .

 

(source)

 

Sometimes I sit down here at my little laptop and I have no idea what to write about.  My life is about as exciting as watching paint dry or clothes flapping in the wind on a clothesline. I am just a simple ordinary person.

I suppose when I first started writing on here I had a pretty exciting life.  I lived in a pretty little/not so little cottage situated on the corner of a Manor Estate in the UK.  I worked as a personal Chef for a wealthy American family. Life was anything but simple.

It was an incredibly beautiful and very interesting environment. I got more done in a day back then than I get done in a week now.  I look back at those times and I wonder how I did it all.  I was working full time, writing full time, honoring church callings, making dolls, painting, etc.

I took long walks each day around the Estate and along the foot path that went past the front of our cottage.  I had beautiful gardens to investigate that were always surprising me each day with something new. 

People came to read my page I guess because it was different and . . .  maybe . . . to them . . . the stuff that dreams were made of.

 

(source)

And then it all changed in an instant. My employers split up and I lost my job.  Our beloved Jess died and life was in turmoil. We moved back to Chester and I started a new chapter in my life, living in a little townhouse on the edge of a beautiful city.  We had an extensive garden, and we planted fruit trees, and fruit bushes, roses, vegetables.  We got our sweet little Mitzie dog, and I had even more time to paint and to make dolls, to crochet and to cook.  

We served a two year mission for our church.  I had Missionaries coming in and out of my house all the time. People visiting me from the four corners of the world.  I helped my husband battle cancer.  I wrote a huge book. I suppose my life was also pretty exciting then as well.

And the Pandemic hit and my world got much narrower.

And then in the middle of that I learned that my whole existence had been built upon a huge lie, a colossal betrayal. That for 20 years everything in my life had been built around someone else's fantasy . . .  a house of cards that was falling down. 

And my life changed completely again. 

 

(source)

I had to leave everything I had worked for over the twenty years I had lived in the UK, the life I had built for myself and travel back . . .  halfway around the world to Canada.  Tail between my legs, having failed once again, or at least I felt like I had failed.  I was pretty broken.  Thankfully I had lots of help in making that journey. I was born upon the wings of angels and faith . . .  and family.

I was able to eventually to move into my little house, furnish it, get a car, my two beautiful cats and begin building a new life for myself.  But it is a very pedestrian life.  Boring.  Not a lot exciting happens these days and that suits me fine. I have had enough excitement in my lifetime to last several lifetimes. 

We are still living in the Pandemic and I don't really go very many places. My life is very narrow.  I have my family, my home, my church, my cats. 

 

(source)

To be honest most of my days revolve around work.  I start working almost as soon as I get up in the morning and am often not finished until mid afternoon. The fact that I work from my home is neither here nor there. I am grateful for the fact that I have the work at all.  This is an extra special blessing for me and it is doing something that I love which makes it even more special.  I would not be able to survive without it. And that's the truth. What I get in pensions wouldn't even cover my rent.

I am not even sure that I am really all that good at what I do. Well, the photo taking of what I cook anyways. Sometimes I get it right though and those are really good days. Most of the days my food photos are just "meh." I battle with light and location and time of day.  I don't have all the pretty dishes etc. that I used to have to use for props, or linens.  The gardens with the fresh fruit and vegetables.  The perfect light to bathe everything perfectly for photographing.

I have a brand new camera that my brother set up for me when he was here, but I should have gotten him to show me how to download the photos from, because I don't know how to do that, so it sits in its case in the closet.

My days are very routine. I get up. Work. Relax for a bit and then go to bed.  Somedays I do a few things out of the routine. I will go to my sister's or to my dads, for a medical appointment, etc.  But basically my days are very same, same  . . . my life is very narrow still. But we are all sort of living in a pandemic environment here. I am not ready to throw caution to the wind just yet and take chances I can't afford to take.

I would like more time for play, but my reality is that I need to work, to keep myself going, to build up a reserve so that . . .  should I get sick . . . I have something to keep me going. 

(source)

I actually live in fear every day that I will lose the ability to support myself, or that I will get sick and not be able to support myself . . .  and then what will I do? Although I am very good at stuffing that fear down most of the time, it still rears its ugly head from time to time and nips at my heels.

I am a person who put all my eggs in other people's baskets, not once, not twice, but three times . . .  only to fail and to have to walk away each time with nothing.  I have abysmally poor taste in men. What can I say.

I was brought up to think that I needed a man to take care of me. Right or wrong, that is the way it was.  Neither my sister nor I were brought up to have faith in ourselves or in our own abilities. Nor were we encouraged or even supported in any way to get an education or pursue careers. All of our parents eggs were in our brother's basket, which comes with a whole 'nother lot of baggage . . .  that he must carry.

And I don't blame my parents for any of it. They did their best. I love them very much. They did what they thought was right. Nobody can fault anyone for that.

 

(source)

I have spent my whole life caring for other people.  As a girl, I had the responsibility of my younger siblings and our home, while both my parents worked. I got married right out of school and had a child within 10 months of doing so.  That marriage failed and I got married again and had four more children.  I was married to a Military man and we moved frequently. There was no time for careers even if I could have had one. I was too busy bringing up a large family and supporting him in his career. He did very well, retiring as a CWO.  

I spent 22 years lugging my family and my home across Canada and back again amidst some very difficult times and circumstances, like a turtle carrying its shell on its back.  Supporting my husband and his career. I cleaned other people's houses almost all of that time, child minded other people's children, did typing from my home, did whatever I could to bring in extra income.  I also worked outside the home for a few years. And I raised a family of good people, most of the time on my own as my husband was always away.  Away more often than he was home. But that is the life of the wife of a successful military man.

When that marriage failed, I started over again.  I moved to the UK, got married again and to a much older man.  I went back to school and earned not one, but two diplomas, all while working full time as a cleaner in a care home and as a clerk in a gas station.  I took care of my husband and our home and I worked very hard most of the time I was there, with the exception of the years after I lost my job. 

And now here I am, thrice a failure at love I guess.  But now I care for myself and my cats and my home. These are my only responsibilities. 

And I am tired. I would love to be able to just do nothing but please myself, to play the day away, but I need to work, and I work hard. I am not complaining. I made poor choices in life and this is the consequences of having done so.

 

(source)

But my life is boring now. I don't do much that is exciting at all.  It is hard to write about exciting things when nothing like that is happening.  And I am sorry for that.

But let me tell you what this blog has meant for me over these past I don't know how many years. (fifteen I think)  When I was living in a country where I really didn't have a lot of friends nor time to make friends, you, my readers  . . .  were my friends. You supported and listened to me while I went through all of my ups and downs.  You read all the boring stuff and all the exciting stuff and were there for me. You cried with me and for me . . . . and laughed with and for me as well. You have rejoiced in my highs, prayed with me in my lows, and just been there through it all and I am so grateful for that.  And I am sorry if my life has become boring and if I don't really have much in the way of adventure, etc. to share these days.  But I want you to know that I am grateful for you. Each of you.

To be honest I am a bit afraid of what comes next, but that's okay. Its healthy to be a bit afraid of uncertain futures. To not take it all for granted.  Life is going a bit too smoothly at the present and I am feeling a bit like an axe is going to fall on me or at the very least an anvil.  Will I be like the Wile-e-coyote and get up again, scratch my head and move forward???

I sure hope so.

 

(source)

But in the meantime I guess I have become  boring.  And I hope you are okay with that.  If not, I don't know what to say.

It was a few years ago that someone left a really mean comment here on my page . . .  that I was going to die all alone, unloved and lonely.  I sure hope not, but who knows.  At least if that happens I can die knowing that I was a person who never purposely tried to do harm to others.

If you can live your life, striving to be your best, no matter the circumstances, to live your best, no matter the circumstances, boring or not . . . what's to complain.

I have a hundred books in me waiting to be written.  Too many projects waiting to be created than I can ever hope to have time for.  And if I get a bit boring and humdrum along the way, well  . . .  I am sorry for that.  Sometimes boring is the best that I can do.

A thought to carry with you . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

•。★★ 。* 。

° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛

˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*Don't change so people will like you.

Be yourself and the right people

will love the real you. •。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today  . . . Milk and Honey Bread. This is an excellent loaf.

I hope you have a beautiful day. I think a wasp has gotten into my hummingbird feeder and died so I will have to clean it out. At least it can't hurt me. I think I will flush it down the toilet.  Anyways, have a great day whatever you get up to, and don't forget! 

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⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
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And I do too!       

Wednesday this and that . . .

 

(source) 

The heartfelt guidance of a friend

is as sweet as a delightful fragrance.

~Proverbs 27:9

I had a really nice time at my friend Jacquie's yesterday. I have known Jacquie for about 24 years now. She was one of my first friends that I made when I joined the church.  She lives in a Senior's place like I do, except in a different area.

Her place is much newer. I think only a few years old.  Mine was one of the first ones that they built.  One thing I don't like about her place is that it is directly on a main highway, but other than that, her place is beautiful inside. 

Where she lives the places are duplexes, so each unit has three outside walls and they have windows on all of those sides, which means that they are filled with light.   Her kitchen is also a cook's kitchen with tons of cupboards and a breakfast bar dividing the kitchen from the living area.  The cupboards are modern and painted a lovely stone color, same as the units in her bathroom. Its just a really nice place.  Very elegant. Of course it is more expensive than mine as well.

Jacquie is a vegetarian for the most part an she had made a delicious potato pie and we dined on that with a vegan coleslaw, and some scrumptious potato bread on the side.  For dessert she had sponge cake with whipped cream and raspberries. It was really nice.  The best part was spending time with a friend.

 

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The two younger missionaries stopped by yesterday morning to say farewell. They are both being transferred out of Greenwood  and being sent to New Brunswick, which means we will only have the Senior Couple here now, and who knows how long they will be allowed to stay.  Apparently the villages of Kingston and Greenwood have stated they do not want Proselyting missionaries living there.  I think that's really sad. Missionaries have been in that area for over 50 years.  They actually cover a vast area all the way down to Yarmouth.   Their job is to teach the Gospel however and if they are not allowed to do that then they must be in a place where they are allowed to do that, so we are losing them.  I will miss them.

I really hope that we don't lose the Senior Couple too.  They are such a support to the branch.  They help to support a lot of the older members by helping them out when they need help, have been teaching seminary to the Youth, and a whole lot more. Their area also extends down to Yarmouth, so they are really busy.

Anyways, I will  be very sad to see the young Elders leave.  I was very grateful that they came to say farewell.

The hummingbirds were really keeping the cats and I entertained last evening.  They were having all kinds of aerial battles outside here.  There must have been about half a dozen or so chasing each other back and forth. It was quite interesting to watch.  

I have always enjoyed feeding hummers. In fact I have always enjoyed feeding birds full stop. It is a love my sister and I have in common, and I think my brother also, although he is not as obvious about it, lol.  On Monday I was at my sisters after my mammogram for a short and I watched a chickadee come right to her hand and feed.  The chipmunks also feed right out of her hands.  I think she has about six of them.  She has always been good with wild life.  When we were children she was the one saving the sick field mouse and the bird with the broken wing. (Admittedly my mother did not allow the mouse to stay for very long at all!)

She would probably have been a very good Vet, or Nurse, or Doctor even.  She was certainly smart enough.  Of the three of us, she is the most naturally intelligent. 

 

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I confess I have never made a peach pie.  Do you peel the peaches first? This particular recipe sounds quite nice, although I am not sure about the maraschino cherries.  Do they have any place in a peach pie?  Any thoughts on this?

I know they are nice on pineapple upside down cake.  I am just not sure about using them in peach pie.  Having said that however, as children we all used to want to have the cherry from the tin of fruit cocktail.  Why is there only ever one or two halves in the tin?  Not nice when you have three children and they each want one, or worse yet when you have five like I did!  Try and split those cherries five ways.  It doesn't work!

And they don't even really taste like anything in my opinion, but  . . .  we all wanted one.  Its like the drumsticks on the Thanksgiving turkey.  We all wanted one of those as well, but um . . .  as an adult not my favorite part. Too many weird bones and tendons.

As a child you just wanted to feel like Henry the 8th.

 

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Loving all the fresh local produce from the markets at the moment.  This is the best time of the year. I noticed yesterday that the corn has grown as tall as the shoulders now and is getting tassels on top. We will soon be able to feast on delicious local corn.

When I was a child and the corn was ripe we would often have nothing but corn on the cob for supper and we could eat as many cobs of corn as we wanted to, with as much butter on it as we wanted as well.  

When I was bringing up my children we would go and get huge paper bags of it from the local farms. They would always sell a baker's dozen. I think you could sometimes get it for a dollar. (I am showing my age now!)  We would put the kids to work in the back yard by the picnic table husking it while I got the water bath canner filled with water and boiling in the kitchen. (When you have five children you need a really big pot!)

Corn on the cob feasts. Happy memories.  Delicious times.  With lots of butter and salt.

 

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We are taking my father to his Doctors appointment this morning. His Doctor is up in Berwick. Afterwards we are going to Jonny's for lunch. This is also the day that I meet up with my father and his friends for supper at the Big Scoop.  I told my sister I am not sure I should be eating a lot for lunch and then going out for supper as well.  Maybe I will just have an ice cream for lunch. Not very healthy I know haha.  Or have an order of their fries.  They are really good and then I can be healthy for supper and just have a small eaters turkey dinner with mash and no fries.  Decisions, decisions!

But I really have to run. I have been looking at the clock on my laptop and thinking to myself, boy . . .  its been 7:27 for a long time and I just realized that that is the date, not the time! 😝  DUH!

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

•。★★ 。* 。

° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛

˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*He will cover

you with his feathers;

Under his wings

you will find refuge.

~Psalm 91:4•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Chicken & Green Beans. A delicious, quick and easy stir fry. I quite enjoy this simple meal.

I hope you have a wonderful day.  Whatever you get up to stay safe and don't forget! 

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And I do too!