All Things Nice . . .

 

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When you come to think of it, a smile's a funny thing.

Give it and you get it back, and often it will bring --

happiness to somebody you never even knew:

neighbors, fellow travelers, or strangers in the queue.

Lift the corners of your lips and in the glass you'll see --

transformation and a change of personality . . . 

Eyes can smile as well as lips.

They catch your mood and glow --

even though your heart be breaking and your spirits low.

Practice at the mirror when a moment you can spare.

Try. You'll be surprised to see the face reflected there . . . 

Somehow you seem brighter and you feel that life's worthwhile.

Isn't it amazing? Something happens when you smile.

~Patience Strong

I've always been told that I have a smile that lights up a room. I am not sure about that, but it is a nice thing for someone to say to you.  These past few years our smiles have been covered by masks, but you can still see a smile in the eyes for sure.  My sister has smiley eyes.  So did my mom, and my sister's son Ben.  Those eyes just brighten your soul.  Its a family trait. 

I love this old photograph of my sister sitting next to our cousin Danny on my grandparents veranda back in 1960.  You can just barely see me in the right hand corner. They've cut me off.  This would have been around the time my brother was born. March 3rd he was born. I remember my mother had all my hair cut off so that people could comb it while she was in the hospital having my brother.  Cindy looks so carefree here. I wonder what was going through her mind.  I love that they used to dress little girls in dresses. Those socks and shoes  . . .  so cute. This picture of my sister makes my heart smile.

This blackberry picking picture came up in my memories this morning.  I remember painting all these months of the year picture back in 2016.  I turned them into a calendar. I had so much fun doing them. I need to get back to my art I think. It brought me a lot of joy and I think it brought joy to others as well. Or maybe that is just wishful thinking.  I think all of those paintings got left in the UK. I don't have them here with me. I wonder what happened to them. They probably got thrown into the bin unknowingly with everything else in the craft room. Oh well  . . .  it is what it is. I could create new ones.  I did buy some paper to do such a thing a while back. I need to do it, not just think about it.

 I used to love creating collages as well. Putting together groups of photos and quotes.  This was a favorite one. That used to bring me joy as well.  And making dolls . . .  I watch too much tv now. I never used to watch any television until after supper nights and even then I would be crocheting as I watched.   I need to get back into being more creative methinks  . . . my creative soul has been trapped for far too long in melancholy . . .  

Not the best picture, but I tried to capture the beauty of the sunset outside my living room window last night.  Somehow I got one of my glass birds in the photo, but that's okay. The sky was a brilliant shade of purples and reds  looking out towards the Bay of Fundy. It made me think of the last time mom and I went up to Margaretville to watch the sun set from the deck of the lighthouse.  Stunning. The sunsets there are stunning. 

Cinnamon was enjoying it with me.  The light from the sunset made her coat look even more orange . . . they were both doing a great job of catching flies in here yesterday.  I don't know how or where they get in, but sometimes I have the odd fly in here. They are not here for long, those very agile little fur babies of mine catch them within minutes and make short work of them. They would both be good mousers. 

Last night I brought out the little lazer light toy.  They had not seen it in a while. They really enjoyed it. I need to do that with more of their toys. Put them in the closet for a while so that they get more excited when they see them.

I took this photo here from my desk just a few minutes ago. How they still both manage to cram themselves into that small basket I will never know, but somehow they do. They should not be comfortable but somehow they are!

Corn season is beginning. Its not as cheap as it was years and years ago. I can remember buying bags of corn on the back roads of Southern Ontario and paying a dollar for a Baker's Dozen.  You might get an ear for a dollar now.  We would get two or three dozen and bring them back to the house. The kids would be put to work husking it while I got a big pot of water on to boil. I used to use my water bath canner because it held a lot of water.  Once cooked we would all sit around the table and eat it to our hearts content with plenty of butter and salt. It would be so good.  We did the same thing when I was a child.  Precious memories.  Somehow eating corn on the cob all on your own is not quite the same.

I'm not sure how much I could eat these days without causing myself severe intestinal distress anyways! 'nuff said! 

I had been going to go to the Temple with a couple of friends today, but I am not going. I used to love to go to the Temple, but its been a few years now since I have been.  The last time I went, I went with Tina and my friend Mal. We stayed overnight. This was pre-Covid  I enjoyed that trip very much. 

I just find myself wondering about things, like how someone could go into the Temple as a big fat liar and not be found out. How someone could kneel across the altar with someone and get sealed to them knowing they didn't even belong in the Temple, make sacred covenants in the Temple unworthily.  It bothers me, those thoughts.  I hope I don't feel this way about it forever  . . . it is something I am working on. 

So I picked up this the other morning when I was out with my sister. I call it a Raggedy in waiting. Maybe two or three Raggedy's.  I used to enjoy making my Raggedy dolls so much. I had about four in various levels of creation that got left in the UK.  I need to download my patterns again methinks.

 

I need to sew Luna's buttons on her coat. My sister sewed the coat together and did a marvelous job of it. I need to get some clothes cut out, etc. I need some motivation and a big kick up the backside.

 

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If I am here another year, I think I will get myself a clothesline. Maybe one of those umbrella types that you stick into the ground, or at the very least a large wooden accordion one.  I could use it in the winter as well.  Just have it opened up over the bath tub. Out of the way. I never had a clothes drier the whole time I was in the UK.   Just the outdoor line and an accordion drier. On rainy days and in the Winter we dried sheets by draping them over the upstairs doors, but the best was outside on sunny autumn, spring and summer days.  The smell  . . .  bliss.

And with that I best end this off . . .  I had been going to go and meet my father for breakfast this morning, along with his friends, but I have run out of time now. I have left it too late to get ready.  He will be disappointed but there it is.  I have too much to do and will not get it done in time enough to meet them. I should have planned better methinks!

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

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

 *“The secret is to never lose sight of the simple, 

everyday miracles in life. 

Good food, literature, laughter, music, 

compelling conversation, nature, and art. 

Look for them in every day, and even when it feels like 

your whole world is unravelling, you will never be too far 

from a needle and thread.”

~Beau Taplin•。★★ 。* 。•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Elizabeth's Creamy Rice Pudding.  An old, old recipe that has been bringing my family pleasure for over 43 years now. You use leftover cooked rice in it!

Have a wonderful Saturday.  Be happy and healthy. Be blessed. Be thankful.  Don't forget!

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And I do too!