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.   

 

The hummingbirds really become entertaining in late summer.  There are great aerial battles to be won, territory to be conquered.  There is one who claims the feeder as his own and he shoos away any other hummer who dares to come close. He sits right on the arch of the shepherd's hook and waits for any other ones to encroach and the battle is on. Its very entertaining to watch them. I replace the sugar syrup about ever 3 or 4 days. It goes down quite quickly this time of year. It is so important to keep your feeders clean.  I rinse them out making sure that there is no mold in them. I wouldn't want to cause any of these sweet little creatures to become ill.

It is hard to believe but today is the first day of August. It is a civic holiday here in Nova Scotia.  Natal Day I believe they call it.  There have been Natal Day celebrations down in Annapolis all weekend.  I love the month of August.  The corn becomes ripe, the days have a special glow about them. We become cognizant of the fact that summer is on the wane and we enjoy each day all the more.  The nights become a bit cooler for sleeping.  The children start to get excited for back to school. 

 My Island boys have been having a wonderful summer.  Their mum and dad have been taking them all over. They've been having a ball, catching crabs, collecting sea glass and enjoying all that a summer on PEI has to offer. 

When my own children were growing up, we used to spend a lot of summers on PEI as my ex husband's parents lived there.  I became an expert at getting red clay out of clothes.

It is such a beautiful province, and going there was always an adventure, beginning with the ferry ride. We would often spend hours waiting to get onto the ferry, the lineups were so long. Boring and hot was the wait, but once you got on the boat, you knew you didn't have long and you would be cruising along those beautiful PEI roads.  Now, of course, there is the bridge to go over.  You can still take a ferry of course, but the bridge is a lot faster.

 

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The Confederation Bridge is a real feat of engineering and spans the Northumberland Strait from New Brunswick to PEI.  It is the world's longest bridge that spans over icy water.  When you are on it in a car you can't really see over the sides as they have been built quite high to help prevent vehicles from being blown over.  Sometimes it is closed because of the winds.   It is not until you get to the middle of the bridge that you can see the expanse of it which lays ahead of you, as up to that point you are going uphill. It was commonly referred to as the "Fixed Link" by residents of Prince Edward Island prior to its official naming. Construction began in the fall of 1993, and continued for three-and-a-half years at a cost of $1 billion.  There was a fair bit of conflict around its construction.  The ferry had employed a lot of people for a very long time and they would all lose their jobs. 

I like the quickness of getting over via the bridge, but there was always something special about that ferry ride as well.  Our trips across on the ferry were always super exiting. We always got the kids an ice cream cone and we loved to look out over the water and watch the Island getting close and closer. It was also nice to be able to stretch the legs after having been cramped up in the car for hours. 

Last night I was thinking about that children's book I illustrated and I realized that I had been painting a cat like Nutmeg for years!  With his little white cheeks, white bib, white boots and mitts and saucy attitude. 

Funny how that goes!  You might think that it was planned or something!! 

I was the only person wearing a mask in church yesterday. I felt like a bit of an oddity. But I will continue to wear.  During one of the lessons, I heard a woman say something about Covid being over.  I was a bit taken aback by that statement.  It is anything but over in my opinion, but I know a lot of people think that it is. 

Fact.  (knock on wood)  Since I started wearing a mash and taking precautions I have not had a cold or anything. My daughter stopped wearing a mask in May when the mandate was lifted and since then she has had two very bad colds and bronchitis.  I will continue to wear a mask in public indefinitely.

My father was very happy last night because he got to see his latest great grandson for the very first time. My dad was having breakfast yesterday morning with his friend Hazel at a place in town and my youngest son was there with his wife and my grandson.  My father was quite pleased that my son made the effort to talk to him and introduce him to his little boy.  I had mixed feelings about it.  Part of me was happy that my father had had one of his wishes come true, and another part of me was sad because I doubt that I will ever get to see that little boy myself.  But it is what it is.

I am grateful that my father did however.  And he has the "bum chin" which made my father very happy. Genetics.  My father sees the bum chin as the stamp of proof that his DNA lives on. lol

I had a nice supper at my sister's last night. I also had supper there Saturday night.  Its nice spending time with family.  I love them all so very much and am grateful for the time we get to spend together.

I don't really have a lot else to say this morning. I am going to vacuum, scrub the floors, and organize some cupboards today. I  might go and get some petrol for the car as it is half empty and I don't like it to get much below half.   That's my day cut out for me.

Not a lot of excitement involved, but excitement is often over-rated.  I am grateful for days that are just ordinary days, for a comfortable home, for my healthy, for my family, for my faith, for my pets, and for each one of you.  Life is good.

A thought to carry with you . . .

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

 *The more stuff I donated

the more I was able to breathe.

The more trash I threw away

the  more weight I felt lifted.

The more stuff I took out of our house,

the more I was able to see a new life.

The more uncluttered I lived,

the more I found joy.

~Zina Harrington•。★★ 。* 。

True dat! 

Its not the most attractive pencil in the box, but it was incredibly tasty.  Bacon Wrapped Roasted Cabbage Wedges.  Done in the air fryer.  Delicious!

I hope your week ahead is filled with an abundance of joy. Be happy, healthy and 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!