All things nice . . .

 

 

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Hands are so beautiful to hold,

The hands of children and the old,

Veined hands of mothers frail and white,

Hand that reach out to you at night,

When Pain is fearful, and despair

Lurks in the quiet shadows there.

A baby's first instinctive grip;

The hands of little ones, that slip

So naturally into our own,

A bit afraid to walk alone,

Where traffic lights are hard to find,

And bells confuse a little mind.

The strong hands of boys who dare

The long blue channels of the air,

Holding their ship on an even keel,

A sensitive touch that seems to feel,

The great up-rushing tides that grip

The earth-free boy of their ship.

The hands of lovers and the strong,

Hard muscled fingers that belong,

To men who labor on the land;

The hands of pioneers who stand,

Along the frontiers of the earth,

Kings of it all by right of birth.

God made the universe and then,

He laid it in the hands of men.

~Edna Jaques, Hands

Roses in December, 1944

I have always loved hands. My mother had beautiful hands when she was younger, but as she got older, arthritis took hold and they became gnarled and big knuckled.  This was hard for my mother who always took great pride in her appearance.  Time and age something that none of us can stop from moving forward.  Plastic surgery can do a lot for a person's face, if you are so inclined, but they haven't yet done much for the rest of the human body.

I think there is a great beauty to be found in hands that have borne the test of time and that show the loving labors of love, for family, home, community, earth, etc.

This is the sight at number 4 across the road now, with sunflowers blooming gloriously and bringing delight to the whole street. They are such a welcome sight to the eye.  It is hard not to smile when you see a sunflower. They have such cheery dispositions.

The new farm market is selling sunflowers for $1 a head. You can go and pick them yourself.  There is a whole field full of them.  

 

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Were it not for the cats, I would treat myself.  They would not leave them alone so having sunflowers in the house would not really be a good thing. We will instead content ourselves with admiring the ones across the road from the window.

When my middle three children were teens we lived in an old Farmhouse on a side road, just outside of Meaford, Ontario, on the beautiful banks of the Georgian Bay.  There was a farm across the road that grew sunflowers for birdseed, and it was a beautiful sight. I took a picture of my girls in that field amongst the sunflowers. I wonder what ever happened to that photograph.  Sweet faces in the sunflowers. 

I sat down to eat my dinner yesterday and I thought to myself. I am well fed.  I have always been well fed. I have never known privation, war or hunger. What a great blessing that is. I expect that many of us are the same. 

My parents grew up during the Great Depression and knew what it was to do without. Nothing was ever wasted in our home.  Things were used until they were used up.  We are so spoiled these days.  We live in a largely disposable society and at times it pains me to think of it. Nothing is built to last forever anymore.  In those days, large purchases were made with the idea in mind that they would never have to buy another one.  These days, the best we can hope for when making a large purchase is that it will serve us well for at least a few years.  

When was the last time you bought a pair of socks that was worth darning or mending??   Those were skills we were taught as girls in Home Economics at school. My paternal Grandmother was known for her invisible mending.  She could mend something in such a way as you never knew that there had been anything wrong.  Most homes had a mending basket filled with articles that needed mending. Socks, sweaters, trousers, stockings, etc. 

Is Home Economics even taught anymore?  I don't know.  In retrospect I think I should have  been a Home Economist, or a teacher of such.  I love all of  the home arts.

 

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I love these home rules.  They were the rules for the most part that we had in our home when my children were growing up.  Or at least tried to.  When you think about it, essentially they are rules to live by in or out of the home. If we all applied the to our every day lives and dealings with others, our world would be transformed.  We would live in a much, much kinder place.  I am not sure that I will live to see it, but I know it will happen one day. In the meantime, change begins in the home, one home, one family, one life at a time and then it spreads from there.  I have always thought to myself . . . change begins with me.

 

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Simple values.  That is the key to happiness I think. Joy is found in simple things, not in the extraordinary, although sometimes a glimpse of a taste of the extraordinary can be a fine thing. It is a wasted life however that spends it in  the pursuit of things out of reach rather than finding joy in what we already grasp in our hands. I try to see each day for the gift that it is.  I am not perfect. I sometimes slip and find myself longing for more, but by and large I am content and in receipt of all that I need.  To have all that you need is no small thing.    It is wanting what you already have that matters most. Anything else is gravy.

 

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My dear daughter in law lost her father early this morning. He had been battling non Hodgkin's lymphoma for quite a number of years now. She had already lost her mother to cancer about 12 years or so ago now. This is a very sad day in their home. My heart and prayers are with them. This is not an easy thing, this having to say goodbye to the ones that you love.  We must take comfort in remembering happier times and in the memories of times spent together. In due course the wound does heal, but I do not think it ever heals completely. There are those whom we will always miss and losses we will never get over.  The best we can do is to learn to live without these loved ones of ours and to find comfort in the hope that we will one day be reunited. All our tears will one day be wiped away and there will be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying. (~Rev 21:4) 

My faith has been of great comfort to me in my life.

Tonight is the  night of the full moon and this September moon will be known as the Harvest moon this year. Why Is it Called the Harvest Moon? For several evenings, the moonrise comes soon after sunset. This results in an abundance of bright moonlight early in the evening, which was a traditional aide to farmers and crews harvesting their summer-grown crops. Hence, it's called the “Harvest” Moon! 

In 2022, September's full moon is closest to the autumnal equinox, which falls on September 22, so it's called the harvest moon, according to The Old Farmer's Almanac. When October's full moon is closer to the equinox, it gets the name harvest moon, and September's is called the corn moon.  

I am looking forward to seeing it. I hope that I do not forget. These past few nights have been very clear and I have been able to see the moon in its fullness from my bedroom window, like a great bright light in the sky.

 

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I have been taking a photo out my front window of the trees behind the houses across the way.  Trying to catalogue in some way the change of the seasons. I did not see any hummingbirds yesterday so I will soon take my feeder down. I will keep it up for just a few more days to be sure that any stragglers have sustenance for their journey south.  

They came and cut our grass yesterday, but they left all the dry grass behind in clumps all over the lawn. The company that has been in charge of the grass and snow removal this year have not really done a very good job of it.  I hate seeing the dry clumps all over the lawn. I don't have a rake to rake them up, but really that is what I pay my rent for. But I must not complain for at least my grass is cut.

I was very touched yesterday by King Charles lll first speech to the people. I shed a tear at the end when he spoke of his dear mother.  It was a very good speech. He has been well-prepared for this role by his parents.  I expect good things.

I have had a very full week this week. On Thursday the Missionary couple that were in touch with me throughout those first months after I left the UK to come back to Canada came to see me.  We had a lovely visit together and they treated me to lunch. Then Thursday evening the Senior couple which are serving here now came over along with a brother from my branch and the two Priesthood holders gave me a blessing.  I was grateful for that and for the comfort it brought to my heart. 

My new prescription has been making me feel rather ill for half of the day so I was late going to the grocery store yesterday, but was pleasantly surprised by running into my sister on her way home from work. I had some peach dumplings in the car that I had been going to drop off at her place for their supper, so I was able to save myself a trip and just give them to them there.  It is an extra special blessing that I now live in a place where I can just "run" into people that I love and care about so much.  Family. 

And with that I best leave you with a thought for the day. It is already gone 9:30 and I am still in my jimjams!

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

•。★★ 。* 。

° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛

˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*Don't be afraid of change,

You may end up losing something good,

but you'll probably end up gaining

something so much better.•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today . . .  Quick and Easy Peach Dumplings. These were incredibly delicious.

Enjoy your weekends. I hope that you have a great one.  May it be filled with joy.  I will see you on Monday.  Be happy and blessed and don't forget! 

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And I do too!