All Things Nice . . .

 

 

(source)

The lovely smells that haunt a house

Are part of memory's golden page;

The little pantry dark and cool --

Bunches of mint and dill and sage,

Fall pickles cooking on the stove,

The rich exotic scent of clove;

A whiff of cookies as you lift

The heavy cover off a crock,

Where little discs of goodness lie

As fragrant as a hollyhock;

The smell of scones and griddle cakes,

The home-kind that mother makes.

A plain old-fashioned pot of soup,

A pan of biscuits light as down,

A stew of vegetables and beef,

A roast with gravy hot and brown,

The rich aroma of spiced pears,

Warm in the little halls and stairs;

The smell of sun-dried clothes brought in,

Scented geraniums in a pot,

A whiff of spicy apple tart --

All these lovely fragrance caught

And blended into one that holds

A home within its scented folds.

~Edna Jaques, Smells that Haunt a House

Backdoor Neighbors, 1946

There is nothing like smell. It can take you on a journey like nothing else can.  Occasionally I catch a whiff in the air that will remind me of the pink hair conditioner we used to use on our hair on Saturday afternoons as we got ready to go out on Saturday night, or the smell of my grandmother's oil-cloth linoleum floor . . . the woodstove in my mother-in-law's kitchen, the smell of the pages of a new book.  Smells like these can instantly take you back to a time long past and you are there once more, with all the feels.  Smells are often like magic carpets that can instantly transport you through the veils of time and experience.

Just before waking up this morning, I was dreaming I was in a bake shop. I was standing in front of the counter looking at all the delights . . . buttery pastry crusted butter tart bars filled with lush plump raisins and nuts, sweet glazed petit fours decorated with candied flowers, flaky almond croissants all sugar dusted and adorned with sweet almonds . . . everything looking so very tasty.  I had some money in my hand but boy oh boy was I ever having a difficult time making up my mind.  I wanted a box of everything. That is me, undecisive and wanting to taste it all.  I had a small toddler in my arms who was falling asleep. I awoke and I was holding the pillow next to me, obviously the toddler in arms.

And then when I came out to the living room this morning, it was to see that Mother Nature had gifted us with a sugar dusted landscape overnight.

I know it will not last.  These early snows never do. The sky was brilliant purple and blue. The trees glowing red as they basked in the warmth of the rising sun.  I am not sure I can adequately photograph the beauty which met my eyes.  Every bush sugar dusted. It was all so very pretty. 

The cats were enjoying the view as well. In their morning perches.  Together in close companionship. 

They don't look at all as if they could be comfortable and yet, miraculously they are perfectly at ease. They are often found to be in the most awkward positions, more often than not fast asleep and totally unaware.  But are they? Totally unaware?? Eyes open as soon as I approach no matter how silently my feet do fall upon the floor. I think it is called a catnap.

Cindy and I had the most fun yesterday afternoon making homemade sausages!  We did five pounds of sausage, in 2 different flavors.  Some were Cumberland (my favorite) and some were Apple.  We fried up little bits of the sausage in a skillet to taste before we started stuffing to make sure that everything was flavored perfectly.  

It took us 3 hours from start to finish, and we got quite a lot of really tasty looking dinner-sized sausages. We are going to have a sausage fest at her place for supper tonight as we share with my dad and Dan the fruits of our labors and we both have some sausage to pop into the freezer for later dates.

It took us a while to work out our stride in filling the casings, and we never did get it to the point where we could just make one long sausage that we could twist into individuals afterwards. We ended up making one at a time and twisting each one closed each time. By the end of our exercise, we were much better, and we had learned a few tricks. Next time the whole process may go quicker and smoother.

Yes, we enjoyed it so much we will do it again for sure.  Best part of all was being able to do this together!

My new temple dress arrived.  All I have to do now is to hem it. I will need someone to come over and mark it for me while I am wearing it. This one is in two layers. There is a slip under-layer and then the dobby cotton over-layer. Hemming is something I can do by hand while I am sitting watching tv in the evenings. I like to keep my hands busy.

I don't know how many times I have ripped out the dishcloth I was working on. I keep losing stitches at either end somehow. I am going to try a different pattern as I just don't seem to be able to get the one that I am using right. That's the way the cookie crumbles sometimes!  It's not me, it's the way the pattern is written, or maybe it is me, lol. One never knows for sure!

I watched the most brilliant series on Britbox this week. It was a glued to your seat kind of a show. A regular cat and mouse, tense high stakes drama. I highly recommend if you like that sort of thing. I do and I did!

And with that I will leave you with a thought for the day!

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

 *There is not enough room

in your mind for

both worry and faith.

You must decide which one

gets to live there.•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today . . . Sultana Cake. The perfect cake to enjoy with a hot cuppa and a friend! Delicious and simple.

I hope your day is filled with lots of nice things. Don't worry, be happy, and don't forget! 

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And I do too!