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.

I was at Cindy's for supper yesterday and took a photograph of the beautiful job Dan did on decorating it on Saturday. I wish I knew how to take a photo of a tree that really did it justice!  This doesn't. The tree is one of the nicest Christmas trees I have seen.  Perfect shape, and all of the decorations have been meticulously placed. It's just beautiful.

This is the Christmas Tree Santa from my childhood, still lighting up our lives. It used to be on top of our tree every year. We were all terrified of Santa Claus. I wonder why?  haha  He now resides within the branches of the tree as a star has taken his place and rightly so. I do love the continuity of being able to see this again. It brings back many lovely childhood memories.  Those are priceless.

Its Big Dan and Little Mac.  Little Mac has grown so much since Cindy got him. Dan always protests that he doesn't like him, but we have proof that he doth protest too much. Here they are snuggling together and watching Barbara Streisand on the television. I hope Dan will forgive me for sharing this, but it's too cute not to.

I have been watching The Chosen again in preparation of the third series coming out. (It's out now.) I am loving it. I am seeing things this time around that I never noticed the other times I have watched it.  It is such a well-done series. I think Jonathan Roumie does a fantastic job of portraying Jesus. Well, all the characters are well done, actually. But the Jesus in this series is exactly like I have always imagined Jesus as being. Great acting. Great writing.  Very well-done series. It is bringing the New Testament to life for me like nothing else ever has done. 

Being able to partake of the Sacrament and renew my Baptismal Covenants on a Sunday morning. For those few minutes, during the prayers, etc. I am able to focus my mind totally on the Saviour. I do remember Him in a very meaningful way without the distractions of daily life. Generally, I try to align my life as close to His teachings as possible, but I am not perfect, and I do stumble and get distracted with life and all it's goings on, but for those few minutes on Sunday morning I am totally in the zone, and I am grateful for that opportunity.

I am so grateful for the moments of my life when He shows up.  I know He is always there, but there are moments when His presence is even more obvious.  There are moments where I can clearly see His hands at work. I know that, to many people, this doesn't make sense, but it does to me, and that's what counts.  There have been too many times in my life that I could say "Aha!  That's you!" for me to ever refute His existence. Too many times He has shown up in a very obvious tangible way. I lean into them and am grateful for each and every one of them.

These last few days I have been thinking about Mary, the mother of Jesus.  We know that she was very young, maybe only 14 or 15 years old.  How must that have felt to her, all that happened?  For the visitation of the Angel.  For finding herself pregnant and unwed in a day and age when girls in that same situation were stoned to death.  For the journey she made in giving birth in such a humble and probably dirty space, and all on her own with only Joseph to keep her company.  How must she have felt through all of these experiences?  For her experience at the foot of the cross seeing her son suffer, etc. I cannot imagine. She truly was a special person. I am sure there were times when she questioned why and how and wished for any life other than her own. What woman/mother/wife wants these things? When I am tempted to question the why's or wherefores' of my own life, I am reminded that there are others who have had to endure much, much more. It humbles me in a very meaningful way.

This cake. However much it sank in the middle, it is such a delicious cake. I will be baking another one before my son comes for Christmas.  Its soooo good! It's one of those cakes that gets better tasting with each day that passes. Not as rich as a fruitcake. It's just simply delicious. I love it.

I am enjoying all the wintery photos that I am seeing online. It's cold here, but we have no snow on the ground. I love snow in December. The rest of the year I can take or leave it, but in December I love it.  I can remember how excited I used to feel as a child when the first Winter snows would come. Unfettered by the realities of having to shovel or scrape, it was such a magical time for me. I still feel that magic, in December. We had one snowfall so far, but it did not stick. I was watching the snow fall at my next-door neighbors in the UK's place yesterday. They have had snow over almost all of the UK. Snow when you don't have to worry about being hassled by it is the best kind.

 

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Enjoying all of the old Christmas movies.  I love these old black and white films.  I enjoy old black and white movies anyways, but the Christmas ones are especially enjoyable, to me anyways, especially at this time of year and I can watch them with abandon. There is nobody else to please. Just me.

 

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Christmas baking . . . I don't really have a lot of reasons to bake Christmas goodies these days, but I do enjoy baking the few things that I do.  I also enjoy thinking about the baking I used to do in the old days. Happy memories that warm my heart.  

This is just such a beautiful time of the year. Whether you are celebrating Hanukkah, or Kwanza, or Christmas or Yule or whatever, there is just so much light to enjoy at this time of year then the days are shortening, and the nights are drawing in.  I love it.

A thought to carry with you . . .

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

 *In the silence of a midwinter dusk,

there is a sound so faint that for all

you can tell it may be only the sound

of the silence itself. You hold your breath

to listen. You are aware of the beating

of your heart. The extraordinary thing that

is about to happen is matched only by

the extraordinary moment just before it

happens. Advent is the name of that moment.

~Frederick Buechner•。★★ 。* 。•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today, Bread Machine French Bread. Of course, you could just do the dough cycle and bake it in the conventional way and shape, but one thing is for sure, this is a fabulous loaf either way. Crisp crusted, chewy textured. Everything a good loaf of French Bread should be!

I hope your week ahead is filled with lots of magical small and wonderful things. Be blessed and don't forget!

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And I do too!