Wednesday Witterings . . .

 

(source)

The dark month of January.  Where do you find the light in your dark month?  Is it through the pages of a book to love, or cuddling beneath blankets while you enjoy your favorite shows on the television. Writing. Sewing. Knitting. Painting.  January is a month to hunker down and just enjoy small pleasures. Sparks of light amidst a dark, cold and heavy month.  In a week it will be February and things start to look up again. The days are noticeably getting longer. We are halfway through the winter and there is nowhere else to go but up. 

I like up. I am not a person that stays down for long.  I never have been.  I guess that is called resilience. I am grateful for resilience.

In January I putter, February too  . . . 

I like to keep my hands busy when I am not cooking or writing or studying.  Usually with something that doesn't require a lot of concentration.  I've been crocheting scarves, using this pattern.  I have a variety of colors of yarn that's been left over from crocheting blankets and so I am using that up.  I am not sure what I will do with them all. Perhaps donate them to a homeless charity next Winter.  That's an idea that just came to me now.  I think it would be a good thing to do with yarn that is essentially just sitting in a box waiting for someone to do something with it.

 

O my Luve is like a red, red rose
That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune …

Tonight, is Robbie Burns Night where Scots throughout the world celebrate the birthday of their most famous and widely regarded poet.  On New Year's Eve when we sing Auld Lang Syne, we are singing one of his poems.  Tonight is the night many will enjoy a Burn's Night supper, which generally begins with a greeting from the Bagpipes.  Formal or informal, most celebrations will likely include the national dish of Scotland, Haggis.  This dish is usually piped in as well, with great ceremony!   

Have you ever eaten Haggis? (Main ingredients: Sheep's heart, liver and lungs, and stomach or sausage casing, onion oatmeal, suet and spices.) I have never been brave enough to try it myself, although I certainly had the opportunity to do so when we took our coach trip to Scotland a number of years back. Its the thought of all that offal that puts me off.  You can get vegetarian ones, which is probably much more to my taste than the normal one. It is said to be delicious though I'll not be trying it.

 

(source)

We have snow on the ground at the moment, although they are calling for snow changing to heavy rain overnight today, the temperatures going from -7 to +12 tomorrow.  (Quite a drastic difference!) Weatherwise, this is the weirdest January I have ever known. It is usually the snowiest and coldest month of the year, although I have experienced many January thaws in my lifetime. A warmish sunny day that gives you a tiny taste of Spring before it snaps back to Winter.   This weather we have been having has been quite extraordinary. No doubt Winter will wreak some sort of havoc on us before it's done with us for good.

 

(source)

I was supposed to be giving a talk in Church this Sunday next, although I doubt very much that I will be going, so I have let my Bishop know so he can get someone else to talk in my place.  This cold is lingering somewhat, and I don't want to be spreading my germs about.  I've tested negative three times now for Covid, so it is surely just a cold, which makes me wonder how I got it.  I've gone nowhere really and been masked and sanitized everywhere I went.  Its somehow just crept in, which is a bit disconcerting to me because if a cold can creep in like that, surely Covid can also. I still have a stuffy nose and a slight cough, but it is a tight one. I hope it loosens up soon. That usually means it's on the wane.  I have had way worse colds, although admittedly I am secretly afraid that saying so is tempting the fates.  What I don't want is for it to linger overly much. I have a doctor's appointment next week to get the results of my liver scan.

I have been given a talk instead for the 12th of February with a completely different topic. "How do I sustain imperfect leaders?"  Challenging to say the least.

I used to love making snowmen when I was a child. Rolling balls of snow through the snow and watching them get larger and larger so that we could put them together into a person. Ours were always naked, meaning no scarf or hat. Mom never had any to give us that she thought were expendable. Its a wonder she gave us a carrot for the nose.  Every scrap counted in her kitchen.

I do remember spending several days at school when I was in Grade three, at recess, fashioning a snow table with seats around it. My friends and I. We made tiny snow cups as well and then invited our teacher to have tea with us in the snow. All credit to her, she came. A child's imagination is a wonderful thing.

I don't remember really feeling the cold much when I was a child. We were always really bundled up very well against it and it didn't seem to affect us much. We loved to play outside no matter the time of year.

Do you remember those brown rubber boots from the 1960's?  You put them on over your shoes.  They had fur around the insides of the top, I suppose to keep the snow out and they did up with a buckle and strap on the side. I didn't like them very much because your shoes always came off with the boots and then you would have to work at getting your shoes back on. Not fun when you are sitting in melting snow on the floor of the hallway at school, struggling to get everything hung up and properly placed, and into the classroom without being accused of dawdling!!

 

(source)

Time to finish up now. I am not sure what I will get up to today.  I am mostly just trying to rest and get better. I have probably watched more television in these last few days than I have in a very long time. I don't have a very long boredom threshold either.  If a show doesn't grab me in the first 10 minutes, I am flicking the channels.  Oh boy  . . .  am I becoming more like a man?  God forbid! haha

A thought to carry with you . . . 

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

 *.˛.Now and then it's good to pause

in our pursuit of happiness 

and just be happy.

~Guillame Appollinaire•。★★ 。* 。

Today's message on my ME desk calendar. I love the sentiment.

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Creamy Chicken Hot Dish.  For one. This was delicious and simple. Being on my own doesn't mean I can't eat just as well as a larger family!

I hope you have a wonderful Wednesday today. I won't be going out for supper with my father and his friends today. I have taken out some chicken (I know, I eat a lot of chicken) and will be cooking that for myself. I should just open a can of soup, but meh . . . homemade anything is just so much better.  Whatever you get up to, don't forget! 

═══════════ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ═══════════ 

⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ 

And I do too