The Simple Woman's Daybook . . .

 

 

FOR TODAY, February 28th, 2022

Outside my window ...

Its mostly clear, but its very cold this morning. -16*C which is 3.2*F.  We are in for a cold snowy week. I am not sure if that is considered coming in like a lamb or a lion? We will see. We really can't complain as we have had a fairly easy winter thus far.

I am thinking ...

Not a lot this morning. I had a really good nights sleep and I am feeling really well rested. Looking forward to the rest of the day.

I am thankful for ...

Quiet days that I don't have much to do. I always have some work to do, but some days it is less than others.

In the kitchen ...

Maple Buttermilk Bread  This is a bread machine recipe and yields a beautiful loaf. The crust is nice and crisp, almost like a French loaf, and it has a beautiful light crumb and amazing flavors.  My favorite loaf thus far!

On my "To Cook" list ...

This KFC Chicken Bowl Casserole looks amazing! From The Blogette. 

Good to know ...

Something to watch ...

The original Upstairs Downstairs on Britbox.

I am wanting to create ...

Patchwork Pottery. Holly Hocks. I have always loved yoyo's.

Attic 24   I love this pretty garland.

Naztazia Granny Square Slippers.

Cuter Knit Toy on Etsy. Knitted Goose PDF pattern. Not free. So cute though.

Love this blanket, but I couldn't find the pattern.

I am reading ...

 

Abide With Me, by Elizabeth Strout. Katherine is only five-years-old. Struck dumb with grief at her mother's death, it is down to her father, the heartbroken minister Tyler Caskey, to bring his daughter out of silence she has observed in the wake of the family's tragedy.

But Tyler Caskey is barely surviving himself. His cold, church-assigned home is colder still since Lauren's death, and he struggles to find the right words for his sermons; struggles to be a leader to his congregation when he himself is lost.

 When Katherine's schoolteacher calls to discuss his daughter's anti-social behaviour, it sparks a chain of events that begins to tear down Tyler's defences. The small-town rumour-mill has much to make of Katherine's odd behaviour, and even more to say about Tyler's relationship with his housekeeper, Connie Hatch. And in Tyler's darkest hour, a startling discovery will test his congregation's humanity - and his own will to endure the kinds of trials that sooner or later test us all.

From the Orange Prize-shortlisted author of Amy & Isabelle, this is a startlingly beautiful novel about love and abandonment, faith and hypocrisy; and the peril of family secrets…

This is very good!   I am really enjoying it. 

I am looking forward to ...

Dinner out with dad and his friends tomorrow evening.

Dreaming about ...

 

(source)

Pearls, rhinestones and lace  . . . 

 

(source)

Blue  . . . 

 

(source)

The Ballet . . . 

 

(source)

Tea and scones  . . . 

 

(source)

A bedside bouquet . . . 

Makes me smile ... 

Clothesline Conversation, by Jeffrey Larson

Corners of my kingdom ... 

Outside my back door  . . .  

A thought to carry with you ...

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

 *.˛.At two o’clock in the morning, 

if you open your window and listen, 

You will hear the feet of the Wind 

that is going to call the sun. 

And the trees in the Shadow rustle 

and the trees in the moonlight glisten, 

And though it is deep, dark night, 

you feel that the night is done.

~Rudyard Kipling•。★★ 。* 。 

And that's my daybook for this week  . . .  
  

   ⋱ ⋮ ⋰
 ⋯ ◯ ⋯ Take time to enjoy the small *´¯`.¸¸.☆
   ⋰ ⋮ ⋱ blessings in life.*´¯`.¸¸.☆    
  



✿¸.•*¨`*•..✿✿¸.•*¨`*•..✿ ✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿ ✿¸.•*¨`*•..¸✿ ✿¸.• ╬♥═╬╬═♥=╬╬═♥╬╬═♥╬╬═♥=╬╬♥═╬♥╬╬═♥╬╬═♥=╬╬♥
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Have a beautiful day and don't forget!  


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And I do too!       

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. 

 

My cozy little home. When I think back on the last few years I am filled to overflowing with gratitude at where I find myself.  From homeless and uncertain to where I am now. It is nothing short of a miracle that I find myself in this little house of mine, with my two cats and all of my needs being met, and then some. It is only through the Grace of God and the love of family and friends who were willing to reach out and do what they could for me that I find myself where I am today.  When I am asked how I got from 

THERE <=====TO=====> HERE 

I have only one answer that I can give. Divine intervention, the Grace of God and Love of family and friends.  These all kept my feet moving.  These helped to bind my wounds.  These lifted me when I couldn't lift myself.  Dried tears, etc. Gave  me strength.  And you were a part of that and for that I am grateful.

You may get tired of hearing it, but I will never tire of speaking it. 

 

 

We may all think that we cannot make a difference, that we do not make a difference. But we do. We really do. It is in the small and simple things that each of us do daily without even thinking about it. Unconsciously . . .  because we are good people, because we care about others and the world that we live in . . . because we love . . . 

We may be tempted to think that there is no good left in the world, but I think that the good far outweighs the bad.  And it is the small and simple things we each of us do because they are second nature to us. Its in the reaching out.

I am not sure where this came from, but it resonated with me.  This is so true.  I know because I lost almost everything I thought was dear to me, only to realize that, at the end of the day, none of it really mattered. Not a one.  What mattered most was only what I carried with me, the things of the heart. Treasures in heaven. Faith. Family. Friends.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, 

where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, 

where neither moth nor rust destroys, 

and where thieves do not break in or steal.” 

(Matthew 6:19-20).

Bright sunny days. We had a very snowy cold weekend, and it is very cold this  morning, but the sun is shining and somehow when the sun shines everything  just feels okay.  All is right with the world, or things are at least just a little bit more bearable. I think God gave us the rain and the dark moments so that we would and could appreciate the sunshine so much more than we could have otherwise.

 

You are loved. So much.

Its only a sheet of foil, but it has brought me several nights peace where I can sit and watch television without having to jump up every five minutes to shoo a naughty cat away from the tv screen. 

Its only a paper bag, but pop a flipping fish into it and it keeps them busy for ages. They also sneak their treasures into it.  I have found an empty plastic cat lick treat package in there, a small catnip fish, a rattle mouse, a plastic spring.  All keeping the flipping fish in the plastic bag company, singularly, not all at once. 

 

(source)

Sunday supper at my sisters. Wednesday night supper with dad. Lunch with friends. Chapel cleaning with other friends.  Facetimes with Doug and the boy. Morning chats with Anthony.  Its all good and a part of my full abundant life that brings me so much joy.

I take none of it for granted. My cup literally does runneth over.

A thought to carry with you . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

•。★★ 。* 。

° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

  ˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛

 ˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*Life for all its agonies of despair and loss and guilt,

is exciting and beautiful, amusing and artful and

endearing, full of liking and love, at times a poem

and a high adventure, at times noble and at times very gay;

and whatever (if anything) is to come after it . . . 

we shall not have this life again.

~Rose Macaulay•。★★ 。* 。•。★★ 。* 。

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . . Meatball Tortellini Bake. Four simple ingredients. Thirty minutes. One delicious meal.

I hope your week ahead is filled to overflowing with abundance in the things which matter most. Whatever comes your way, stay warm, stay safe and don't forget! 

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And I do too!    

   

 

All Things Nice . . .

 

(source)

She was so glad for little things

She didn't need a coach and four

To fill her days with happiness.

A patch of sunlight on the floor,

A little kitchen warm and bright,

Was all she asked for her delight.

A corner cupboard for her cups

A little sun-porch painted green

A piece of ground for vegetables.

A lattice where pink roses lean,

Some hollyhocks as red as flame

A little homeless cat to claim.

A quiet bedroom fresh and clean

With plumped-up pillows white as snow,

A wide old chair where she could rock

And listen to the radio,

Knitting in rhythm to the beat,

Of lilting song and dancing feet.

A table with a colored cloth

A few bright dishes gay as paint,

Food cooked in her own favorite way,

(She looks as placid as a saint;)

There shone in her old kindly eyes

A peace that any king might prize.

~Edna Jaques, Grateful for Little Things

Roses in December,  1944

GOD GAVE US MEMORIES THAT

WE MIGHT HAVE ROSES IN DECEMBER

 

What a cold, cold morning it is this morning. -15*C which is 5*F.  My heat pump isn't working again so I am relying on the electric baseboard heating this morning. Grateful too for my electric fireplace which is helping to heat up the room. I love the sight of the cozy flames.  Oh to be able to have a wood stove again. We had one in the past. We heated our whole house with one when we lived in New Brunswick. It was down in the family room in the basement, but because our house was built with an open concept and very well insulated, that one little stove kept the whole house toasty warm in the winter  months.

In Meaford Ontario we heated our home with an old Mennonite Cook stove. I used to hang laundry over it in the winter months as well. I spent many days sitting next to it in the winter months, watching the birds enjoy themselves at the feeders outside the dining room window.

Then when we lived in Nictaux, here in Nova Scotia, we put a wood stove in the living room, and again, it heated the house. I loved to lay on the sofa and watch the flames flicker.  The smell, the sound, the sight . . .  so cozy. Wood stoves are the best.

 

(source)

Oh that I could dress in layers of woolens. What is it about layers of clothing that helps us to feel so much warmer? If I was thinner I would dress in layers. The size that I am I just feel like I look as big as an elephant in layers. Having said that however, I am sitting here this morning with my knee socks on, long flannel nightie, robe, crochet blanket over my lap, etc.  If my legs are cold, then I am cold.  Keeping my legs and arms warm is key to keeping me warm.

 

(source)

I had bought the pattern for this blanket a week or so ago and then yesterday I ordered the yarn for it. I love the colors.  I ordered the yarn through Love Crafts. They have the Style Craft Yarn and it is on offer at the moment. I need to finish my autumn colors blanket before I start the new one. Can you ever have too many crochet blankets?  I think not!  I love to surround myself with color. It keeps life from being boring.

Our Cinnamon seems to have a predilection towards scratching my television screen, or the mirror in the bedroom. She will get in front of it and scratch away. I spend most of my television watching time jumping off the couch to shoo her down. It gets really tiring.  She gets off but the minute I sit down, she is back up there. It is a constant battle of wills.  Last evening my sister suggested I put a sheet of tinfoil down temporarily to get her out of the habit.  

I got the tinfoil out and lay a sheet on top of the fire just in front of the television and wonder of all wonders it works!  She did go to jump up on it, but stopped just short and took off like a bat out of hell. It has kept her off there ever since. I will leave it there for a few days and then maybe she will get out of the habit.

I hate to terrorize them, but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do I guess!

 

I was thinking this morning about all of the expectations I had when I was first setting up my little home. The week rocking chair for my wee grandson to sit in, my long table for family to gather around. The wee grandson has never come yet to sit in the rocker, but I have been blessed to have much of my family gather round my long table and what a blessing that is. It is not exactly as I had envisioned but it is still good and still warms my heart. Things will never completely be ideal I don't think, but is anyone's life really ideal?  I don't think it will ever go back to the days when I had all of my chicks gathering round me, but I can have joy still in what it is.

Supper times were busy affairs back when I was raising the children.  With five of them it was noisy and filled with life.  Never quiet. We had a small plastic loaf of bread  filled with scripture strips which sat in the center of the table and every evening before we tucked into supper the children would take it in turn to pull a scripture out and read it. I the  little loaf was called Your Daily Bread or something like that.  I remember one night Bruce, the youngest who could not yet read, really wanted to pull one out. He did and proceeded to recite John 3:16.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." It was a scripture that he had already memorized.  We did not care what was really written on the paper. It was enough that he felt validated and included. 

What I wouldn't give to have him and his we family here to sit around  my table now, the three of them. This wee grandson I have never seen . . . I hope that one day he will know that he had a grandmother who always loved him even if she never got to meet him.

 

(source)

I had a lovely facetime with Doug and his boys yesterday.  Jon was putting a pie in the oven for his grandmother, Jake was waiting for his turn to play a video game on the computer, Josh was reading . . . even Charles Bingley (the dog) came to say hello. It was nice. Life gets really busy I know. I am grateful that they take the time to get in touch and share some of their busy days with me.  I treasure these moments.

I have not spoken to Eileen in a while.  Every time we speak she is so argumentative and so we just don't speak. I leave messages for her and she leaves messages for me. That is the happiest solution for us both. She was a bit upset the other day as I had to tell her that she couldn't share my Netflix any more. I had to choose one person to share it with and so I chose my sister.  I had to stop sharing it with my father as well, but he didn't mind.  Eileen was more upset about it. I told her that maybe if she asked her dad he could get them a Netflix account set up in their own name. I cannot afford to do that and to be honest between she and Tim they have a higher basic income than I have and pay a much lower rent. 

I don't blame Netflix for clamping down on account sharing. I don't think it will be long before the others follow suit.  When my contract for Bell television comes up in May I think I am going to get rid of cable tv entirely. I never watch it.  I only watch streaming channels.  During the daytime I mostly have music playing and at night I watch films or favorite shows on my streaming channels.

I think people's viewing habits are quite different now than they were in years gone by. 

And back to Eileen, maybe some day we will be able to spend time together without her being so argumentative, judgmental and stroppy, but in the meantime I just can't be dealing with it.

 

(source)

 And why take ye thought for raiment? 

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; 

they toil not, neither do they spin: 

 And yet I say unto you, 

That even Solomon in all his glory 

was not arrayed like one of these.

~Matthew 6:28-29

We were studying Matthew 6 and 7 in our Come Follow Me studies this week of the New Testament. I watch Don't Miss This on YouTube.  (David Butler and Emily Belle Freeman) They have the weekly lessons broken down into 5 day segments so that you can study a small bit each day with them. I like that idea and this new format. It is much easier for me to do it this way than to have to sit still for an hour or longer. This week Emily was talking about her first trip to Israel and seeing the Lilies of the field. They sounded just like poppies to me. I looked up Lilies of the Field in Israel and this image of poppies came up.  

I have always wanted to go to Israel and walk in the Savior's steps. My friends Audrey and Peter Lee did.  So did my friend Carolyn's husband Eric. I think the closest I will ever come to walking in the Savior's footsteps will be in walking through the scriptures with Him and in following His teachings. I used to think about someday walking along the Via Dolorosa (Latin for “Sorrowful Way” or “Way of Suffering”)  This is a route through the Old City of Jerusalem that is believed to be the path Jesus walked to his crucifixion. 

I am reminded of the trip we took to the South of France where we were able to visit Lourdes. Lourdes is a town in southwestern France, in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains. It’s known for the Sanctuaires Notre-Dame de Lourdes, or the Domain, a major Catholic pilgrimage site. Each year, millions visit the Grotto of Massabielle (Grotto of the Apparitions) where, in 1858, the Virgin Mary is said to have appeared to a local woman. In the grotto, pilgrims can drink or bathe in water flowing from a spring. Many healings are said to have taken place there.  

I really enjoyed the day we spent there.  Next to the Basilica and the grotto was a hillside which you could follow the Stations of the Cross  

There are three “Way of the Cross” in Lourdes, France. the High Stations, the Low Stations and the Stations in the Basilica of St Pius X. The High Stations is a one-mile path tracing the fifteen stations of Jesus Christ's suffering.  

We did the last one, The High Stations. It took us quite a while to do and I remember it being a very spiritual experience, as well as very tiring.  It was uphill for the first half mile, winding around the side of this small hillside, but the views out towards the Pyrenees were spectacular.  We were all very winded by the time we got to the pinnacle and then started on our way down. There was beautiful statuary at each station.

Thinking back on it now, how blessed was I to have been able to experience things like this. That little girl who used to pour through the geography books in the bookcase and dream was at least able to see a little bit of the world she once only dreamt of seeing.

I had wanted to visit Ireland, Venice, and Rome, Amsterdam and see the tulip fields, and to go to Copenhagen. Never got there, but I did get to see and experience some really beautiful places.  I can't complain!

I am not sure what I will get up to today. I think I am going to clean out the refrigerator. I find that I need to do that more often now that I live on my own. I try to use up all that I buy, but sometimes it just seems impossible.  The only solution is to go to the grocery store every day and buy just what I need for that one single day.  I am thinking about it.  

Some of  my friends are going to the Temple. I cannot bring myself to be able to go back to the Temple yet.  I always loved being in the Temple but those lovely feelings are now mixed in with feelings of total and utter betrayal by you know who. I think until I have totally dealt with the hurt and those negative thoughts I will not feel happy in the Temple. I do keep my Temple recommend up to date and I do have a new Temple dress that I purchased in hope and expectation.  I will get there eventually.

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

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

 *I was not looking for my dreams

to interpret my life,

but rather for my life to 

interpret my dreams.

~Susan Sontag•。★★ 。* 。 

In The English Kitchen today . . .  cheap and cheerful  . . .  Roasted Veggie Hot Dog Hash.  This was delicious and filled with lots of vegetables.  I enjoyed it with some baked beans on the side!

Have a beautiful day!  Be happy and blessed. Stay warm and stay safe. Don't forget! 

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And I do too!