All Things Nice . . .

 

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I like an old tea kettle

Sort of singing on the stove;

Petunias in a window -box

Cerise and pink and mauve;

An old dog dozing on the step,

One eye half opened like;

A little boy a-riding by

On an old red bike.

I like to hear the birds at dawn

Chirpin' for all they're worth,

Digging for worms and bits of green

In the fresh morning earth;

The breakfast fires being lit,

Their smoke ascending high,

Spirals of hope that daily rise

Into the morning sky.

I like a clothesline by a lawn

Where little panties blow,

Where kids with sturdy arms and legs,

Sleep and eat and grow;

The little homes of common folk.

Carpenters, clerks, and such,

The patient workers of the world

Who matter, oh, so much.

A little house with four square walls

A bird-house painted red,

A father going off to work,

To earn the daily bread;

The mother faithful to her task,

A cobbled walk and gate --

These are the things, which, when added up,

Make common living great.

~Edna Jaques, Homey Things

Back Door Neighbors, 1946

Sometimes I think I was born fifty years too late.  This modern world does not speak as much to my heart as do the years of yesteryear.  I read words like these and the picture painted in them pulls at my heart strings and takes me back to my childhood.  What must it have been like to have been an adult in those days and times, or the times of my grandmother. Simple, simple times.  They worked hard. Lived with less. Were for the most part content and satisfied. or is that just the picture my rose colored glasses paint?  I suppose it is easy to look to the past and romanticize it in a way. They probably did the same.

 

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Quite a number of years ago, someone left some very unkind words in my comments here, more or less to the effect that I was going to die alone, lonely and unloved.  I am not sure why, but those words came to me last night when I was getting into bed, and I pondered them in my mind. 

We live in a day and an age where anyone can say whatever they like to you, hiding who they are within the protection of the internet, and you have only your imagination to figure out who it is. The comments are rantings and unmerited, and more often than  not have more to say about the person who is making them than they do about the person they are directed to.

I have often found myself being very grateful that I am not a famous person who is subjected to the rants and raves of people like this on a daily basis. I do not know how they do it.  These words can cut and wound so deeply.

Anyways, I was thinking on these words,  and I thought yes . . .  I will probably die alone. I live alone with naught but my cats to comfort and keep me company.  But I am very much loved and I am not lonely by any stretch.  I am surrounded by the love of family and friends. If the past few years have not proven this to me, I don't know what will!  I have been deeply blessed!

And then I took out this newest book I am reading by Emily Belle Freeman, "From Grace to Charity."  Right there in Chapter two these words "You are not alone in this."  SLAP! 

I will never die alone. I have taken his yoke upon me.  I have come unto Him, who promises me that He will never leave me alone or forsaken. He, who has given me rest from what wearied me, from the heavy things, and walked the path with me.  I. AM. NEVER. ALONE.

 

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Soon now, if all the buds peeking up out of the ground are to be believed, and the buds on the trees, etc.  . . .  the earth is about to laugh with us in flowers.  I love flowers.  I am a flower/blossom kind of a girl.  My eye is drawn to things which are flowery and girly and pink and just loaded with blooms. I think I need to get some plants in the house, but not real ones because the cats would probably chew them and I don't want them to get sick or worse.  But maybe some good artificial ones.

I have seen some great potted plants on Amazon that are artificial and look quite nice. Maybe I will start there, with one every now and then.  And perhaps a vase of nice artificial flowers for on the dining room table.  That is what this place needs now.

On a side note, how pretty are these porcelain spoons. You would hate to use them for fear of them breaking.  And that little cream jug. Again, so pretty  . . . 

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Oh how I love these little Scandinavian homes. They are so cute and well appointed. I am surmising that they are summer homes because most of the ones I have seen are on a lake front. Wouldn't you just love to be able to wander through this one?  

When I was younger I used to think a lot about decorating my home. I went through a stage where I was very much into what they called Primitive style. All shaker wooden furniture, simple lines, red, whites and blues for accent colors. My father's second wife's daughter (now that's a mouthful) had a home not too far from here that was decorated in such a style and I was quite envious of it.  

I love all white furniture, and haha, I have nothing all white. When it came to furnishing this place I had to pick from what was available locally and nothing was white. It was all dark. My only white piece is my fireplace.  White is nice and airy.  I have what I have now and I am content.

But this little cottage is so cute and sweet. I can be very happy with admiring from afar. I don't need more than that.

 

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I was able to drop off some Easter goodies to Eileen and Tim yesterday. They were all smiles, especially Eileen. I am going to take them out to lunch in about two weeks time. They have agreed to wear masks in the car. That will have to do.  I had some chocolate bunnies for them and some marshmallow peeps, but now I am reading all the negativity about peeps and the dye used in them and I am hoping I have not done more harm than good. It is to do with the dyes used to give them their bright colors.  I have read that they can cause cancer.  Here's hoping not.

It was good to see them however. I have not seen them in person in a very long time now. I have seen them from afar, walking down the street and we always wave to each other.  Eileen and I used to talk every day, but it got to be far too argumentative. She can be very stubborn, and I suppose I am stubborn too.  Anyways, it is much better this way with only occasional messaging and I know we will enjoy our lunch together.  

Sometimes you need to take a step back for a while and let things settle down. That is what I did and now things are better.

  

 

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Is this not the cutest little bedroom alcove. It looks very comfortable and I love the window and the French doors. 

I would like to do something like that with my bed. Layer it like that, with different fabrics and throws. Right now I have a white quilted cover/bed spread. I also have a throw that I keep thrown onto the center of it, which usually looks very pretty.

However a lot of the time it also looks like this. haha  You just have to smile.  He thinks I can't see him.  Like an ostrich with its head in the sand.  If you lift up the corner and peek in, his eyes are peeking back at you.  I  know you can't do that, but I could and I did and it was very funny.

I know that they are a bit of a responsibility, but choosing to invite these two fur babies into my life was probably one of the best choices I made.

 

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Cindy  invited me over for supper last night and I jumped at the chance. (See very much not alone or lonely.)  She had made homemade meat pies.  Oh boy but they were some good. She also roasted some brussels sprouts with parmesan cheese, had some scalloped potatoes and also peas/corn. It was a  mighty fine supper.

We all love meat pie. Her pastry is always so flaky, melt-in-the-mouth. My sister is so good to all of us. She is a treasure.  I am so appreciative of her.

 This is a photograph she took the other day in the ice storm of some Evening Grosbeaks that had stopped in a fir tree next to her house. I know she won't mind me sharing it with you. Apparently there was a whole flock of them. There is some small seed thing that appears on the tree early in the spring and they were enjoying them.  There was also some cedar waxwings there later on. There is a lot of wildlife around her place.  She gets deer and all sorts. 

I did not get ice like that here where I live.  I am across the river. I don't know if that makes a difference or not, but quite often it will be raining or snowing where she is and not where I am and vice versa and yet we live within five or ten minutes of each other.

Funny how that goes.

 

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Tomorrow we will be celebrating the glorious wonder of the risen Christ.  It is a much different celebration for me these days than in days gone by. When the children were growing up it was marked with Easter Egg Hunts, and chocolate bunnies.  When I was a child, it was much the same except our Easter Eggs were all in a bowl on the table.  Now that I am on my own, there are no Easter Eggs and I am free to spend the day reflecting on the true meaning of Easter, with all of its miracles and wonders. 

We are having a special Easter program at church and I am one of the two narrators.  I am going to spend some of today practicing the word "Sepulchre."  That is a hard word to say and I have to say it more than once!

All this week I have been following along each day with the Easter Holy Week program through the church. Each day we read scriptures and pondered on what that day meant for Christ and His disciples each day of this week, having started on Palm Sunday. Yesterday was sad because it was the day that marked the crucifixion of Christ. And yet at the same time it was joyful because of the gift that it was.  And tomorrow we get to celebrate that gift in a meaningful way.

And with that, I best get on with my day because I am fast running out of time!!

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

•。★★ 。* 。

° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

  ˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛

 ˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*Life forms illogical patterns.

It is haphazard and full of beauties

which I try to catch as they fly by,

for who knows whether

any of them will ever return.

~Margot Fonteyn•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  a tasty Dutch Boterkoek.  This is a simple cake which is a cross between a cake and a pastry and beautifully flavored with almond. Buttery and delicious, and very quick and easy to make!

I hope you have a beautiful Saturday and I wish for you a wonderfully Happy Easter. Be happy and be blessed. Don't forget! 

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And I do too!