All Things Nice . . .

 

 

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As time goes on we gather up,

A hundred little odds and ends,

A pretty cup we like to use,

A parting gift from old-time friends,

A scalloped plate with roses on,

A handkerchief of snowy lawn.

As time goes on we plant a tree,

Or tend a child with loving care,

Take part in something in the church,

Win ribbons at a country fair,

Knit socks for someone overseas,

Rub ointment on a small boys knees.

As time goes on we learn to think,

In ways that take in all mankind,

Hearts soften up and we take on,

A new serenity of mind,

We grow more tolerant I guess,

Think more  . . .  expect a little less.

As time goes on  . . .  if we be true

We lean on peace and kindness more,

Old truths take on a finer glow,

We tend to set a higher store

On simpler things  . . . pretence and pride

Like outworn styles are set aside.

Thus in humility we move,

Down ever widening aisles of love.

~Edna Jaques, As Time Goes On

The Golden Road, 1953

I don't know how she does it, but every time I read a poem of Edna Jaques, it resonates with me. She wrote simple words but they speak to the soul of the human experience.  They speak to the soul of my human experience at any rate.  What think you? 

The air this week was filled with a million dreams and wishes  . . . all the dandelions have gone to fluff and their seeds were floating through the air like white downy flakes.  It will soon be apple and pear blossom petals.  How interesting that both the spring and the autumn can teach us about how beautiful it can be to just  . . . let  . . .  go . . . 

Letting go paves the way towards new beginnings.

The bleeding hearts are breaking out in song at the moment. So beautiful.  These are my next door neighbor Sheila's.  Such a pretty bush.

Last year she shared a piece with me.  It seems to be thriving. Not quite as large as hers, but full of beautiful little dangling hearts.  I  love seeing them.  I need to go and get some plants to put into my boxes.  Before all the nice ones are gone.

Not a great photograph, but I finished my pillow.  I am really pleased with how it turned out.  It certainly adds a pop of color to my sofa. A little homey touch.  That is what my home is lacking in. Small homey touches. The things that can only come from years of collecting and adding this type of thing. Otherwise your home just looks like a house. Clinical.  Little things like this add personality. They are like little pieces of your heart scattered throughout your home.

 

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I was reading a book that I love in bed last night,  Even This by Emily Belle Freeman.  I cannot tell you how many times I have read this book.  It is about getting to the place where you can trust God with anything. 

"We can't begin to understand the majesty of God

unless we are willing to meet Him in a place where

it can be made manifest."

In the chapter I was reading she was talking about how she had gone to some Youth meeting up in the mountains and how the day had turned very stormy. How at first she thought that they should all leave and go home, but she wasn't in charge and so she stayed. They moved their tables and chairs beneath a pavilion and carried on despite the nasty weather.  She was way out of her comfort zone.  But then lightening  lit up the sky and thunder clapped and they were treated to a spectacular light and sound show beneath the protection of the pavilion.  They would have missed this majestic experience had they all packed up and went home as soon as things became uncomfortable.

And I thought yes  . . . I have been to that hard place.  That place of great discomfort . . .  And I have wanted to leave, to be anyplace but there in the middle of the car-wreck. And yet now, looking back, I see clearly how it led me to a place where I had to trust in God.  Somehow through the devastation I ended up closer to God than I had ever been and I am so grateful for the place it led me to in my Spiritual journey.  He met me there in my place of sorrows and brought me through to a safe place for my soul.  I would never have found that same joy had it not been for having first experienced the place of great discomfort.  Trust.   I trusted Him.  I had no alternative but to trust Him. And now I know that I can trust Him in any thing.  That is a gift beyond measure.

 

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Remembering the sweet peas that grew beneath my kitchen window at Oak Cottage. I love, LOVE sweet peas. They look like little butterflies ready to take flight.  They smell phenomenal.  That was such a pretty cottage. I loved living there.  I know that I also worked incredibly hard when I was living there, but getting to live in that beautiful environment was the bonus from all that hard work.

Not many people can say that they got to live in a beautiful old cottage tucked into a Manor Estate in the Garden of England.  At least not many from where I come from. I have been blessed to experience some pretty wonderful things in my life.

I think that is one of the things in life which can bring joy to the core of our living.  Being able to look past the bad and sink into the good.  If we allow ourselves to, we can find the joy. Its a matter of perspective, and yes . . .  very much a choice.

For all of my growing up years and the first half of my adult life I was called Alice. My family still calls me Alice.  It was when my second marriage was breaking up and I was distancing myself from what was a very toxic environment and relationship that I decided to use my first name Marie.  Because, well . . .  Alice didn't live there anymore.  It was a name I associated very much with pain and abuse, and now, except for my family, I go by Marie. It is my first given name after all.  

And yet, if I hear my ex husband call me Marie, I cringe inside. I think that's because my life as Marie is a life I have not really wanted him to have any influence or impact on. But life doesn't work that way really, does it . . .  You cannot change your name and think that the past will be erased with it.  You carry the past with you into all of your futures. It is a part of what makes you you I guess.  But I do love the name Marie. 

Funny that, my mother's name was Mary. My sister's first name is Mary. My Grandmother's name was Marie, my first name was Marie.  Too many Mary's I guess and so my sister grew up being known as Cindy and I was always Alice.

Its  a French Catholic thing, just like all the boy's first names are Joseph.  My father is Joseph Antoine, my brother, Joseph Anthony David.

 

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Mom always said it was bad luck to have Ivy inside a house.  She was a very superstitious person, was my mother. She would not have Ivy in the house and used to pray when she saw one crow that she would soon see another. "One crow sorrow two crows joy."  We grew up surrounded by old wives tales and superstitions.  "Knives and spoons bring pantaloons, and spoons bring gentle ladies."  The dropping of a piece of cutlery had an impact on who your next visitor would be, and if you spilt the salt you had to immediately throw a pinch over your shoulder.  Oh, and whenever you said something good, or wished for something good, you had to "knock on wood," lest you jinx your good luck or fortune.  I still find myself knocking on wood.

Funny that. It is hard to change a lifetime of habits.

 

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This is Sissinghurst in Kent. 

I always loved visiting the gardens

at Sissinghurst

I now have a working heat pump.  The electrician came yesterday afternoon to fix it.  It was late in the afternoon.  I had almost given up thinking he was going to show up, but he finally did.  A very nice young man. It ended up being a bit more complicated than he thought it was going to be, but he got the job done. Now you would never even know it is on when it is turned on. It is so quiet.  That is how it should have been all along.   My sister kept telling me it was far noisier than it should have been, right from the get go.  She was right.

It is a beautiful sunny day out there today. Yesterday it was very overcast and quite cold.  Today is supposed to be warmer and tomorrow is going to be the warmest day of all.  Dan is going to detail my car tomorrow while I am at church. I am driving my car to theirs, and he will drop me off at church, go back and do my car and then come back to pick me up afterwards and I will have a shiny clean car, inside and out. He knows how to do it right. One of his first jobs when he came down here to Nova Scotia was detailing cars.  He does a fabulous job.  

Dan and Cindy are a great blessing in my life. I am so grateful for them both. Everyone should have a Dan and a Cindy in their lives.

And with that I best leave you with a thought for today!

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

 *Kindness begins with

the understanding that we all struggle.

~Charles F Glassman•。★★ 。* 。

In The English Kitchen today  . . . Coconut Cookie Bars, the small batch. Oh my goodness but these are some tasty!  Chewy, nutty, caramel-like and stuffed with chocolate chips.

I hope that you have a beautiful weekend! Whatever you get up to, don't forget!

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And I do too!