All Things Nice . . .

 

(source)

Sunlight is such a lovely word

And means so much to beast and bird

And creeping things upon he earth,

It is old wood upon a hearth,

A sun porch where red roses twine

As lovely as a valentine.

An orchard where old twisted boughs

Bask in the sun . . . and open mows

Are filled with fragrance to the brim,

And purple shadows cool and dim

Where swallows hurry in and out,

And new-born kittens prowl about.

Sunlight is oil in shaly beds,

Deep in the earth . . . and watersheds

Holding their moisture in the store

Of Nature's spongy reservoir

Where moss and tangled vines are thick

Along a hidden swampy creek.

Sunlight is color . . . reds and blues

An arching rainbow's seven hues,

The sky above a maple tree

The emerald darkness of the sea . . . 

A patch of sunlit window sill,

As golden as a daffodil.

~Edna Jaques, Sunlight

Fireside Poems, 1950

(This is the book that started off

my love for Edna, back when I 

was just a child.)

 It must have been a sign way back when, when I was a child taking this green covered volume of poems from my mother's bookcase again and again to read, a sign that I was a tad bit different.  I was becoming a person that enjoyed small things, tender things, simple joys in life, poetic things, words. Words that painted poetic pictures in my mind and my heart.

 

Life in a Small Town

I live in a very small town. I don't know what the population is.  I just checked, it was 1,873 in the 2021 census. That's less than I thought it would be, but it was up 2.2% from 2016!  I guess it just seems larger than life to me.

We lived here for a time when I was age 13 to 15. Not the happiest years of  my life actually, but that's a whole other story.

Life in a small town is quite nice actually. We have characters and heart, and we probably end up knowing just about everyone.  Your cousin owns the pizza place, your other cousin works in Home Hardware with a host of other relatives you never knew you had and your daughter works in the drugstore.  And  . . . 

When the  knob of your clothes dryer breaks just when you are putting a  load of bedding into it, a guy from the local hardware store drives over and hand delivers a new knob for you and installs it, all for the cost of the knob. I like this town.

This is a  monument that sits in the park in our town. It is a  monument to the Loyalists who first settled this town in the 1750's.  Timothy Ruggles and Samuel Bayard of the King's Orange Rangers and Major Thomas Barclay of the Loyal American Regiment.

Timothy Ruggles was my 6th Great Grandfather.  Timothy Dwight Ruggles (October 20, 1711 – August 4, 1795) was an American colonial military leader (Brigadier General), jurist, and politician. He was a delegate to the Stamp Act Congress of 1765 and later a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War.  His wife, Bathsheba (my 6th Great Grandmother) was a direct descendant (great great granddaughter) of Elizabeth Tilley and John Howland, both of whom came to American on the Mayflower.

He is buried in the graveyard on the Eastward side of the Old Trinity church here in town.  He is also the ancestor of my friend Glenna, who lives across the street from me.

From Wikipedia:

Ruggles was born on October 20, 1711 to Rev. Timothy Ruggles.  He was grandson of Capt. Samuel Ruggles of Roxbury and Martha Woodbridge, who was a granddaughter of Governor Thomas Dudley. He graduated from Harvard in 1732; studied law, and established himself in practice in Rochester. In 1735 he married Mrs. Bathsheba Newcomb, widow of William Newcomb and the daughter of the Hon. Melatiah Bourne of Sandwich, Massachusetts. He was a military officer during the French and Indian War, rising to the rank of brigadier general in 1758.

He served multiple terms in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and was its speaker from 1762 to 1764. He participated in the October 1765 Stamp Act Congress as a representative of the Massachusetts General Court and was elected its president. Called to devise a common colonial response to the Parliament's 1765 Stamp Act, Ruggles refused to sign both the Declaration of Rights and Grievances sent by the Congress to King George III and the accompanying petitions sent to both Houses of Parliament. That made him become publicly censured by the General Court. 

 He subsequently became one of the leading Tories of New England. He commanded the Loyal American Association and was a Mandamus Councilor appointed by General Gage in Boston. 

 From the outset of the American Revolutionary War in 1775, he stood with the Loyalists, left Boston soon thereafter for Nova Scotia with the British troops, and accompanied Lord Howe to Staten Island. His estates were confiscated, and he was named in the Massachusetts Banishment Act. In 1779, he received a grant of 10,000 acres  of land in Wilmot, Nova Scotia, where he settled.

His daughter Bathsheba Spooner was the first woman to be executed in the newly-independent United States of America. Hung while she was 5 months pregnant. That in itself is a very interesting story. If you have time you should click the link and read. Her case was the first Capital case in US History.

And now you know more about Timothy Dwight Ruggles than you ever thought you would, lol.

And it all started with a new knob for my dryer.

I took this picture of Eileen enjoying her burger at lunch the other day.  She is a happy soul most of the time.  We were making plans for the things we are going to do when she comes to stay here in July.  Tim will be away to Ontario with his mother for 10 days.   She had a delicious looking burger. It had apple butter on it and sliced apple, which was quite unusual.

Tim had his usual fish and chips. He loves his fish and chips. (I can understand that!)  Its quite good at Jonny's.  Usually he has two pieces, but having had them there just the week before I talked him into having just one as two would have been too much for him to eat.  Afterwards I got them each a small ice cream to enjoy in the car.  The small one was HUGE. I don't think either one of them could have eaten a regular or a large. It was two scoops of hard ice cream and they chose to have it in bowls rather than a cone because we were going to be in the car.  

We all enjoyed out lunch out together very much! I love this daughter of mine so very much and am so grateful that we are now getting along a lot better.  That is a great blessing to me.

(source)

We are getting some very much needed rain this morning, and it rained last night as well. Hopefully this will help with the fires.  It is a steady rain at any rate, but probably not as heavy as what is needed to really make an appreciable difference.

I never did hear from my daughter directly in answer to my message to her, but my other daughter did message her to ask if they were okay and she answered her that they were, so that is good.

 

(school cafeteria pizza)

We had a really nice celebration for Dan's birthday at my sister's last evening.  My sister had made homemade pizza and salad and she had made a delicious double chocolate cake for dessert.  It was really good, all of it and Dan was  most appreciative of all the efforts made and for your Birthday greetings to him on here.  Family times are indeed the best of times and I am so grateful  now to be enjoying so many of them. This was something I really missed for the time I was living away. They are priceless.

Diadamy is getting ready to play ball. She has her summer shorts on and has her hair up in pigtails.  She is just waiting for the rain to stop. It is no good telling her that we need it to keep raining. She's just a child and only really wants to get outside to play with her ball.  Oh well Diadamy. Guess you will have to get your head stuck into a good book today.  It won't be raining forever.

I wonder what book she will read?  Perhaps my favorite book from my childhood, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, or maybe she will continue on with Little Women.  She really relates to Jo.

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

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

 *To love oneself is

the beginning of a lifelong romance.

~Oscar Wilde•。★★ 。* 。•。★★ 。* 。

 

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Cherry Topped Fairy Cakes.  Delicious and simple to  make. Charming!

I hope you have a beautiful weekend!  I hope its filled with loads of nice and lots of blessings!  Don't forget!

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⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿

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And I do too!