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.

 

From 2021

Getting together as a family to celebrate my sister's birthday.  We were going to have a belated Celebration here at my place Saturday evening, but my sister's cat Gary was doing very poorly and they didn't want to leave him.  Totally understandable.  So I piled everything into the car and drove over there to do it.  Dad was here when my sister called, and so he drove over as well. We had a somewhat subdued celebration, but at least we were together.

Gary passed away yesterday while we were eating supper.  He was such a character was Gary.  He was 19 years old and lived a good long life.  He was a very talkative cat. He liked to use his voice and he had a nice loud meow. 

Mom always said to me whenever I talked to her on the phone that he was shy, but he liked to have a treat of a tiny piece of her buttered toast every morning. Mom loved Gary. They are together now. Mom is keeping him safe for the time being.  I know there are people who don't think that people go to heaven, let along cats. I am not from that school of thought. I believe.

Anyways, he did not seem to be suffering which is good. Just slowly winding down.  Rest in peace Gary. Please spare a gentle thought for my sister today and her tender heart. I know it is broken.

 

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We have had some lovely hot and sunny days. A bit too humid for my liking, but that is summer.  When it is not humid, it is lovely. 

Sunday dinner at Cindy's yesterday, Dan cooked the roast on the BBQ. It was lovely as always. My sister always makes a nice Sunday dinner. I am so grateful to be included.

 

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Church on Sunday.  I sometimes need to force myself to go. Yesterday was just such a day.  I am always glad that I went.  I hadn't slept well on Saturday night and so I woke up an hour late. It was all go from there, but I got there on time.  The Sacrament talks were very good.  The last one was on Forgiveness and as you know I have struggled with that as of late.  And it was given by  an old acquaintance of mine that I had not seen in a very long time. It seemed meant to be and quieted my heart somewhat about things.

The lesson in Relief Society was given by my friend Christine and was based on President Henry B Eyring's talk from the last conference, Finding Personal Peace. 

Also meant to be.  Tender mercies. I had been tempted to stay home because I was late getting up but I am grateful that I pulled my socks up and made the effort to get there despite that, even if I wasn't as put together as I usually am.

Going to church is always worth it.

 

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Days out and about with my sister. I hope that she knows how much they mean to me. Any time spent with her means the world to me. I am so grateful that I have this easy relationship with her and that we get along so well together.  She is a great blessing in my life and something I thank my Heavenly Father for every night. I could not bear to be here without her. Of all the people in my life, I have to say my sister means the most to me. 

We used to argue a lot when we were teenagers, but that is just normal teenage siblings stuff. I am so grateful for her presence in my life and not just because she does things for me.  She is my best friend and always has been.  I love her very much.

 

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My summer is about to get very exciting!  My son Doug and his family are arriving on Friday.  They come over to the Ashram camp in Berwick every summer. It starts on Saturday. They are coming here on Friday and staying the night, and then will be off to the camp on Saturday morning.  Then Doug will be coming over off and on while the camp is on. He says he's not too interested in the camp activities, and then when the camp is done they plan on staying with me for a few days before they head back to the Island, so very exciting indeed!

Then of course, Eileen will be with me for 10 days not too long after that! It will be all go in my household in July!

I will finally have someone to play Slamwich with!!  I hope the boys enjoy it!

 

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Cindy and I are going out to lunch with our cousin Sheri on Wednesday. I am looking forward to that. Sheri wants to go to Jonny's so it looks like we will get our Jonny's this week for sure.  We have been planning on having lunch together with Sheri for quite a while now, its nice that it is finally going to happen. I have already told dad that I am going to skip supper out with him this week as I don't really want  or need to be eating out twice in one day. 

Family is just the greatest blessing in one's life. I know my family isn't perfect and I wish that some things were different, but I truly am blessed for the most part with a wonderful family.  I am truly grateful for that!

My life is a contented mix of things.  I have much to be grateful for.  I still have sad moments from time to time, but for the most part I am very happy with my life. It is a very full one and there is not a lot to be improved upon.  That scares me a bit.  I am afraid to be too happy  . . .  like I might jinx it by being so.  I will try not to think about that.

Just dwell on the good, the small and the wonderful  . . . and let the rest take care of itself. Life is composed of small and wonderful things and moments. They are the things which matter most.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

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

*With freedom, books, flowers

and the moon . . .

Who could not be happy?

~Oscar Wilde° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  I am sharing how to put together a cold plate. They are quite a tradition in the summer months here in the Maritime Provinces.

I hope that you have a beautiful day filled with lots of the things you love and that your week ahead will be a good one also. Whatever you get up to, don't forget!

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And I do too!