All Things Nice . . .

 

(source)

I never knew a room could hold,

Such loveliness within its walls,

A little cupboard painted red,

Upon whose face the lamplight falls,

Making it glow with warmth and grace,

And casting shadows at its base.

A dainty China figurine,

An ugly little god of brass,

A garden done in miniature,

Holding a tiny tree of glass,

A bridge with doll-like figures on,

A path of gaily painted lawn.

And through a doorway you can glimpse,

 A kitchen done in yellow tile,

With copper kettles on the stove,

A willow teapot English style,

A window where a backyard shows,

With vegetables in tidy rows.

And over all these lovely things,

There's something else you cannot see,

A nameless charm and happiness,

An air of sweet serenity

As if the people living there,

Had found a jewel rich and rare.

As if its beauty were in part,

Reflected from a human heart.

~Edna Jaques, I Never Knew

The Golden Road, 1953

Oh how I love these poems penned so long ago by Edna Jaques.  She had the talent to capture the human life's experience with her words.  They hold a certain timelessness which rests in the flesh of every human heart. The need for family, hearth and home . . .  community, nature . . . a love and longing for simple things, simple pleasures, a simple life.  Simple values that never change. Faith, hope, charity . . . things which hold eternal charm.

These two are on chipmunk duty all day long.  They sit in front of the window giving it their rapt attention as it sits and grooms and suns itself on the front porch railing.  Its like he is teasing them and enjoying their watchful gaze and inability to touch him as he does so.

The other evening,  as my sister was leaving after having help clip their nails, we were both out on the porch and we could hear the rustle and crunch of little hands and teeth enjoying a few purloined peanuts.  Perhaps leftover from the day.  When we investigated, sure enough, there he was at the end of the railing, basking in the shadow of the window boxes, turning a nut over and about in his hands, and amiably munching away, master of his domain.

 

 

(source)

Enjoying  misty mornings where the dew lays heavy on the grass.  I do not notice it in the summer months so much. The sun is up and has dried it before I get to see it.  Now, with the shortening days, the sun hasn't the time to dry it up before I can enjoy it.  Spider webs caught in the crystal drops, gossamer threads adorning branch and leaf like little golden hanging bridges, sparkling in the early morning sun.

Soon, all too soon, with the dropping temperatures they will be caught in the icy grasp of Jack Frost's brush.  Indeed it was only 6 degrees here this morning, so a chill is in the air.  We soon will not be able to gad about in just our shirt sleeves.

(source)

I am looking forward to picking up Eileen a bit later on today. Her husband is going away overnight for his special Olympic training for the Winter games and she is coming to spend the night with me.  It will be fun.  We will play a game I guess. She is bringing one, a dominoes game.  We will laugh and perhaps watch a film.  Share some good food together.  A "girl's" night for us to both enjoy.  We see eye to eye on enough things that we enjoy each other's company.  This is a real treat for us both.

 

(source)

Out here in the rural area of Nova Scotia, there is not a lot of light pollution. On a clear and cloudless night, the sky is filled with stars.  Apparently we should be able to view the Northern Lights I am told, although I have not seen them here as of yet.  Perhaps if I was to leave the safety of my front room and to venture out onto the street?  

I remember many years ago, when I was living in Northern Alberta, we could lay in our bed and watch the Northern Lights paint their dance across the night skies above our house.  I had never seen such a thing.  I watch a girl on YouTube, Cecelia Blomdahl, who often posts videos of the Northern Lights taken from her home on Svalbard, an Island close to the North Pole. It is a fascinating life to be sure.  

 

(source)

What a magnificent world and time we live in. We now get to be spectators and enjoy glimpses into lives and places we could never have imagined before. Many wonders to behold. What would our grandparents think of this amazing technology we all take so much for granted.  They knew these things only from books. We can now see them all, as if in real time, from the comforts of our chairs. I love to explore new worlds in this way, to see how other people live, to travel to places and see them with my eyes, places once only dreamt of. My friend Val and her husband have spent this last week on a Norwegian Cruise and she has been posting lovely photos of her travels on Facebook. Norway was a place I had wanted to travel to.  

Norway, Sweden, Denmark . . . the Netherlands.  Greece, Italy, Ireland.  All places I have wanted to go in my lifetime, but never got to. As a child I used to study the pages of these countries in our home encyclopedia, and dream of perhaps one day visiting them.  I got close.  I have lost my taste for wanderlust now. I am content to stay where I am and am very much at peace with my surroundings, content for my travel now to be explored mostly from the comfort of my chair.  I get to sleep in my own bed each night, which is an extra special blessing.  There really is no place like home.

I will end today with this sweet story. I do not know if it is true or not, but it is sweet and I like to think that it is true.  Nature is full of magic tales such as this.  I do not think this is so far fetched as to be impossible, do you?

I am posting my all things nice post a day early this week as my daughter will be here tomorrow morning and I doubt I will have the chance to post again until Monday.  And then next week my brother will be visiting us from Ottawa, so I am not sure how much I will get posted then, perhaps only small catch-ups.

In the meantime I leave you with a thought to carry with you . . . 

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

 *.˛Even in a time of elephantine •。★★ 。* 。

vanity & greed, one never has to look far •。★★ 。* 。

to see the campfires of gentle people.•。★★ 。* 。

~Garrison Keillor•。★★ 。* 。•。★★ 。* 。

•。★★ 。* 。•。★★ 。* 。

 

 

In The English Kitchen today   . . .  Easy Spanish Rice.  Quite simply delicious.

I hope you have a beautiful weekend filled with nice things and abundance, with the things that matter most.  Don't forget!

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ 

⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════     


And I do too!