All Things Nice . . .

 

 

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A little whirl-wind stirring up the leaves

The flare of crimson ivy on the eaves,

A coyote-colored field whose stooks are gone,

A little rose bush with red berries on.

A grass-rimmed pool, round as a tiny globe

Blue as the linen of the Virgin's robe,

A little rounded hill where sunlight pours

Making it seem like heaven out of doors.

A mackerel sky foretelling wind and cold

A clump of asters bright as Inca gold,

A chipmunk busy as a honey bee,

Storing his tiny harvest in a tree.

The smell of chili sauce and drying sage

A terraced garden lovely as a stage

Where little feathered people strut and preen

Like human children of the silver screen.

October is a gypsy with a shawl,

Holding the universe in willing thrawl.

~Edna Jacques, Fall

Roses in December, 1944

 

Are you sick of reading about October yet?  I hope not. I do believe that it is one of my favorite months of the year.  Summer is over and we are basking in these beautiful autumn weeks, with crisp sunny days and cool for sleeping nights.  Comfy. I so love them. Heat and humidity are not my friends, neither are mosquitoes and black flies.  That is what the summer brings to me, so I love it when the autumn comes around.  I do love the hummingbirds in summer and the beautiful flowers though.

But October with the geese flying south and the mountain near where I live turning all crimson and gold, and a mist rising above it from the cold waters of the Bay of Fundy.  That is such a beautiful thing to me.

I got a new set of paints this week from Amazon. I had seen them on Instagram.  I do not order from Instagram any more. Too many scammers on there, and if you get rooked, it can be really hard to find out where to return anything.  Amazon is much easier to return things if its not what you want.  

Anyways, I did a search and I found them on Amazon. I loved the bright colors. There are 50 pans of colors in the set. All very vivid. I have painted in the swatch card that came with it. It also came with a couple of brushes in the set, as well as a sponge and an additional set of Grabie brushes as well.  We will see how it goes.

My heart wants to paint, but life keeps getting in the way. As I was painting the swatch card I was fighting the cats.  They were very curious.  Cinnamon was practically laying on the paint box.  Nutmeg was trying to pull the water glass towards himself. He likes to play in water. He tried to grab the brush from me,  but when I told him no . . .  he stopped.

Cinnamon has been much more affectionate lately, although she still doesn't really want me to hold her. When she was really small she used to crawl up onto my chest and lay on her back and let me scratch her tummy. She doesn't do that anymore, but she has been laying next to me on the sofa lately and sleeping, treading, purring, letting me brush her.

She is my bedroom helper.  She likes to help me make my bed. I am not sure how much help she really is, but, in the mornings as soon as she sees me heading into the bedroom to make the bed, she is ahead of me, trotting along like a little puppy.  Up onto the bed she jumps in anticipation. She darts here and she darts there, pattering across the bed, back and forth, helping me pull up my sheets and blankets. Sometimes hiding underneath them.  It does not annoy me. I am just happy that she wants to help.

Yesterday was especially fun for her because it was change the bed day.  She really likes to get right in there. Its quite comical really.

I still have my little girl paintings that I had in the UK. I collected them years ago. They are by Kirsten Kramer. It was very easy to bring them over to Canada. I just took them out of their frames and put them in the suitcase.  Then, when I could afford it, I bought new frames and hung them back up again. 

As you can see, my brightly colored braided rug ended up in my bedroom. Because these homes are on slabs, the floors can get really cold. I love the spark of color it gives, and when I get up in the middle of the night my feet are not having to touch down on a cold floor.

This summer I managed to buy myself some room darkening curtains. I just had a sheet before and it didn't work very well at keeping out light. These are much better.  I should have taken a photograph when I had my pretty white linens on my bed with the ruffles instead of these bold ones dangit!

As you can see Lambie is nestled on the bench at the end of the bed with the little black Spaniel stuffie Val sent to me when I first arrived back here in Canada.  

Has anyone heard from Val lately?  I have not heard from her in a long while. That is the thing about the internet. People disappear and you don't know what happened to them. Like my friend Swedish Marie.  Just gone  . . . 

This is where we decided to put one of my new bookcases the other day. Next to the front door. It looks quite cozy there I think.  That door doesn't get used all that much so its okay. I usually go out via the garage. Luna is up on top along side of Dan's geranium. That bookcase holds all of my non-cooking books. Susan Branch, bible study books, scriptures, etc. There are a few spaces still.

I put the other one over by my TV stand. This one will house my vintagy older cookbooks for the most part. What can I say?  Books have always been my friends. They are a weakness of mine. Along with arts, crafts and food.

I was looking through the English Kitchen book that I wrote last night.  It was the first time I was able to look at it with eyes that could see the accomplishment that it held.  I don't think I have really seen it as anything special up to this point. I think I have been doing myself a great disservice in not seeing its worth.

People are always asking me if I am going to try to get it re-published. They would like to buy it. The publisher reverted all of the rights back to me several years ago now. When my brother was here, he helped me to get the manuscript off my old broken laptop.  I don't even know how to go about looking for a publisher. I have never sought out one before. They always came to me.

I think it would be nice, republished in two or three smaller volumes so that each was more affordable, although, having said that, it did very well as large and as expensive as the original was. I have the manuscript for the second one they were going to publish as well. The woman they had proof-read it said that it was one of the nicest books she had ever read.  I had included my seasonal writings, crafts and recipes in that one. 

I can remember as a child wanting to be a writer. I guess I have accomplished that in a way.

 

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I have been in a bit of a funk these last several years.  I think it is beginning to lift. The sad days are becoming fewer and further between. I still have my moments, but great progress has been made. I don't feel quite as fragile as I did. My life is about as perfect as it can be, I am afraid to say that just in case something goes wrong.  I have enough and it is all down to my faith and the providence of God, my family and good friends.  

I really missed my family when I as in the UK, but I was trying to make the best of a situation I had found myself stuck in. I had never planned on staying there for as long as I did. The original plan was only for two years and then we would both move back to Canada. I had no idea that there were mitigating circumstances that would prevent my husband from doing so. He had kept me in the dark.  And even when I was told he wouldn't be able to go, the reason was cloaked in more lies. But that is all in the past.

I am here now and I so enjoy these moments I get to spend with my father and my sister and yes, Dan.  The occasions I have to spend time with Eileen. My times with Anthony, Doug and their families. It is all good, so very, very good.

I tell myself I have no reason to be sad anymore, and for the most part that it true.  But every now and then the sadness wells up, but like I said, fewer and further between.  This life I am living is so much more than that life ever was.

Oh, I still miss my church family from over there . . .  Tina, Carolyn, etc. but here I have my real family and that is oh-so-much better. My cup truly runneth over with joy and with peace. The cracks and broken pieces are being mended with gold.

Have you watched the new film on Prime about Mr. Dressup?  Its ever so good.  Mr. Dressup was a huge part of my childhood.  Of course he was on a show called Butternut Square in the beginning and when I was really small, with Casey and Finnegan, and then it became Mr. Dressup.  I had no idea he started off with Mr. Rogers.  And actually Mr. Rogers was in Canada at the time also, for several years,  before he moved to Pittsburg in the US. I loved them both.  They made me, as a child, feel important and of value.  They made me believe that I could be and do anything I set my mind to being and doing. My own children also watched Mr. Dressup.  He was as Canadian as Maple Syrup and Beaver Tails. If you haven't watched it, I hope you will, especially if you loved him as a child like I did.

I am not sure if there is still anything like it on the television these days, but if there isn't, that is a real shame.

My daughter in law has been taking lovely Grad photos of Jon this past couple of weeks. It is hard to believe I have two grandsons that will be graduating from High School in the spring. Jon has hair I would die for. I have always wanted straight hair, instead of curls and frizz. Love all my grandsons.

On a sad note my ex Mother-In-Law passed away a week ago.  She was 96.  Elizabeth and I always got along so very well. She was one of the most accepting people I knew. She never judged anyone.  She enjoyed a challenge and saw the knocks in life as just such.  She had the most interesting scrap books. She loved genealogy, just like I do. We both loved old black and white films and would often watch the together.  She was just a dear, dear woman. When Doug and Kayla were down this past July, they went to see her in Berwick where she was living.  I know they are really thankful now that they took the time to visit and spend that time with her.

 

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This morning I came across these words from Thomas Monson: Love is the very essence of the gospel, the noblest attribute of the human soul.  Love is the remedy for ailing families, ill communities, and sick nations.  Love is a smile, a wave, a kind comment, and a compliment. Love is sacrifice, service, and selflessness.

Love is not a new concept, of course, but somehow this revelation came to me out of the ether, like a long forgotten dream. Showing love to others, whether in large or small ways, is always significant. There's a power in giving and receiving it that seems able to transform one's outlook or way of experiencing reality, even when nothing about the reality actually changes.   

I once read a biography of Mother Theresa and was deeply touched by the memories of her childhood, of her mother who kept the family table open to anyone who was hungry from their little Macedonian village.  I don't know if I'll ever live up to such an example of goodness, but I can see that it is in the giving of myself that I am strengthened to deal with the going's on of life, that something better and more beautiful happens when we find ways to reach out to others and let them know that we care.  

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

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★。* 。。* 。
 *Seek not outside yourself•。★★ 。* 。

Heaven is within.•。★★ 。* 。。* 。

~Mary Lou Cooke•。★★ 。* 。

•。★★ 。* 。•。★★ 。* 。  

In the English Kitchen today, Mostly Apple Cake.  A small batch recipe for a moist and spicy cake that is filled to overflowing with sweet chunks of apple and toasted pecans. A Maple Coffee Drizzle icing tops it.

I hope that you have a beautiful day and weekend, filled with loads of blessings and love.  Don't forget!

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And I do too!