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I think of all the little unborn things
That lie in the warm darkness of the womb,
Whose tiny limbs will one day find the light --
The little nubs of flowers that will bloom
And tiny seeds that now lie gummed and sealed
Buried beneath the cold soil of a field.
The patient cattle heavy with their young,
Sleep in the quiet darkness of a stall,
A cat or two perched on their furry backs;
Outside a night-bird sends an eerie call
Across the frozen valley white and dim
To its far mate who softly answers him.
The fields lie buried under banks of snow,
Locked in the icy grip of wind and cold,
The little seedlings dormant as a stone
Lie brown and snug within the earth -- yet hold
The living germ of life of their own kind
Like precious caskets furred and velvet lined.
Slowly as one who rises from a sleep
The Earth will quicken as the spring draws nigh
And all the little new-born ones will frisk
Among the meadows --where an April sky
Smiles like a bride upon her wedding day
When all this snow and cold have gone away.
~Edna Jacques, Late Winter
The Hills of Home, 1946
Spring. It will be here more sooner than later. Winter will soon be on the wane. I became aware of this poem when someone wrote to me asking me if I knew of it. A centenarian friend of theirs had remembered memorizing it at school. She wanted to find the poem so she could gift her friend with it. Knowing that I had somewhat of a collection of Edna Jacques volumes of poetry she reached out to me. At first I could not find it. I searched high and low but it eluded me. But then, someone mentioned Edna's book, The Hills of Home, and I checked and there is was on page 14. It seemed appropriate to share at this time of year, when all our minds are full of dreams of Spring . . . and so I have.
There was a knock on my door, early in the evening the other night. I answered it and there were three Young Women from my church congregation standing on my deck. They had a small gift for me. Something to brighten up my Winter days. It was a mug, decorated with some tinsel, holding a pair of warm socks, some candy bars, two candy canes and a battery operated tea-light candle. There was also a pretty snowflake hanger. On the back was written
"A true friend isn't someone we've chosen for ourselves, but rather someone God has placed in our lives for a purpose."
They visited for a few minutes, getting acquainted with the cats, etc. and then they were on their way. It was nice to be thought of in this special way.
Oddly enough this was something which had come up in my studies of the BOM earlier in the week. About how God places people in your lives for specific purposes, and I thought of all the people He had placed in mine. People who I love dearly, who were not so randomly placed into my life. After what happened in late 2000 I could see clearly how they had been put into my life for just such a purpose and I was so grateful, not only for them, but for a God who knew the end from the beginning and made sure that I was cared for.
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Yesterday Cindy and I enjoyed an impromptu lunch out together. We have spent so much time running around after my father, especially Cindy, these past few weeks, I felt we were due a bit of an indulgence for just us. We just went to the restaurant that is around the corner from me. We had fish and chips as neither of us had had any for a while, and it was very good. Best of all was the company. Cindy got up to go to the bathroom just prior to our leaving and, as she was walking away, I was touched by how very much I love this dear sister of mine and my eyes and heart were pricked with tears at the depth of it. Oh how grateful I am that God gifted me with this special soul in my life. What a blessing. After we left there we went to the grocery store and picked us each up some dessert. A piece of Brownie Cheesecake. At half the cost of a restaurant slice, and twice the size. We went back to hers and enjoyed it sitting at mom's dining room table. I am sure mom smiled down at us as we sat there enjoying ourselves and each other. I know that it makes my father very happy to see how close we are and I know it would have made mom very happy also. Heck, it makes me very happy!
Oh how very much I am enjoying the program "All Creatures Great and Small." I am very late to the party when it comes to this show. I am watching an episode of it pretty much every night and am still on series two. When I watch it I am taken back to the holidays taken in the Yorkshire Dales and the small villages and rolling countryside that we enjoyed on those holidays. It is such a beautiful part of the country, but I felt that all of England was beautiful once you got outside the cities.
We took some lovely walks on those holidays. Ate some really nice food in some lovely pubs. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to visit this area of great beauty. It seems a lifetime ago now . . .
This next Wednesday will be Valentines day. I sent out a little packages to a dear friend as a surprise for them over a week ago, but do not know if it has arrived or not. The tracking says it has been delivered, but I have not heard, which is highly unusual. I am thinking maybe the box was so small it got lost on the doorstep? Or maybe someone stole it? I have heard of that happening. People stealing packages, especially in larger urban areas. Its a shame but there is not much one can do about it.
One thing I noticed when I was checking the receipt for this package was that the Post Office is now adding a special carbon tax fee for the use of a truck on the bill. I had not noticed that before.
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It hardly seems possible but it has been almost 15 years since I flew out to Utah and then travelled up to Idaho to watch our Eileen in the International Winter Special Olympics. What a wonderful trip that was. I had never seen Eileen compete before. I was so proud of her. In another week or so Tim will be travelling out to Calgary to go to the nationals and Eileen will be coming to stay with me while he is away. I am looking forward to that. I wonder what she will think of the new sofa? It is so comfy! Last time she stayed with me we watched the whole series of The Chosen together. I wonder what we will watch this time. Maybe Love on the Spectrum. I think she might enjoy that show.
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Now, within the deep heart of Winter, I settle down each evening with my favorites. I love the story of Jane Eyre and the Little Women. Emmeline is a much newer book, but also a much beloved friend. I recently purchased a used copy of The Dollmaker, which was made into a film back in the 1980's I believe, with Jane Fonda in the starring role. Quite a departure for her from her usual roles, but very good.
In Winter, there is nothing more comforting than sitting back with a blanket on your lap, a cat beside you, and a good friend in your hands. All that is missing here is the crackle and snap of a woodfire. I make do with my electric fire, and it is pretty, but lacks the true delights of a real one. I know many do not care for a real fire, because of the mess that comes along with it, but I am not bothered by the mess. The delights far outweigh any of that in my mind.
Electric flickers it is and the smell of a candle which is supposed to smell like woodsmoke, and strangely, it does. I wonder at how they manage to capture that essence . . . and yet, they do.
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Today I will put the finishing touches on my lesson for tomorrow. I hope it goes well. I have it all planned but just need to retype it and then print it out legibly. I find that writing it out in long hand suits me when I am first planning it, but for delivery I prefer it all neatly typed up. I have sharing quotes to type up as well and print out. I hope that it goes well. One is always torn between wanting it to go well (that is the ego speaking) and wanting it to be so poorly delivered that they don't ask you again, haha!
Most importantly is that I sleep well tonight so that I am well rested in the morning. Fingers crossed!
And with that I best leave you with a thought for the day. Time is marching on!
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
*Love at first sight is easy to understand,
it's when two people have been° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
looking at each other for a lifetime° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
that it becomes a miracle.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
~Sam Levenson° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
In The English Kitchen today . . . English Tea Cakes. Not buns or cakes but beautiful little crispy edged golden, nut topped cookies with an almost shortbread-like texture. Truly moreishly delicious! Very nice.
I hope you have a beautiful weekend! Stay safe, be happy, and don't forget!
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