"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.
Dinners with the family. Dan had been planning on taking us all out to Boston Pizza for dinner for months. The day finally came on Saturday. We all drove up and did a bit of shopping in the area and then went to the restaurant for a beautiful late lunch/early supper. It was so kind and generous of Dan to take us. The food was really good, the atmosphere was really good and the company was the best! This is dad enjoying his mini pizza that he got. Oh how I love my family!
And we got to do it again yesterday at my sister's for Sunday dinner. She roasted a small chicken and we had that with scalloped potatoes and vegetables. Again, great food and wonderful company. Family. Its everything to me.
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We had a bit more snow at the weekend, a couple of light dustings. I don't mind at all. I know we need it and a bit more before Winter ends. This will help to keep the moisture in the ground and hopefully we won't have the fires that we had last summer, which were devastating to a lot of people. Thankfully here in the valley where I live we were not impacted directly by them, with the exception of the smoke, but that's not to say another time we wouldn't be. It is snowing again here this morning. Soft fluffy flakes that get on your "cheeks and eyelashes." Tender white snowflakes that melt into spring.
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I got myself a little Keurig machine. Its just a small one. We had one in the U.K. and it made the best hot chocolate. You can get hot chocolate pods and hot apple drink pods, aside from the regular coffee ones. I did get in a few coffee pods for visitors, but I have my hot chocolate and Tim Horton's Apple drink ones and they are lovely. I never have more than one hot drink a day and most of the time not even every day, but it is a treat to be able to enjoy a nice one in the comfort of my own home.
This is the look I get when its feeding time in the zoo. This starts about half an hour ahead of time. The stares and the meows. Willing me to get up and feed him. Its so funny. Then of course as soon as I do get up he starts turning around in circles and being very obviously happy with his accomplishment of gaining a positive result. He is so cute.
As soon as I turn my white noise machine off in the morning I can hear him outside my bedroom door. Who knows how long he has been there waiting. It doesn't matter what time I wake up. Perhaps he stays there all night, I don't know, the noise machine thankfully drowns him out, lol.
For years and years I wore ear plugs. For the last few years I have had this white noise machine and I would not be without it. My sister said, why are you still wearing ear plugs? Why indeed. DUH. I stopped wearing them about six months ago. I love and sleep by myself. Why do I need ear plugs??
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I have discovered a new poet on Instagram. Her name is Jessica Jocelyn and I love her words. A lot of them resonate with me. Oh, I do so love poetry. But you know that already.
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I am going to enjoy these last days of snow before the thaw begins. I just had to call my dad to make sure he was awake. (He likes me to do that every morning.) He was not happy that it was snowing. He hates the snow. I get that. But, I said to him, be happy you don't need to go anywhere today. Its a holiday and the mall is closed, so he won't be going out for his breakfast, instead having it at home, which I know he doesn't really like either. But at least there is nothing forcing him to go out into the snow so he can just relax at home and have a quiet day with his books and tv.
He bought himself a bed on Saturday. One step closer to moving to my sister's. He has been wanting one of those beds that you can raise and lower with a remote. (Not sure what they are called.) He got one and they are holding it for three months. Its a single bed. He was quite pleased about that. He has wanted one for a long time.
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I am so grateful for the steadying influence of the faith I have in God in my life. The wolf may rage at the door, but here, in my heart and in my home, my faith in God lives and rules. It brings me stability and peace, and helps, always, to calm my mind and my fears. It really does bring me joy and I am grateful for that. Without it I would have snapped and been broken irrevocably a long time ago.
I am enjoying the 40 days of Prayer for Lent on my Hallow app. I am not a Catholic, as you know, but anything that brings you into a closer relationship with God is good as far as I am concerned. I am able to embrace the goodness of many faiths. At night I pray the Bedtime Shema along with my own heartfelt prayers. Often over the past few years, praying the rosary has brought peace and comfort to my heart when I could not find my own words to pray. Its all good.
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Grateful for the blessings of modern technology which helps us to stay close to and in touch with each other.
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Do you realize that it has been four years since Covid imposed itself upon us? Hard to believe. I can remember how frightened I was when it first because clear that we were living in a Pandemic. Trying to be and remain hopeful amidst all of the uncertainty. I am so grateful that I was able to get through it and live to tell the tale. What a scary time. I am still very cautious, but not as afraid as I was back then. As we all were. We, who survived, are the lucky ones. Even though it was scary and hard there were some good things. Like the way communities stood together to support our health care system, and each other, with back yard clapping and a sense of unity that was beautiful. I can remember standing in my back garden and clapping and hearing the voices and claps of others echoing in the air, and feeling so not alone in all of it. The way people in the community stepped up to help each other as best as they could. That was lovely. My next door neighbor was always buying us bread and milk. Our church sent out care baskets with water, and toilet paper and little paper bags of the most beautiful strawberries I have ever eaten. It was a scary time, but it was also a time that helped me to see the good that is so prevalent in our world as well. Sometimes we can allow the darkness to overshadow the light. But the light is always there for those who actively seek it.
I am grateful to be a seeker of light.
And with that I best leave you with a thought for the day.
A thought to carry with you . . .
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
*Each day comes
bearing its own gifts.
Untie the ribbons.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
(From my ME Calendar at the weekend. I loved it!)
In The English Kitchen today . . . Dry Rub Roasted Sweet Potatoes, served with a Green Bean Slaw. I was testing out the camera on my iPhone. I am still playing with it, but I was very pleased with the pictures it took of this, and I was really pleased with the recipe also. From Smitten Kitchen. It was delicious!
I hope you have a beautiful day. Its a bank holiday here. Family Reconciliation day. I guess it is President's Day in America. Whatever you do today, be happy and be blessed. Don't forget!
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