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Monday, 26 February 2024

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.




Family times.  Dinner at Cindy's yesterday. Dad and Eileen sitting on the sofa enjoying each other's company. I have been enjoying Eileen's company.  We haven't done a whole lot.  We spent Saturday settling in and then we watched a movie Saturday night.  Crossroads with Britney Spears. I had not seen it before and it wasn't all that bad.  Church yesterday. Then we went to my sister's for supper.  In the evening we facetimed with my brother and that was fun also.  Its just nice spending to spend this time together.



Tim got to Calgary okay. This is him at the airport with a horse. Eileen thought this photograph was so funny. Tim sent it to her. I think its a good one of Tim. He is there representing Nova Scotia in the National Special Olympics Winter Games. He will be cross country skiing.  I hope he has a wonderful time. So far it looks like he is enjoying himself and that they have gotten a warm welcome from Calgary!




Nutmeg just doesn't know what all of the fuss in about. Just give me the treats he says! Just give me the treats!  I am so grateful for these two furry felines. They have added a beautiful dimension to my life that I otherwise would not have been able to experience.




Journaling my way through Advent. I am following the Advent prayer/study on the Hallow App.  Its very good. I am noting my observations and thoughts in my journal. I have been writing special thoughts, feelings, observations in this journal since 2019.  I have only used up half of it. I don't write in it every day. It contains only my best. Maybe one day it will be a treasure to someone. You never know.




My calendar this morning. I am so grateful for my friends. I have been fortunate in my life to have made good friends. I am still friends with several girls that I started school with back when I was five years old. I named my daughter Eileen after one of them. I have one special friend however who has been my best friend now for 65 and counting years.  We all know who that is, lol.  Love you my dear, sweet sister.




Coming soon to a living room near me. Is this not one of the cutest cat beds you have ever seen?  It is a cat sofa. I think it will go well in the living room. Then I will move the tall cat scratching post thingie to the spare bedroom where it won't be quite so overwhelming.  We will see how it goes anyways.   Yes, I do spoil my cats I suppose.  But they are such a wonderful part of my life and such great company. Who else do I have to spoil? Bringing joy to them brings joy to me.


 

This picture reminded me of when my children were small and I used to read bedtime stories to them every night. Those are such special memories to me.  All my little chicks gathered around me. They each had their favorite stories and books they liked to be read. Anthony liked Dr. Seuss.  His favorite story was the Pants with Nobody in them. The girls like the Little Grey Rabbit books by Alison Utley.  Doug had a story he loved about a teddy bear that used to sneak out to the woods each night and eat cinnamon buns with his teddy bear friends. Bruce liked the Little Monster Books, his favorite one being, Just Me and My Dad. 

I just loved reading to them. Spending this special quiet time with them at the end of each day.  

 

There was a planned power outage this morning at 6 a.m. for fifteen  minutes.  There will be another one Wednesday evening at 10 for a further fifteen minutes. I can't remember what they are for, but I am grateful that we were sent a text to let us know so we could be prepared. At least they are planning them for times when people are not likely to be too inconvenienced and for not too long each time. I was still in bed when it went off this morning. It woke me up because my white noise machine went off.  I came out here and fed the cats, lit a few candles and before I knew it, it was back on again.


 

We had only a little tiny bit of snow throughout the day on Saturday. Nothing that accumulated. It was very cold yesterday and is very cold this morning. But it is supposed to warm up quite a bit as this week goes on. Most of the snow that we still have will melt away. What remains to be seen is if March will come in like a Lamb or a Lion. It is expected to be much colder and blustery on Friday which is the first of March, so maybe a Lion?  We shall see.

When we were children at school every March we would have special calendar pictures to color for March. I can remember them often being Lambs and Lions.  We would color them and they would be hung on the wall. A spot for our stars and stickers to be kept.  I can remember that at the end of the month there was always a prize for the one with the most gold stars or stickers. I think I got a prize once or twice.  I think it is a good thing to motivate children to work harder, but there will always be children who, no matter how hard they work, will never get a prize.  So I am not sure how I feel about that. Happy for the winners but sad for those who never win.  I think anyone who tries their hardest should be rewarded and one person's hardest is not the same as the next person's hardest. We are all different and unique.


Maybe we should just celebrate us all.

 

Grateful for my skills and abilities. They enhance my life in beautiful ways. I like that I can do things with my hands and keep my brain sharp.  My life is never boring because of these things.  I can always find something to do, to read, to accomplish.  I would never want to be the type of person that just lolls about doing nothing with my time.  That to me would be extremely boring.  No criticism meant to those who are able to do just that.  We are all different and its a good thing too. Life would be so mundane were we all the same.




I am so grateful to have enough.  Any more than enough it an extra blessing and I am grateful for that also. There are so many people in this world who have to live without even the most basic of necessities. I hope and pray that I never take what I have for granted.  I hope that I always see my life and all that is in it with the eyes of gratitude.


And with that I best leave you with a thought for today. I need to get Eileen up so that she can get ready to go to work. Then I need to drop her off, come back and Cindy and I will get our biking/cycling in!  My day is about to start in earnest.

I am grateful for that. For busy days that let me know I am alive.  And for a constitution that is able to keep up with them and enjoy them.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~\。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ | 田田 |門 ★
*If nature has made you a giver,
your hands are born open,
and so is your heart.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
~Frances Hodgson Burnett° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 




Cooking in The English Kitchen today  . . .  Irish Colcannon Soup. Seriously delicious and such a simple make.  Just perfect for a cold day. It warms the tummy and the soul.



I wish for each of you a perfect day. Filled with enough. Enough love. Enough joy. Enough to bless you. Just enough of everything.  Whatever you get up to don't forget! 


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And I do too!     
   



3 comments:

  1. Enjoy your precious time with Eileen:)

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  2. You will have a lovely time with Eileen. Best of luck to Tim in the Special Olympics. The kitties are spoilt, and who wouldn't want to spoil them, they are great members of your family. Temperatures rising this week, can't wait to get out the garden. Have a fabulous day.

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  3. Dr Seuss had some great books and stories!! I read them to my kids too...often laughing our heads off...part of that was also the funny drawings going with the story, of course. I had the misfortune to have lived the longest stretch of my adult life in a town that I really wondered if Dr. Seuss had spent time in, as that story called The Sneeches fit that town so close it was crazy...well, it fit as in how people treated each other... I admire someone who can write such great teaching stories that kids will love them, and learn from them and they are even entertaining to adults too. I often gathered my kids and read to them too. When my olders were in high school and I homeschooled them for about half their classes, one which was history, we devoured some very interesting books that even had quoted the founding fathers thinking etc. Kind of going "straight to the horses mouth" in a way. I learned along with them, as we studied more than a history class had time for really in school...fun times!!
    Elizabeth

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