Monday 11 March 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.


 


Sunday Dinner with family. Every Sunday my sister and Dan have me over for dinner. It is nice to be included. I really should have them over here more often, but in all honesty, I don't think dad or Dan enjoy my cooking much.  They are used to things the way Cindy does them and that is okay. She is a great cook. The  most important thing is we are together.  Cindy cooked a fabulous roast beef, as always, with a lovely gravy. She had made cinnamon rolls for dessert.  I could not resist and had a half of one. It was very yummy.




Someone who loves me to welcome me home after I have been away. These two furry felines are always sitting in the window waiting for me to return. It is nice to be missed and even nicer to be loved.  They always wind themselves around my legs and look for an ear scratching when I return.  Nutmeg sometimes even kisses me.  They are both so sweet.




Being able to attend church on a Sunday morning. Best start to my week possible. We are only a small congregation here.  There are not near as many attending as what we had in my Ward back in the U.K. but I have known most of them for well over 25 years now, so it is a very familiar place to be. I do miss my friends from the U.K. very much.  I expect I always will, but it is nice to be in church and to be able to partake of the sacrament, renew my covenants, remember the Savior, take His name upon me.  I love that part of the service so much.  That is the main reason we are there.   

People still dress up to go to my church. It is not as casual as many of them are. The men are in suits and ties, the women in dresses, the children in their Sunday best. I like that.  It feels like a special place to be and respectful.  Not to be critical of anyone else or their church.  How you are dressed is not the important thing really. I am just saying that I like that aspect of my church.  That you are there is all that really matters.




Here is Tim showing off his medals from his trip to Calgary.  He is so proud of them and rightfully so! I took them out for lupper on Saturday (late lunch, early supper) and he had them with him to show me.  This is a huge accomplishment for him.  We are all proud of him!  He did very well. Two silvers and a bronze.  It is no small thing to represent your province  nationally!  Way to go Tim!


 

March is certainly living up to its reputation as being a blustery month. It was raining like crazy last night and the wind was blowing. I lay there in bed under the covers last night and tried not to worry about the wind blowing my window in. haha  It was howling that much!  Made me very grateful to have a roof over my head, a blessing I never take for granted. So many in this area have no roof over their heads.  I feel for them when the weather is really bad as it was yesterday.  There is a mix of snow and rain expected today.  The month of March is a very transitional month weather-wise as the weather swings back and forth from Winter to Spring, as if it cannot  make up its mind what to do.


Spring will soon take hold.  Of that we can be sure.


 

Create a life that feels good on the inside,
not just one that just looks good on the outside.
~Jordon Llamas


I love my life.  I am happier than I ever deserved to be.  I try to take none of it for granted. I see each blessing for what it is, a great gift from God.  Why He has seen fit to honor me so, I do not know, but I am grateful for it all.  I count my blessings, each and every one.




Music and the Spoken Word on YouTube on Sunday afternoons. I love to listen to this program. It is the world's longest running radio (now video) program, now in it's 95th year I believe. It features music from the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square and special thoughts from the host.   It is a part of what helps to make my Sunday's feel so special and sacred.  I usually lay back in my easy boy, blanket and cats on my lap and just enjoy every minute of it.

It helps to make my day of rest truly a day of rest.



 

Always find a reason to laugh. It may not
add years to your life, but it will surely add
life to your years.


I am grateful for laughter, for all that brings joy into my life and puts a smile on my face and in my heart. Family times. Personal times.  Things I see and read, and even do.  I am truly grateful for laughter and the light it brings into my life.


 


Grateful for the rain in life which makes the sunshine even more precious. I truly do appreciate all of the sad times, the sorrowful times, the struggles. They help me to really appreciate the good times and the good things, the good people which I have in my life all the more. As I am fond of saying, every day may not be a good day, but there is some good in every day.

I am grateful for all of it. The ups and the downs. The happy times and the sad times.  The sorrows and the joys.  I have a beautiful life. Not  a perfect life.  But a beautiful life nonetheless. 

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~\。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ | 田田 |門 ★
*To feel the love
of people whom we love
is a fire that feeds our life.
~Pablo Neruda° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 




In The English Kitchen today, a simple 20-Minute White Chicken Chili, the small batch. Simply delicious, and yes, on the table in about 20 minutes. 


I hope your day and indeed your week ahead is filled with a multitude of small and wonderful things. I am going out to lunch today with my friend Jacquie. She called last night and will be in town today around lunch time and invited me to go out with her. It will be nice to spend some time together.  Whatever you get up to today, don't forget!


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And I do too!     
   


8 comments:

  1. Yay Tim..how great is that! Enjoy your beautiful new life.You have earned it.

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    1. Thanks Monique! I am not sure that I have earned it, but I am enjoying it very much! xoxo

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  2. It is very blustery here today, wind making it very cold, but at least it is sunny. Congrats to Tim on representing his province well. Enjoy those family times.

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    1. They are really the best of times for sure Linda! xoxo

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  3. Enjoy your lunch with Jacquie. Have dessert! Love and hugs, Elaine (in Toronto)

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    1. Thanks very much Elaine. Oh how wonderful it would be to have lunch with YOU! Love and hugs, xoxo

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  4. For being retired, Marie...you are one busy woman!! Glad you have so much to attend and be a part of!! Then the "woolies" when you get home to greet you!! My husband and I listen sometimes to the Tabernacle Choir...they are among some of the finest singers!! Takes one back to the "good ole days" when music was one of the very best parts of life and singing in a choir is really one of the things we miss the most in our old age now...voices atrophy as well as the body, you know....
    Hugs, Elizabeth xo

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    1. I could listen to the Tabernacle choir for hours Elizabeth. My sister says that is her idea of hell. She made me laugh when she said that! I think listening to Heavy Metal (which she enjoys) would be my idea of hell. We are all so different but I love that it makes life interesting. Yes, I know what you mean about the voice. I am always amazed at older singers, like Tom Jones for instance, who have managed to maintain their voices! xoxo

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