All Things Nice . . .

 

(source)

I think of mother when I see

Tall chestnut candles on a tree,

My  mother always kept a light,

For us when we were out at night.

I think of her when roses shed,

Their petals on a flower bed,

Like silken dresses spread to dry,

Beneath a breathless summer sky.

The smell of new bread makes me see

The old farm house that used to be,

A place where laughter, joy and tears,

Journeyed together down the years.

White Christmas days . . . star studded nights,

The heavens filled with Northern lights,

Warm evenings in the summer time,

An old brass cowbell's homely chime.

I think of her and all she meant,

The grace and kindliness she leant,

To every common household chore;

Her welcome ever at the door,

I am so rich in memories 

Of ordinary things like these.

A loaf of bread . . . a porch light on,

An old dog sleeping on the lawn.

Edna Jacques, I think of Mother

Fireside Poems, 1950

This has always been one of my favorites of Edna Jacques poetry.  I think that is because it was one of my mother's favorites. This is Mother's Day weekend here in North America.  A time to celebrate all of the mothers in our lives. I have many mothers and am reminded, as I say that, of a talk which was given by Sheri Dew back in 2001, entitled "Are We Not All Mothers." 

"Motherhood is more than bearing children. … 

It is the essence of who we are as women."

 

Sheri is a wonderful lady, whom I have heard speak in person, several times. She came to Liverpool back in the early 2000's and gave a talk at one of our churches one evening. I remember travelling up by car to listen to her speak.  We were in a standing room only auditorium but I will never forget the words she spoke. I took loads of notes that night. She is a phenomenal speaker.  If you have never had the blessing of being able to have your own children, do take a few minutes and read her talk linked above. 

"As daughters of our Heavenly Father, and as daughters of Eve, 

we are all mothers and we have always been mothers. 

And we each have the responsibility to love 

and help lead the rising generation."

What an awesome responsibility we share together as women. And so, I want to say to all of my female readers, Happy Mother's Day. You are loved and appreciated!

(source)

I had a lovely lunch out yesterday with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law. It is always good to see them and spend time with them.  We have been friends and family since the summer of 1978, which is when I first became acquainted with them, and we have remained so, despite my being divorced from my second husband, his brother.  Out of that whole family, they are the only ones who have remained in touch, and it cheers my heart to no end that this is so.  I have always felt that it is so sad when people get divorced and end up losing much beloved family members that have been a part of their lives for a long time.  What a wrench it is to be estranged from people you love like that, to lose them from your life. I am so grateful for these two, and their daughter, who have chosen to remain a part of my life, and my friend. I love them both dearly.

We had a wonderful several hours together yesterday.  We ate some nice food at a local restaurant, a Mother's Day treat from my brother in law, and then came back to mine for hot drinks and cake, and another hour or so of visiting. It was just really nice.  I really enjoyed it.  

My sister in law has a few health problems that they go to the US to have seen to, and they will be leaving soon for those, but we have plans when they get back for get together at theirs.  My brother-in-law is going to make lunch for us ladies, and they want me to bring Cindy.  They love Cindy and really want to see her. Then, after lunch, my sister-n-law wants us to have a painting afternoon together, just us three. Like Cindy and myself, she dabbles in water color.  I think it would be fun to do that.

 

(source)

I am going to share something with you now which  illustrates how life can indeed be stranger than fiction. This is a perfect example of what a small world we live in.

As most of you know, I have a Facebook page for my food blog.  I think there are 72+k followers on there at this point.  I share my recipes on the main page and there is a private message section where my readers can ask questions and share things/recipes/photos, etc. with me personally.  

I have had instances where I have had men sending me loving voice texts, lol  Which always make me laugh.  Like I would be fool enough to believe that this voice of a young, obviously African (there's no getting around that accent) male is really an older American widower/Christian man who is interested in me as a love interest.  Its so funny. I always ignore them.

Last December, however, I started getting voice messages from a Scottish Lady.  Quite short at first.  Usually just a cheers, love your page and your recipes, etc.  They gradually became a bit longer and rambling. One is actually ten minutes long.  In them she would share with me her day, things she was up to, instances of her life, a laugh or two. Very pleasant actually, not at all anything to be afraid of.  I would always respond with a few kind words of my own.  She sent me pictures of flowers, men in kilts, etc.  And always wished me a good day. She told me she was a lawyer and she spoke very intelligently,  Scottish accent and all.

Long about mid April she stopped messaging me for some reason, but she had been talking about some  household move that she was making, and has a few health issues. I just thought she was in the process of this  move and or not well, and in the hospital.  I was a little concerned, but not overly so. I do always invest a bit of  myself  and my heart in the lovely people who follow me.

Do you remember when I had recommended that you watch Baby Reindeer on Netflix last month, and then,  told you not to, a day or so later??  This was because it ended up being much more graphic and disturbing than I had thought it would be.

Here is where the twist and strange coincidence come in.  

A couple of days ago on Instagram, I saw where Pierce Morgan was going to be interviewing the lady that this Baby Reindeer show was based on. The supposedly female stalker of this man,  and the center of this supposedly true story.  (That remains to be seen in my opinion, the truth of the story that is. I think everything has been greatly embellished by Netflix, and the man involved,  for titillation and views.)  In the post on Instagram, the name of the woman was given.  

I thought to myself, that name sounds familiar.  The woman he was interviewing was Scottish, and a lawyer.

I went back to my message section on my FB page and checked. It was only the same woman.  This woman who I had been having interaction with since December seemed to be the female "supposed stalker" from Baby Reindeer series.  I couldn't be sure, however, until I heard her speak in Pier's interview, as all I had of her was a grainy photograph, and her voice. Nevertheless,  I was a bit spooked by it to be honest.

I watched Piers'  interview with her from beginning to end on YouTube the other day. As soon as the woman spoke, it was confirmed to me, and to my sister (who had also listened to her voice messages), that this was indeed the woman who had been messaging me.  Small world indeed.

I feel very sorry for this woman whose entire life has been turned upside down by what might or might not be a totally true story.  In all the time she was messaging me I had no feelings at all that she was dangerous or a stalker.  She seemed, if anything, to be perhaps a bit lonely, and maybe a tiny bit strange.  I thought perhaps she might be autistic, or have some mental issues, but in no way did she appear to be disturbing or dangerous.  

Now I know there is probably some truth to the tale this man is telling. Where there is smoke there is fire, but . . .  I strongly suspect that it has been grossly exaggerated and embroidered for viewability by the man  and by Netflix.  There are holes in the story for sure, and some things brought out in it such as the woman having admitted  her crimes in court her and going to jail are definitely not true. There has no evidence been found to support this idea.  I feel bad that this poor woman is being vilified  and brutalized by the mob mentality of people that is so prevalent in this day and age.

As I have said, having been in communication with her for the past six or so months, there were no red flags. She seemed only to be (to me) somewhat of a lonely woman.  Friendly, articulate and totally harmless.  I do hope that this goes away for her soon, or that at least this really weird (in my opinion) and disturbed man who penned the tale speaks up on her behalf.  But will he?  He hasn't yet and I sincerely doubt that he will. He's made too much money off it, and all to the expense of this poor lady's mental health and well-being.  What a world we live in.

Small world indeed. I have not heard from Fiona since the 13th of April and probably will not again. I do so hope and pray that she will be okay.

 

(source)

The hummingbirds are back. I saw my first one yesterday. A male.  I have not seen him since, but that means nothing as it could just be that I didn't happen to be looking out the window when he visited.

I also got to see the resident chipmunk chasing off a nuthatch the other morning, something which I had never seen before.  They are very territorial I guess. And he was protecting "his" birdfeeder which was filled with sunflower seed, and that he cannot get to.  But it is "his" all the same.

Oh it makes me laugh. I do so love nature.

 

(source)

I had occasion earlier this week to go and help my sister, with our father's help, sort out some of his things. In the main, we went through his dressers and got rid of a lot of old clothing that he had not worn in years.  He had a whole drawer full of socks he hasn't worn in forever.  We all tend to keep things that we never wear and will never wear.  

While we were doing it, we came across his old air force cap. I gave it to him and he put it on his head. He was just beaming, and he wore it the whole rest of the time that we were there. 

My father grew up in a very poor family.  And by that I mean VERY poor. They often had to do without.  French Catholic, too many children, not enough work or money.

My father is a great success story. His joining the military and moving away from home was to both his and his family's benefit. He always sent a great portion of his pay packet home to his family and once he and my mother got married, it might have gone down, the amount sent, but I remember my parents always sending money home to my father's mother.  

My father has always been very proud of his Military service and it was very evident to me, as I watched him wearing his cap, how very important that was to him.  

We have never done without, my brother, sister and myself.  Our parents both came from very poor families and backgrounds, but they managed to escape the poverty of their childhood and raise their own family in what, to them, was great abundance.  I am grateful to both of them for that.  For their diligence and their care, I thank them both so very much.  We were not wealthy by any stretch, but neither were we ever in need.

And with that I best leave you with a thought for the day as time is marching on!

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛

˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

 *.˛.The beautiful thing about learning

is that nobody can take it away from you.

~B.B.King   ° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Depression Era Chocolate Cake. This is a really good cake. Egg and dairy free, and vegan friendly.  Delicious moist and simple to make.

I hope that you have a lovely weekend filled with lovely nice things. Happy Mother's Day to us all.  Be happy, be blessed and be . . .  kind.  Whatever you get up to, don't forget!

═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════ 

⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
═══════════ ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ ═══════════     


And I do too!