Wednesday Witterings . . .

 

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 All along side of my sister's car port the ground is covered with wild violets, both white and purple.  Oh how sweet they are.  It amazes me how each year, despite the cold of the winter months, these dainty little blooms come back.  Also wild strawberries and in the back, creeping thyme.  I can remember walking back there when mom lived there and I was visiting, every footstep brought to mind an intoxicating smell and the earth outside the window of the downstairs bedroom I slept in was always peppered with wild poppies. Oh what a beautiful world we live in that we are given these sweet glimpses of what heaven must be like, carpeted with the beauty and scent of wild flowers.

I got a lovely little note in the post this week. Thank you Mary! It was a really nice surprise! Such a pretty card and inside she had included a very interesting article on treatments for knee osteoarthritis.  Packed with information. Such a kind and thoughtful gesture on Mary's part to send this to me and I really appreciated it.

And look at the stamp.  Have you ever seen anything so sweet?  I think not!  Totally adorable. I love it when mail brings you joy from the get-go, even before you open it.  What a smile maker!

Sometimes at night I like to enjoy a few chips or something as a light snack while I am watching a film or television program. I had picked these up yesterday as they were on offer.  I almost got the huge bag by mistake, which to be honest did not look that much larger than the smaller bag, but weighed heavier. Cindy pointed it out to me and asked did I really want to buy such a big bag of something to try for the first time. No I did not, so I switched it for the smaller one. (Thank you Cindy!)

Whilst these did not taste horrible, they also did not taste of cheddar.  They have a salty taste and I can taste onion in them, but I don't detect any kind of cheesy flavor at all. But then to be honest, I have found that with much of the processed types of Vegan alternatives that I have tried. Whilst not tasting bad per se, none of it tastes like the real deal. The cheese isn't melty, the fish isn't fishy, nor the chicken chicken-like.  At least not the things that I have tried at any rate.  Its also very overpriced for the most part for what you are getting. Just my opinion.

 

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You almost need to run the barricade now to get in or out of a grocery store.  It started a number of months back now and yesterday I noted that not only are there metal railings preventing you from going in and out of the shops at will, but they have added thick plastic see through walls now as well, on top of the metal railings.   This is to help prevent shoplifting I assume.  The prices of groceries in this country have been sky-rocketing. I do not know how anyone with a family affords any of it, and then there are people on really low incomes. How are they faring?  

We are guided in and out of the grocery shops like rats in a maze.

There has been a nationwide boycott called on the Loblaws company, which owns half of the major retail shops, but I don't see what good that is going to do.  Not when there really isn't a viable alternative available for shoppers.

Perhaps instead of spending millions on barricading the shops they could try reducing some of their prices??  Novel idea, but it might work.  

Many families are having to make a choice between putting a roof over their head or food in their bellies. I cannot understand how they justify putting up the price of food as much as has been happening.  Maybe during Covid when things were a bit harder to procure, but what is the excuse now?

And why, since Covid is not a huge problem any longer, why haven't the prices gone down?  Beef is at close to $20 a pound now, and its Mexican beef at that. Don't they raise beef in Canada any more?

 

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My bleeding hearts are starting to pour out their souls in my front garden now. A gift from my next door neighbor Sheila a couple of years back, they have done very well. They are the pink and red ones. So pretty.  I love bleeding hearts.

It is hard to believe but I have been living in my wee house for three years now.  Those years have seemed to zoom by.  This November it will be four years since I have been back in Canada.  I have gone from strength to strength since my return. God has been very good to me and I am grateful. The windows of Heaven have richly blessed me and I do know from whence these blessings come. I take none of it for granted.

I think my favorite bit of being back here has been getting to spend time with family. I really missed my family when I was over in the U.K. but had resigned myself to that just being the way that things were for me.  When I first moved over there, it was only supposed to be for two years maximum.  I was totally ignorant of the truth that the man I was moving over there to marry would never be able to immigrate.  Fed a pack of lies, I was, and even his excuse that he finally gave for not being able to immigrate was a lie.  Not wanting to walk away from a third marriage, I had resigned myself to staying.

And it was a good life for the most part. I was as happy as I could be considering the circumstances. I loved where I lived and I had good friends and I thought I had a fairly happy marriage. Making the best with the cards I had been dealt.  But it was all built on a bedrock of shifting sand, as we all know now.

All's well that ends well and this has ended well. Forever grateful am I.

 

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Ahhh  . . .  buttercups. My garden is loaded with them, and I am unable to pull them out.  My neighbor down the way who is a keen gardener loathes them and sees them as being a huge pest and I admit were I a really keen gardener I would see them in the same way.  But I am not and I delight in them.  Even the ones that force their way up between the boards of my front porch.

 

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To express gratitude is gracious and honorable,

to enact gratitude is generous and noble,

but to live with gratitude ever in our hearts

is to touch heaven.

~Thomas S Monson

After I say my prayers at night I like to listen to one of the conference talks given by leaders in my church. It is a wonderful thing to have the last thing on your heart and in your mind at night to be words of hope and inspiration.  Two nights ago, I listened to this talk by Thomas S Monson, The Divine Gift of Gratitude.  I got so much out of it the first night that I listened to it again last night.

I try to live my life with gratitude as much as possible.  I know only too well that "There but for the Grace of God go I."  Each morning when I open my eyes I am grateful for the gift of a new day that I am being given.  And whether it is filled with good things or not, it is still a gift.  Perspective makes all the difference in the world.

That does not mean that I do not sometimes feel sad, or bereft, or that things always run smoothly, but I contend that whilst every day may not be a good day, there is something good to be found in every day.  And tears . . .  they are a healing balm. Even the Savior gave thanks.

"Sincerely giving thanks not only helps us to recognize our blessings,

but it also unlocks the doors of heaven and helps us to feel

God's love."

 

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The cats are very meowy this morning.  I am not sure what is up with that.  They are restless I suppose. I do not have a lot planned for today. I am going to bag up a few things for us to take to Value Village tomorrow morning along with dad's things.  We will have a car load for sure, and I want to clean my refrigerator.  It is such a small refrigerator if I don't do that regularly it gets somewhat overwhelming. The key to keeping harmony in a small home is to keep things under control, and if you see things getting out of control, to reign it back in.

And with that I will leave you with a thought for the day  . . . 

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

 *.˛.There are always flowers 

for those who want to see them.

~Henri Matisse° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

  

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Hot Italian Sliders, the small batch.  The recipe makes six delicious mini sandwiches.

I hope that you have a beautiful Wednesday, filled with love, light and joy!  Whatever you get up to, don't forget!

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And I do too!