All Things Nice . . .

 

(source)

She gets a world of comfort

From a small bed of flowers,

They seem to speak to her somehow,

Of peace and happy hours,

Something within her knows,

The tender language of a rose.

A clump of blue forget-me-nots,

Are more to her than gold,

 A pink tipped daisy on the lawn,

Is wondrous to behold,

A row of tulips by the gate, 

is a sure antidote for hate.

It warms the cockles of her heart,

To see a tree in bloom,

A vase of daffodils becomes,

An altar in a room,

Tall lilies in a shady bed,

A little shrine where prayers are said.

Love-in-the-mist and candy tuft

Petunias . . . lavender,

Larkspur . . . snapdragons . . . hyacinth,

Are meat and drink to her,

Keeping her very soul aglow,

With bread that others never know.

~Edna Jacques, Plant Lover

Fireside Poems, 1950

We all know gardeners, people who love to putter in the garden and grow things, beautiful things. We say they have a green thumb, but what they really have is a love for the natural beauty that the earth supplies, combined with the talent of taming it and making it even more beautiful.  They are at home with their hands in the soul, and their hard work and labor provide something beautiful for us all to enjoy.  And there is so much beauty in any garden, small or large.

I am not a gardener, but I do love to look at gardens and wander about them. That is why I loved the National Trust so much.  Most of my joy came not in snooping through large homes filled with antiquities (I did like that very much) but more from wandering through the peace of the gardens that were so lovingly curated. So much hard work, but an abundance of beauty for all to share.

Monique always posts such beautiful photos of her gardens. I know that she works really hard to keep them immaculate.  I love seeing her garden photos. Not only is she a great artist with her paint brushes, but also with her hands and gardening tools. 

That is the one thing I have always loved about blogging and the blogging community.  The way we all share so generously of our lives with each other. I have made a few friendships via this community through the years, people that I cherish. We have never met in person, many of us, but we have shared out hearts and that is the greatest gift you can give to another, to share a piece of your heart.

 

(source)

June speaks to us in flowers.  I have always thought that the month of June is when the gardens are at their best. Each day brings beautiful change and growth. It is almost as if, after the long cold grey months of winter, the earth cannot help but burst joyfully into bloom and color! Perhaps that is why there are so many weddings in June. It is a most romantic month. 

It is a time of year that the poets loved especially, and works very well in sweet songs. It suits Shakespeare with his "But thy eternal summer shall not fade."

It is the month that we also begin to enjoy eating the first fruits from the garden.  Sweet strawberries, tender young green and yellow beans, sweet peas, new potatoes  . . .  such abundance.  I enjoy all of them so very much.  This week I have gotten to enjoy both the fresh new berries and some green beans.  This is something I wait for all year long and, when it comes, I like to take full advantage of it all.

I am no gardener, especially not now, but I do so love to enjoy the fruits of the labors of others, and will happily pay to do so. 

We have some brilliant gardeners on our street.  Well, mostly they pay for others to come in and work on their gardens, but they have planned them well and I like to look out and see all of the blooms and greenery.  It somehow makes up for my lack of talents in that area.

 

(source)

All of the big stuff got  moved to Cindy's yesterday from dad's place. Except for dad  He wanted to stay one more night in his place. I think tonight he plans on staying at Cindy's.  Yesterday was very hard. There were high levels of frustration on many levels.  Dad has not done anything much at all to sort things out, etc. I know that he is hampered a great deal by his  mobility, but that leaves the majority of the work to fall on our shoulders, and of course he is micro-managing all of it from his chair.  And his hearing is not good at all, so lots of shouting in order for him to hear.  And the level of his being a hoarder is becoming very clear.  Boxes of used Q-tips and mouth brushes.  Boxes of spray bottle caps.  Every screw, nut, bolt, wire, and piece of paper that has ever come into his house. 

I don't want to ever burden my children with having to deal with that type of thing. Our brother is quite far removed from it.  He has already had to do it with his in-laws, so he knows, to a degree, what we are facing.   But there is a huge part of us that would gladly hand it over for him to deal with, lol  We can't do that however and it is our burden to bear.

Here is an example.  The first Christmas after I moved back here, in 2020, I gave him a small tin box of Quality Chocolates for Christmas. It has sat on the top of his refrigerator ever since. He has never opened it.  He asked me yesterday did I want it. I said, no, I didn't want the chocolates that expired in 2021 (date on box) but I would have the tin, thank you very much. It would come in handy in my sewing box.  So he gave it to me, but when he realized I was going to throw the chocolates out, he wanted it back. He said, "I could give that as a gift to someone."  We said to him nobody wants chocolates given to them that are three years out of date.  That is insulting.  I said, anyways, you have already given them to me and they are mine now and you don't get to tell me what to do with them. So now I have them here and I will throw away the chocolates and keep the empty tin to hold buttons or something.

But that is what we are dealing with.  A hundred times over as he micromanages every single thing.  I told him yesterday that as difficult as I know this process is for us all, and especially for him, it is a gift.  Many elderly people have nobody to take them in and they end up in care homes where nobody really cares.  He is getting to go to a home where someone who loves him is going to be taking care of him.  I am not sure if any of that sinks in or not.  But this too shall pass.

That is one thing you cannot halt. The march of time and the place needs to be totally vacated and cleaned by the end of July. A very tall order, for two not so young chicks to handle. But it will get done.

 

(source)

I got back here yesterday in early afternoon and had just begun my work for the day when Eileen messaged me to say that she and Tim were having ice cream with their CSS worker at the Farm Market behind  my house.  On the spur of the moment I invited them to go out for supper with me. I had been planning on taking them out sometime soon anyways.  

Tim's mother is in the hospital with cancer. I don't know what kind. Tim doesn't know what kind, he only knows that his father called him to tell him she was in hospital with cancer.  Apparently she had had a sore back that wouldn't go away.  And it turns out it is cancer.  So both he and Eileen are feeling very sad about it all.

I thought a meal out would be a good distraction for them and they did seem to enjoy themselves, which was good.  I enjoyed the distraction as well!

Time spent with family is never wasted.

 

(source)

 I was so grateful that when I fell earlier this week I did not break anything. Falling has been one of my greatest fears. I expect that anyone getting older fears this.  When I am on the ground it is very difficult for me to get up, mostly because of my knees. Putting any kind of pressure on them at all is excruciating as there is no cartilage left between the knee cap and the bone.  I went down full wack onto my knees and hands.  I do have rug burns on the lower corners of my hands and (two days later) my knees are still sore.  It was so hard to get myself from where I had fallen over to the sofa so that I could pull myself up. I had to get over there on my knees, but I managed to do it and pull myself up.  It was so hard and painful.  Thankfully, when I dusted myself off, there was nothing broken. Everything was intact.  I breathed a huge sigh of relief and promised myself to be much more careful in future. 

Especially around the cats.  It was in wanting to play with Cinnamon that I tipped over.  She got in front of me when I was walking over to get her toy and play and whilst most of the time when that happens, I can quickly right myself, this time I could not.

Cats do like to wind themselves around and in and out of your legs. Dogs also.  I need to be more careful in how I go. If it happens again I may not be so lucky.

 

(source)

Doug and Kayla are travelling from the Island to the Mainland on Sunday as Doug has an appointment to have his defibrillator checked on Monday. Hopefully all is well with that and they are able to travel there and back safely. It is a great opportunity also for them to get away for a bit by themselves. They live with Kayla's parents with the boys and rarely get to spend time on their own.  This will be a nice overnight break for them.  They can enjoy a nice meal out on their own as well.

They won't be able to come over this summer as they can't get their work schedules to co-ordinate but Doug was saying he would come over on his own again in November like he did last year. I really did enjoy those days he spent here.  It is something to look forward to to get to do it again.

I wish I could do the same with Anthony.  Not that I don't enjoy spending time with my daughter's in law and grandchildren, I do. But getting to spend some time alone with my boys is really special also, and I look forward to that.  I have gotten to spend several weeks alone with Eileen now while Tim has been away and that was special too.

 

(source)

It is overcast and raining today.  Warm, but raining. I find it quite dark in here this morning so I have my living room lamp on. I have plans to clean and re-fil the hummingbird feeder.  Also Glenna gave me the refrigerator from her garage.  I was wanting to buy a refrigerator to have in the garage, so I am going to clean that up and transfer a few bits to it.  The fridge I have in my kitchen really needs to be replaced. The drawers on the bottom are broken and very difficult to open and close.  I always end up banging my head trying to get them open, and it is small and over crowded. I end up having to throw things away because they get lost in the back.  I love  mom's fridge that she had that is in my sister's kitchen. It has one basic drawer on the bottom for fruits and vegetables.  And the shelves are just simple as well.  Not divided and at separate levels. I just find my own fridge very poorly planned and awkward to use.  This extra refrigerator will help me to be able to sort things out better and hopefully not as much will be wasted. Also, it will give me extra space to put things when I have company coming and have to get in extra bits.  Its a good thing.

Elizabeth from my church and her husband came yesterday before we went to dad's and moved it over for me.  Then Glenna took all of my bags of refundables to drop off at a church she was going to be going to later in the day, which also cleared my garage of five bags of empty bottles.  Another blessing!

See, my life is filled with blessings.  I am such a lucky girl, and I know it!

And with that I best leave you with a thought for the day as time is marching on and I have lots I want to get done today.  But I do love spending time with you also and I want you to know I appreciate you. I really do.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

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

 *Dancing is the ° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

poetry of the foot.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

~John Dryden° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In the Kitchen today  . . .  Oven Glazed Sausage and Potatoes.  A man pleaser for Father's Day. This is simple to make and really delicious!

I hope that you have a beautiful weekend.  May the sun shine, the flowers bloom and the birds sing to you a song of joy. Be happy. Be safe. Be blessed. Don't forget!

═══════════ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ═══════════ 

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

 

And I do too!