Dear Neighbor . . .

 

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ESTATE LANE, NS
Just above zero, mostly cloudy but dry

My dear online neighbor, how can we already be staring the end of November in the eyes. It is hard to believe that November ends tomorrow and then December begins, and we will be on the count-down to Christmas. There are not too many weeks left for us to prepare.  Are you ready?  I am not. This postal disruption has put me into a funk. I cannot seem to organize myself but why is that I wonder??  I should just prepare things anyways, and if the strike ends, it ends, and if it doesn't it doesn't. Tell me I am not alone in this disappointment.  They sure know how to pick their times, do they not?  But then again, that is the nature of strikes and disruption, to cause the most interference as possible in order to make the demands more urgent. I think I shall just continue on as if there is no strike and then once it ends, pop everything into the post as per normal.  Things will get where they need to go as and when they get there.

 

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I did start to watch some old Christmas favorite films beginning with The Holiday. I had never heard of this film until my friend Val sent it over to me in the U.K. I fell in love with it the first time I saw it.  And now it has become an important part of my Christmas celebrations. Mostly because it reminds me of the love of a good friend, but also because it is a cute story, and I love the cottage in it, and it has a happy ending. Its just a cute little film. 

I have other favorites that I like to watch during the Christmas Season as well.   Home Alone.  A Christmas Story.  Muppets Christmas Carol. The Santa Claus. Miracle on 34th Street. Meet Me in Saint Louis.  White Christmas. Holiday Inn. To name just a few.

Always on Christmas Eve however, I like to watch It's a Wonderful Life. I also like to watch The Nativity. 

 

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Lacking a real fireplace, I like to put the fireplace on the television during the day as I putter around the place. I like to listen to it crackle and snap. It gives off no real heat of course, but the mind is a powerful thing.  You almost feel warmer just at the suggestion of a fire.  If they only had the smell to accompany it.  These days when you go out of doors the air is filled with the smell of woodsmoke as people are using wood-burners to heat their homes.  It is a lovely smell in the cooling air.  I love it. I can just stand there and breathe it in and my heart feels like singing. It is a wondrous thing. 

It is funny how our sense of smell has the power to transport us away to other times and climes. Often, I will just be walking through the shops or wherever, and I will catch a whiff of something familiar.  I will immediately be reminded of something pleasant from the past. 

 

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I often listen to talks or podcasts when I am puttering about the house. I was listening to one on YouTube by Patricia Holland (the late wife of Jeffrey R Holland) earlier this week, entitled "Fear Not." It was so good that I have listened to it several times. 

I firmly believe that what we choose to fill our minds with matters. If we fill our minds with negativity, this will have a profound impact on the joy we feel in life. If we fill our minds with positivity, then life just becomes better.  We feel happier and nothing seems to be so bad that we cannot overcome or at least cope with it.

And so that is what I do.  I surround myself with positive messages, messages of hope.  It could be nice music, or uplifting talks or podcasts. I am not a person that watches the news. Oh, I do take note, albeit very briefly about what is going on in the world, but I do not dwell on it, or I try not to, by rehashing it again and again throughout the day. 

Life would seem to be very dismal indeed if we were only to listen to the negativity spewed our way by our news channels.  I think someone should start a "Good News" channel, filled with voices and stories about all the good going on in the world. All of the positivity. Now that would be a wonderful thing.

 

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I sat down to do some sewing yesterday afternoon and, for the life of me, could not remember how to get the bobbin into the base of the machine.  I had to fill a bobbin with a new color of thread, which I did without any problem, but when I tried to put it into the bobbin holder, it would not fit.  I figured out that I had bought the wrong sized bobbins.  But when I tried to put the right bobbin in, I could not get that in either.  I messaged my sister telling her I thought I must be getting really dumb in my old age.  She just happened to be on her way to pick up Dad at Tim Hortons so she said she would stop over and see what was going on after she picked him up.  

I ended up having a delightful little visit with both her and Dad and she sorted it out for me.  I don't know what I was doing wrong.  Obviously, the bobbins I bought were wrong, but the other ones I have are not and they do fit.  I did manage to get some of the sewing I had planned done in any case and got to enjoy her and Dad as well. That was a bonus in my day.

I often go for days without seeing anyone else.  That is okay. I do not mind my own company.  Short little visits like that, however, are like little bright lights.

What would I do without my sister?  I hazard not to guess.

 

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I love the classics when it comes to books.  The stories told have simply withstood the test of time. I find I can read them over and over again and never tire of them. They are like old friends that I revisit from time to time.   I am seriously in love with the beautiful covers of these.  I mean to collect them once the postal strike is over. I know . . .  do I really need more books in my life?  Probably not, but that is not the question. Do I need more beauty in my life?  Absolutely. 

I do so love pretty things.  And I love books. The two together.  Joy.  Bliss.  And I do mean to read them.  I really do. There are far worse things to waste my money on. Something which delights both the soul and the eye, as well as the mind, well, that pleasure is unmatched.

 

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They say that if you love your work then you never work a day in your life.  I think you could apply this to everything you do. Might even the mundane become a thing of beauty if you approached them with loving intention?  Perhaps this is one of the underlying secrets to having a real and truly joy filled life, by doing everything with loving intent. Even something so simple as washing the dishes.  

I have promised myself that I am going to try this newer way of thinking.  Of looking at even the most tiresome chore in a different light and approaching it with a much different attitude. I will keep you informed as to how this goes.

 

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Tomorrow is our church branch's Christmas dinner. I could not convince anyone to go with me as a guest, and so I will probably not go myself. I was supposed to let them know by last Sunday if anyone was attending and I did not so I would feel quite badly just showing up.  My Ward in Chester posted a video the other day of the last Ladies Dinner that was had together as a group just the Christmas before Covid hit.  Every Nov/Dec we would get together as a group at a lovely restaurant in Wales and have a delicious dinner together.  There would be 30 or 40 of us.  And it was a really lovely time.  I loved seeing this video, seeing all of those familiar faces of people I love as they waved at the camera and said hello.  What a sweet remembrance of a wonderful time.  That was really the last time they did that in that restaurant, as it is now closed down, probably because of Covid. It was a really beautiful venue, and never more so than during the Christmas season.

I have gone to a ladies' lunch like that here once.  But it did not have the same comfortable feeling that the ones in Chester had.  I don't really know why that is to be honest.  I do not think, in general, that I have felt as comfortable in this branch here, and that could be for several reasons.  I know it is not because they are not warm and welcoming, because rather the opposite is true.  I think it is me. I think I have been holding back a part of myself, and I don't really know why that is.  It could be that there is a part of me that is afraid to put myself out there.  That doesn't feel safe in doing so. It makes no sense, I know. Hopefully in time that will change. I know, again, change begins with me.  So, if I want to feel more comfortable and a part of things, then I need to change something in the way that I approach the situation. 

 

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I did order some Christmas decorations from Amazon for my week tree. Every year over the past couple of years I have decorated it minimally with some naff paper decorations that I cut out for free. I have not had the heart to do it any more than that. This year I thought that I would make an actual effort, and so I ordered some pretty colored balls.  I checked yesterday to see when I could expect them to be delivered only to be told that they would be arriving between the 18th of December and the 10th of January.  Color me disappointed.  I don't think that was made really clear when I first ordered them, or I would not have ordered them. I tried to cancel but it was too late. They had already been shipped.  They must be coming from Timbuktu.  

I guess it will be the naff paper decorations again this year.  I did get some Christmas scrap book paper, so perhaps I will cut it into strips and make paper garlands with it.

I watched Kirsten and Joerg decorating their home on YouTube the other day and thoroughly enjoyed it. They have a brand-new kitchen, and I really enjoyed seeing that as well. They are such a cute couple. A couple of Germans, transplanted in the U.K. I do enjoy their videos.

 

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Our days have been so grey and dismal this November. I am ready for a bit of sunshine.  Does anyone else feel the same. October was so lovely and bright, with loads of color and blue skies.  Grey and dismal does not seem to suit me very well.  I need to light my days in other ways. I think staying busy is the key. And with that in mind I best close this letter to you off.  My day is rapidly getting away from me and I do have many things to get done!

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

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

 *.˛.Willpower is useful

but Joy is essential.

~unknown° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

I put together a roundup of unusual Turkey Leftovers in the Kitchen today. For those of us who are facing a mountain of leftover turkey to use up in some way, and are wanting something a tiny bit out of the ordinary. 

I hope you have a beautiful day.  Whatever you get up to, don't forget!

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And I do too!