I remember getting this magazine/newspaper delivered to our house weekly back in the day when I was a child. It was carefully devoured from front to back every week by almost everyone in the house. I certainly remember reading it myself, I don't know if Cindy and David did. Probably not as they were quite a bit younger than myself.
It was filled with interesting articles, comics, recipes, etc. I guess they stopped publishing it in 1973. More's the pity. I would love to get such a magazine as that these days.
Most people read all of their news these days online or get it from watching the television. There is something nice however to be said about reading it slowly as you drink your morning coffee and digest your breakfast. Mom did that every morning of her adult life. She was not one much for reading books, but she would absolutely devour the newspaper from front to back. She would do the crosswords and read all of the letters to the Editor. I dare say she even wrote a few letters to the editor in her time. The obituaries would be carefully perused.
The big newspaper here in Nova Scotia is the Chronicle Herald, and it is a very thin thing these days as compared to what it used to be. I don't think it will be long before there are no daily newspapers put out at all and that will be a bit of a pity in many ways.
I do not get the paper myself, nor do I buy one in the shops, but I know the man next door does. He reads it and then carefully delivers it to my neighbor Sheila on the other side. I see him walking past my front porch with it every morning. He rolls it up and slips it through her door handle. I don't think either one of them have computers, so the newspaper and the television are their main way of finding out what is happening in the world.
I read the New York Times, which I subscribe to online and greatly enjoy.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in America. So Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American family, readers and friends!
When I was in the U.K. I celebrated the American Thanksgiving. There were a lot of Americans living over there and with Christmas just being around the corner it was much easier to get a bird to roast. I loved how it seemed to really usher in the whole Festive season, with Christmas being only a few weeks down the road. Many people would start decorating their homes before Thanksgiving, or shortly thereafter. Not that it was considered a Holiday or widely celebrated there. (Black Friday was widely taken on board, however. I can't even stand the words Black Friday.)
I suppose working for Americans like I did at the Manor, and of course having Missionaries visiting from the US, the American Thanksgiving took on more meaning to me. I loved having the missionaries from the church over for a Thanksgiving dinner. Most of the British had no real idea about Thanksgiving and so it didn't mean much to them, but Americans, they brought the Thanksgiving spirit with them and made it all seem so much more festive. They "got" it.
We do not have Missionaries here where I live now. We did until about a year or so ago and then the powers that be took them away. This is the Bible Belt of Canada, and the Baptist religion is deeply ingrained here. There is nobody that a Baptist loves to hate more than a Latter-Day Saint. The missionaries were harassed and bullied here on a regular basis. They were also threatened. It was very difficult for them. I suppose that may be why they took them out of here.
I, myself, not too long after I had joined the church . . . and my husband and I had split up . . . was stopped one day in the grocery store by the Baptist Pastor's wife here in town and told how very pleased and happy the people of the church were that my husband had found himself a good "Christian " woman to be with, unlike myself. (The last two words were unspoken but implied.)
Afterwards when I got back home and could think straight about what had happened, I thought I should have said in response, "Yes, she is so Christian that she is dating a married man." (For we were not yet divorced, only freshly broken up.) But it was too late then, and the situation never again presented itself.
And really what would it have changed.
But that is just to illustrate the small mindedness of some of the people around here and has nothing whatsoever to do with Thanksgiving and thankfulness, so . . .
I had a simple day yesterday, filled with a bit of cooking, some writing, some sewing, etc. Nothing too out of the ordinary. It was a good day and passed as most days do. I messaged my son over in New Brunswick mid-afternoon just to see how they were getting along. I had not heard from him in a number of weeks. They are all doing well for the most part. My youngest daughter and her family had been to visit a week or so ago and he had some photographs to share with me, but only on the condition that I not share them with anyone else. And so, I won't, for fear that the opportunity to see those two other grandchildren of mine dries up forever. My granddaughter looks very grown up now and I can see a striking resemblance in her to myself at the same age. My grandson looks a bit cheeky. My daughter is looking older now, her hair threaded with silver.
I was just grateful for the opportunity to see some photos of them all. It is a mix of feelings actually. Part gratitude and part sadness. But it is what it is and that is that. These are the times we live in. I am not alone in the way I feel. I know many parents who find themselves in the same situation. I belong to a group on Facebook whose members are composed of Estranged Parents and Grandparents, and I was astonished at just how many members there were. I do not frequent the group as I often find it leaves me feeling far worse than I ought to. This is a group of people wallowing in their grief and I will not do that, or at least I try hard not to. Some days are harder than others.
I was pleased to get one of my projects half-finished yesterday. I have been working on bunnies, and I have gotten one all put together. All I need to do now is to make some clothes and dress it. The cats are always very interested when I am sewing. They lay next to my sewing machine purring away as I work. I am not sure why they do that, but I have not the heart to shew them away. They have so little of interest in their lives. This is something different for them to watch. So long as they don't get physically involved, I am content that they are content to just lay there and watch.
Cinnamon has figured out how to get into my plastic storage haul with the pipe cleaners in it. I do not see her doing it, but I see the pipe cleaners out and the handle unlatched. I don't even know when she does it, I am only faced with the evidence of her having done so. She loves pipe cleaners. I carefully pick them up and discard them when I find them as I don't want those two to be hurt by anything.
Which reminds me that I best get the cat carrier from my sister as I have an appointment for the two of them at the Vets next week and I will need a second carrier. There is no way I will be able to get them both into one like I used to do when they were younger. It will also take both Cindy and I to get them back and forth from the Vets as I cannot do it on my own. Their appointment is on Monday at noon. I do not think they will be very happy about it, nor will my pocketbook!
My brother has an appointment with his Oncologist in mid-January. I am not sure how to feel about that. A part of me is encouraged because if it were really bad things would be moving a lot faster, and another part of me is worried that they are waiting too long to do anything about the cancer. I must just rest in the knowledge that these things will all get done in due time and accordingly. I just keep praying that all will be well and for my brother and his family to feel a sense of peace about it. That is all you can do at this point.
I am getting a bit sick of these dull and dismal, rainy days. They do nothing at all towards cheering the heart. It will be mostly cloudy again today, but it is expected to be dry at least. They are saying snow on Monday, but yesterday the weather app said snow on Sunday. I do not think they know what to expect, truth be told. Weather can be one of those unpredictable things at the best of times, but at least it gives us all something to talk about.
I am not sure what I will get up to today. I expect it will be a day much as yesterday with a bit of this and a bit of that. I have no plans to go anywhere or to do anything special. I have a pork chop thawing out for my dinner. I am not sure yet how I will cook it. I may keep it old-school and just do something simple.
And with that I will leave you with a thought for the day, as time is marching on, and I find that I must march along with it.
•。★★ 。* 。
° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚
˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛
˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★
her secret is patience.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
~Ralph Waldo Emmerson° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
In The English Kitchen today . . . Easy Sweet Potato Casserole. A small batch recipe that was surprisingly delicious. I used to make something similar when I worked at the Manor for Thanksgiving dinner, but never really was tempted to eat it. I made this yesterday and, in all truth, had a hard time leaving it alone. It was really delicious. Not at all like a dessert. I can see where it would taste lovely next to turkey.
I hope that you have a beautiful day. Fill it with things and people that you love. Be blessed and be safe. Don't forget!
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And I do too!
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