Saturday Nice . . .

 

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If I should die these are the kind of things

That I have loved and been so thankful for,

The sheen of sun upon a distant hill,

A keening wind along a lonely shore.

I have been glad for music softly played,

For violins and white piano keys,

For muted tones and phrases crystal clear,

Love songs and lullabies and symphonies.

I have loved evenings when the after glow

Cast a warm spell on everything in sight,

When there was music in the very wind,

And magic in the darkness of the night.

I have loved little streets where people dwell,

And tiny yards where humble flowers grow, --

The lonely splendor or an Arctic moon,

The swish of Northern lights above the snow.

The smoky trail of planes across the sky,

A search light picking out an in-bound ship,

Red budded maples in a blue ravine,

A song of love upon a young girl's lip.

I have loved peace and quietness . . . the vast

Unbroken silence of a prairie night,

And when my heart is dust I shall remember

A tree with every blossom tipped with light.

~Edna Jacques, I Have Loved

Hills of Home, 1952

Yesterday I got to thinking that you who read here each day probably know more about me than even my own children do.  It's funny that, this online journal that I started so many years ago, which was started so that I could share bits of my life and my thoughts with my children became so much more than that.  They never read it. I doubt any of them really know or remember that this place exists, and they have never really been interested, I don't believe, of the innermost thoughts or missives of my soul. But I am grateful that I have had this place to jot them down and keep a record. And I am grateful for those of you who take note and who care. It has helped me through the years to know you are there.  My dear invisible friends.  I appreciate you. You have given my inner voice wings to fly. And you have cared.  And you have prayed with me, and for me, and in all things.  And yes, I do appreciate you and I just wanted you to know that. You are not unnoticed. You matter to me.

Christmas came to my home yesterday by way of a big box in the post.  I do not want to embarrass anyone, but I did want to share with you this beautiful pile of beautifully wrapped gifts that arrived from my dear friend Elaine. So much care put into the wrapping of each gift.  They were all so beautiful that I did not want to unwrap them to see what was inside. I wanted only to gaze at them for a while, but the cats eventually forced me to. They made me do it.  I wish I had such a skill as to be able to wrap things in such a beautiful way. Simply gorgeous. So much care. 

Nobody was forgotten, not Cinnamon, nor Nutmeg  . . . 

Not Diadamy nor Athalia.  They look so pretty in their new coats and jaunty berets.  So sweet.

Everything so beautiful and so much care and thoughtfulness put into every single article . . . now I can start a collection of glass toadstools for my tree again without feeling like I am being indulgent.  I will just  be finding friends for this sweet character.  

That figurine. So sweet. I do not deserve such things and yet here they are.  I am humbled.

 

So kind, so very, very, kind  . . . 

I went to bed last night with Enid Blyton. I am on chapter four.  I am a child again and falling in love with and wanting a KiKi and an adventure for myself.  

 

Have you ever seen such cuteness?  Measuring cups. Nesting measuring cups.  Adorable.  Totally adorable.  I was a child again.  Enjoying the magic of frivolous things.  

Thank you, my dear friend, for making my heart sing in a special way. You were too good to me.   And there are gifts for Cindy, Dan, dad, Eileen and Tim as well.  Christmas in January.  It's a good thing. I do not want to embarrass a dear friend, but I did want to share these lovely things which made my heart smile. She knows me well.

 

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Did you know that there is a fireplace that you can get on your television on Netflix, complete with the sound of crackling logs?  Snapping and flickering.  I only just discovered it a week or two ago and I have been enjoying it.  I like to think that it makes me feel warmer, the power of suggestion and all that.  No, it doesn't make the house warmer, but it makes my heart warmer.  I can sit and read and look up at the flickering flames, reading to the tune of the snap and crackle of the logs as they burn.  I love it.

This week I have been filling my home with light.  Fairy lights.  I bought a pack of them on amazon and they are so tiny, but they are perfect. I think there are about 10 strings of fairy lights in the pack. I put some among the plants on my front windowsill.  I thought they looked really pretty there. 

I nestled another string in my bowl of yarn balls.  I love it.   I love my bowl of yarn balls anyways.  I just took the ends of balls of yarn and wound it into balls and put them into this bowl which sits on my coffee table.  And now they are gently lit as well.  For me, this is totally charming, and it brings me joy.

Light to make the heart glow in the dark of winter.  It's a good thing.

 

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We had snow and sleet most of the day yesterday and I see out the window that it is snowing now.  I had thought I might go to the shops, but I don't like to drive in the snow. I know I am a big chicken when it comes to that.  I used to drive in snow before I moved to the U.K. but we are talking many years ago now and I was a much, much younger woman then, twenty-five years ago.  I was much braver then. I know I have snow tires on my car, but it makes me anxious, the thought of driving in the snow.  Looking at the weather forecast we look to be having snow all next week most days as well.  I may have to put my big girl pants on at some point and conjure up some courage.  I cannot stay at home forever. I don't know why I am such a baby when it comes to driving.  I just am.

I talked to my oldest boy for a short time yesterday. Gabe and his mother were still sleeping.  The only ones up were Anthony and Luke. Luke was getting ready to have a sleepover last night.  I expect they will all be back to school on Monday. I had messaged my son to say I would be sending the boy's Christmas money over this week.  They never managed to get over here as they had thought they might, and I had been saving it to give them in person.

I would never want them to think I had forgotten them.

This is going to be my mantra this year as I work to simplify my life. I love my little home. But I don't like clutter, and my spare room is driving me crazy. I am going to get in there next week I think, and I am going to be asking myself this question over and over again as I go through what's in there. Lots of yarn that I bought for things that never got used.  Two broken printers. At least two laptops which no longer work. I don't know what to do with the stuff.  I guess I need to just pile it all in the car and find a tip somewhere that I can take it.  

First, I have to summon up the energy.  I feel tired a lot of the time. I feel tired now, lol.  

Ohh, yesterday I used some of my leftover ham to make the BBQ ham mom used to make sometimes when we would go to her place for Sunday supper back in the 1980's.  The smell when it was baking in the oven took me back to then, It is hard to believe that was over 40 years ago now. So much time has passed, and yet the smell . . .  I was a young woman in my late 20's all over again.

Mom used to make this ham in a homemade BBQ sauce, using her leftover bits of ham.  She would serve it with rice.  Always minute rice.  But she would doctor up the minute rice with bits of onion and herbs.  Her favorite herb was oregano.  Once she discovered oregano, it went in everything.  

I enjoyed mine yesterday with brown rice and broccoli, and I thought of her, missing her as I always do.

I have always loved this poem. I am not sure what I will get up to today.  Hopefully I will get out, but we shall see what happens as the day transpires.  In any case I think I am finished here now and have bored you long enough.  I have prattled on about a whole lot of nothing and yet it is something.

I, too, have miles to go before I sleep and promises to keep.

A thought to carry with you . . . 

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

 *.˛.Where we love is home,
home that our feet may leave,
but not our hearts.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
~Oliver Wendell Holmes° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Cinamon Swirl Cake for two. Delicious. Simply delicious.

I hope that you have a lovely weekend. Right now I feel like going back to bed, but I won't of course. I will be back here on Monday morning, bright and early and hopefully with a word or two to share.  Be happy, be blessed. Don't forget!

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⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
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And I do too!    

   

 

Dear Neighbor. . .

 

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ESTATE LANE, NS
-2*C/30*F feels like -12*C/10*F
Snow is falling

Dear Neighbor,

I can attest for how cold it is as I was out to the community mailbox at 6 this morning, in the dark, the snow crunching under my feet, popping in a birthday card for my grandson Josh in P.E.I.  I should have posted it yesterday.  I had it all ready to go several months ago, but it was not until the wee hours of the morning that I woke up and thought to myself . . . I think there is a grandson's birthday coming up soon . . . and sure enough it is Josh's on the 9th. I hope that he gets it in time.  I have my fingers crossed. I really should have posted it a few days ago. He is turning 16 or 17.  They are all so close in age that I mix them up sometimes. I am not as sharp as I used to be.

Our Eileen will be turning 47 on Tuesday, and of course dad will be 91 on the 17th.  I think that is all of the birthdays this month. I hope that I have not forgotten any.

I got the cats to the Vet yesterday for their last boosters and they are all set now, for another year at least. It was not as expensive as the last visit was, but they only needed to see the nurse yesterday and have their shots. It was not a full exam. They were singing in two-part harmony all the way there. Nutmeg was keen to eat the treat that the nurse had for him, but Cinnamon wasn't having any of it.  She is quite a bit smarter than he is. She knew it was only a bribe. 

They were a lot quieter on the way home and very glad to get there when we arrived.  I dare say that the next time the cat carrier comes out, they will know the jig is up and head for the hills. They are both being very quiet this morning.

 

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Everything was very still when I went out to the mailbox this morning.  The snow was falling and the only footsteps in it were mine. I could see that Sheila was up already and had her news on, and the gentleman across the way was up as his lights were on, but other than that those were the only signs of life on the street.

I think the man who lives to the right of me is still in hospital.  Someone comes every day to his house, I think a son . . .  and does something. I do not know if he has pets or anything, but there must be something the son is coming to attend to.  I have never seen a dog or anything, however. Maybe he has fish.

This is a very quiet neighborhood. Not a lot happens here on this street.  Most of the noise comes from the traffic which moves up and down the main road at the end of the street. It leads to the motorway so that is to be expected I suppose.  That it would be busier.  

Some cars really floor it when they get to that road.  You can hear them zooming by. It can be quite loud at times.  That is why I would never allow the cats to go outside. That road is too dangerous to my way of thinking. It is said that indoor cats live longer.  I believe that to be true.

 

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I have decided this year that I am going to watch, or at least try to watch, all of the movies that I have wanted to see but, for one reason or another, have never done so.   I got my work done very early yesterday, before we took the cats and so had nothing much to do, or at least that was pressing, when I got back home.  So I decided to watch a film.  I watched "Not Without My Daughter" on Roku. (I have a Roku TV so I get the channel free.) I had seen it, but it was a very long time ago now and I had mostly forgotten it.  I really like Sally Field as an actress. I think she is very good.  I fell in love with her when she played Gidget on the television and then the Flying Nun.  When she played Sybil, I started to recognize that she was very, very talented and I have pretty much watched everything she has ever done.

Then last night I started to watch Moonstruck.  Cindy had mentioned it in the car, and it is a film that I have never seen.  I only just started it. 

I tend, most of the time, to watch things in blocks.  I don't seem to have the attention span to watch anything that is more than an hour long all in one go these days.  I don't know what is up with that. I get fidgety if anything lasts longer than that. 

I need to get something to do with my hands while I watch tv. Then I won't be as distracted and can concentrate better.  I do have a blanket which is only half done.  I should dig it out and finish it.

 

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The winter is the time to finish or start all of the projects that you are too busy to tackle in the warmer months.  I think I should make a list of all the things I want to do and then start tackling them one by one.  

I bruised the palm of my left hand the other day. I was twisting the lid off of a soda bottle and it just happened. I have never done that before, but somehow, I pinched it in the twisting, and sure enough a big bruise popped up.  It is quite tender to touch as well.

I seem to have done something to my right shoulder also. This has been going on for several weeks now.  I cannot reach behind me or stretch my right arm to reach anything. The pain is excruciating when I do so.  I must have pulled a muscle.  I can reach across my body to the front alright, but certain movements with the arm do cause a lot of pain.  I can really feel it in bed at night. It wakes me up off and on, disturbing my sleep.

You know you are getting old when you start to talk about all your aches and pains, lol. We all do it. There are two things you can talk about when all else fails. Your pains and the weather. they are things which affect us all in one way or another.  A kind of commonality we can meet together on.

 

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I have been thinking a lot about forgiveness lately.   I have always been a very forgiving person, or at least I think that I am.  My father is also very much that way.  He does not hang onto things, and I think that is the best way to be.  

Often people see forgiving people as being weak people. I don't think that to forgive another is a sign of weakness.  I see forgiveness as being a powerful path to Peace.  It is not so much a gift that you are giving to another but a gift that you are actually giving to yourself.  

In forgiving you are freeing yourself from having to hang onto the wrongs perpetrated against you.  The person you are forgiving will still have to deal with whatever it is they have done, but by forgiving them, you are choosing to free yourself from any toxicity created by hate, anger, disquiet, bitterness, anxiety, fear or any other negative emotions and feelings associated with not being able to move past the things which have hurt us. 

If you choose to hang onto all of the hurts, they can build up . . .  each one being like a rock that you have added to the bag of life you are carrying on your back.  It will not take very many to weigh you down and stop you from truly moving forward through life in peace.  I am a person who does not want to carry the weight of such things, and so I work at forgiveness.

Forgiveness is not about absolving people of their guilt or about setting them free from owning up to their actions.  It's about setting yourself free. Non-forgiveness is like dumping dirt into a clear blue ocean.  It muddies everything it touches.  If you don't dump the dirt into your ocean, the beauty of the ocean is yours to swim in, free from the contamination of negativity. The lighter the weight of your burdens will be. 

It is not always easy to forgive.  I know that from experience.  But I recognize that hanging onto the hurt is allowing that person who has harmed you to still have a power over you, to still be muddying your waters. 

Do not give them that power. Take the power back and gift yourself with the power and strength of forgiveness. It is a form of self-care that can never be underestimated.

 

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I used to think that I had the soul of a traveler, but the older I get, the more I realize that I do not. I really am not fond of the process of getting from here to there. I love to see and experience new things, but I much prefer doing so from the comfort of my own armchair, and so I have come to accept that I am at best an armchair traveler.  I love to watch travel shows and to read travel books, but I am not one much for actually getting out and doing it.

Sometimes I think it would be nice to take a cruise or some such, but then I think . . .  would it truly? When I really dig deep down and think about it, I realize that no.  I would not, in all truth, enjoy it at all.  I am much happier within the confines and comfort and security of my own four walls.  I do not actually have to be anywhere to enjoy the beauty and pleasures of other places.  It is enough for me to just see or experience them through the visuals of my television screen or the words of my books.  I am sure I am not alone in this.   Or perhaps that is just my age speaking. The wanderlust in me has gone the same way as has the color in my hair . . . 

When I was much younger, I longed to visit Greece.  The Galapagos Islands was another place I wanted to see.  I used to want to go to Disney World, or to cruise the Mediterranean.  To visit Rome or Venice. Sweden and Norway, Finland . . . 

The older me, however, really likes sleeping in my own bed at night. Is not fond of hours spent sitting on a cramped aircraft surrounded by strangers and crying babies. Hates navigating the length of airports and the wait of passing through customs, having to have bags checked, etc.  I have no tolerance any more for the nuisances associated with long-distance travel. I want nothing more than to be at home.  I enjoy being at home. It is enough for me. 

The joy of being here, right where I am. Now.

 

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I do not know what I will get up to today.  I think perhaps not a lot.  A bit of this and a bit of that.  Perhaps I will bake something, perhaps not.  I know I have a laundry to fold that I should have done yesterday.  Folding laundry these days is not a task I mind doing really. There are no piles of socks to match any longer.  It's all just my own stuff. When the children were growing up, there was a never-ending pile of laundry to attend to.  As you can imagine with five children the pile never disappeared. Now there is just me, and I find that there are times when I struggle to have a full load.  Whites are not much of a problem, but a full load of darks, that is much harder to achieve.

There are days I am tempted to just throw them both in together.  Shh . . . 

And with that I will end this missive and leave you with a thought to carry with you.

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

 *.The world calls them  its singers and poets 

and artists and storytellers; but they are just the people

who have not forgotten the way of fairyland.

~L. M. Montgomery.  ° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In the English Kitchen today . . .  Sweet Pineapple Baked Beans.  This was one of the sides that we enjoyed on New Years Day. It went very well with the Ham and the Scalloped potatoes.  I would have been happy with just a plate of these, they were that delicious.  

Do you like my new potholder?  It is a toadstool.  Cindy and Dan gave it to me for Christmas! I love it!

I hope that you have a lovely day today.  Wherever you go, whatever you get up to, stay safe and keep warm.  Be happy and at peace.  Don't forget!

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⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
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And I do too!    

   

My Favorite Things . . .

 

These are some of the things in life that I enjoy, and which make me happy, inspire me, or put a smile on my face. Maybe some of them are yours too.  Let's share! 

I love my cozy little home. It's not a very large home, but it is large enough for me.  I love this space I have built for myself. I feel safe here. My heart is safe here.

Twinkle lights  . . . 

I love Twinkle Lights . . . 

 

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Pancakes  . . .  with butter and maple syrup. I have not had any in a long time now  . . . 

 

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Mother nature's crystal worlds  . . .

 

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Bonfires  . . . 

 

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Chickens  . . . 

 

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New candles  . . .  scented ones . . . 

 

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Eyelet lace  . . . 

 

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Thyme and garlic  . . .  Love fresh thyme.  Years ago I had a board sign that I had painted which hung over my patio doors that said, "Never Enough Thyme."

 

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A fresh month and year to make my mark upon  . . . 

 

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Fresh snow  . . . tracings  . . . 

 

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Pretty dishes  . . .  especially blue and white ones  . . . 

 

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Crochet doilies  . . . 

 

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Patterns in ice  . . . 

 

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Warm mittens  . . . 

 

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Grey and white  . . .  these look like Greengate  . . . 

 

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Definitely Greengate  . . . but I could be wrong  . . . I love Greengate ceramics.

 

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Red barns  . . . 

 

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Log cabins  . . . 

 

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So pretty  . . . . 

 

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Fresh croissants  . . .  the best ones are French, in France.

 

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Warm spots in the winter  . . . 

 

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Lace curtains  . . .

 

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Cursive writing  . . .  calligraphy . . . 

 

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Warm sweaters  . . . 

Comfort  . . . this time of year, I crave comfort.  Its my most favorite thing.

I hope that some of these were also some of yours!

A thought to carry with you . . . 

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

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

 *.˛.°Be a voice,
not an echo.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •
~Albert Einstein° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Air Fryer Roast Potatoes, a small batch.  I do so love a good roasted potato. These were very nice!

I hope that you have a beautiful day today.  Its snapping back cold here again today.  I have to take the cats for their next shots this afternoon. Then they will be done and dusted for another year.  I had a lovely New Years Dinner yesterday with Cindy, Dan and Dad. It was nice to have them here in my home.  It was lovely and cozy.  

I took a meal over to Sheila afterwards. She had not eaten yet and it was going on for 6:30. I am wondering now if she eats much at all. That is a bit worrisome. She was most appreciative. I think there was enough for two meals actually, Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, carrots, corn casserole, baked beans. Plus, my sister had made these pastry covered apple rings, so I brought her some of those as well. I knew that they wouldn't keep much longer than yesterday. Puff pastry is like that.  In any case, she will eat well for two days anyways!

Whatever you get up to today, don't forget!

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⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿
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And I do too!