All Things Nice . . .

 

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Your catalogue arrived today,

Thanks for its cover bright and gay,

And all the lovely host it brought,

Delphiniums, forget-me-not,

Nasturtiums . . clustered to one side

And pale pink roses for a bride.

Although the winter wind is blowing,

Here in my room are flowers growing

Petunias in their gay attire,

And marigolds like sacred fire,

With canterbury bells to ring,

Above the tender fields of spring.

Outside my window blizzards rage,

But here upon the glowing page

They smile like lovely guests -- and oh

I am so glad that flowers grow

In Books -- I have then twice you see

Next summer in my yard . . and here tonight

before the fire with me.

~Edna Jacques, To A Seed Merchant

Beside Still Waters, 1952

 Oh, how I used to love to peruse the seed catalogues that would come in the mail. I used to love to look through their pages and plan my gardens.  I would have graph paper, and I would plan everything very carefully, coloring in what would go where.  Dreaming of the beautiful gardens that I would have . . .  one day. So many hours spent with my head in the clouds, but what a wonderful place it was to be.

I can still be often found with my head in the clouds. I am a dreamer after all.  I dream. I plan. It brings me joy even if nothing comes to fruition.  I find much pleasure in the planning and the dreaming of things. 

Dad really enjoyed his birthday yesterday. He went to Tim Hortons in the afternoon and had his tea and donut and then last evening Cindy cooked him a lovely Birthday meal and there was a nice butter cake for dessert.  We don't do candles and blowing any more. Not since Covid. But we do sing Happy Birthday. This morning, he will go to the Big Scoop for his breakfast with Hazel and be fussed over again by the waitresses.  All in all I would say he has had a good 91st birthday. 

The problem is when you get to his age you really don't have a lot of friends left that you can invite to such things as Birthday parties. We discovered that last year.  Having family around you makes for a good party anyways. And he is blessed to have all of us who love him around him. And we are blessed to still have him to spoil and enjoy.

I was doing some embroidery yesterday afternoon and I watched this film. I had not seen it since 1982. It was an entertaining way to while away my time while I plied my needles and threads. I quite enjoyed it. It had been so long since I had seen it I had quite forgotten most of it so it was like watching a new film in many ways.

This is what I am embroidering. I have had this pattern for quite a while. I bought it on Etsy when I lived in the U.K. One good thing about pattern pdf's is that you can download them as much as you need to, well, most of them anyways. It was so with this one and so I was able to re-download it and then I transferred it to my piece of fabric and embroidered it yesterday afternoon. I do have some fabrics picked to piece it together with and I will show you it when I am done. It is just a small pillow. It felt good to be doing something creative with my hands other than baking or cooking.

 

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I was dreaming that I was opening a small cafe before I woke up this morning.  Such a lot of planning.  What we were going to serve, etc. It was going to be a huge success. Dreams are funny things. I did once own my own canteen.  It was at the Military Police school in Borden, Ontario.  

We invested everything we had into it when we took it over. We put in new Coffee machines, etc. I worked very hard at it. Up and out the door by 5:30 every morning to pick up newspapers and donuts.  Making sandwiches at home at night, baking muffins, cakes, doing the books, etc. I scarce had time to catch my breath. All this with five children to care for as well, and a home. I did enjoy the social aspect of it, but I was worn out.  It was not really what I wanted to do or where I wanted to be.  It was almost a blessing when it ended, and life could get back to normal again. 

I loved being a stay-at-home mom. Home is where I always wanted to be for the most part. That is not to say that I didn't do other things to bring in extra income. I was always doing things to bring in extra income. I was just doing them from home so I could be where I needed to be. 

I did do cleaning at one time as well. Offices and the schools.  That was done at night after the children were in bed. It was hard work, but I didn't mind it because it enabled me to be with the children during the day.  I also cleaned houses for people who were moving out, which also enabled me to make my own hours.  I did childcare for women who worked as well, and I took in typing which I was also able to do at home.  

Even though I did not often work outside the home, I did work.   

This little man spent some of his time laying on my lap yesterday afternoon as well, around midday.  I was very tired yesterday for some reason.  I do feel tired much of the time.  Anyways, I had laid back in the chair to close my eyes for a few minutes and he came to join me and keep me company.

Not a lot of sleep was had for some reason. I just couldn't help but pet him and cuddle him while he was there.  It's my own fault. He's just so irresistible.

I really need to practice my penmanship.  Because I type more than I actually write, bad habits have crept in. I need to be more diligent in practicing my handwriting. I do have some exercise books in my bedroom closet. I need to drag them out and do some practice.  When I was in Grade 5 my teacher told my mother that she would not check my work any longer because my handwriting was so appalling.  My mother took it in hand to improve my handwriting skills.  She bought some exercise books and papers, and I was made to sit at the table night after night practicing my penmanship. It got quite good actually, even though I did resent her making me do it.  Now I need to spend some time practicing again.  It's a good thing, I think. Having good handwriting, and practice does make perfect.

 

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My life is filled with small and simple things. Everyday ordinary pleasures.  I love to sit and watch the snow fall. It is beautiful, especially when it is goose down-like flakes. That brings me joy.  I love sitting with one of the cats on my lap as they make biscuits and sing me the purrfect song.  I love watching little videos on YouTube of young women putter around their houses, doing household chores and caring for their families and their homes. Decorating, baking, sewing, etc. This younger generation today has it all together. When my children were growing up I was often too tired at the end of day to do much of anything but sleep and I would never have had the time to make and create content to share. I don't know how they manage to do it all.  But I am glad that they do for I surely enjoy watching them.  I also enjoy watching scripture study videos where the teachers help me to get more out of what I am reading and studying.  

It sounds like I do a lot of watching, and yes, I guess I do, mostly in the evenings.  I do stay pretty busy in the daytime, puttering around here.   Doing my cooking for the blog, photographing it, editing and writing blog posts, cleaning up, and fitting in everything else that I need to do. My life is very full, and I am never bored.   I do wish there were more hours in the day. Perhaps that is a common complaint as we get older. Time does indeed seem to speed up. Either that or I am really slowing down.  Perhaps a combination of the two. Whatever it is, my days and my heart are full.  And that is never a bad thing.

A thought to carry with you . . . 

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

*.We don't laugh because we're happy --
we're happy because we laugh.
~William James  ° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

New in The English Kitchen today. Irish Cherry Tea Cake. A cake for the tin. A cake meant to be enjoyed with a hot cup of tea, herbal or otherwise.  Richly studded with cherries and topped with a nice crust of demerara sugar. Very nice.

I hope that you have a beautiful weekend, filled with lots of things which bring you joy. Be happy, be blessed, be safe and don't forget!

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And I do too!