Wednesday Witterings . . .

 

(source)

 

We didn't get the snow that was expected yesterday, and it doesn't look like we will get much snow today either. The weather seems to be fluctuating quite a bit and I don't think it is an easy thing to predict these days. I can remember learning about clouds and such in science at school in Grade six, but truth be told, I have forgotten much of what I learned at school.

I was always hopeless with math. Working with figures with ease always seemed to escape me.  I didn't really like science either. Oh, I enjoyed learning how things worked to a degree, still do, but did not have the head for equations, etc.  Literature and English, poetry, history, geography, geology and natural history . . .  those were the things I enjoyed most and still do.

Two of the places I most enjoyed visiting when I lived in the U.K. was the British Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum.  I could have spent days and days in both of those places and never gotten bored. I guess that is just the way my mind works.  I am mostly drawn to the arts and natural wonders.

 

(source)

This was me at the end of the day yesterday. Lately I have fallen into bed exhausted come bedtime. In fact, I am forcing myself to stay up past 8:30, but only because I don't want to wake up again at 3 a.m. and not be able to fall back asleep.  I had a pretty busy day yesterday all the same.

I asked Cindy did she want to go to the shops and it turned out she did and so off we went.  We went to the mall to Giant Tiger and then to the health food store. I wanted to pick up some K-cups and so did she.  I only have ones for hot chocolate and apple tea in the house, but I wanted to have some regular coffee ones to serve when my sons come to visit, etc. 

They must have at least sixty different kinds of coffee ones at the Country Store.  You really are spoilt for choice. Instead of having to buy a whole box of any one kind you can take a small muffin tray with 24 holes and pick and mix from all the flavors. I did get a couple more hot chocolate ones that sounded very lush, and I got several regular coffees, some chai, and then some really tasty sounding types of coffee that I will probably love the smell of but my sister will enjoy when she comes to visit. I could easily have filled up two trays, but I practiced some restraint. Especially where I don't actually drink coffee or tea myself.  

I also got a box of Pukka Ginger, lemon and honey tea.  I am going to enjoy that off and on.  Herbal tea in my favorite flavors.

We left there and went to Sobey's and then the Super Store.  I had to get gas for the car and then we went to the Post Office and then I dropped Cindy off home. Then it was back here and unloading and putting everything away. 

 

The natives are always super interested in what comes into the house. All must be sniffed and inspected.  I get a huge kick out of them. I was putting a few more fairy lights out yesterday and of course they had to give their approval.  When I make my bed Cinnamon must jump in and help. It is the same with everything that gets done in the house, with the exception of the vacuuming. When I go to do that, they both head for the hills. They do not like the vacuum cleaner. Not at all. I suppose it is the loud noise it makes. They are not fans.

I am not a huge fan of vacuuming either, but it is just one of those things which has to be done. One of life's necessary evils  . . . 

 

(source)

I thought that you might enjoy this.

  Six Stories with Lots of Meanings

1. Once upon a time all the villagers decided to pray for rain. On the day of the prayer all the people gathered but only one boy came with an umbrella.  That is faith.

2. When you throw babies in the air, they laugh because they know you will catch them. That is trust.

3. Every night we go to bed without the assurance of being alive the next morning. We set our alarms to wake up anyways. That is hope.

4. We plan big things for tomorrow despite having zero knowledge of the future. That is confidence.

5. We see the world suffering, but still we get married and we have chhildren. That is love.

6. On an old man's shirt was written a sentence "I am not 80 years old; I am sweet 16 with 64 years of experience."  That is attitude.

This is so true. We tend to take most things for granted without really pondering the miracles that they are. The wonders.  If a person from the 1700's were to come suddenly into today, their eyes would be filled with wonder and probably a bit of fear as well.  Imagine.  Electric Lights.  Automobiles.  Televisions. Telephones. Computers!  Vacuum Cleaners. Dish Washers. Washing Machines.  Electric and gas heaters.  I could go on and on. These things. These modern conveniences.  We tend to take them for granted for sure.  But they are modern-day miracles to the olden-day man.

Medicine.  Hot and cold running water.  Clean water. Shops filled with food and drink that is ours to buy without having to grow it ourselves.  We have so much at our fingertips. 

And yet there is even more that is miraculous.  The singular identity of each individual snowflake and the fact that no two are exactly alike.  It is the same with people. We are, each one of us, unique, with individual talents and skills and ways of doing things.

Music. Technology. Nature. I could go on and on and on.

I try each day to recognize the blessings and miracles that are mine. I always, always, find plenty to be thankful for.

 

(source)

I always loved to go skating when I was a child. I saved up for and bought my first pair of skates when I was 7 or 8.  Oh how I loved them.  The community we lived in built a huge outdoor rink near the schools every Winter. It was a very small community, so we did not have to travel far to go skating. It was completely boarded up around the circumference of the rink and had electric lights hanging across it so that you could also skate at night.  There were also little huts around the circumference that had wooden benches inside that you could sit in to put your skates on and store your boots in while you skated.  

I spent many, many hours skating on that outdoor rink, my breath coming in little puffs that floated above my head like clouds. It was cold, but you always ended up sweating from all the exertions of the dance you were participating in.  Skating around and around the rink.

I always wished that I could have figure skating lessons. But my parents did not have money for such frivolous things like skating, dance or music lessons.  Those were to remain as luxuries destined for other people for the whole of my childhood.  But I did have skates, and I could go skating and I spent many, many hours on the ice alone and with my friends.

Those were the days when Hockey was a sport that was played in the back yards and on the streets of Canada, and every boy dreamed of becoming a hockey player when he grew up.  It was not the big business that it is today, and it did not require oodles of dosh to achieve. A stick, a puck and a pair of skates.

You also knew all of the teams that played professionally and all of the names of the players. There were not many. Those were the days.

 

(source)

The older I get and the longer I am here, the more I have come to realize that all things in my life must be in alignment with each other in order to bring me the peace and the joy I so crave.  This means that my intentions, my thoughts, my heart and therefore, my actions are all in the right place. Not based on the needs of my ego, but rather in doing the things I want to do in a way that adds to my life and to the lives of others, rather than them taking away from either them or myself.  

To add positive value . . . to make a positive difference, to teach, to inspire, to love and to spread joy by my actions and my example.  When those elements of my life are all in alignment with each other, I find peace and joy.  When they are not, then life becomes a chore.

These things should not feel like work, but rather they should be the natural way in which we conduct ourselves. None of these things require a lot of effort.  Kindness. Helpfulness. Positivity. Love. When we garnish all of our actions with these things, everything just works better and feels better. Life is just better.

What at first takes a bit of practice soon becomes a way of life. And life becomes filled with joy.

 

That is sometimes much easier said than done. It is easy to look back and pick the scabs of the past.  It is also quite easy to fear for an unknown future.  How much better it is to put our faith and trust in a God who has complete knowledge of it all and a plan for each of us, one that wants nothing more than for us to succeed and to be happy.  Oh, I know, for some believing in God is a huge stretch.  It is hard to believe in something which is invisible.  But think about it, we believe and know the wind because we can feel its touch. We know not where it comes from or where it's going. We cannot really see it, but we know it's there because of its touch. It is the same with God. We can feel His touch if we will allow ourselves to. It is a step taken and an act of faith to do so. But I have never been let down by God. Never.  Life has let me down. People have let me down. God never has. In Him I have found my strength and great meaning and purpose in my life, yes . . . even in the bad things.

I am so grateful for a heart that is able to find beauty in every day I am given. Even the really, really hard ones.  My heart does feel sad at times for the people and the things which are lost, but that sadness is nothing compared to the joy and beauty I feel in my ordinary days . . . days I choose to fill with gratitude . . .  for what I have now and not for what once was or what might have been. 

Simple things.  A roof over my head.  Food in my belly. Clean water to drink and wash in. Warm clothes to wear. People I love and who love me back.  A purpose in being here. Good and honest labor.  My faith.  I have much to be grateful for and plenty of joy and beauty in each one of my days, as ordinary as they may seem to those on the outside looking in.

And with that I will leave you with a thought for the day.  

A thought to carry with you . . . 

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

 *.A simple grateful thought
turned heavenward
is the most perfect prayer.
~Doris Lessing  ° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In The English Kitchen today, Cheese & Herb Irish Soda Bread.  Simply delicious. Tis the season for breads such as this. Enjoyable with a hot soup or a stew, or with an egg on top, or simply just as is, warm and spread with softened butter.

I hope that you have a wonderful Wednesday.  Whatever you get up to, stay warm and stay safe. Be blessed. Don't forget!

═══════════ღೋƸ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒღೋ═══════════ 

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

And I do too!