Wednesday Witterings . . .

 

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It has turned positively frigid here this morning. Not quite down to zero but close enough.  No frost however, which is good for anyone who has already put in their gardens. There is an old saying, "Don't cast a clout until May is out." I guess there is some substance to that.  

I am not putting in any flowers this year or buying a hanging basket.  I am not even sure I can get the girl in to do weeding. I want to, but it's all money isn't it. Not sure I can waste the hundred dollars.

So, this happened yesterday.  Jon graduated from Holland College as a Precision Machinist.  Very proud of him. I was able to watch the whole graduation ceremony on YouTube. It was very well done. The best Grad Ceremony I have ever seen to be honest.  Nice speeches, music, etc.  Best of all getting to see Jon.  Jon has done very well, despite being autistic.  Way to go Jon!  We are all very proud of you!

 

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What an amazing looking stalk of Brussel's Sprouts. I love them. They are one of my favorite veggies.  I especially love the tops, but you never see them being sold where I live.  I used to buy them all the time at the farmer's markets in the U.K. Sprout Tops. They make a nice pan of greens. Nothing is wasted about this plant over there, bar the stock.  I wish they did that here.  Sprout Tops are fabulous.

 

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How glorious is this. I love white blossoms.  If I could afford it, I would have a white garden. I think they are stunning. Over in the U.K. there are lots of gardens that you can go and walk through and enjoy, usually attached to stately homes and historic properties, which you can also explore, for a fee of course.  Not all are privately owned. I would say the majority of them are owned by the National Trust, who maintain them, both the homes and the gardens.

A day out at a National Trust property was always one of my favorite things to do.  I got to visit Chatsworth, which was Winston Churchill's home, Bateman's, which was Rudyard Kipling's home,  and a whole lot more.  I think my favorite gardens were a toss up between the garden's at Sissinghurst and Tatton Hall.  The gardens were both amazing. The ones at Tatton Hall were much more extensive, but both were beautiful. 

But then again, any garden is beautiful. 

 

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I got quite a lot accomplished yesterday. I have a bit more to do today and then all will be in order for my brother's arrival tomorrow. I think he lands a little bit after 11 a.m.  It will be another few hours before he makes it here, however. It is a two-hour trip pretty much from the airport.  I will have everyone here for supper tomorrow night. I am not making anything too special.  Just meatloaf and scalloped potatoes, some veggies.  That's all. No dessert as David is staying away from sugar as sugar feeds tumors.  I will have some sugar free Jello for Dad because he always looks for something sweet at the end of his supper and he likes the sugar free Jello. 

I think dad and Hazel are going for Chinese food tonight for their supper.  I declined.  The food is substandard, and I think the restaurant is dirty. Plus, it's expensive.  There is a sad lack of good places to eat in this area.  Most of the food you get at any of them is food that comes from a frozen packet.  The most praise you will hear from people is that the portions are large.  People here seem to value "Quantity" over "Quality."  And that is what sells.  I would rather have quality myself, but it is sadly lacking. Mind you we have not tried the new Indian place that opened up in Kingston. Perhaps we can give it a go while David is here.

I have never replaced my tea cozy that I made myself way back when I was living in the U.K. Maybe that can be my goal after David leaves to go home and things settle down.  I did love it. It was quite colorful. I don't know why I have such a love for things like tea cozies. I cherish the one that Ginny made for me. 

It is one of my most beloved and cherished things. Such a special gift from such a special friend.

I was remembering a tea party that I did for the Sister Missionaries over in the U.K. one year. It was so much fun.  The girls really enjoyed it as well, I think.   

These little cucumber sandwiches were so much fun to make.  I had all the stuff there to do things like this.  Pretty trays to display cakes and things on.  Tiered sandwich and cake holders, etc. 

I have no such things here and to be honest I don't have any place to store then anyways. My house it too small. I have barely enough room for what I do have. It would be nice to have a tea party however.  Something else to think about and perhaps make happen before the end of the year. 

Oh, it is nice to dream. You have to have a dream in order to make a dream come true.

My sweet friend Tatiana has started a web page. It is called The Written Loom. It is going to be about things that inspire her.  The first few posts are on the joy of writing letters, etc. Tatiana writes beautiful letters. I love each letter that I get from her.  Each one is a feast for the eyes and the heart from the outside in.

Aside from that she is a beautiful calligrapher and book binder, also journal maker.  And she is taking care of her elderly parents. Her mother suffers from dementia and her father has a bad heart condition. Tatiana has had to quit her job for the most part to stay home and care for them. 

The job of being a caregiver is often a thankless job.  I am so grateful for my sister who gave such loving care to our mother and now our father. It takes the heart of an angel and the patience of a Saint to do so. People who have loving family members to care for them in their dotage are very blessed I have to say.

 

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I finished watching The Stolen Girl on Disney last night.  Interesting end, but no stealers from me. I started watching Fred and Rose West, a British Horror Story on Netflix. I had to stop it because I didn't want to go to bed with stuff like that on my mind. I still need to finish Toxic Town.

I don't know why I am such a huge fan of British Television. I think it is because it is so very well done. You really cannot beat it in my opinion. I also love Nordic Noir. Even with the subtitles. 

I have a ton of things to get done today so I best get off here and get at them!  Time is running out.  I will do a brief post tomorrow morning but then I expect I won't be around very much until after my brother leaves. I will have recipe posts coming up each day for the most part, however. That is my bread and butter. I have signed up for a five week course beginning in June called Sticky Blogging. It was not cheap, but I am hoping it will help. I am struggling to pay the rent since I added the jump to button on my food blog. Hopefully I will learn some additional skills to help me out!

And with that I best leave you with a thought for the day!

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

 *.Be sure to taste your words
before you spit them out.
~unknown° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

In The English Kitchen today, the Classic Reuben Sandwich.  You can't beat the classics! This is a favorite sandwich of mine.

I hope you have a lovely day. I am going to try to get all the comments responded to before the end of the day!  Whatever you get up to, I hope it brings you joy!  Don't forget!

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And I do too!