Saturday Nice . . .

 

(source)

She has the gift of growing things,

The magic touch with plant and flower,

The frailest slips will grow for her,

Touched by her finger's tender power.

We asked her how she made them grow,

She laughed and said she loved them so.

Her windowsills are always gay

With blooms of every shade and hue,

She's always setting out new bulbs,

You know the way some women do.

She digs around the soil and sands,

Patting it down with loving hands.

And sometimes just when twilight creeps,

Across the gardens of the town,

I see her walking lovingly

Amongst her flowers up and down,

Her garments glowing in the night,

As if she walked in paths of light.

I do not think life could bestow,

A finer gift than loving toil;

The joy of helping things to grow,

Of working with the sun and soil.

That every soul you met and knew,

Was lovelier -- because of you.

~Edna Jacques, Garden Magic

Beside Still Waters, 1952

I am sure we all know people who have that magic touch.  Whose flower beds are lovingly tended, and it shows. They share their beauty and the works of their hands with all who are lucky enough to live in the neighborhood. I know there are some wonderful gardeners on my street and my heart smiles every time I gaze upon the works which have sprung from their loving ministrations.

But gardens don't just grow in the dirt. They also grow in the soft fleshy tablets of another's heart. and therein we all plant seeds.  I love the thought of a soul being lovelier for having spent time with me. I may not be able to make a garden sing, but I can surely do my best to make another's heart sing with love and with light. 

 

Bolas de Berlim

Portuguese Donuts

The other day when we took dad and his friend Maryann to the mall, the local market was on. One day a week vendors come from all over the valley to ply their wares. There was a couple there from Lisbon Bites. They are based near Windsor. They had such beautiful looking baked goods. Tarts, donuts, cakes, etc.  Cindy and I each bought a piece of their almond cake. It was so yummy. I am wishing now that I had gotten one of their donuts, lol. These look so delicious!  Or at the very least a Portuguese Custard Tart.  I know I love them.  I will just have to go back and try to catch them again sometime, or bake my own.

But then I have the problem of having to eat them all.

 

(source)

I managed to get half of my refrigerator cleaned out yesterday. It takes me a while to do a thorough job because I have a hard time reaching with my shoulders. One of the problems of living on your own is that things often go out of date before you have had the time to use them up. Wherever I can now, I will buy the smallest jar, container, etc. of whatever it is I am buying that I can find. I know that smaller quantities often cost more in the long run, but having to throw half of everything you buy away is not exactly thrifty either. 

It does take a while to get rid of half empty jars of this or that. You have to scrape them out into the compost and then rinse out the jars before putting them into the recycle bags.  

Mom never threw anything away. If you visited her one year and bought a salad dressing to use, you could be pretty sure that same bottle of salad dressing would still be sitting in her refrigerator when you came back to visit the next time, be it a year or two years or even longer.  And she would be put out if you bought a new one instead of using the one that was there. 

I have eaten brown Parmesan Cheese because I didn't want to upset her. The things you do for love.

 

(source)

I have a half-eaten jar of peanut butter that's gone out of date. I spread some of it onto a slice of bread and then cut it into squares to put out on the deck railing for the Jays and the chipmunk. Of course, that only put a small dent into it. But the jays and chippy have enjoyed it and the cats have enjoyed watching them do so. I will end up having to scrape the rest out and dispose of it in the compost. I don't want to infuriate my neighbors too much. I am sure they will see me as encouraging vermin.  Jane down the end of the road really doesn't like us feeding the wildlife. And she has a point.

We don't want to be encouraging rats either.

David, my brother, has a big rat and a groundhog in his back yard.  Where there is one, you know there are more. Sad but true.

 

These look gorgeous.

I can almost taste them.

The wildfires to the southwest of us are still burning out of control. There is another air advisory in effect today. But, again, no rain in the forecast.  Yesterday a helicopter that was fighting them crashed into the lake.  Thankfully the pilot was not killed. As far as I know he is okay.

That fire started from a lightning strike.

They have also determined that the Cumberland County grass fires were intentionally set.  What kind of a person does that??

I do smell a bit of smoke in the air this morning. It all depends on the direction of the wind.

The skies are clear and a beautiful blue color. 

The local Foodland has steaks on offer this week. Buy one get one free at a similar or lesser value. I keep telling myself each day that I am going to go get two steaks. I love to enjoy a good steak every now and then. Maybe today I will actually get out and do that.

And maybe a trip to the farm market to get a fresh tomato or two. I am craving a tomato sandwich after seeing these lovelies.  Is there anything more delicious than a simple tomato sandwich in late summer when the tomatoes are ripening on the vine?  I think not.

 

 

(source)

I also need to get started on my talk today. I have only a week to get it done. I allowed myself to get overly distracted yesterday.  It seems to be easily done, this problem of getting distracted. I am a bit ADHD. I often find myself starting one chore and it turning into two or three other chores. 

Already this morning as I have been writing this, I have stopped to give the cats a licky treat. I have stopped to see how the collar I bought fits them. I have gone to the loo twice. I have stopped to take my meds.  I could go on. You get the picture.

Right now, Cinnamon has the zoomies and she is racing back and forth through this small house with Nutmeg in close pursuit. 

I have stopped to jot down two or three thoughts I have had about my talk. (I find if I don't write these things down now, I lose them.)

It does not seem to take much to distract me from anything these days. I wonder if that is normal. I hope that is normal.

 

(source)

Full of energy and joy!

The lady who lives across from me is back from her travels. I think she was in Ontario visiting one of her children.  Quite a few of them live here in Nova Scotia as well and I noticed they were there to greet her return. They are very attentive and are often there, especially at the weekends.

That makes me smile. She is such a lovely lady. All of my neighbors are nice and are friendly. Many do keep to themselves, but that's okay. I am one that also keeps to myself for the most part. It is enough to just keep an eye on each other for safety purposes.

 

(Gail Jones)

The wild rose bushes at the end of our road are blooming at the moment. This makes me think that Brier Island must be loaded with blooms.  It would be so lovely to take a trip down there and see them all.  I have been once, a very long time ago.  You have to take a small car ferry to get there. It doesn't take too long.  Many people go there to do whale watching or to check out the sea birds. I keep telling Cindy and Dan that they need to go and visit the Island. It is only a small Island but it has 200 full-time residents. 

And when the roses are in bloom, it's beautiful.  Well, I dare say it is beautiful any time.

I don't really have a lot more to say this morning. Some days are like that.  I have allowed myself too many distractions it seems.

A thought to carry with you . . . 

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

*"Believe in yourself,

learn, & never stop wanting 

to build a better world.° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

~Mary McLeod Bethune° * 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ •

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

In The English Kitchen today, Easy Jam Gems. A vintage recipe for drop biscuits, filled with a spot of jam and drizzled with a simple glaze.

I hope that you have a beautiful weekend! Whatever you get up to, stay safe. Be happy. Be blessed. Don't forget!

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And I do too!