All Things Nice . . .

 

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If I could paint the blues and greys,

That blend into that filmy sheen

As if an artist dipped his brush

In silver paint to draw a scene

From some high hill in Fairyland

A man with magic in his hand.

The frozen rutted pathways run

Like rabbit tracks among the trees,

The bushes weighted down with snow,

Bent like old women on their knees,

Webbed tracks like feather stitching made

In warm quilts by the ladies' aid.

The trees are decked in white array,

Like vestal maidens at a Feast,

Behind the hills the sun comes up

Like a great monarch of the East,

Whose golden trappings shed a glow,

On the white glare of frost and snow.

A dozen children play about

Like dwarfs from Snow-white come to town,

With merry eyes and laughing lips,

And all the antics of a clown,

With cheeks as red as Santa Claus

Playing to win the crowds applause.

And so a winter park becomes

A painting framed in frost and snow,

Where common things of every day,

Take on a radiance and a glow,

Like figures acting on a screen

Doing a lovely winter scene.

~Edna Jacques, Winter Park

Fireside Poems, 1950

There is a beautiful park here in town. Quite often in the summer months when people are getting married in the church not too far from it, they will walk over after the ceremony to have photographs done.  There is a tennis court and in summer a water park area for the small children to play in, park benches and at one end a small monument to Brigadier General Timothy Dwight Ruggles who was one of the founders of the town. He is the connection that Glenna and I have in our family trees, or one of them anyways.  There are a few benches for people to sit on and enjoy the fresh air also. It is a nice little park.

The photograph above reminded me of the times we used to take Mitzie to walk on the walking trails in the Delamere Forest on the Wirral Peninsula, just north of Chester. There were some really beautiful walks there. It was an area of great beauty, this forest.

I have always loved walking in the woods.

 

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We lived near Gimli, Manitoba when I was between the ages of 5 and 11. It was just a small community called Aspen Park, an area of living quarters for the married personnel that worked on the base there. Metal bungalows leftover from the second World War, I believe.  There was an area of forest adjacent to the homes. I used to love to go exploring in them as a child. I would climb trees and wander amongst them, taking in the smells and sights. Sometimes a bird's nest. I can remember finding a lady slipper once. I knew enough not to pick it, or to touch the eggs in the bird's nests. 

In spring we would gather pussy willows to bring home. Our mother would put them in a glass jar of water and we would marvel at them as the days passed and they swelled and burst into long cat tails. It was like magic to us.

In autumn we would gather in the fallen leaves for school projects. Aspen, birch, oak and maple. I have always had a heart for the things of nature. I think I always will.  

 

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February is a bit of an odd month, tucked as it were between what has been and what is coming next. Winter still has us in her grip but if you were to look at the branches of the maple tree in my back yard you would see the tiny swell of buds forming, small signs of change. The days are already starting to be noticeably a tiny bit longer . . . the darkness not descending on us now until after the supper hour as the light shifts in my home a tiny bit with each day that passes.

I love living seasonally as it gives you the opportunity to witness the small and simple changes that occur naturally and first hand. Its wonderful as you don't really need to do anything to experience it, you just get to watch it and revel in the small changes as they occur.

 

February reminds us that transitions do not need to be loud to be meaningful, as progress can be subtle. Sometimes simply recognizing that things are beginning to move again is enough, and gives us hope.

 

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I was very brave yesterday and Eileen and I piled into the car and we drove just to the next street over, behind my place, to the farm market. I picked up a few bits I was needing. I had made us Cheese Enchiladas for our supper and I wanted some salad bits to enjoy with it and I needed a loaf of bread and some milk. I made sure to go to the loo just before we left and I had to dash to the loo as soon as we got back in to the house. 

I really cannot wait to have all of this nonsense over with and get my life back again. It has been a real nuisance being stuck here and having to rely on others to do my bidding. I have been so grateful for the food that I have stored and for the toilet paper I have stockpiled. It is running low now, the toilet paper. I am sure I have enough to get me through to the end of this episode of my life, but I will be in dire need of it by then I am sure.  It is amazing how much you go through when you need to visit the loo every ten minutes!

 

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It has been nice having Eileen here this past week. Yesterday morning she was very brave and went to the bible study at the Baptist church in town. She was feeling very nervous about it as she did not know if Tim would be there or not, and she was pretty sure her mother-in-law would be there. I told her to go and hold her head up high as she had not done anything wrong. She did and she ended up really enjoying it. Tim was not there but his mother was and she told Eileen that she would always be her daughter-in-law. Eileen felt good about that. 

She was busy going over her "homework" from the study off and on through the rest of the day. It amazes me how very capable she is. But I should not be surprised. We raised her to be capable and always encouraged her to stretch and try new things, to seek out learning even if it might sometimes be difficult, and we helped her to understand things and to grow to whatever was within her capacity to do so. Its okay if you sometimes cannot grasp things fully, the important thing is that you tried.  The only failure in life comes in not trying.

I love my daughter so very much and am grateful for this time we have to spend together.

 

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We have taken to watching the Golden Girls on the Disney channel in the evenings. At first Eileen didn't know if she would like it or not, but she really likes it now.  We laugh at the antics of those old girls. I remember watching it years ago when my children were very young and being envious of their house, especially the kitchen. Last night when we were watching it the thought occurred to me that I am now older than most of them were in that show. 

I said to Eileen, we are kind of like the Golden Girls, except we are only two.  Single ladies. Living together for the time being. Just us and the cats.

The only difference is neither one of us is looking for adventures on the same scale that they are. I, personally, am quite content to leave men out of the equation, but I have told her she is still very young and to not totally draw the line in the sand as far as having some male companionship when she is ready to do so, and when and if that time comes.

I was very late waking up this morning. I did go to the loo three times during the night, but I did not wake up until almost 7 a.m. this morning which is very late for me.  I really must get on with the things I want to accomplish today.  Maybe we can try again to figure out that knitting tool that I got for Eileen. And with that I will leave you with a thought for the day . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  

• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。* 。

° 。 ° ˛˚˛ * _Π_____*。*˚

˚ ˛ •˛•˚ */______/~＼。˚ ˚ ˛

˚ ˛ •˛• ˚ ｜ 田田 ｜門 ★

*You will never be

able to escape from your heart

so it is better to listen to

what it has to say.

~Paul Coelho, The Alchemist 

• ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • •。★★ 。*  

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Swedish Apple Pie. Another oldie, updated and rewritten. This is probably the simplest apple pies out there.  Well worth a second glance.

I hope you have a beautiful weekend. Its cloudy out there today, but we have some snow and rain coming tomorrow. Whatever you get up to, I hope it brings you joy. Don't forget! 

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And I do too!