Dear Neighbor . . .

 

(source)

  JUNE 25th, 2026

Estate Lane,

Nova Scotia

14*C/58*F

Mostly sunny

No Umbrella Needed Today

Dear Neighbor,

Surprise!  Yes, I am writing to you a day earlier this week as tomorrow Cindy, Eileen and I are going to take that road trip we had planned for the other week. Eileen is really looking forward to it. We are going to maybe pick up a few last things for her apartment and we all have a great day planned. It should be fun.

Yesterday they moved a few larger items over to Eileen's apartment, like her bed and television. I was crying in bed last night thinking about her moving out. Oh, I know that it is necessary. I will miss having her here. Its silly to cry, after all she is only moving to another part of town. It's not that far away and I will be able to see and spend time with her any time I want to.  I have just enjoyed having her here so very much. These past six months have been a real blessing to us both. And yes, I do worry about her being in her apartment on her own, which is also silly. She has lived on her own before. All will be well. 

We have plans to still do the Wednesday night suppers with family, and then Saturday night movie nights and Sunday family dinners. So . . . still a lot of time to spend together. I'm just being a big baby.

 

(source)

Speaking of Wednesday night dinners, what a fiasco last night was. We got there and were all seated, but then had to change our table. It was right under the heat pump and the air conditioning was blowing right on top of us. Not pleasant at all and very cold.  So we moved over a table. The waitress took all of our orders.  Dad ordered a Cheeseburger and fries, no ketchup on the burger. Hazel had her usual baked haddock dinner. Eileen wanted the lasagna and garlic bread. Cindy and I both ordered the Crispy Chicken Burger special, which came with bacon and BBQ sauce on it and fries. We both requested no Steak Seasoning on the burgers. Too much salt.

Almost an hour later the waitress came to say that none of the orders had gone in due to a technological glitch. Usually they go in right from the iPad thing the waitresses carry, and it had failed. But she assured us that we would get ours next. Hazel had to send hers back because her fish was overdone and burnt.  Dad had ketchup on his burger, but he ate it anyways.  There was Steak Seasoning on both Cindy's and my burgers.  Oh, and this is the piece de resistance. There was a lipstick stain on Cindy's glass of water and she wasn't wearing lipstick. Eileen's lasagna was perfect and she really enjoyed it.

And dad kept saying he misses Chinese food. He wants to go to that horrible Chinese restaurant in Greenwood. Cindy would take him anytime and she and Dan will just go to Wendy's. So maybe that is what they will do next week. Maybe Eileen and I will try something else.

It was not the waitress's fault last night. I don't think any of us blamed her. It was just one of those things. Some days are just like that.

The lipstick on the glass though  . . . .

 

(source)

I had this recipe that I really wanted to make earlier this week for Cinnamon Coffee Crinkle Cookies . . . An Amazing Ultimate Recipe for 12 Cookies

You really cannot trust what you read or what you see any more.

This is what was promised.  I didn't think it looked like AI. If something looks AI generated I always give it a skip.  Looks can be very deceiving, however.

I am a very seasoned baker. Most of the time when I bake anything, it turns out without fail.  This is what I got . . . 

 

Is this even the same cookie???? It sure doesn't look like the same cookie.  I followed the ingredients and directions to the "T".  The only thing I did differently was to let them chill overnight. The batter was very sticky. The cookies are way darker than the photograph. The sugar crinkles look like warts, and they spread in the pan like crazy. Even though I had left three inches in between them, they still spread out to touch each other. 

Plus they are not nice cookies. Not nice at all. They are far too sweet and the texture is like goo.

I tried to leave a comment on the recipe page. No comments allowed. That should be the first warning signal when you go to make something. If they don't allow comments, then they are probably not very reputable. They probably haven't even cooked or baked what they are sharing. Its all just click bait.

 

(source)

Plants that wake when others sleep -

Timid jasmine buds that keep

Their fragrance to themselves all day,

But when the sunlight dies away

Let the delicious secret out

To every breeze that roams about

~Thomas Moore, Jasmine

There was jasmine in the hedgerow that ran along the back of the cottage property that I lived in when I worked at the Manor. In the summer the scent of it would whisper through the windows at nightfall, a most pleasant smell to fall asleep to . . . 

During the day the hedge would be abuzz with bees and the like. One time I even spied a Hummingbird Hawk Moth feasting on the blooms. I was certain it was a Hummingbird, but it was not. There are none of those to be found in the U.K. Just the moths who trick us into thinking we have seen the bird.  

Once I found out what it really was I was just as excited as if I had actually seen a Hummingbird so it was all good.

That was such a beautiful environment to live in. When I think about it, what a great experience that was for me having been born and brought up in Canada and having lived a simple ordinary life. Almost like a dream really. If I had not lived it myself, I would not have believed it. 

Life is a beautiful thing with all of its twists and turns. You never quite know where it is going to take you.

 

(source)

Cindy's birthday is coming up soon. I wonder how we will celebrate it this year. Her Birthday is on the 6th and mom's was on the 9th. For years and years I have mixed the two up because they are so close together.  I remember now because I tell myself that Cindy's comes first. I would tell you how old she will be, but I won't because she doesn't like people to know.  Lets just say she is older than her teeth and younger than her hair.

I have ordered something special as a gift for her, but am waiting on it arriving. It should have been here last Friday, but I am still waiting. I cannot tell you what it is because she reads this and that would be telling her. 

Something I have always struggled with it keeping secret the gifts that I get for others. I get so much pleasure in gifting others that I almost burst from the joy of it all right from the time I have decided on the gift. It was really difficult for me when my children were growing up, buying Christmas presents for them and then having to wait until Christmas to give them their gifts. I could not wait. But I did. Because I had to. But it was so hard.

Most of my pleasure in gifting comes from seeing the recipient open the gift. I try really hard to buy gifts that I know they will love. I am the same with cards. I always buy a card that I would like to receive myself. I put a LOT of thought into cards.  

Oddly enough I am not that great at receiving gifts. I feel embarrassed and shy about it. Almost like I don't deserve to get what I am being given. I am more comfortable going off on my own and opening my gifts in secret than I am in doing it in person. I wonder am I alone in that? 

 

(source)

I will need to go out today and get birdseed. The blackbirds and starlings have emptied my feeder and I have no seed left. I know  . . .  they don't really need to be fed in the summer months, but I enjoy it so much. So do the cats.  Perhaps that is selfish of us.

Last night when Eileen and I got home we spent some time picking the dead blooms off of the Petunias in the front of the house. I am never sure what is the right way to treat plants. I love to look at them and I revel in their beauty, but when it comes to care, I am totally ignorant. Perhaps that is a question for mister google later on. I do know I was told not to water my geraniums too often or it would turn their leaves yellow, so I am trying not to do that.

I still want to buy myself a clothes drying rack so that I can hang some things up outside to dry. It would only be small things, nothing large like bedding. You would need a HUGE rack to be able to do that.

One of these years I will get myself a patio set so that I can comfortably sit outside in the summer and enjoy some fresh air. But then I would feel bad about leaving the cats indoors. A Catio would be nice, but then again, I don't want them to get a taste for the outside or they will always be trying to sneak out.

Its a conundrum.

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

☾ ° ★° * 。  

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

*To find a seashell is to discover

a world of imagination.

~Michelle Held

In The English Kitchen today Easy Biscuit Muffin Breads. I baked these the other day, a small batch recipe making only six breads, and they were fabulous! Very quick and easy to make. You can put them together in seconds and then bake. No fuss, no muss, just stir some ingredients together and spoon them into muffin cups. I baked these in my toaster oven/air fryer.  They came out fabulous and even taste good two days later!

I hope you have a beautiful Thursday. (Almost said Friday there, but I hope you have a great Friday as well.)  I will let you know how the road trip goes on Saturday when I write again.  Whatever you get up to, I hope it brings you joy!  Don't forget in the meantime  . . . 

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⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿

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And I do too!