And Then We All Had Tea: Saturday Nice . . .

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The little niceties of life that make

A world of difference in our daily round,

A bordered table cloth . . . a serviette,

A pan of homemade biscuits nicely browned.

A blue mug filled with yellow daffodils,

A silver urn set on a plastic stand,

Dimity dresses for the afternoon,

Old fashioned rings decking a lady's hand.

Tea in thin cups . . . sliced of buttered bread,

Sweet clotted cream poured from a pewter jug,

A golden fire flickering in the grate,

Throwing its colors o'er the crimson rug.

A summer cottage up beside the lake,

Where one can fish and dream along a shore,

Watching the sun go down behind the hills,

Letting its peace seep into your heart's deep cove.

Bikes for the children . . . swimming suits and slacks,

And all the trappings of modern day,,

And for your peace of mind and quiet sleep,

A little nest egg safely tucked away.

These and a hundred unnamed lovely things,

That make life sweet and give a spirit wings.

~Edna Jacques, Niceties of Life

Hills of Home, 1952

This speaks to me of small and simple things which embroider our lives and bring joy into them. Little ordinary pleasures that might not mean anything to anyone else, but mean the world to us, and which help to make our simple lives all the sweeter. Oh, I would not give a fraction of what I already have in exchange for the extravagance of things held by kings and queens. My life and those I hold within it are worth far more than anything they might have or want to tempt me with. My life flows with abundance and one of those gifts is knowing this to be true. Peace of mind, a heart filled with faith, love of family and friends, all that I stand in need of and enough to share . . . who could ask for anything more. A happy life is made up of small, beautiful things, all in a row. And that kind of life is within the reach of us all.

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Cindy, Eileen and I went on a little adventure last evening after supper. Oh no, nothing too overly exciting, but nice all the same. We took ourselves up to the Cambridge Convenience store to get some of the Potato Salad that we were unable to get the last time we were there. Stonemill Homestyle Potato Salad. It is the best ready made potato salad you can buy. Its right up there with homemade in my opinion. We love it. The last time we were there, just a week ago . . . they had none. We were so disappointed. We called earlier this week to see if we could order some, and they said they were bringing in 72 containers of it on Thursday. Friday night, and we got two of the last half dozen or so that were in the fridge. Yes, it is that popular.

We got a few other bits as well. Frozen single sized pizzas and frozen crumbed chicken breast chunks, some bean salad and I got a big bag of sultana raisins as I was completely out of raisins. Eileen and I split a case of the fizzy flavored water drinks that we like. She got a bag of bacon bits to have at her place, Cindy got a few things. We both got paper towels.

But the best part was the ride up in the car together and the ride home. Oh we laugh and talk and its just nice, nice, nice. Eileen really loves being with the two of us. We make her smile. She makes me smile. I do so hope that Eileen and I have built enough happy memories over these past six months to last her a lifetime after I am long gone. Time spent with family is priceless.

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8 Ways to Care for our Feathered Friends

in Warm Weather.

We are under a heat warning at the moment. High temperatures and humidity. As humans we have things available to us to help to get us through these things, but our little bird friends need some help. Here are eight things we can do to help them out. Helping birds is not just for winter.

1. Provide shade. Dense hedging provides a cool place for birds to rest, particularly younger birds.

2. Offer shelter from predators, too. Thick shrubs and hedges, especially with plenty of thorns, will prevent predators such as cats attacking, but allow just enough room for garden birds to sneak in.

3. Delay cutting hedges until late August. Putting it off ensures nests are all empty.

4. Use rainwater for watering. Even if you’re fortunate enough not to have a hosepipe ban, using mains water can affect wetland habitats and cause problems for the birds that live in them.

5. Provide both drinking and bathing water. And change it regularly. Water is essential for keeping garden birds hydrated and cool, but bird baths can be a breeding ground for diseases so refill them daily and clean them thoroughly once a week. Ponds are better than baths

6. Don’t tidy up too much. Piles of leaves and unmown corners of grass encourage the insects that birds feed on.

7. Plant shrubs that produce berries to tempt garden birds: ivy, holly, crab apples and blackberries are all popular menu items.

8. Place window decals on any windows that are highly reflective in order to prevent birds flying into them. Go outside and have a look to see if any of your windows are particularly difficult for birds to spot at certain times of day.

My sister has a yard that is the perfect habitat for birds and other wildlife, and it shows. You could sit for hours watching them flit back and forth from the feeders, bathe in her bird bath. We had a lot of fun one day watching a catbird have a bath. I cleaned my birdbath just yesterday. I usually do it every couple of days. I often see Jays drinking from it and the resident chipmunk as well. I have let to see any bird bathing in it.

It's important to clean and refill your hummingbird feeders weekly as well.

Tommy Hunter has died. He was a fixture of my childhood and appeared weekly on Friday nights in our family living room when I was growing up. The Tommy Hunter show was a favorite along with Don Messer's Jubilee. I know we did not have a lot of choice when it came to television viewing back then as we only had a few channels available for us to watch. His theme song Travelling Man still brings back happy memories for me. Rest in Peace Tommy. Thank you for some happy childhood memories.

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Happy Fourth of July to my many American friends and family today. It's 250th birthday. Imagine that. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday filled with the people that you love and lots of delicious food. Stay safe.

America was always a country I loved to travel through and I had always thought that if I could live anywhere on earth, Vermont/New Hampshire would be a beautiful place to choose. I have many, many fond memories of traveling through there and visiting family there as a child. It is such a beautiful part of the country. Mind you I have never been more South than Boston and have only ever spent time in the most Northern states that border Canada. I did get to visit Utah and Idaho and thought they were lovely places as well, especially Idaho.

In any case, Happy Fourth of July!

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This afternoon I am going with Cindy to take Dad and his friend Maryann out. I am also going to pick up the Birthday pie for Cindy's birthday celebrations. Its not her birthday until Monday, but we are celebrating it tomorrow. I can't wait! I really hope she likes what I got for her.

She is such a good person. I love her very much and would give her the moon if I could. She means the world to me, but then again, you already know that.

Of the three of us, my brother, sister and myself . . . she is the smartest. She is intelligent without having to work for it. It just comes naturally. I am not that smart, and I think I get stupider every day. lol Seriously when I really need advice about something, she is my first go-to. I know she will never steer me wrong. She has a head of reason, whereas I am more impetuous. I now count to ten and then ask Cindy. It serves me well.

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Life is very slow at the moment. Each day follows another without too much drama included. That suits me fine. I am all for the quiet life. Excitement is highly overrated. I do have goals now, but they are much simpler than they were when I was a lot younger than what I am now. I need to take stock and get rid of a lot of tat I have hanging about my place. Old magazines that I have been keeping, cookbooks I will never really use but bought for some unknown reason that I cannot remember. Once I get Eileen all moved in to her own place I will begin to clear things up a bit while I still have the energy to do so. I have bins of yarn to give away, etc. I will be keeping my art supplies and fabric in the hopes that I will one day have the time to play with them. My biggest hamper in doing all of this is my mobility. I guess I can put it all on the give away site on Facebook. I am just a bit leery about having a lot of strangers coming to my house.

Glenna across the way had a bit yard swing that she put out by the yard the other day with a free to give away sign on it and it was gone within a couple of hours. I was quite surprised.

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

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

*There is no trouble so great or so grave

that cannot be much diminished with a

cup of tea. ~unknown