Dear Neigbour . . .

 

(source)

 NOVEMBER 13th, 2026
Estate Lane
Middleton, Nova Scotia
2*C/35*F
Light rain/snow

Dear Neighbor,

Yes, it is snowing at the moment. Nothing too bad. Just snow mixed with a bit of rain. Very brrrr this morning, but then again, it is that time of year. We can expect this.

I had a rather eventful afternoon yesterday. Eileen got home from her CSS visit about mid-afternoon and I asked her if she wanted to go to the shops. I needed to pick up a few things. I didn't have to ask her twice. We got into the car and started off.  I confess something felt a bit "off" in the car, but I thought it was me.  I got almost into the center of town when I realized that my brakes were failing, my brake light was on, but I was not in an area where I could pull over. I decided to abort the plans to go to the shops and head for the service center which is just the other edge of town. I kept just driving fairly slowly (I am sure the drivers behind me were annoyed, but meh!) I managed to get there. I was praying that I would not have to hit any red lights or meet any stopped school busses. I was praying the whole time and my heart was in my throat.

We got there safely. Long story short, my rear brakes are done.  I am not sure how long it will take for them to be fixed. I was able to call Cindy to come and pick us up to bring us home, and she even stopped at the store on the way so I could pick up the few bits I needed. That was so kind of her.

I surely had an angel on my shoulder, and of course I have an angel sister. God is good. I am blessed.

 

 

(source)

Autumn is full of leave-taking. In September the swallows are chattering of destination and departure like a crowd of tourists, and soon they are gone. Gone also are the willow wrens and the blackcaps and the reed sparrows, and the cuckoo has long been part of the echoing past. It is the day of small things; the wren's bell-like note and the wild little song of the tits are quite impressive now. The robin is chief singer; his voice ascends like a spiral stair, every ringing note a roundel for the mounting spirit. Down through the sere leaves comes the first chestnut; others follow in quickening commotion, beginning their long pilgrimage to perfection; a hundred years hence they will stand in bridal white against the blue. Then the complaint of falling leaves begins, swells in a ghostly crescendo, and is hushed. Once more, as in early spring, the air is full of wings; missel thrushes, fieldfares, and redpolls are busy in the ploughlands; great gatherings of starlings assemble in the afternoon to go roost in the reeds; when thousands of them rise together, there is a sound like the unfurling of a silken banner. Flocks of wild geese pass over, and their strange cry falls from the sky. The peewits wheel and call continually, and from amid the ripple of their wings their cry sounds lost and lovely as some Naiad's voice beneath running water.

~Mary Webb (1881-1927), from the Spring of Joy, 1917

When I read things like this I feel a bit lonesome for England. For all of the different birds that used to frequent my garden at different times of the year. When I first moved over there I got a job at a care home. There was a magpie that was a frequent visitor. I had never seen a magpie before.  Also the wagtail tits, those were a first for me to see. Tits are a bird that very much reminded me of the chickadees back home and there were more than a few varieties, my favourite being the wagtails, with their long tail feathers that wagged up and down when they walked. The European robin, the portrait of which is conveyed on many a Christmas card, small and cute, with the most beautiful song. A visitor to the garden all the year through, not just in the springtime.  A hedge full of sparrows that always greeted every morning with a cacophony of song.

I remember hearing my first cuckoo and wondering at how it sounded exactly like the cuckoo from the cuckoo clock back home as it echoed through the air, and then there was the thrush that sat on the chimney top of the cottage next door of an evening singing it's beautiful song into a sky darkening from purple to black.

I will never forget the noise of the starlings coming through. Sitting in the tall trees that bordered the manor grounds. Nor will I forget the afternoon I sat in the car at a local shopping center and watched them murmuring across the sky in an undulating dance that was entrancing and mesmerizing.

Birds. I have always loved them and the gifts they bring by just being present in our lives. I wish I had more to watch here, where I live now.

 

(source)

Now is the time to bring out the blankets and throws. The temperatures are dropping and I find myself with the heat on almost full time now. All the fans have been put away except for the one in Eileen's room. She likes that one.

She has been experiencing the odd hot flash, which is to be expected. I have never had one, at least not that I can recall. Menopause was an easy transition for me.  I expect going into menopause all at once will bring a few different experiences to Eileen's table. If they are really difficult she can mention them to the specialist when she visits later this month and they may be able to give her some hormone therapy, although I do not recommend it as the side effects of those can also be quite hard to take.

I will miss her being here when she moves back to her apartment on Monday. She has been an easy companion to live with all these months, but we will have weekends and Wednesday night dinners and Christmas which she is thinking about now. I will have to make sure it is a good one.

 

(source)

She is unable to go to her bible study this morning as we have no car. I did offer to pay for her to go in a cab but she was too nervous to go in a car with a stranger. Her worker will pick her up for her Friday visit here when the time comes for that.  And she will be okay going to her bible study next Friday. The pastor that normally picks her up is in Florida at the moment.

I was a bit surprised that people are still going to Florida from here. Most that I know of have changed their Winter destinations to other Southern points.

I have never been a snowbird, flying south for the winter. I have thought of it and dreamt of it, but finances have never allowed for me to do so.

 

(source)

I see on Facebook and in some of the surrounding area that some have begun now to put up their Christmas Decorations. It gets earlier and earlier each year. I do confess we have started to watch the Christmas films (in order to get them all in) and I have bought my Christmas Cards. I do like the American idea of having Thanksgiving later in the year so that it helps to usher in the festive season. It just seems appropriate to use it as a spring-board for the holidays, to usher in the season of Christmas love with a day of Thanksgiving. 

Not so much a fan of Black Friday however. But that is just me.

 

(source)

Cindy will be coming to pick me up later this morning, when she drops Bailey off next door. We will be going with Dad and Maryann to the mall. I do need to go to Walmart and pick up a few bits. That is the cheapest place to get things like cat food,  as well as toiletries. Admittedly we can't get much as dad's wheelchair takes up a good chunk of space in the boot of the car, but it is nice to get out and pick up a few things.

Other than that there is not an awful lot going on in life at the moment. Not that my life is dull, it is filled with more than enough to keep me going, just not things that are really interesting to other people I guess, or I think so at any rate.

And so, I will end this now  . . . 

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

☾ ° ★° * 。  

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

*Its not what you look at 
that matters,
its what you see.

~Henry David Thoreau

In The English Kitchen today, Crispy Garlic Parmesan Pasta Chips.  I had wanted to try something like this for a long time. Those crispy bits on the edges of any casserole are always my favourite bits and these are like having a plate full of your favourite bits. Crisp on the edges, and bit chewy and moreish in the middle. Fabulous dipped in marinara.

I do hope you have a beautiful Friday. Whatever you get up to, stay safe. I hope it brings you joy. Don't forget!

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⊰✿░G░O░D⊰✿⊰L░O░V░E░S⊰✿⊰░Y░O░U░⊰✿

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And I do too!