Saturday Nice . . .

 

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The hills of home are little hills,

But oh I love them so;

The purple tinted sweep of them

Against the evening's glow,

The way a tall tree bows its head

Like an old man when prayers are said.

The stony pastures climbing up

Against the mountain's base,

Whose dear familiar lines are known

Like a beloved face;

An old rail fence whose corners hold

Wild asters bright as guinea gold.

For elm and ask and stunted oak

Grow on these hills of mine,

Butternut trees and hickory

And clumps of knotty pine;

Wild apples in an old ravine,

A white birch like a virgin queen.

O silent hills I lift my eyes

To drink deep of your strength,

The comfort of enduring things,

Peace for the journey's length,

From petty cares and daily ills,

I lift mine eyes unto the hills.

Finding in them a sweet release,

A zone of comfort, joy and peace.

~Edna Jacques, The Hills of Home

Hills of Home, 1952

The above is a photograph taken several years ago by a friend on Facebook of a spot on the 101 just past Avonport here in the Annapolis Valley. This is the exact point that anyone who has lived in this beautiful valley I am from feels like they are finally home after having been away for a time.  You hit this particular spot and all of a sudden  . . .  you are home. Your heart just fills with joy. It is hard to put into words. The beauty of this place we come from just hits like a hammer. It almost takes your breath away. I can think of many times that this view of the hills of home and the valley has brought a tear to my eye. I may be an hour and some from my final destination but I am home. At last.

When this photo was first posted on Facebook, it garnered all sorts of comments from people who felt exactly the same way when they come to this particular spot on the highway.  It has been touching hearts forever it seems and probably always will.  It doesn't matter how far away we've roamed, this is the point where we Valley people all feel Home . . .  Sweet . . .  Home.

 

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I was talking to Sheila on the telephone yesterday. She is down in Digby at rehab. She seemed to be in very high spirits and it sounds like she is doing very well. She is walking daily to the dining room for her meals, etc. It all sounds very promising so that is good news.  She is anxious to get home to her little Bailey. She worries that he will have forgotten her, but I assured her that doggies never forget their owners and he will be as happy as punch to see her when he does.

I noticed earlier this week that they put her old easy chair that she sat in every day out for garbage pickup. I suspect they are buying her a new chair in anticipation of her return home, but I cannot say for sure.

 

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Eileen is looking forward to coming over later today for her sleepover. She had her hearing test, etc. yesterday. The Doctor told her that her earaches are because of a condition called Temporomandibular Disorder or TMD and that it goes along with anxiety.

"Temporomandibular disorder (TMD) refers to a group of conditions affecting the jaw muscles, temporomandibular joints (TMJ), and associated nerves, often resulting in pain and dysfunction."

Its associated with jaw clenching, teeth grinding, etc. Also injury or osteo arthritis or rheumatoid arthritis.

I have had this condition for years and years and years. I cannot remember not having it. I cannot open my mouth very far without the joint clicking out of place. It got worse after the last procedure I had for my kidney stones. I think that was caused from the intubation. Anyways, it is just something I have learned to live with. Nobody ever offered me any alternative.

She also needs hearing aids. Hopefully the program that she belongs to will pay for them as I am sure that she doesn't have the finances to do so, and neither do I.

I know they are paying for her Sleep Apnea machine which she should be receiving soon.

Anyways, she is looking forward to coming over this afternoon. I am going to cook that recipe I shared the other day for Chuckwagon Beef & Pasta. I think she will really like that. I will give her the leftovers to bring home with her when I take her back on Sunday.  I am not sure what movie we will watch tonight. I was thinking she might enjoy the Three Lives of Thomasina. That was a movie that I loved as a child, and it's nice and has a happy ending. I like happy endings.

 

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I enjoyed my time out with Cindy yesterday afternoon. I am so grateful to have this sister of mine.  We need to have an art day to play soon I think. We have not done one of those in a while. 

The traffic was crazy busy in Greenwood. It's the weekend of the annual RibFest.  

"The Valley Wide Ribfest in Greenwood, Nova Scotia, is a popular summer event that will take place from July 25 to July 27, 2025. The festival features mouthwatering ribs, live music, craft beer, and family-friendly activities. Attendees can enjoy professional rib competitions, a craft beer tent, and a fun kids' zone. Admission is free, making it a great opportunity to enjoy the festivities with friends and family."

Cars were parked all up and down along the road running past the location where it is being held. I was looking at some of the prices of the food on offer and it wasn't cheap. Smelled good though. This is a great activity for young folk and families, and is obviously very well attended.  They did not have things like this when I was growing up here. There would be Armed Forces Day in July where the base would be open for people to go and visit everything, tour the planes, etc. along with an airshow but that was pretty much it as I can recall.  Oh, the Kingston Steer BBQ and Heart of the Valley Days.  It has been many years since I attended any of those things. I believe it was Heart of the Valley Days last weekend. (Here in town.) It was not very well promoted I have to say.  I knew something was going on because of all the cars outside the McDonald Museum in town, but I had no idea of what it was.

They don't really seem to promote these things like they used to.

As you all know I am a lover of words. I collect them like some people collect buttons. I liked this one.  I think it applies to me much of the time. I am not sure about the eccentric bit, but I could be quite eccentric had I the resources to be so.  I would love to live in a house that took you back fifty years from the moment you walked inside the door. I would love to dress like they did in the 1930's and 40's.  Women had such style then. I love the old ways. Old music. Vintage decor, etc. I admire anyone who has the time and money to devote themselves to such things. They are not really eccentric to me, they are "living the dream."

I am a bit scatty however, absent-minded, dreamy, distracted, whimsical and lost in my own thoughts. I just thought it was my adhd. Now I can say it is because I am "wifty." A much better word don't you think?

 

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I used to have Teasle in the front garden of Oak Cottage when we lived there. The bees loved it when it was flowering and the birds loved it when it went to seed.  Ours had pink flowers on it. 

How wonderful it would be to have a cottage garden again.  One needs to be able to care for it however and I am past that now.

I am already fretting a bit about how I am going to get rid of my plants out front come autumn when they are past it. Something will happen.

I should check with Zilla next door and ask her how they got their own compost bin. I think I would like to perhaps have one of my own as well.

 

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It was quite misty out when I got up this morning. I took my usual walk down to the mail box to see if anything had been dropped off yesterday. The mist has all burnt off now and it is a beautiful sunny day. I think it is going to be quite warm as the day progresses. On warm sunny days you can smell BBQ in the wind. People like to cook out on their decks on the BBQ. If I had a shed to store it, I would have a BBQ. I don't however. I do so love the smell of BBQ.  MY father used to cook on the BBQ occasionally when we were growing up.  We also used to cook on the BBQ when my children were growing up. We started off with the old charcoal briquette one and then eventually we managed to be able to afford a gas one. There is something about cooking your food outdoors that makes it taste better don't you think? I had a beautiful gas BBQ over in the U.K. that I had been given for writing about it on my blog. We used it a fair bit in the warmer months.  We used to have the Missionaries over for the 4th of July and cook on it for them as well.  I never get to have them over these days. Not that we have any here in this area at the moment.  They cannot go to a single sister's home without being accompanied. Its for their own safety and for the safety of the single sister. 

I always really loved having the Missionaries over for supper. They always brought such a special spirit with them when they came.

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I have a few things to be getting on with this morning before I pick up Eileen. I want to cook that casserole for one thing and I also want to clean the bathroom and vacuum.  My cleaners are not coming this next week as they are on holiday.  They are coming on the 3rd instead and quite early that morning. 8:45. But I do want to tidy a bit and clean a bit before then. When you have two hairy cats you need to vacuum regularly, and I do so like a clean bathroom.  I had meant to get a big jug of handwash yesterday when I was at Walmart, but I forgot.  Eileen uses a lot of handwash, which is a good thing when you think about it. She keeps her hands almost obsessively clean. I would go through one of those large refill bottles every month when she was staying here.  When I am on my own I probably only go through one of the small ones every month. Not that I don't wash my hands, because I do.  I just don't have the need to wash them every time I touch something.  She is quite obsessive about it. She scrubs her hands after she touches anything. 

She says she never had Covid, not even once and that is because she is always washing her hands. I can remember her having some really bad colds and bouts of Bronchitis so I am pretty sure that she did have it, she just never tested herself.  And of course these days it is impossible to get a Covid test kit anywhere. You used to be able to pick them up at the local library, but they have not had them for over a year now. And the library will soon be closing it's doors for good.

Not that is a sad thing.  Most small towns here in Nova Scotia are losing their libraries. A sad thing indeed. They say that people don't use them enough. That is probably true. A lot of people read their books on the kindle these days.  I confess I am one of them. Sad but true.

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

☾ ° ★° * 。  

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

*Sometimes the only means 

of transportation is

a leap of faith!

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  Easy Canadian Maple Butter Tarts. Delicious and not as difficult to make as one might suppose, especially if you use frozen tart shells. This is a small batch recipe and makes six tarts.

Still praying for all the wildfires throughout the world.

I hope that you all have a lovely weekend.  May it be filled with joy and light.  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!    

   

Saturday Nice . . .

 

(source)

I like a kitchen big enough

To hold a rocking chair,

With windows looking to the sun,

And flowers blooming there.

I like big cupboards by the wall,

That hold a lot of things,

The cups hung up on little hooks,

A yellow bird that sings.

I like to do my mending there,

Where I can watch the road,

And see the teams come plodding home,

And smell their fragrant load,

Of heavy sheaves at stacking time,

Or hear the wagons creak,

And groan beneath their golden weight,

If it is threshing week.

I like to have the supper on,

And let it simmer slow,

With rich brown gravy bubbling up,

Around the meat, you know,

With apple pie set out to cool

And flaky new baked bread,

With golden syrup in a bowl

And jelly warm and red.

I like to have the lamps ashine,

With yellow glowing light,

And have the kitchen warm and clean

When they come in at night.

To make a home so snug and dear,

That when they work or play,

They hold a picture in their hearts

Of home, at close of day.

~Edna Jacques, Farm Homes

Beside Still Waters, 1952

I don't know how she does it, but every time I read a poem of Edna's she gets inside my heart and brings out some kind of memory for me of the past. Reading this this morning I was taken back to the farm house of my first husband's family up country at the base of the North Mountain. Oh, but it was a beautiful place, with orchards full of apple trees, fields full of growing vegetables and cow corn, dairy cows, barns, a kitchen garden and a big old farm house just like the one in the poem. This way of life was all so foreign to me, the daughter of a military man.  Their kitchen was larger than the whole downstairs of the homes I had grown up in.  It was huge, eat-in with a rocking chair right next to the phone and a window where you could look out onto the yard. A big round wooden country table where this father and the farm hand would come in to sit and enjoy their breakfast and their dinner, a dedicated dining room, a formal sitting room, a living room and a small office besides.  This did not include the back mudroom which held a back stair case to upstairs and a door to the cellar. And that was just the downstairs, there were more rooms upstairs.  Each would have held the whole downstairs of my family home.  Then there was the wrap around veranda with it's wooden railings, complete with hammock out front.

My mother in law had a wood stove to use in the Winter months and a smaller electric one for the warmer months, and a long pantry area that held everything she needed when it came to preparing and cooking meals, etc.  There was even a large drawer that swung open from the top and held the largest bag of flour that I had ever seen.  Many loaves, cakes, pies and such came from that drawer. 

His father, whom I loved, would sit in the rocker in his sock feet at the end of the work day, paper in hand, reading while his mother bustled about to get the supper ready. Supper was a less formal meal, dinner having been enjoyed at noon, and was often served on old metal television trays in the living room in front of the evening news. 

 

Before my Senior Prom

In the formal living room of the old Farm House.

Oh how I loved to spend time in that big old house. It was so comfortable and warm, inviting, and completely different than anything I was used to or had grown up with. I learned so much about cooking from my first mother-in-law.  Unlike my mother, she did not mind having someone in her kitchen or a mess to clean up afterwards.

It seems like a whole lifetime ago now  . . .  and it was. I am way older now than my late mother-in-law was then. She lived to be a hundred years old, having lived as a widow for 37 years. The old farm house is still there, but looks quite different now, having changed hands many times through the ensuing years.

I often still go back there in my mind and remember things as they were, way back when. Oddly enough my sister's boyfriend at the time lived in a similar house just down the road from this one. It seems we were both drawn to the rural way of life back then.

 

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How happy I am to have been given a grateful heart.  

"Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content." ~Philippians 4:11

I do not take any of these things for granted. These gifts I have been given in my life. Each day I thank the Lord for His bounty.  Blessings showered down over me from the windows of Heaven. I read something once which said something like, "Don't forget that the things you are enjoying now were once things that you prayed for." I don't forget. I count my blessings every day. 

Perhaps that is the secret to a happy life?  And I do have a happy life.  Some might think that I should not be so happy, but I am.  Happy. It is  good place to be.

Now, tired  . . .  that is a different thing. I spent most of yesterday in a drowsy funk.  I fell into bed last night, hoping I would fall right asleep, but alas I did not.  It was close to midnight before I fell and then it was a dreamy sleep.  Tonight's, hopefully, will be much better. I probably spent too much time yesterday falling asleep in my chair.

 

For the moors! For the moors, where the short grass 

Like velvet beneath us should lie!

For the moors! For the moors, where each high pass

Rose sunny against the clear sky!

For the moors, where the linnet was trilling

Its song on the old granite stone;

Where the lark, the wild sky-lark was filling

Every breast with delight like it's own!

~Emily Bronte from Loud Without the Wind was Roaring

How wonderful it was to have been able to traipse across the Yorkshire moors. Back when I could walk for miles and miles it seemed.  So beautiful and so wild. How wonderful it was that I was able to experience things like this in my lifetime.  To see great swathes of heather blooming purple and pink upon the hillsides, and great stone walls meandering . . .  lone trees standing aloof and silent against horizons, to feel the wind rush past my ears . . . carrying with it the scent of a thousand miles and dreams and hearts. Hair wild and dancing in the air, not caring wither it goes. It goes  . . . and I go with it.  

Adventures, oh I have had adventures that my seventeen year old heart could not have ever imagined having. I have walked where ancient kings have trodden, where horses pulled their chariots of gold . . . 

I wish that I could put into the words all that I have felt and experienced through the years. My keyboard barely does these things justice. They are locked in my mind where only now and then small snippets escape  . . . oh that I could only pull them  out and share them with you in all their glory  . . . but words fail me time and time again . . . 

 

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I was thinking just now of my first time up into the Horseshoe Pass. This is a mountain pass in Denbighshire, North-East Wales. It was so beautiful and wild up there. You could look down into deep Welsh Valleys and the sheep were everywhere.  Wandering across the road, over the hillsides made of moss covered shale in parts . . . I remember my first trip there I was trying so hard not to step on anything (Yes, there are that many) but I gave up eventually for it was very difficult to pick your way without, but the beauty  . . .  it was stunning.  You soon forgot what you were undoubtedly walking on. To get there you travelled in the car up a road that wound around and around, with wooded forest on one side and steep drops to dark valleys on the other . . .  and then, when you finally hit the top, it was as if the whole world opened up before you. On a clear and sunny day. On a rainy day you were steeped in mist, but it was beautiful all the same. A stark wild beauty. 

There was a cafe at the top where we always stopped for a cake and a drink and a wander about. I think anyone that ever came to visit me . . .  I took up there so that they could experience it too. 

 

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I looked at this and it brought a smile to my face  . . .  the lumps under the throw. I have two cats who like to do the same. I keep my sofa and chair covered in throws, not that it does any good because somehow they manage to scratch the furniture all the same when I am not looking. They do like to crawl beneath the throws however. There are times you need to be careful where you sit because you will often find one sleeping underneath as if in a tent.

They think you cannot see them, but there are signs of their presence . . . lumps beneath blankets, tails and paws peeking out from beneath the skirts of my chairs. How could anyone ever feel lonely or alone. I do not. Not ever.

Eileen was really looking forward to her People's First Pride Day today.  I spoke to her briefly early this morning when I woke her up. She wanted me to wake her up at 7:30 so that she could walk down to Tim Hortons and have breakfast before she got picked up to be taken down. She is all packed and ready to come over to my place tonight. She thinks she will be back by 4:30. I will drive over to pick her up then and our sleepover will begin. She really looks forward to this and so do I.

I think tonight we had plans to watch the first Parent Trap movie with Haley Mills in it, but again, that could change according to our mood. It all depends.  I will get her settled in and we will have some supper and she has laundry to do.  Then it is her shower night as well. So after that we will settle into watching something together on the television together. I have gotten her a new Diamond art kit to surprise her with, so she will likely begin on that while we visit and watch together. 

Do I know how to live the high life or what!  It is the high life to me, and something I could only dream about experiencing when I lived thousands of miles away.  Prayers are answered and often not in the way we expect.

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

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

*Nothing can be truer than fairy wisdom.

It's as true as sunbeams.

~Douglas Jerrold

I was too tired to cook anything new yesterday so I am sharing an old post which I have updated and rewritten for James Cagney Eggs.  Its Egg in the Hole but with a bit of a bite.  Maybe I will make this for Eileen for breakfast tomorrow. She would love that.

I hope you have a lovely Saturday.  I need to get to the grocery store and pick up some cat food since I did not get out yesterday. The cats will have to make do with what I can get until I can get to Walmart.  They will not starve.  Whatever you get up to this weekend, I hope it brings you joy and peace. 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!    

   

Saturday Nice . . .

 

(source)

It's the little things I shall enjoy.

The sheltering hedge . . . the paper boy

Shieing the paper at the door;

That little minute just before

I light the candles on the cake;

The crazy flower beds I'll make.

Not having to be bright and gay,

Being yourself the whole long day,

Taking your time for household chores,

Not worrying about the floors;

Pushing the curtains back until

The sun pours over the window sill.

Putting small knick knacks here and there,

A shelf for things beneath the stair,

Giving away to foolish whims,

Filling the teacup 'till it brims;

Sponge cake for supper . . . eggs on toast

Browning potatoes with the roast.

Knowing that here within these walls

The quiet bedroom and the halls,

Are sanctity and peace of mind,

That here a lonely heart may find

All it has sought through rain and storm,

A little house to keep us warm.

~Edna Jacques, Home of My Own

Hills of Home, 1952

Each night when I lay in bed and whisper my prayers, I always thank God for this wee home of mine. I try never to take it for granted. A home of my own is what I prayed for and a home of my own is what God gave to me. On a quiet street with nice neighbors, with a wide front porch to sit out on and a pretty screen door, a lovely maple tree in the back yard . . . enough space to spread out in and to fill with the things I love. A shelter. A haven. An answer to my most heart felt prayers. It is not the home I imagined. It is not really mine, but rented, and that's okay. I know this is where God wanted me to be because this is what God gave to me.

"Remember the days you prayed for the things you have now."

 

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We are coming into fresh bean season now. I picked up my first mess of beans the other day. I got a mix of yellow and green. I do so love fresh beans and I love the yellow ones most of all. Mom always called them "wax" beans. Yellow beans are commonly referred to as "wax beans" due to their smooth, glossy appearance and color that resembles bees wax, which is a defining characteristic of their pods. There is a degree of delicacy and refinement as opposed to green beans. 

I love them both, but the yellow ones  . . .  they have my heart.  When I lived in the U.K. you never saw yellow beans. They were extremely rare. I did grow some from seed and I enjoyed every one of them.

I like to steam them lightly and then dress them with a bit of cream and butter, some salt and black pepper. They are so very delicious done this way.

 

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I am so pleased at how well Eileen has settled into her place, although to be sure, she is looking forward to coming here to spend the night tonight. And I am looking forward to having her.

Yesterday I washed all of the pink bedding from her bed at her old apartment. She had wanted me to just get rid of it as she said there were wasps in it.  I did not see any wasps, dead or alive and it is such a pretty pink, so I washed it all and will drop it off at her place when I go to pick her up. I also have bought her a set of cutlery.  The ones I gave her that dad had given me are real silver and are tarnishing. I did buy silver polish but I can't really see her polishing it, so I will get that back and keep it for myself I suppose.  I can polish it at any rate.

That reminds me of all the polishing I had to do when I worked at the Manor. There was no end to the copper and the silver in that house. I was always polishing. I would just get it all finished when I would have to start back at the beginning again. The housekeeper as well.

It cured me from ever wanting to really have any of that stuff myself. Mom had a silver tea set that was never used and silver plate cutlery that got used only at Christmas and Easter. Special occasions.

 

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I brought a large quilt printed with pink cabbage roses to Eileen's the other day. It is to cover her sofa with. We used the matching shams to cover the sofa pillows. It looks quite nice.

She has her appointment with the Gyno department on Wednesday afternoon.  Hopefully we will know more about what comes next after that. Her worker Cassidy is taking her. I hope they will telephone me afterwards to let me know what is what. I know I will be seeing Eileen for supper that day, but she is always a big vague with these things. I am never quite sure how much of them she really takes in, so I would prefer to talk to her worker so I can know what's what.

Each night I pray that things will be dealt with more sooner than later and that all will be well.  And that I will live long enough to see her through to the end, happy, healthy and settled.

 

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I suppose that is every mother's wish for their children.  

I want to go to the shops early this morning as I want to pick up a chicken to roast. I thought it would be nice to have a chicken dinner today with Eileen.  I have some Paxo stuffing that she wanted to try so I will make stuffing balls, and boil some new potatoes, cook some beans and broccoli. It will be good. If we get a chance after I pick her up, maybe we will drive up to Peltons and pick up a pie.

Yesterday by the time I got home from taking dad out with his friend Maryann, I was too tired to cook much of anything.  I had picked up some sliced turkey and a fresh roll at the shops so I had that made into a sandwich along with some potato salad. (The Stonemill one from Costco) Its all gone now as I had brought a largish container of it over to Eileen's the other day. I also made a small Taco Salad from a kit at the grocery store, but it was too spicy. I couldn't eat it. (A store-made kit.) The dressing was like fire on my tongue. 

 

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Each day I am trying hard to finish one large chore.  Yesterday it was to go through my dresser and get rid of things which needed getting rid of.  I had a whole black bag of stuff to take away. I don't know why I hang onto pairs of trousers that are two sizes too small for me. Realistically speaking I will never get into those again. Hope springs eternal, but really . . .  I know myself and it's probably never going to happen and if it does?  Well, I will just buy new ones. I will give myself permission to buy new ones.

I will have earned them.

 

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There is a part of me that wishes I could be thin enough to wear the really pretty things, like this sweater.  The realist in me know that will never happen. Those days are long gone, but I can still appreciate the beauty of them.

 

 

 

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I do so love pretty things  . . . but I can be content with admiring them from afar. It would really be a waste for me to have such things as I would never have an opportunity to use them. And that's just fine with me.

 

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Eileen and I are going to watch a film tonight. I would love to watch something Jane Austinish, but I really don't think she would like that.  Although she does love anything like Anne of Green Gables. I don't want her to be bored.   Maybe a movie like Pollyanna would suit us both? I love the old Disney films. Anything with Haley Mills in it.  I loved her when I was a child. I had a Haley Mills paper doll. I used to love to make her new clothes copying the outfits that I had seen her wearing in various films.

Some of the films I really enjoyed when I was younger were The Parent Trap, Pollyanna, The Trouble with Angels and (I know this is a bit racy) A Summer Place with Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue. I thought Sandra Dee was so elegant.  I used to like the Tammy movies as well.

Do you remember going to the movies on Saturday afternoons?  Half an hour of cartoons and a feature film for about not a lot of money. 25 cents got you into the film along with a drink and some popcorn.  The theatre on the base used to be jam packed with kids on a Saturday afternoon. My mother used to make me bring my sister with me. She was hard work. She never wanted to stay in her seat. She would be trying to get up on the stage or open the fire escape doors.  To be honest, she was not that old and neither was I. That was too much responsibility for me. As much as I loved her.

That is one of the things about being the oldest child. You do have a lot of responsibilities foisted upon you.  Its just the way it is.

 

(source)

I don't really have a lot else to share with you this morning. I was a bit later getting up and having my shower.  Usually I am up before six a.m. but it was after that time this morning. To be honest I never sleep straight through the night. It is always broken up. I am up at least twice to go to the loo. It has been like that since I had the stent in from the kidney stones. I had thought it would get better, but it hasn't really.  Or maybe it is just that I wake up and think I need to go, whether I do or not, and then start thinking that if I don't go I won't be able to get back to sleep for thinking about it, so I go.

I would so love to have a night where I sleep from the time my head hits the pillow until I wake up in the morning light. These days I find myself more and more having to have a short nap later in the afternoon, or I am falling asleep watching television in the evening.  And I don't really like doing that.

So that's it for this week  . . . 

A thought to carry with you  . . . 

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

*Sometimes the most

productive thing you can do

is to relax.  ~Mark Black

In The English Kitchen today  . . .  French Toast Crumble. An easy  breakfast casserole that you can make the night before.  With an almost bread pudding-like base and a sweet oaty crumble topping. Very delicious. Especially served with bacon, sausage and drizzled with some maple syrup.

I really hope you have a lovely weekend. Whatever you get up to, 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!    

   

Saturday Nice . . .

(source) 

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.

 

(source)

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.

 

(source)

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.

 

(source)

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!

 

(source)

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.

 

(source)

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

New in The English Kitchen today, Summer Berry Cheesecake Fluff. A simple, quick and easy no bake dessert that everyone always enjoys!

Have a great weekend everyone!  Be safe, keep your cool, stay hydrated and be loved.  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!