Thursday, January 7th, 2021

Another of the January birthday days that overwhelm the family with love and good wishes, and both of these in great quantities to Nicola, up in the Cariboo!  How I wish I could have helped her celebrate today!

I have turned the TV down (not off. as I want to watch a program later in the evening).  

The TV has mirrored the image of a mish mash of topsy turvey mobs, all taking advantage of what they determine is an opportunity to riot and smash....so sad to see this kind of action in what has been a pretty civilized country for so many centuries.  I am of an age that the generation to which I belong is fairly restrained, courteous, and conscious of the greatest good for their country.  It pains me to see the disrespect and the raucousness of uncontrolled crowds, and I wonder what kind of people they are????  And what the future holds?

I grew up in the middle of the Great Depression, and although there were many financial difficulties, and probably a loss of self confidence among those who could not find work, nevertheless, as I remember it, there was still a great deal of compassion and support among people and communities.  I would like to think that this is still the same......

There was sunshine today!!!!!  Oh, hurrah, - January gets so miserable and weary without it, - especially when there is no snow to provide a pure white coverlet for the tired old grass. I was surprised by my cleaning lady who came this morning and polished up the floors and dusted where the Christmas decorations had been,

The amaryllis popped another bloom  - now there are four wonderfully petaled blossoms... These will do quite nicely until finally there will be daffodils in the store - not that I get to the store these days but I am sure youngest son, who shops, will keep an eye peeled!!!

                                           Lots of good mid-winter wishes, - soon it will be February 

                                                       and if there is snow it will be morphing 

                                               into little streamlets that make you think SPRING

Monday, the 4th of January 2021

Ah yes, Monday..the day of tidying up after the weekend.....

I don't find as much to tidy these days, - as I used to when all the children were home.

I miss them, and their ways, but am lucky to have visits daily in which  nothing gets out of place, and the time is spent chatting and appreciating their company.....

However, I did take down all the Christmas decorations this morning, and packed them away fondly for next Christmas - God willing! Wrapped all the manger figures, and put the Christmas candles in their boxes,,,,the red tablecloth went into the wash, replaced by an ordinary quilted cloth that my sister made for me, many years ago.  I put these things away reluctantly, but then found when all was neat and tidy that it spoke January to me, and little inspirations of how to fill the month.. A warp on the big loom, and some lovely sock wool that I was given as a gift at Christmas.....And some books to read!!

I am still immersed in Chris Arthur's essays in "Hummingbirds Between the Pages" ( I don't know why my type suddenly turn BOLD, but I will do a little research here.......  {Found that little red light at the top of the page....})  How I wish I could express my thoughts so beautifully, and find such a fine selection of topics to 'essay' on.

I have been interspersing Chris Arthur with 'The Silent Unwinding' by Jackie Morris.  It is just a small book - an 'illustrated notebook for dreamers';  wonderfully illustrated and a complement to Robert McFarlane's 'Lost Words' I think.. A lovely gift!! It has pages and small spaces for comments and maybe a poem or two, but I haven't ventured that far yet. It is also a companion to 'The Unwinding' but I will have to look into that further as it is not at present in stock.

This makes for a lot of sitting around with the heating pad at my back...

I peeked into the fridge to gather small things for supper, and I think it is on the agenda for tomorrow!!!!  So many left-overs 😏😏😏  I wish I could bring myself to dispose of the chocolate fudge I made before Christmas - well, I do dispose of it, but there must be another way besides nibbling every time I pass it!

The first ten days of January is birthday time in our family - every body gets a little older, and every mind a little wiser (one would hope....)  One of my granddaughters was 36 today......this does make me look askance at my own age!!!!!  On the 10th my youngest son will be 61 (of is it 62) which gives me pause for thought when I consider how close I am to celebrating the century!!!

Life goes on, - pleasantly and with great care, so all is well, and each birthday is welcomed with love.

Big news here today, - the amaryllis finally burst into glorious bloom, after nurturing her buds for the last few weeks.....

                               Just in time, as the Paper Whites are almost finished blooming.....

Next time I write a posting I am going to include a picture and description of the lovely new home

that Misty the Cat is enjoying, - a present from oldest son and his dear wife!!!  She loves it............