Celtic Beamer

Celebrating Little Things

Month: January 2023

30 Days of Simple Pleasures

January 22, 2023 / / 2 Comments

Part 2

Egypt Falls
  • February 26/22 – I went to Port Hawkesbury early this morning. I had to pick up water softener salt. The bags are 18kgs; large and heavy. Once I load them in the cart, I navigate to the checkout and the cashier just waves the scanner over one and counts the bags I have. This morning the cashier said ‘you’ll have to put all those up on the counter’. OMG! At first I didn’t realize she was joking. Once I did, we had a good laugh. She was a riot. We kept up the banter until I left. On the way out the person working the customer service counter said ‘Have a great day’ and then the young man at the exit said ‘enjoy the rest of your day’. I’m not a fan of Walmart, as a rule, but I have to say I was very impressed with these three people and their friendliness.  Of course no picture, so something that makes me laugh sometimes.
Squirrel
  • February 27/22 – A visit from friends. Covid has made everyone realize how important friends are. It was nice to gather with Sarah, her Mom (Martha) and her sister, Fiona, (who was on an extended stay in Cape Breton, from her home in New Zealand). Sarah was looking for Lopi sweater knitting patterns and I was happy to provide her with a large file folder of many patterns for her perusal. We sweets and coffee. We chatted and just enjoyed our time together. Martha gifted us with quince/rosemary jelly and Sarah brought us a dozen fresh eggs. Sarah’s eggs are awesome too. Sarah is a teacher and a farmer (sheep and hens) and her farm is called Rock Loaf Farm. 
Lamb
  • February 28 – I wake up every morning and look at amazing artwork I have on the walls of my bedroom. They are just pieces I’ve picked up, or have been given to me, that I just like. 
“One of these things is not like the other” – my own creation
Natasha Miller whose work I love. (https://nrmiller.com)
  • March 1 – Nova Scotia Health Authority Colon Cancer Prevention Program letter. Yup, when you turn 50 (and every 2 years after that) in NS you get the big yellow envelope from the NS Health Authority for testing your stool. Happy 50th. Ick. No one likes to talk about this, however it’s important to complete the test. Then the letter arrives some weeks later. Today, the letter arrived. Do I tear it open and read it immediately? Or do I pay not attention to it? Or do I slowly open it while surfing Facebook, pretending not to be overly interested? The latter. NORMAL! Yeah. Now for something not so crappy.
Yellow Swallowtail on a lilac.
  • March 2 – Music. Music has been a huge part of my life forever. I was first exposed to music while still in the womb. Live concerts began when I was only 3 years old. The turntable was constantly used for nap time as a toddler. Piano lessons began when I was very young and I have no recollection of actually learning to read music. Over the years I’ve dabbled in, and collected, many instruments; fiddle, mandolin, concertina, whistles, flute, and bodhran. Tonight Kevin Evans entertained us for 90 minutes or so, via live stream. Over the past two years, with Covid being present, live music is one thing I have missed so much. I have managed to get out to a few shows, when restrictions permitted, but not on a regular basis. The live streams are what kept me going. I’m so thankful for the efforts which some of my favourite musician friends have done. They have been so uplifting during these odd times we are experiencing. 
Two instruments I like to play; concertina and fiddle.
Livestream by one of the best songwriters, singers, musicians, and entertainers, Kevin Evans.
  • March 3 – Today would have been Margaret MacIntosh’s birthday. Who was she you ask? She would have been my teacher in grades 1-3. She was an amazing person who I loved. She had more patience than anyone I knew and if there was ever a perfect teacher, it was Margaret. She was like family as my uncle was her step-father. She was a gem of a person and I always remember her on her special day. I don’t have a picture of Margaret, (I wish I did), but I will post the flower for March; a daffodil.
Daffodil
  • March 4 – I am thankful to have wonderful new neighbours living next door; Krista and Mike. Today was Krista’s birthday and she held an open house in the wee pub they built behind their house. Although I’ve been in some small pubs in Ireland, this one is likely the smallest. And to have it within walking distance is wonderful. It was a nice celebration with libations, snacks, and friends. 
  • March 5 – Today we celebrated Christmas as we were not able to be together in December. Mom made her traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings; stuffing, potatoes, turnip, asparagus, gravy, cranberry sauce, pickles, olives, apple pie and chocolate cake. Today was all about the three F’s: food, fun and family . 
Christmas dinner – March 2022
Christmas March 2022
  • March 6 – Nap time. Yes, I nap. No, I’m not embarrassed to say I do. It can be as short as 20 minutes or perhaps as long as 2 hours. I love to have a nap. 
Wild Rose
  • March 7 – I had a skein of yarn that needed to be wound into a ball. Sometimes I use the arm of a chair but today Mom offered up her arms so I could wind. I love winding a ball of yarn with Mom helping. A few short minutes but a special time.
Using Mom’s arms to wind yarn. Special times.

How are you coming along with your daily simple pleasures? It’s not easy picking out just one, is it? Part three will follow in a few days. I hope you are enjoying these posts. Leave a comment.

All pictures taken by Hughena MacDougall

30 Days of Simple Pleasures

January 14, 2023 / / 2 Comments

PART 1

Center of a sunflower.

Almost a year ago I too up a challenge that I saw on social media. Each day, for 30 days, I would record a simple pleasure. It really wasn’t hard. The hardest part was choosing which simple pleasure I would record each day. I will break this blog into 3 parts, of 10 days each. 

As mentioned, this is almost a year old. It has been fun and interesting to reflect back on the simple pleasures. I will add pictures throughout that may or may not have anything to do with the daily pleasure, but just something that makes me smile.

  • February 16/22 – a surprise greeting card arrived in the mail for Mom and me. It was a Valentine’s Day card, from our dear friends who live year round in Florida. They used to live near us in Cape Breton, and we spent many an evening sharing food, and playing cards and dominoes. We enjoyed one another’s company and conversations very much. We miss them and love them dearly. Their card was beautiful in more ways than one.
Gorgeous card
Such a beautiful verse.
  • February 17/22 – I’m a creature of habit. I get up at 5:41 Monday to Friday. I put the coffee on, set the table, get my breakfast, walk to the road for the paper (unfortunately this no longer happens as the paper is no longer delivered) , spend 20 minutes or so online catching up on the latest sports and overnight goings on in the world. At 6:30 I turn on Sports Centre and see the highlights from the night before and knit. I spend the next 36 minutes knitting, as relaxation, before going to work. This is my morning ME time and I love it. A quiet time spent on one of my favourite pastimes. At 7:06, after the local news update, I put my knitting away and get ready for work. 
A blanket I often work on in the morning. I’m using left over sock yarn.
  • February 18/22 – As I put on a lighter weight jacket, due to temperatures being warmer than usual, I put my hand in my pocket and found a toonie. I know. It’s just a toonie, but it was a pleasant surprise. I hadn’t worn the jacket since last fall. 
A toonie.
  • February 19/22 – Farm fresh eggs. We have not purchased store bought eggs in years. The past couple of years we have purchased our eggs from The Lilac Farm which is a local family run farm. In the early days of Covid, the three little girls at the farm put happy messages in the egg cartons. Messages like “we are all in this together”, “you got this”, “be happy”, etc. often accompanied by cute drawings. There is nothing better than farm fresh eggs from a local farm. The three girls are growing up so fast.
Farm fresh eggs. So many shades and so yummy.
  • February 20/22 – Today is “RE” day for me. It is a special day that I have celebrated for the past two years. RE stands for refocus, rebuild, readjust, reset, reinvent, recover and most of all RELIEF. Today I made a chocolate macaroon cake and lemon brownies. And the best part is I shared them with special friends and neighbours who supported me through a rather difficult time. 
Not chocolate macaroon cake but a chocolate marble cake that is also delicious.
  • February 21/22 – Coffee….yup, a cup of coffee. I used to be able to drink copious cups of coffee daily. About two years ago I lost my taste for coffee. I didn’t totally lose it but very rarely do I have more than one cup of coffee a day. But I love that one cup each morning. I enjoy each and every sip until it is gone. And I especially love it when it is in one of my many favourite mugs.
Ahhh….coffee in a favourite mug. It’s a pottery mug I bought on Martha’s Vineyard.
  • February 22/22 – A surprise parcel arrived in the mail today. Inside was an amazing jigsaw puzzle and a scarf/shawl. It was sent by a friend as a thank you for something I had done. It was certainly not expected, but it was fun to receive. Mom and I enjoyed the puzzle , as puzzles are one of our favourite pastimes. I enjoy wrapping the shawl over my shoulders while knitting. It’s always within reach. There isn’t a lot of mail anymore, so it is fun getting special mail.
Soft, pretty shawl and puzzle gifted to me.
  • February 23/22 – I had to take Mom to an eye appointment in Antigonish. I met up with an acquaintance I hadn’t seen in a few years. We spent a few minutes catching up and wishing one another well. I don’t have a picture of her, so I’ll post something that makes me happy.
The star on my ceramic Christmas tree as the evening sky was darkening outside.
  • February 24/22 – A friend called me at work to ask if she could drop off a couple of jars of jelly. She arrived with more than a couple of jars. There were several jars of jams, jellies, sauces and a side of cinnamon buns. I have a weakness for cinnamon buns. Absolutely one of my favourite treats. We give this friend our quince in the fall and she returns the quince as jelly other treats too. 
Quince jelly, black currant jelly, elderberry jelly and cranberry sauce.
  • February 25/22 – There was a bit of weather that arrived during the afternoon. When it was time to go home, our vehicles were covered in a few inches of snow. One of my co-workers offered to clean off my car. Just a simple, nice gesture that was appreciated. No picture for this, so again, something that makes me happy.
Rain chain covered in ice.

I hope you enjoyed part 1. Part 2 will follow in a short time. Now, I challenge you to start your own 30 day challenge of recording one simple pleasure a day. Enjoy! I have continued this recording a pleasure a day as the last thing I do before falling asleep. Comments are always appreciated. Share your simple pleasure after reading if you wish.

All photos were taken by yours truly.

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