30 Days of Simple Pleasures

Part 2

• 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.

• 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. 

• 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. 

• 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 50^th. 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.

• 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. 

• 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.

• 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 . 

• 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. 

• 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.

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