The Life of Mrs. Miles

download

It is Indian Summer. The rising sun blazes through the misty air like a conflagration. A yellowish, smoky haze fills the atmosphere and a filmy mist lies like a silver lining on the sky. The wind is soft and low. It wafts to us the odour of forest leaves, that hang wilted on the dripping branches, or drop into the stream. Their gorgeous tints are gone, as if the autumnal rains had washed them out. Orange, yellow and scarlet are all changed too one melencoly russet hue. The birds, too, have taken wing, and have left their roofless dwellings. Not the whistle of robin, not the twittering of eavesdropping swallow, not the carol of one sweet, familiar voice. All gone. Only the dismal cawing of a crow, as he sits and curses that the harvest is over; or the chit-chat of an idle squirell, the noisy denizen of a hollow tree, the mendicant fraiar of a large parish, the absolute monarch of a dozen acorns. ~ Longfellow

Well, fall's not taken such a hold here yet, though it's nearing. The sumac are still in transition which is a wonder to behold as they turn every hue from greens and yellows through to ruby's and claret reds. Across the way, the vineyards are beginning to fade to a pale yellow-green, before they will progress to a deep golden. The nights and mornings have a crisp bite and we finally relented to putting the furnace on again.

I created the special Sumac Mini kit for you – so you can share in the beauty as well. The elements are actual leaves. (well course the blues are'nt LOL!)

As we near Thanksgiving, my heart is moved to ponder beforehand, the things that I'm grateful for – I'd like to thank the Lord for all the blessings He's provided in my life. As my friend Becky journalled in her blog ( a must-read!) - she reminds us that every good thing is from God – not just the big things... but everything! I'm going to do some bible study on that theme this week and make lists of what I'm grateful for. How 'bout you? Would you like to share what you're thankful for?

Psalm 107:7-9

7 He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
8 Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for men,
9 for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.

First, I'm thankful for good friends. I believe that God has brought so many wonderful people into our lives. From random-chance meetings I've met the most amazing folks. I've been astonished how quickly our lives become intertwined and blessed by people who were, just a short time ago, were strangers to me. I've even come to know and deeply care about a whole virtual community of you – so many of you touch my heart with your on-line encouragement, sharing your lives, your stories, your wisdom. I thank God for you, and I thank you for your friendship.

I've actually had the joy to meet a few of my online friends in person. I knew Gina, and chatted almost daily with her for several months before we got to meet – and now I consider her to be in my 'inner circle' And just yesterday, I had the honour to meet my friend (E) Cicero, who writes a wonderful blog full of interesting bits and bites and who lives in the same province. Cis and her husband stopped in for a breakfast visit and if I had not been under a deadline for some projects I was wrapping up, we would have kept here to get to know more. As it was, our time went SO quickly and was so jam-packed that I forgot (did we both forget?) to even get a photo!!! Can you imagine? We're counting on a future visit – surely a much longer one. It was so good to meet you both. Cis left me with some of her handmade soap and body oil which I luxuriated in this morning in a chin deep tub of water with! Thanks Cis!

I had another visit this week, from my dear friend Melanie. Gosh, she lives in the adjoining town, and yet this was the first visit since the spring! Far too long, Melanie dear! Anyways, I'm sitting here, blogging and sipping some lovely Blue Eyes tea which Melanie brought me for a belated birthday gift, along with a highly polished little copper teapot. She also brought me samples of three other exotic teas from the tea shoppe where she's been working. One day I plan scoot on up and enjoy a tea there! Thanks Melanie, the teas are wonderful!

And for the third time this week, Miles and I were blessed to spend time with friends. Our good friends Roger and Marie ( you know, the folks with the 'dorable alpacas!) ... well, it was Marie's birthday, so we spent this friday evening out to dinner, celebrating, at a local Chinese Food Restaurant. We had a lovely meal, and were even serenaded by Amy – she and her husband Ben are the owners. Amy plays a Chinese (Mandarin) Instrument called a Gu Zheng which sounds slightly Sitar-like, but with an oriental tone. What a nice touch to the evening. Oh dear, and actually for me, it was the third time I ate at that place in one week... haha, I'm ready for some Italian, or Indian, or... well, anything but Chinese for a week, please, good as it was...

Marie and Roger, thanks for having us share in your special day!

Here's a lil bit of pre-Thanksgiving humour for you! (It's Thanksgiving here in Canada NEXT WEEKEND!)

A turkey farmer was always experimenting with breeding to perfect a better turkey. His family was fond of the leg portion for dinner and there were never enough legs for everyone. After many frustrating attempts, the farmer was relating the results of his efforts to his friends at the general store get-together.

"Well, I finally did it! I bred a turkey that has six legs!"

They all asked the farmer how it tasted.

"I don't know," said the farmer. "I never could catch the darn thing!"

***

What sound does a space turkey make?

Hubble, hubble, hubble.

***

A woman was picking through the frozen turkeys at the grocery store, but couldn't find one big enough for her family. She asked the stock boy, "Do these turkeys get any bigger?" What did the stock boy say?

No, Ma'am. They're already dead.

***

I'm also grateful for memory – memories. Just this morning, as I was folding away a cereal box for recycle, I was blessed with the memory of my Gramma who used to save cereal boxes for giving away cookies in. She would cut the top, flat panel all the way around, and then tape up the end of the box where it was originally opened (to pour the cereal out of) Then, once this was done, the box would be laid flat on the table, the 'lid' was opened and then she lined the inside with wax paper. She'd then fill it with her delicious goodies for give-away, not having to worry on the container being returned. Gramma had a 'recycle program' of her own going on, years before anything formal ever came along.

Today in History:

1066 - William the Conqueror invades England to claim English throne.

1399 - King Richard II became the first English monarch to abdicate.

1829 - Greater London’s Metropolitan Police has much to do when there was opposition to the act of Parliament authorizing the police force. The act was requested by Home Secretary Sir Robert Peel; so the police were called "Bobbies" in honor of him. The first official headquarters for the Bobbies were at Scotland Yard. Scotland Yard would become the police force's official name.

1913 - Rudolf Diesel, French inventor of the diesel internal combustion engine, disappeared and presumably drowned in the English Channel.

1930 - Singer Bing Crosby, married Dixie Lee.

1940 - Radio quiz show, "Double or Nothing", was heard for the first time on the Mutual Radio Network. When contestants answered questions correctly, their winnings doubled from $20 to $40 to the big payoff of $80. If they answered incorrectyly they were eliminated. The show lasted for a dozen years. Sponsors for the show included: Feen-A-Mint, Chooz breath candy and Campbell’s soup.

1946 - "The Adventures of Sam Spade" premiered on CBS radio this Sunday night. In the summer of 1946, it had aired on ABC on Friday nights. "The Adventures of Sam Spade", starring Howard Duff as detective Spade, became a hit on Sunday night radio.

1947 - Musician Dizzy Gillespie (performing with Charlie Parker) made his Carnegie Hall debut in New York City. Playing with a full-sized band, Gillespie was the leader of a new wave of jazz known as bebop. Over time, Gillespie became one of the great jazz players of all time.

1951 - CBS presented the first football game to be televised in color on a network, played by the University of Pennsylvania and the University of California.

1959 - The irreverant cartoon TV series, Rocky and Bullwinkle, created by Jay Ward, debuted on ABC on this date. It was the most sophisticated satirical cartoon series of the television era at that time. The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis debuted on CBS on the same evening.

1988 - In the first space mission since the explosion of the shuttle Challenger in January 1986, the shuttle Discovery was launched.

1989 - Actress Zsa Zsa Gabor was convicted of battery for slapping a Beverly Hills police officer who had pulled over her Rolls-Royce for expired license plates. (As part of her sentence, Gabor served three days in jail.)

Barb's Handy Tip #309

101 Uses For Ordinary Things

In every part of your house, everyday items — from clothespins to cotton swabs — are simply waiting to do surprising new things. This list from REAL SIMPLE magazine has some good hints for you go adopt for your own!

REAL SIMPLE 101