Simple Pleasures

"That man is the richest whose pleasures are the cheapest." ~ Thoreau 

"Manifest plainness, embrace simplicity, reduce selfishness, have few desires."  ~ Lao-Tzu

Hello friends,

How are you today? I hope you are all having a fantastic week. I have been busy doing a little knitting and a lot of crocheting.  Today was a good day as I took a break from that.  Yesterday was a good day too as I had a chance to clean my kitchen floors and do some laundry.  It felt good to 'catch up' on house work for a day.  Do you ever notice how housekeeping feels good when you haven't had time to do it and you get a chance to catch up? Or is that just me?

I just got back from errands and grocery shopping.  I sent my mother a small care package of a hot water bottle wrapped in a cosy leopard print cover and a toothbrush.  Since the weather turned cool she has been complaining of being very cold.  No amount of blankets and wraps seems to help.   I can totally understand as I've been feeling a bit that way myself. The weather changed suddenly this year rather than gradually and no doubt we are both feeling the brunt of it.  I thought a hot water bottle might help her as she is not allowed to use an electric blanket for safety reasons.  She also needed a new toothbrush. Even though she has two somewhere in her room or bathroom, the staff never seem to be able to find anything.  Poor mom has also been having a lot of breathing issues lately.  She is using an inhaler but it doesn't seem to help much. If you would say a prayer for her that would mean so much to me.

At the post office I also weighed all the hand crafted items I've been making for my Etsy shop.  Some of you will have seen a few of the items I've been making.  I'm hoping to raise funds for the Missions of Hope through the sales.

Right now I'm making a quick dinner of stir-fried ground beef (minced beef) with chopped vegetables (baby carrots, onions, celery and fresh green beans). I like to stir-fry all this with soy sauce and put it on top of small new potatoes with skins on.  I don't know if they have new potatoes outside of North America. They are just basically small, immature potatoes.  The skin is not yet hardened and thick and they are quite delicious!  I also have some baby greens, English cucumber, tomatoes, alfalfa sprouts and a yellow apple for a basic salad.

After a few days of being mostly indoors and feeling oh so tired, it is such a joy to have a nice simple day where I don't feel too bad.  Adding to my feeling of joy is a short letter I received from one of my sponsored boys, named John. John lives in a slum near Nairobi, Kenya. He is 9 years old and today the letter I received is one he wrote me all by himself.  Usually someone else writes a letter for him.  John wrote his letter in English and I am so proud of his nice, neat printing.

I was also blessed to receive a letter from the daughter of my childhood Sunday School teacher.  My former teacher is about 90 years old and though she is in good physical condition, her memory is no longer good. Her daughter is packing up her mother's things and moving her into her home to look after her better.  While she was packing her mother's things she came across a note I sent back in November 2011 and decided to write me.  I'm so glad she did.  I'm also glad I've been writing to my former teacher while her memory was still intact.  It was one of my goals to let her know how much she meant to me and how her faithfulness impacted my life in a positive way.

The weekend starts tomorrow.  

My wish for you is that you have time for some simple pleasures.

Blessings and hugs.