Things that make me feel good

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Sometimes it is the simplest things that make you feel good if only you can slow down enough to really notice them.


A still clear morning, trembling with dew.  That stillness and sun has all blown away now in a gusting cold wind, but it was there, for a day.

A visit on Monday from some blogging friends, mountainear, snailbeachshepherdess, bodran and bluestocking mum - tea, cake, more tea, even more cake and vast amounts of talk and laughter.  Things have not been easy for everyone over the last year or so and yet there seemed to be nothing we couldn't talk about or laugh at.  It doesn't happen more than twice a year but it's amazing how easy it is to catch up and how our lives intertwine.


The sight and size and gentle furriness of the quinces which Felicity brought for me.  Aren't they beautiful?

A full log basket and a fire in the woodburner.

A full glass.

Three perfect eggs from the Light Sussex hens.

A video of my two year grandson sitting in his cot by himself, singing (to the educated ear) "The Wheels on the Bus" while admiring the diggers on the quilt his mother made him.


Comments

  1. Fennie2 November 2011 at 20:16

    You are a lucky soul with so many goodies including those spectacular quinces which surely should give their name to a shade of yellow. Lemon yellow, custard yellow, chromium yellow, Quince yellow. Now, someone must have done this before but wouldn't it be wonderful to serve up quince slices with mince as per the Owl and Pussycat? Must be similar to pork and apple sauce. I am assuming that the mince would be beef and maybe with some pepper and a few herbs it would be wonderful - a mince stew with quince laid on top like slices of potato. As I say someone must have done this before, but I have never heard tell of it.

    Yes, it is the little things in life that make you happy.

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  2. Neil Evans2 November 2011 at 22:43

    Grandchildren - top of the list. Strange how they actually are the cleverest, brightest most fun of any child you've ever met.

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  3. Elizabeth Musgrave2 November 2011 at 22:58

    Fennie - love the idea of quince yellow! will adopt it right now. Hope you are getting used to the new blog style which I know you don't like. Looking back through those who have bothered to say, much more strongly pro comments and I like it so I am probably going to stick with it for now.
    Neil - yours too?

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  4. Heidianne2 November 2011 at 23:16

    Absolutely, it is the seemingly non grandious things in life that I treasure as well. mine would be, A cold beer at the end of a hard days work, sitting by the evening fire with my hubby, cooking a good meal for friends, the frost on my shop roof glistening in the morning light..so simple but they bring me joy. Thanks for sharing yours with all of us!

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  5. Irene3 November 2011 at 01:45

    I too love the yellow of the quinces and I don't even know what kind of fruit they are. And I love the description of your singing grandson. You speak of 'little' things, but they are not that little, are they? They are actually very big.

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  6. MsCaroline3 November 2011 at 03:44

    Thanks for sharing your list and your photos. The singing grandson video sounds adorable!

    I am trying to get better about noticing the feel-good things, savoring them, and being grateful in the moment. These days, I find myself stopping and saying, "appreciate this NOW."
    And I do.

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  7. Rob-bear3 November 2011 at 04:19

    Bright morning visit with blogging buddies. Ah, such a delight!

    The quinces look like yellow tomatoes. But what does a Bear know about things that grow on the east side of the pond?

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  8. Janet/Plantaliscious3 November 2011 at 05:31

    Few things beat meeting up with old friends and laughing at the slings and arrows, particularly if there is cake involved too. I just wish it wasn't so easy to get caught up in life and miss the opportunity to enjoy the simple things.

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  9. Pipany3 November 2011 at 09:52

    Lovely post Elizabeth and full of things which sound good to me too x

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  10. mountainear3 November 2011 at 10:31

    It was a good day - think I could have sat with tea and cake around your table for hours...but then sitting round the log burner was pretty good too.

    We miss so much in our daily scurries - it's worth slowing down and noticing the beauty of the small stuff.

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  11. Chris Stovell3 November 2011 at 10:48

    I can imagine that get-together, lucky things. It seems to have been one of those years all the way round, doesn't it?

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  12. Cait O'Connor3 November 2011 at 16:32

    Lovely to catch up here Elizabeth, especially loved this post.

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  13. Anonymous3 November 2011 at 18:13

    What a lovely post - and a good reminder that there are so many wonderful things to enjoy and be grateful for!

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  14. Zoë3 November 2011 at 19:34

    Envy you the quinces, they look fabulous. I adore them for their fragrance alone. Sounds like a perfect day

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  15. Dobby3 November 2011 at 19:48

    A walk in the hills with friends on a crisp day and coming back to a fire and a lovely cup of tea. Cake as a special treat if you have walked far enough to burn off the calories!

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  16. Elizabeth Musgrave3 November 2011 at 22:45

    This is something which sounds so simple but is so hard. I write this blog and I mean it and I do spend a lot of time trying to relish the moment. Then I find that quite a bit of today has gone in tearing my hair out over computer things that don't work. I am brought back to the moment by my aged FIL insisting we have a meal out. Chips. Stopping rushing. Listen to the stories. Watch the chickens scratch. Be where you are. I might have learned how to do it by the time I am eighty, assuming I get there!

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  17. H4 November 2011 at 20:22

    I am trying very hard to savour the good things in life. You are right. They so often are squashed out or buried.

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  18. Pondside4 November 2011 at 20:40

    Quince - something I've never seen in life, nor tasted. It sounds exotic to me.
    Lucky you - I heard about that meet-up and envied it just a little. I thought that by now I might have made it over to meet some of my old PC friends.
    The greatest pleasure would have to be the song from the two year old - I had a couple of those moments on the weekend...pure gold.

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  19. Elizabeth Musgrave4 November 2011 at 22:24

    It's interesting how many people have not tasted quince! I don't know why it isn't commercially available as it is quite easy to grow I think. It is not so easy to use as you can never eat them raw but they are lovely mixed with apple in a crumble or a pie!

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  20. Frith5 November 2011 at 01:24

    Watching the chickens scratch will surely save my sanity.

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  21. Anonymous7 November 2011 at 14:57

    Completely agree. I have just posted about my favourite walk in the Wye Valley and how the best things in life can be free. I haven't tasted quince but there is a man who has a fruit stall at my local farmers market that sells them and I've heard so much about them this year that I'm going to try them next autumn.

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