Scraps of Joy

Cowboys and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Posted on April 16, 2020 by Joy / 8 Comments

Hello Friend,

I meant to have you over sooner, but somehow the days passed and here we are a week later!

Did you have a nice Easter? Ours was very quiet. And lovely.

Babe, The Cowboy and I played some old board games, including one from my childhood called Wide World. My brothers and I used to play it often. You can’t buy them new anymore, but I did see some used ones online for a ridiculous price. I guess it is an antique by now.

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We also played Monopoly – the Canadian Edition. Babe said she probably wouldn’t recognize the original because we’ve only ever played the Canadian one. It’s the same game but all of the properties are called by Canadian streets. Instead of Boardwalk and Park Place, we have Douglas Street and Granville Street. And so on.

Anyway, I only mention Monopoly because I actually won! I completely bankrupted the Cowboy, to his utter vexation, and shortly after that Babe and I counted up our profits. I’m still celebrating because, as I said, I used to play games with my brothers and I don’t remember once winning Monopoly when I played with them. Their Monopoly games went on for days and I usually quit long before they were done.

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We’re having strawberry rhubarb pie with our tea today. I wonder who first thought of putting sweet strawberry together with tart rhubarb. They do merge into a mouth-watering combination, don’t you think?

Pie is the Cowboy’s all-time favourite food, and I had a time keeping a couple of pieces aside just for you and me.

Warmed up, and with a dollop of classic vanilla ice cream, I know it will be just the thing.

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Aren’t these bouquets cheery? The Cowboy brought them home from his grocery run, and they brightened up a fairly grey weekend. Grey outside maybe, but bright and hopeful inside. I like to think their radiance was so enticing that they eventually coaxed the sun to peek out and bestow a brilliant smile on us.

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Mmm? Ah, yes. You’re not the first to ask why I refer to my hubby as The Cowboy. Thank you for asking, I love to talk about this extraordinary man.

First of all, when I met him way back when we were both sixteen, he wore western shirts and cowboy boots. One of my first gifts from him was a pair of my own boots. On one of our earliest dates he introduced me to his mare’s brand-new foal. Many of our dates were horseback rides, and that foal was to become a big part of our lives once we married, moved onto the place where he grew up, and started growing our own family. All three of our girls learned to ride on her.

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The other reason is the Cowboy Code. Though I wouldn’t have been able to put it into words when we met, they were the qualities that attracted me to him. It was only later, when I realized there was such a thing as the Cowboy Code, that I recognized how well it described him.

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The Cowboy Code:

Live each day with courage.
Take pride in your work.
Always finish what you start.
Do what has to be done.
Be tough, but fair.
When you make a promise, keep it.
Ride for the brand.
Talk less and say more.
Remember that some things aren’t for sale.
Know where to draw the line.

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In short – honesty, integrity, community, God. Yes, that definitely describes him.

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I think spring may actually be just around the corner here on the Canadian prairies. Isn’t it refreshing to get outside on days like this? Even if it’s only to step one foot outdoors and breathe.

Where do days go, in isolation, and how does one account for them? Is it by the ticks on your checklist? By the number of things you got accomplished? Puzzle pieces snapped in place, books read, minutes logged staring out the window?

As one friend put it, we need to be gentle with ourselves in this time of isolation.

It’s okay to do all the things or not to do any thing.

It’s okay if you catch yourself staring out the window instead of sweeping the floor.

These sober times bear thinking about. Seclusion brings us to thoughts we hadn’t considered before. It’s teaching us to appreciate in ways we hadn’t up to now. And it takes time and space to process the losses.

But sometimes we just need to remind ourselves to breathe.

Get out for a walk today, if you can. Fresh air changes perspective, and we all need that once in awhile.

See you next time.

Joy

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~~ Feel free to comment below. I try to answer every one, usually within the week. ~~

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Featured image of flower vase and bowl of strawberries by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Tea Time

Celebrate Help, With Chai

Posted on April 8, 2020 by Joy / 2 Comments

Hello Friend,

I just came from a walk around the neighbourhood. Isn’t it a lovely day? Sun shining. Birds singing – actually singing, not just chirping. I heard a bird today that I’ve never taken time to notice before. There it is again! Such a pretty song. Do you know what kind of bird that is? I wish I did.

Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
Matthew 6:26 NIV

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A few dog-walkers out today on the main streets, but I decided to trudge down the back alleys through the snow, where I like to bike when it’s not winter. And it was in the alleys that I met two separate neighbours I’d never met before. We chatted briefly – from a safe distance, of course. Amazing how strangers become friends when trouble is shared. There is a mutual feeling; we understand one another.

Now, come in! I suppose we could sit outside for our tea, in boots and coats, mittens and mufflers, in order to enjoy the birds. But it’s much more comfortable inside.

Our tea today is so fragrant, I’m sure you can smell it. It’s Maharaja Chai Oolong and Samurai Chai Mate blended together and it’s been steeped for about four-and-a-half minutes. Perfect! If you like, you could add a few crumbles of rock sugar. Mmmmm. But, the oatmeal raisin cookies might be just the right amount of sweetness for you.

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Well here we are, almost at Easter, and still self-isolating. In my province, the estimate is that the crisis will peak in two weeks. So, what we do now affects and effects what the picture looks like in two weeks.

I think people are getting tired of the distancing and self-isolating. I suspect many of us would like to help in some way, and staying home doing our own selfish things doesn’t seem like helping at all.

For my part, I’d like to be able to drop in to see Sweetie and Peaches, one and two provinces away, take the kids for an afternoon, or even a day, to give them a break. Or pick up groceries for Mom and Dad, who live five-and-a-half hours from me, so they can stay carefully cocooned in their condo. I suppose that’s the caregiver in me, trying to keep everyone mentally and physically well. I just need to be more creative in those endeavours now.

I see you eyeing those cookies … they’re so small, hardly any calories at all. Have another. And I’ll just top up your tea.

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The Cowboy delivered food hampers to schoolchildren last week. Upon arrival at the home, he would telephone the recipient to tell them he was leaving it on their doorstep. He got a few waves from windows and even a grateful text back. He was so happy to be able to do something. And I was happy too.

We’ve been hearing so much about all the “frontline” workers: the doctors, nurses, firefighters, grocery clerks and more. Many cities have initiated specific times for the public to thank these workers by honking horns or stepping outside homes to clap for them. It’s a wonderful unified way to show our thanks to people who put themselves in the line of fire every single day.

Mr. Rogers, late host of the popular U.S. children’s TV show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, has been frequently quoted this last month:

When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’ To this day, especially in times of ‘disaster,’ I remember my mother’s words and I am always comforted by realizing that there are still so many helpers — so many caring people in this world.
Fred Rogers

It is comforting to know that there are many helpers in times like these. But I’d like to add something to Mr. Rogers’ quote, for this unique time in history. I’d like to add that YOU are one of the many helpers.

Are you staying home? Are you self-isolating and washing your hands and distancing from others? Then you are one of the many people who care enough about your neighbours, friends, and family by staying away from them.

Seems counter-intuitive – we’re engaging by not being engaged. It might take a long time. In fact, it might take a lot longer than we hoped. But the approach that might make this challenging time a little easier to accept is if we consider ourselves aligned with the frontline workers. No one person is on a higher level than another.

We are all helping.

So, give yourself a firm pat on the back, dear friend. Pretend it’s from me, or your neighbour, your sister, your dad. Or the stranger down the street. Thank you for helping. Thank you for going through this hard, anxious, tiresome, monotonous, unusual, fascinating, consuming thing called self-isolation.

Now, take a moment and celebrate you.

See you next time.

Joy

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Featured image of Lemon Teapot and Cups by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Tea Time

Hope and Cinnamon Buns

Posted on April 4, 2020 by Joy / 2 Comments

Hello Friend,

My goodness it is chilly out there! – 24 with the windchill (that’s – 11 for my American friends). Come in, come in!

Did you get the mini blizzards we got this week? Yes, March really did go out like a lion, in more ways than one! Come sit by my front window. We can enjoy the sun glittering on fresh snow from here. One thing about new snow – it makes the whole world clean and bright.

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Do you see the snow piled up around our little cedars by the fence? Last fall I planted dozens of tulip bulbs there. I can’t even remember what colour now, but probably pink or yellow, knowing myself. And the anticipation is keeping me impatient. Ah, but everything in its time.

And now it’s time for tea. Or would you prefer hot chocolate?

That seems appropriate for a day like today. I have both, and either tea or hot chocolate will go with our delectable treat: cinnamon buns!

I’ve put my old bread maker into service, and it cuts down on the work of making cinnamon buns. Their cinnamon-y goodness smelled so delicious that the Cowboy and I already had one. Couldn’t resist.

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Are you and yours still keeping well? The Cowboy, as you know, is working from home. Lots of change and adapting and future-planning in the grocery business these days. It’s a stressful time for these essential businesses.

Babe’s hours have been cut back but she’s still going out into the world to work. Her place of business is now offering curb-side service only, and online shopping of course. The upside to her job cutback is that she is able to spend more time composing and recording. Something for which her talent, training, and skill have prepared her.

So on a “new-normal” day when all of us are home, I’m up here in my study writing and working, the Cowboy is in the sunroom-cum-office strategizing and doing his calls, and Babe is either in her room or the basement/recording studio making music. It’s a great set-up really.

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This morning I read an article put out by a well-known Canadian airline, and one line in the last paragraph caught and held me: This last month has changed everything. No kidding. Even in our own home, an innocent cough stops everyone in their tracks, sending eyebrows rising and hearts jumping until … “just a piece of pepper caught in my throat”, spoken by the offender, calms everything down.

This worldwide threat is a thick layer of gauze draped over daily life. Sometimes it is sodden and heavy, sticking to me like a spider web. And sometimes it’s just there, barely noticed, because of Hope …

Hope is a thing of extraordinary power. It feeds the soul.
Jennifer Worth – Call the Midwife

It’s interesting to me how quickly perspectives and habits change. Now, a simple handshake shown on any random TV show makes me uneasy and I feel the need to go wash my hands right away. Are you experiencing the same kind of shift in your thinking?

I wonder … after all this is over, what part of life will be permanently changed and what will go back to the way things always were. And, is there something in our brains that has now shifted and will never go back? We’re learning so much about brain science nowadays, how new paths and branches get made in our grey matter. What new paths is this experience forming inside our brains?

Thoughts are real, physical things that occupy mental real estate. Moment by moment, every day, you are changing the structure of your brain through your thinking. When we hope, it is an activity of the mind that changes the structure of our brain in a positive and normal direction.
Dr. Caroline Leaf – Switch on Your Brain

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Is hope an elusive thing? I suppose that depends on where you place it. For me, because of the One in whom I put it, hope is the anchor that snags that spiderweb of gauze, freeing me from its entangling shroud. It changes everything.

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I see it has started to snow again. Thanks so much for stopping in today. As you head back out there, please take this hopeful music with you.

See you next time.

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“Hope” is the thing with feathers —
That perches in the soul —
And sings the tune without the words —
And never stops — at all —
Emily Dickinson

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Featured image of sunny lemon teapot and pitcher of flowers by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Yellow cup graphic Image by Suxu from Pixabay

Tea Time

Licorice Tea

Posted on March 30, 2020 by Joy / 4 Comments

Hello Friend,

I’ve been out here on my front step, watching the sun reflect on tiny snow crystals dancing in the air, like fairies skittering about.

Take a breath of that crisp freshness. So full of possibility. Aaah. Isn’t it invigorating?

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Now, come on in. Welcome, welcome! I’m so glad you’re here.

I hope you don’t mind, but we’re having licorice spice tea today. It’s one of my favourites. And apparently, if internet sources can be trusted, it’s great for improving mood and boosting the immune system. Bonus!

When I asked myself what I could possibly serve with licorice tea, my brain immediately announced, “Chocolate!” But that could just be me … I think chocolate goes with everything.

So, I baked a devil’s food cake just in case I was right. Served it to the Cowboy, topped with luscious whipped cream. He has the palate of a chef and, when I told him my idea to serve chocolate cake with licorice tea, he thought it was the worst idea ever. But, lo and behold, once he tasted it he pronounced it a great combination. And he doesn’t even like chocolate cake.

Please, have a seat. I’ll pour our tea, have a piece of cake. Let me know what you think.

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Have you taken stock of your neighbours? I’ve been thinking about mine a lot this week. It’s been so quiet out there in the cul-de-sac, and I’ve been praying for them, as well as praying for a safe way to see them to make sure all is well. If I had phone numbers I’d call them, but I don’t. We’re more of a visit-on-the-sidewalk kind of neighbourhood.

When things in the world started getting serious, the driveway next door was empty for four days. That’s so unusual and I started to wonder, out loud, if things were okay with them. On my umpteenth time at the window to check if a vehicle had returned, the Cowboy started calling me Gladys, the nosy neighbour from that old TV show Bewitched.

Thankfully, both their vehicles have returned and I’ve seen them a few times, so we can all breathe a little easier.

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This morning on my way to the mailbox I met my Iranian neighbour backing out of his driveway. He is such a gentle, soft-spoken man that I almost broke the six-foot rule in order to hear him better. His family is all well and keeping safe. The “nosy” neighbour in me was satisfied.

I’m happy to report that all my people are returned home. A nephew from England, one friend from Africa and another from Thailand. All self-isolating and all doing well so far. Do you have any people still trying to get home?

This is the week we would have traveled two provinces over to look after Little Man, Bright, and Sunny while their parents vacationed in Cuba. But, of course, those plans have changed. I’m so thankful for video chats. I’m able to see all my grandchildren – and our daughters too, of course – every day if I want. It’s not quite the same as actually putting my arms around them, but I’ll take it.

Oh, I have a wonderful story about Bright, one of the twins, just-turned-three. Apparently his Daddy was getting after him for something or other – trust those little boys to get themselves into trouble. They’re so curious and so smart that they think of things others wouldn’t dream up. Anyway … Daddy told Bright that he was being a bad boy.

To which Bright responded, “No, I not bad boy. Grandma Joy say I GOOD boy. I NOT bad boy.” I know I know. In my day, I would have got after him for talking back to Daddy. But … it just warmed my heart to know that deep in his heart he remembers what Grandma Joy told him.

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I will try to keep the grandma stories to a minimum on your visits. I know some people find them tedious. However, as other grandmas understand, sometimes we just can’t help ourselves.

I’m so glad you helped yourself to more tea and another piece of cake. What did I tell you – great combination!

It’s wonderful to be able to catch up like this. I found myself taking comfort in the fact that if my family were not spread over three provinces, we could actually get together without breaking the new no-groups-over-fifteen-people regulation recently put in place by our province. The same kind of strange comfort I get from my stockpile of computer paper and bulging bookshelves.

These are indeed strange times, but the days go by. Days in which we can choose to see beauty and joy. Or not.

Here’s an exercise we can both try. Why not take a moment in your day, break out of your cocoon, and listen. Just listen. What do you hear?

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We seldom notice how each day is a holy place
Where the eucharist of the ordinary happens,
Transforming our broken fragments
Into an eternal continuity that keeps us.

Somewhere in us a dignity presides
That is more gracious than the smallness
That fuels us with fear and force,
A dignity that trusts the form a day takes.
John O’Donohue

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Until next time …

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Featured Image of white and pink tea cups and jug by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Scraps of Joy

Cowboys and Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

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Celebrate Help, With Chai

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Hope and Cinnamon Buns

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Licorice Tea

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