Five OS Pleasures in your day today

sparrer

Caterina I'm really pleased you found IoW enjoyable - when we're old and grey we'll have to organise a meet at the Winter Gardens cafe, then whizz down the cascade walk in our electric buggies to the beach!

Reverbe if you really have no-one to leave any valuables with, the bank or your solicitor will either hold them for you or suggest somewhere secure you can use.Or ask at the CAB, they're a mine of information and almost certainly the most helpful free organisation in the UK.

The poem was so poignant Ampersand, it made me think about the 'things' I myself have which are put away until...when? One by one they're coming out of their hiding places to be used/worn/admired on a regular basis. As the manager of a sheltered housing scheme I saw many family members having to clear out flats when the resident had moved/passed on, only to find some beautiful treasures still in their wrappings. How terribly sad it is that people take the time and effort to find us lovely gifts which are then put away as too good to be used, rather than shown with pleasure. Tonight I'm wearing my lovely white Elizabeth Emanuel robe which my DD bought some 5 years ago. Until now I've saved it for holidays, but not any more!

Latest blessings...

1. Visited DM and had lunch on a deck overlooking the Thames, while watching all the different craft glide along in the sunshine :cool:

2. A NS day today

3. Sorting out all the food storage - cupboards, freezer, secret stock etc.,and discovering that I have enough food for at least 2 weeks :T. I really must stop buying when I see a bargain, I could almost feed an army just with the stock of dry goods!

4. Just taking pleasure in a day that brought no problems, no nasty bills, a mixture of sunshine and rain making my garden happy, a chat with a friend on the phone, and laughing at the antics of my dog and two cats as they seemed to be playing tag round the dining table

5. Going to a meeting of my fellowship this evening, arranging to give a lift to a lady next week, and doing phone duty for another who will be on holiday in a fortnights time. I'm so grateful when I can give something back for all the help I've received over the past few years

Night night and God bless, hugs to everyone
S x

ceridwen

REVERBE

I'm guessing that some of the comments referring to an O.S. Meet mean that it could be near you???

I think it could be a good idea for you to go along if you ARE near and meet some friendly faces - even if just to have some friendly company for a few hours. I'll stick my neck out here - blunt ceridwen as ever:o - and say that "you never know - it may possibly be that someone has some spare storage space from amongst your virtual friends here that you could borrow the use of until things are sorted out a bit". I'm not in the area myself - and have only got a teensy leetle house anyway - but - who knows? I'm thinking that the reason why I thought of you/asked how you are could be because someone here might be in a position to help in that respect - but wouldnt do so unless they'd actually met you face to face IYSWIM.

Take care.

bellaquidsin

Well said Ceridwen, I too would help if I could but I'm miles away, but I'm sure someone will Reverbe if you put yourself forward. I do so hope that things do improve for you very soon, you have tried so hard to remain positive on this thread. - Keep trying, but if that seems to be too much effort at times, just imagine that you are floating over your problems, sounds silly I know but really helps to allieviate the stress/depression, believe me, I've been there.

Ollie it's so good to have you back and I really admire the way you have the time and the will to give a reply/response to so many.

I'm off now to work on today's pleasures.

Bella.

Primrose

So good to be reminded by many of you that the good and simple things in our lives are often the triggers for lifting depression. This is what this thread is all about, and it's truly the case that if you seek them, you will find them. So easy just to walk around with heads down and miss hearing that little bird singing, the pretty flower in a crack in the pavement, the good feeling of the warmth of the sun on the your face or a friendly smile.
Mine for the past couple of days:
1. Picking another colander full of redcurrants when I saw our resident wood pigeon landing on the bush. We call him Twiggy because he always seems to be wandering around with a twig in his beak, even when it's not nesting time. Have left him a few bunches to pick on the lower branches as we've had such a good crop.
2. Nice e-mail from a friend I don't see very often.
3. Finding time to write a chatty letter to another elderly friend who is disabled and totally housebound, knowing how much it means to know the world has not forgotten you.
4. Watching some dark rainclouds pass over and not worrying if they open up, knowing that if lived in drought stricken in Africa, the sight of a black raincloud would be a very welcome sight.
5. Planning to pick my first beetcrop today.
6. Two purple clematis plants have developed a second flush of flowers and the Morning Glory purple flowers are looking lovely too.

BlimusOreilly

I've been avoiding this thread for a few days as I have been feeling down on the 1st anniversary of my sister's death but having just caught up with the last few pages I've realised that this thread is just what I needed and also that there were actually plenty of blessings and pleasures during this sad period.

shazz and ampersand - thanks for posting the poetry. Exactly what I needed to shore me up at the moment.
ollie - so glad that you are okay and back here.
reverbe - ((((hugs)))) for you xx
and :Tto everyone else for making life rosier!

Here are a mish-mash of my pleasures and blessings from my awol days:

1) A family bbq to remember my sister, Sarah Jayne xxxxxxx
2) My mum, who couldn't bear to stay in her house alone this week, has upped and taken herself off to Cyprus for the week. She's such a strong and vibrant lady and I'm very proud that she's my mum.
3) We activated our English Heritage membership (which was an xmas gift) at Castle Acre on Friday and had a fab time there. The boys had their wooden swords and used the Priory and Castle as perfect backdrops for their games.
4) Rolling down grassy hills. The boys started doing this and suddenly there were loads of children joining in. Lots of laughter all round.
5) Taking some of my home-made food to the bbq - I loved everyone enjoying it
6) Coming back home to our lovely sleepy village.

Reverbe

thriftyscotslass wrote: »

Good evening all - lots of positive vibes and ((((hugs)))) winging their way to all who need them.

My pleasures today:

1. Ampersand's message to Reverbe - I'm not ashamed to say it made me cry.

Sorry to hear that.

Caterina

Hi all

Sparrer, you are on for the buggy race off the Winter Gardens! LOL

Reverbe, I really hope you will come to the OS meet on Saturday, I am sure you will find it fun and lovely and it will be an opportunity to make a few friends (in person I mean, since online you have a lot of friends who love you, already!).

Here are my five for the day:

1 - Went to help the baby's mum for 1 hour as a mum-to-mum, no charge, and brought her a couple of gigantic zucchini from my front garden. I am glad I could do something for someone else today.

2 - Found library books about South of France and decided to book a week in Nice (because Barcelona is way too expensive to reach by train!).

3 - Found best price train tickets including Eurostar to Nice and booked them

4 - Had a lovely meal of cottage cheese & pineapple, blueberries and strawberries and a bowl of leftover veg and lentil soup from last night.

5 - It has rained so much that I don't need to water the gardens (mine, front and back and my friend's on holiday) tonight. AND the sun is out again!

Love to all

Caterina xxx

bellaquidsin

Pleasures today:-

1. A lovely long bus ride through green fields and hedges for a simple shopping trip.

2. Hardly spent anything but when you travel for free, it doesn't matter.

3 Coming home to another lovely homegrown salad, they are slightly different each day, depending on what I pick. I still can't get DH to like nasturtium flowers on his salad but I love em, especially the nectar in the bit at the back.

4. Hearing from DD that DGD has a wonderful school report, well up to scatch on her acheivement and both teacher and head teacher describe her as 'a delight' what more could we ask?

5. My wonderful DH scraping the last of the sack of homegrown potatoes - the tiddlers. I plan to make a potato salad tomorrow.

Bella.

thriftyscotslass

Reverbe wrote: »

Sorry to hear that.

Noooo Reverbe - nothing to be sorry about - I just found Ampersand's post so moving. This is an amazing thread - you can be touched so deeply by people you have never met - I hope you felt the strength in her message.

thriftyscotslass

Okay here we go, my five for today:

1. DH making a special pudding as a treat - hm shortcake biscuits; whipped cream and strawberries. I am fit to bust - won't need to eat for a week :rotfl:

2. DD having fun at my expense - tickling me with my feather duster - it was nice to see her lose the teenager, even just for a few minutes

3. Cleaning the last two rooms in my house - I am now officially white dust free :T

4, Being very proud of ds - he had to go into the bank to withdraw money from his account for the first time. It sounds like such a little thing but this was a very big deal to him and he did it

5. Enjoying the colour where I live - the different greens in the trees and the sky - it's been every shade of blue and grey today.

I hope everyone has a lovely evening tonight. Take care all xxx