Deep profound thoughts - at least by my standards!

What’s the weather like with you? I know it’s such an English question, but it’s been so strange, hasn’t it? If I read the news and believe it then I don’t know if I’m preparing for flood, fire, plague or war. I do know I’ve got nowhere to put 2 weeks supply of water for 4 people, a camping stove, and enough tinned food.

I’d expect rain and cold to counteract the hot summer. That’s how it’s always been. I’d also expect journalists and politicians to prophesy doom because that’s how it’s always been too. I know they may sometimes be right, but what sort of life would it be if I spent it worrying about things that haven’t happened yet and may well never happen?

So, here to counteract it, are reasons for me to enjoy my days.

Some plants I thought were dead aren’t. Others are coming back for another flowering.

The Harbourside is quiet and beautiful and the first signs of autumn are just beginning. The swallows are starting to leave but that gives me the winter birds to look forward to.

I haven’t needed to put my heating on yet

I’m going to learn how to make mug cakes, but I’m going to put them in ramekins and then put squirty cream on top. Sometimes I wonder if I ought to go by the book and do what I’m supposed to. Then I think ‘nah, where’s the fun in that?’

I’m planning my sewing projects and enjoying organising my cosy sewing corner. This means a lot to me because I thought I wasn’t going to be able to do it again due to time and arthritis. It feels as if I’m telling the world. ‘You didn’t win!’ That makes every stitch very precious. I also have a new sewing bag on the way that says, ‘Cross stitch proves I have the patience to stab someone five thousand times. Which, being me, made me calculate how many times I am stabbing them. I’m working on an 8-inch circular design, which means the area is 50.24 square inches. I’m using 11 count canvas so each inch has 11 x 11 stitches (121). That’s 6024 stitches, each of which are made up of two up and downs. That means that I’m patient enough to stab something 12048 times, which ought to warn people not to spoil my fun by trying to make me live small and scared.

And yes, I did work that out while I couldn’t sleep, but I’ve always liked mental arithmetic. I also like knowing that people have always been happy even in the worst times. Maybe not always, but some of the time, and that’s still good. So please, whatever else you do today, remember the Desiderata of Happiness. Max Enhrmann wrote it in 1927, in similarly troubled times and it’s helped me all through my life…

So here it is for you, and then a photograph of a happy cat because a picture’s worth a thousand words.

Desiderata: Words for Life by Max Enhrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.


As far as possible without surrender
 be on good terms with all persons.


Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.


If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.


Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.


Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.


But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.

You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.