Sunday 8th December - Advent 2; Peace

 And how appropriate - to pray for peace, to be thankful for peace. 

After the adventures with my father yesterday and the day before, we are all grateful for peace in our home, and peace in my father's home today. I've been catching up on my Corinne Lapierre Calendar.

All the leaves are done, and the rugs for the rope ladder are in place. I should have added the 'rope', but that can wait until tomorrow. I have had a leetle peek at the next two days ahead; tomorrow is an easy day, but Tuesday has quite a lot to do. My plan for tomorrow is finish today, stitch Monday's and prep for Tuesday. We shall see. 

Meanwhile I am very grateful for a peaceful home, a peaceful life, time to indulge in 'leisure crafts'; a privilege which so many people all over the world, including in this country, this town, and probably this neighbourhood do not have. 

I was trying to think of 'peaceful' books to read; my first thought was 'Mrs Miniver' by Jan Struther, written in the year before the second World War began. Although it is about a time long since gone, the stories are gently, affectionately amusing, depicting a certain sort of life lived by a certain section of society in a certain way. (You do need to be ready for the occasional sudden and jarring reminder that some of the language is now considered patronising and even downright offensive. I doubt Mrs Miniver would still be using these expressions nowadays.)

An alternative might be 'Further Afield' by Miss Read; I haven't read it recently but if I remember rightly Miss Read travels to a Mediterranean Island with her friend Amy, who has concerns over her marriage. Actually, almost any of the 'Village School' series are generally peaceful; I found them so soothing I used to read them when I was overtired or unwell. 

And of course there is always 'the Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle' by Beatrix Potter; you can even have the story read to you on you-tube!

Finally, a slow quiet reading through Psalm 23 ought to be very soothing...

wishing you all a peaceful week...