First Day

First Day

It’s January 1st…the first day of 2019…and it’s off to a good start. Last night friends, old and new, gathered at Pie Cottage to share a table full of food, loads of laughter, and, as the song says, “…a cup of kindness.”  We made it all the way to midnight and even a bit beyond. Today I still feel the warm glow of such a wonderful evening, and no, it’s not with a hangover! 😉 

“For auld lang syne, my dear, For auld lang syne. We’ll tak a cup o’ kindness yet, For auld lang syne.” 

Several weeks ago, the bamboo part of my fence blew down in one of the big winds we have been having this winter. Originally, the bamboo was added after Gretapie jumped the pickets when first she came into my life. I wanted to keep her inside and safe. Now, nearly six years later, it seems she feels that home is best and doesn’t stray. 

The slats of the bamboo fence when it was still all in one piece a few years ago.

Over the years, the bamboo weathered and weakened quite a bit and, for the last year or so, has been flapping about, requiring many patching efforts on my part. With the wind having given a nod to more openness, I decided to take the rest of it down, leaving just the old picket fence in place. It allows others to see in more easily, and me to see out.

The most wonderful thing has happened since that first day when I took it down. The lower fence seems to be more inviting to others, for there has been a steady flow of visitors to my home, too. I thought it kinda odd at first, but now that it has continued for weeks, I can’t help but wonder if somehow I was blocking the flow of these unexpected and welcome visits now punctuating my days, with timing that is usually pretty perfect, too–when I have finished my writing for the day, or have something that has just come out of the oven needing a taster or two.

Coincidence? 

The bamboo fence is now history.

As a writer and recipe developer, it’s very easy to loosen my tracking of time, as I spend so much of it focused, happily I might add, on my work. Mightn’t that bamboo fence have been a self-imposed sign to others that I was not to be disturbed and preferred to be alone? The flow of visitors certainly has changed since it came down, and I am very much enjoying sharing my hearth and home with those who find their way across its border.

Good cheer to all and I raise a cup of kindness to you! 
Love, Kate