Hope, Encouragement, and Smoke
Well, Old Home Week is over, and a new mindset has begun or at least that used to be the fact. It used to be that the business would be a lot quieter, well it doesn't seem that way anymore. This week has been very busy. Grateful.
I know parents with school-aged children are busy trying to get new school supplies ready with one foot in fall and one in summer, hoping to hang on to the last bit of summer.
It was a hazy day yesterday and judging by the view from my deck this morning; it will be today, as well.
There was an odd something way up in the sky, shrouding the sun and moon in a different light. We learned this was a cloud of smoke from the forest fires on the other side of the country, settling in over Atlantic Canada. The smoke is very high in the atmosphere, and Environment Canada says it should be moving along soon. It certainly makes Canada feel small when we can see the effects of these fires on the opposite side of our country.
Our minds are with our daughter, Lauren who is driving from Bella Coola to Kelowna be with my brother-in-law and his family who are out west for a vacation week. In speaking with her via text, she was driving through dense smoke to get there.
Our hearts go out to all of those who are being impacted by this massive fire and we pray for the safety of all.
Shirley and I would like to give a shout out to Tracy Gallant and Cheryl Thompson to their new business, Fishirts. Over the last five years, Tracy has helped bring the Gardens of Hope alive by working diligently, happily and cooperatively with others, including her sister Cheryl in 2017. Tracy and Cheryl are two very creative, talented and beautiful people in this world who deserve all the goodness that anyone could bring their way. Their business is so much fun bundled creatively into something to wear. Read the newspaper story here.
I found it encouraging to read about the Downtown Charlotteown, Inc. organization being proactive in assisting those living on the streets. People need assistance & hope. The program offers both. Read about it here.
“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.” ― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
The smallest of gestures or words of encouragement shared with someone experiencing dark days can have significant impact enabling them to keep moving toward the lighter ones.
Hope is the opposite of dread and creates a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen. We all need hope.
“We have a duty to encourage one another. Many a time a word of praise or thanks or appreciation or cheer has kept a man on his feet. Blessed is the man who speaks such a word.” — William Barclay
Every week we so fortunate to receive encouragement from our customers and one of them this week was from Kevin W. Thank you so much, Kevin.
I live in the NYC metropolitan area and I have a wide range of excellent preserves from which to choose. We found your products in Stratford ON and enjoyed them tremendously and will continue to order directly from you unless you decide to market your preserves in Rye NY.
Today, I have been listening to a new album Re:member by Ólafur Arnalds who mixes strings and piano to create wonderful soothing music. He used to be a heavy metal drummer, and graduated to creating wonderful music that moves from melodic to pop.
Wishing you and yours a wonderful weekend, take care.
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