ABSTRACT THURSDAY

The good or rather, great thing about being retired is that when a Blip friend messages you to say, “What are you doing tomorrow morning?” most of the time you can say, “Nothing that can’t be changed!”

This happened to me yesterday when Heidi - she of HeidiAndDolly - messaged - and today she arrived just after 11 o’clock.  We sat in the garden to have a cuppa and a chat and bless her, she even brought her own lunch! Mind you, we did think she was going on somewhere else - but in the event, didn’t leave until almost 3.30 but that was fine.  Heidi needed to be part of a Zoom meeting at 1 o’clock, so having set her up in our lounge, Mr HCB and I sat in the garden and had our lunch.

Having made Mr. HCB a sandwich, my lunch consisted of some crackers spread with Heinz sandwich spread and I decided to have an apple with some cheese afterwards.  Just lately I have been cutting my Apple in a slightly different way – instead of quartering and coring it, I slice it downwards and then take out the core of each slice with an apple corer. It’s funny how even doing things like that can trigger a memory. When he was a little boy, our older son, Martyn, used to ask for his apples to be cut so that he could “see the star” - so as I cut mine today, I thought of him and also realised that it would make a good abstract.

So before I cored one of the slices of apple, I took several shots, the used my Snapseed app to change the curves - and hey presto a good abstract for Abstract Thursday.

Whilst chatting to Heidi over a coffee, we both said that we had been feeling a little “down” lately for various reasons. We both said that it was good to be able to share with someone who understood. I told Heidi that while doing some ironing earlier in the morning before she came, I had been playing some songs on my phone and this particular one really spoke to me. It was one I learned a couple of weeks ago in our Worship Group and is entitled "Belovedness".   I’m including it here because I wonder if someone reading this needs to hear the  words of this song, which are very powerful.

The inspiration for the song - and you can look this up on YouTube is from a book by Henri Nouwen, a Dutch Catholic Priest, professor, writer and theologian, entitled “Life of the Beloved”. 

“To give someone a blessing
     is the most significant affirmation we can offer.
It is more than a word of praise or appreciation;
     it is more than pointing out 
          someone’s talents or good deeds;
it is more than putting someone in the light.
To give a blessing is to affirm,
     to say ‘yes’ to a person’s Belovedness.”
Henri J.M. Nouwen : Life of the Beloved

P.S.  We took several photographs in the garden and just before Heidi left - and these I have put in as an extra collage - most do not need any explanation, except perhaps the coloured one of Heidi, pulling a face, which I said made her look like Donald Duck!  I don’t think she minded but if she doesn’t visit again, I will know she was upset!  By the way, the furry friends belong to Heidi - we are still trying to get them and the Silly Saturday Gang together on a Saturday!