Just Another Diamond Day

So here is A Day in my Life, to see what women from all over the world were doing on Sunday, 14th September, please visit my friend Little Jenny Wren.

We breakfasted on duck eggs, sourdough toast and tea and realised that there was a proper autumn mist developing outside. At ten o'clock we hot-footed it to church, for prayers and hymns and Eucharist. We also said goodbye to the choristers who are going to university in early October, it was a little bitter-sweet, we all feel sad to see them go, moreover we feel sad to see them grown up. The Collect was particularly beautiful, so I'll re-print it for you .

Almighty God
You have made us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless till they find their rest in you:
pour your love into our hearts and draw us to yourself,
and so bring us at last to your heavenly city
where we shall see you face to face;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, Amen.

Again, I suppose as a reflection of the Collect, we sang a hymn which describes the affect of the Peace of God on our hearts, Dear Lord and Father of Mankind. This is my favourite hymn, and I particularly like the words to the last two verses, I've printed them here for you.

Drop thy still dews of quietness,
Till all our strivings cease;
Take from our souls the strain and stress,
And let our ordered lives confess
The beauty of thy peace.

Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still small voice of calm!

"And let our ordered lives confess the beauty of thy peace" A good prayer for we homemakers!

After church we went to the pub. Like Chaucer's Friar, we don't necessarily see our faith as a preclusion to the good things in life!lol! The DH has a particular passion for local beer and proper pubs, so we often have a pint and do the crossword at a pub, this time we had Sunday lunch, and very good it was too!

"He knew the taverns well in every town. And all the innkeepers and the barmaids too."

Afterwards, we priced up rabbit hutches and buck and doe rabbits for the girls. It seems that soon we shall be proud pet owners. But more on this anon!

At 4 o'clock (after the DH have finished mowing the lawns and manfully sweeping up the falling leaves) we had tea. If I ruled the world, I 'd make afternoon tea a compulsory daily event. We all need a proper break, a time to sit and reflect and guzzle the national panacea. A completely shop bought tea today, but I took a photo of the packaging, because it was so pretty!

The DH and the eldest rushed off to Evensong and the little one and I made Elderberry Jelly. To be honest, my kids love jam making so they can test for the set, licking the blobs of nearly set jam off each saucer. I only got three jars of elderberry off the trees this year, I'd left it so late to go foraging. But I think later on I'll make some hedgerow jelly to make up for it, perhaps with bullaces, soles and crab apples. I've never done this before, so it will be a fun experiment for the kids and I during half-term!

To finish, why not enjoy Occuli Omnium, my lot sang it as Introit for last night's Evensong. It's so very beautiful, and quite right for a Sunday evening.

Well, I hope you enjoyed my Sunday! To finish I pray that...

"The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in the knowledge and love of God, and of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, be amongst you, and remain with you always. Amen."