“Our inability to see things that are right before our eyes, until they are pointed out to us, would be amusing if it were not at times so serious. We are coming, I think, to depend too much on being told and shown and taught, instead of using our own eyes and brains and inventive faculties, which are likely to be just as good as any other person’s.”
~ Laura Ingalls Wilder
[The photo of Monument Valley is from Pinterest; the quote was found on the Hay Quaker blog.]
Winter is here. I am grateful for my warm house and my Austrian wool coat and my heated car.
I often think of those brave pioneers facing the cold without Gore-Tex coats and down mittens.
“All day the storm lasted. The windows were white and the wind never stopped howling and screaming. It was pleasant in the warm house. Laura and Mary did their lessons, then Pa played the fiddle while Ma rocked and knitted, and bean soup simmered on the stove. All night the storm lasted, and all the next day. Firelight danced out of the stove’s draught, and Pa told stories and played the fiddle.”
–Laura Ingalls Wilder, On the Banks of Plum Creek
I mean really.
Take heart though–it’s supposed to get up to 61 degrees today!
*1 Kings 1:1
“As the years pass, I am coming more and more to understand that it is the common, everyday blessings of our common everyday lives for which we should be particularly grateful. They are the things that fill our lives with comfort and our hearts with gladness — just the pure air to breathe and the strength to breath it; just warmth and shelter and home folks; just plain food that gives us strength; the bright sunshine on a cold day; and a cool breeze when the day is warm.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder
dual personalities 