Simple things

We are told by Latvian friends that this is the hardest winter for seven years, but it is a good one because it should kill off lots of nasty little bugs and flies, so it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good{John Heywood 1497-1580} that's the clever bit for this week.

As you will tell from the contents of the blog this week,not a lot has happened, we still have loads of snow, but we thought we would take Lilya out,as we had sunshine, didn't get too far, as short legs and deep snow don't really go well together {dog-wise} plus it's really difficult to walk and keep your balance as when you take a step, sometimes you sink further than you expect, then "whoops" down you go {well one of us did} 

We have had a cold east wind cutting across the plot,if someone could tell Russia to shut the gate, it might be a bit more comfortable, the only purpose it seems to serve, is to fill with drifting snow, paths that I have already cleared!!!
The wind also seems to find the smallest gaps to blow through,so I spent two days sticking slabs of polystyrene to the sitting room wall, and then papering the wall and ceiling, so Valerie could paint it.the colour is a kind of "bitsa" you know !! a bit of this and a bit of that, add a dash of white to soften it, we think it looks fine so that's all that matters. {and it's much warmer too!!!} 


At Sunday club this week the children spent time making things from gifts that Con Brio choir brought over with them last July. One of these things was a bag of small hollow beads which when put on a base board can be made into shapes and patterns, for two hours the children worked and created some wonderful items, with not a Wii,ipod, Nintendo or the suchlike in sight,and not a cross word between them.{ I guess what you don't have you don't miss}
;Sandris, as you can see, made a fire truck and a man, he has a great deal of patience and determination. All of the children come up with brilliant designs.The only comment the children made was that they had had enough of the snow and were looking forward to spring{and so are we}

One of the first things I did when we moved to Upes Iela was to build a bird table I put it just a few feet from the house and as we sit at the kitchen worktop we can look out and watch the birds as they come and feed on the bits and pieces we put out for them. It has been an endless source of entertainment as we have watched great tits,sparrows,nuthatches, and woodpeckers come and feed




Just this week while these cheeky sparrows were busy eating breadcrumbs the thought crossed my mind just how fragile their lives must be with all the snow about, If we didn't feed them where would they get their food from? Yet God tells us that he cares for them tiny insignificant creatures, the bible says you could "buy two for a farthing"
         So How much more does He care for us!!!!
One day this week I visite Dzedra one of the Stelpe pensioners who lives way out of the village and took her a little food for the week, she talks, I talk, she laughs and I laugh she doesn't understand English and I don't understand her Latvian but we spend some precious moments together and then I leave,and she is happy that someone has visited.