Friendship

"She was my bosom friend, and I was hers."  

~ Henry David Thoreau 

Today I spent a wonderful few hours over excellent Indian food and 

stimulating conversation with a friend.

Friendship fills a unique place in the human soul

Friendship stands the test of time

And bridges all distances far and near.

Henry David Thoreau states it well.

The Restaurant (Great Indian Food)
 774107 Highway 10 South, Flesherton, ON N0C 1E0

 I Knew A Man By Sight

by Henry David Thoreau
I knew a man by sight,
A blameless wight,
Who, for a year or more,
Had daily passed my door,
Yet converse none had had with him.
 I met him in a lane,
Him and his cane,
About three miles from home,
Where I had chanced to roam,
And volumes stared at him, and he at me.
 In a more distant place
I glimpsed his face,
And bowed instinctively;
Starting he bowed to me,
Bowed simultaneously, and passed along.
 Next, in a foreign land
I grasped his hand,
And had a social chat,
About this thing and that,
As I had known him well a thousand years.
 Late in a wilderness
I shared his mess,
For he had hardships seen,
And I a wanderer been;
He was my bosom friend, and I was his.
 And as, methinks, shall all,
Both great and small,
That ever lived on earth,
Early or late their birth,
Stranger and foe, one day each other know.

~ Henry David Thoreau

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2018 twosnydergirls

A musty treat and good memories

The end of the workday  the opportunities of a weekend off presents time to be with family.

  Tonight’s adventure started while I was at work and Grandpa Snyder went to our local farm store and purchased 6 pecan butter tarts. 

Now you must realize butter tarts and a very musty treat – Musty something that must have another piece of.  Musty is a term that my Grandfather used when we wanted a second piece of a wonderful treat.

Six butter tarts, well that is just too much of a good thing so we were faced with needing divest ourselves of at least three of the musty treats. 

Once home we called our grandson and asked if he would help us with our dilemma and he graciously agreed to help.

We enjoyed a few hours with our daughter and grandson leaving a butter tart for our son-in-law.

Some of the best memories are those that are created spontaneously and with those who you love.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2018 twosnydergirls

What are we looking for?

This was the question that we were presented with in our spiritual reflection this morning and the answer we came to understand is as unique as the human that attempts to answer it.  

The answer becomes even more elusive when it becomes clear that the answer while unique to an individual changes within any given moment for each person.

Today we look for meaning in life, a sense of belonging to other and God, for purpose to life as we age, and the knowledge that our lives have value to ourselves and others.

Eleanor Roosevelt said the purpose of life was to “live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience”

Her definition goes a long way to answering this question in in the abstract, we would build on Eleanor Roosevelt’s definition,

… to live [within God’s purpose], to taste experiences [God has placed before us], to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experiences [in the service of others and God…]

Today as we drove home we drove under cloudy skies and through white out conditions to almost instantly drive out into clear skies and a beautiful sunset.  We believe that lives lived without purpose is like driving under cloud and snow, it can be beautiful.

While a life lived with purpose is stunning and vibrant just as the sunset tonight.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2018 twosnydergirls

Where Snow Collects

Five images of snow collecting on the world around me. 

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2018 twosnydergirls

Romantic winter walk

There is something very romantic about a winter night when the world is quiet and snow is falling gently around you.  As we look back on the past four years of our photo journal going for an evening walk is something we do on January 3^rd.

Tonight we walked to a local restaurant where we indulged ourselves sharing a dinner before walking home again.

And there is thrill in seeing the lights of your home knowing that warmth and love resides just beyond the door. 

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2018 twosnydergirls

Building Memories with Grandchildren

Tuesday night we have a standing date with our adult grandson and his father.  This is a simple event with each family taking turns providing the meal.  

Tonight Grandpa Snyder made his famous grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches. 

 Once the meal is ready we all sit down and watch Netflix usually we get through two episodes in a series before we say goodnight.  

Sometimes the simplest things build the strongest memories, forage the strongest bonds.

We make a living by what we get but we make a life 

by what we give.

 - Winston Churchill 

Grandparents build memories when they give of their time doing everyday things like eating with family and watching TV.

Grandma Snyder

©2013-2018 twosnydergirls 

A New Year Begins

2017 felt like a year of struggle both personally and as a blogger, yet we would not change one moment of it because as we sit here by the fire with a snow storm blowing outside we know we are blessed.

We have done a great deal of thinking about this blog and know it to be apart of our life and something that 90% of the time we enjoy doing.  

Thus in 2017 we gave ourselves permission to not post, and most of you have remained on this journey with us.

5 minutes of my day is the element of our blog that receives the most attention and should we miss posting for more that two days you are reaching out to make sure all is well.  

As a result, in 2018 we are going to post the daily picture both to the page “5 minutes of my day” and on the blog face page as well.

We will continue post blogs about our grandchildren, food, photography, travel and our spiritual path as Mennonite Grandparents and we thank each of you for taking this journal with us.

Grandpa and Grandma Snyder 

©2013-2018 twosnydergirls