Silver Bells and Cockle Shells

I have a secret to tell you. The abode of L’Heure Bleue At Home is nothing more than a glorified concrete box. Let me add that I am not writing this from a prison cell. And the concrete box was looking a little worn and a little torn. And when one is living in a glorified concrete box then worn, torn walls start to emphasize the concrete-boxy-ness of L’Heure Bleue At Home. I wanted a bit of the colours of the sky inside L’Heure Bleue At Home to make me forget that I was living in a concrete box. But I despaired of ever being able to finish painting the place and bring the sky into my home. There were too many walls to complete. “I am going to live with these scruffy walls forever,” I said, “It is all very, very bad.” This is when one of my best friends said, “I will help you paint.” Miraculously, she came and we painted and painted and painted. Where possible I used Benjamin Moore’s Natura paint with its “zero VOC” and “virtually no odour” because, when one is living in a glorified concrete box with not a lot of ventilation, preservation of one’s lungs and much-needed brain cells is an important concern. And the only way I knew how to repay her was to cook dinner and serve it on my Very Best China reserved only for Very Special Occasions.

And to cheer us up and gladden our hearts, I dressed up the table with silver bells and beachy shells. Alas, there were no pretty maids in a row as we were in our painting clothes and covered in paint splodges.

We sat down to dinner with legs trembling from exhaustion. And somehow, after a long day of hard labour, saying Grace doesn’t seem like such an antiquated notion after all. And so I say with all due sincerity, “For the good food on our plates, for friends who pick me up and carry me over the finish line, for friendship, loyalty, love and all the ties that bind and for readers, commentors and followers who cheer me up and cheer me on, Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.”

I am linking up to A Beach Cottage and Good Life Wednesdays. I noticed that the Followers gadget isn't working on this blog. On some other blogs hosted by Blogger, there is a message under the Followers gadget saying that there is a problem with Internet Explorer. Could you let me know if you see any Followers? I am not sure if it's a problem with Internet Explorer or with Blogger. Thank you!