When days are hard, I think it’s fair to remind yourself that your pet thinks you’re pretty great. They really are wonderful little friends.
That’s all for today. Have a great evening!
A Quick Note
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The Smallest Of Joys
Does food have to look pretty to taste good or be good for you? No, but I do think it helps and is one of life’s great small joys.
I’m having brunch this morning because not setting an alarm led to a very late wake up call from Scout. He was patient until his food bowl was empty and then, clearly, enough was enough.
Some of the smallest joys can be found right where you sit.
Just in this picture are freshly washed berries so fragrant they make their presence known from across the room. The pretty floral plates were a Christmas gift from my parents and the table cloth is the one I used for Easter but liked so well I washed it and put it back in the table after our meal. The glasses were an online purchase because they looked vintage and vintage touches are always a good idea if you ask me. The way even a cloudy sky casts light onto this table is a small joy too.
This is a holiday so I’m home, puttering and enjoying the quiet of my home. I hope to finish reading the book that’s pictured – maybe before I even leave this seat. This set of essays was written by a vintage living, kind hearted woman who took social media by storm for the quiet but purposeful life she lives. Her name is Diane Shiffer and I highly recommend that you find a copy or at least look for her on social media.
This book is a boost of enthusiasm and grace that most of us need. My copy is filled with post-it notes and is sure to be one I revisit time and again. It’s called “The Smallest of Joys: How to create your own magic, let your best be enough and find contentment exactly as you are.”
She’s a breath of fresh air in this fake, ultra processed, disposable world.
Where are you sitting, friend? What are the small joys you can see from where you are at this moment? I bet there are more than you think if you take stock!
Silent Sunday – Dragon Breath
Around Here
Around here, my bathroom remodel is starting to near a conclusion. My cousin, who is doing the work, has done an amazing job and I’m getting excited to see the finished product. I’ll show you some pictures when it’s all done but the above picture is a sneak peek. I am especially fond of these vintage style faucets.
Around here, like the faucets, the weather has been hot and cold. I think we’ve had all four seasons this week and certainly in the last month. Daytime highs that swing from the nineties in April to forties in May, scorching sun, and torrential rain make for a bizarre transition into the new season.
The good news is that there’s some variety in the weather around here in spring and literally something for us all.
Around here, I’m looking at other projects that need attention around the house and trying to prioritize what needs done over the next few years versus what might be small enough to tackle now.
Around here, Scout seems to be back to his old rambunctious ways after a scary few days of illness. It’s hard when they can’t tell you what’s wrong or that there’s even a problem. Today he will stay busy overseeing the bathroom work and should sleep well tonight.
That means I’ll sleep well tonight too.
Around here, things are kind of messy. When an entire room is messy and things are piled up elsewhere because of it, it’s easy to let stuff go. It’s the broken window effect. I look forward to getting it all in order and plan to work on that today.
Around here, it’s Memorial Day weekend, a holiday meant to honor those who died in service to our country. That message is often lost as we also use it to remember all our dead and to get good deals at the big box stores. I hope you’ll take a moment to consider those who died in service to our country. Since the Revolutionary War, Americans have been dying for the ideals set forth by our forefathers and continue to serve and die honorably in the name of the United Stares of America today.
They deserve more than we can give them.
And while you’re at it, the American Legion says that more than 80,000 Americans remain missing in action. One of them, a 20 year old World War II soldier, was located and brought home to southern Ohio this weekend for burial.
Think what that must do to a family to live so long without answers.
Around here, we recognize that hot and cold is a force of nature. We know that planning and work are how we accomplish what needs done. We honor the significance of what lost and found means for people we will never meet but who deserve our gratitude.
Friends, wherever you are this holiday weekend, be safe and well.
Go Explore
Friends, we have made it to Friday. Not just any Friday, mind you, but the start of Memorial Day weekend.
Take sometime this weekend to go for a ride, visit a small business that’s new to you, explore a hiking trail or do some other thing that makes your heart feel good.
Life isn’t meant to be survived. It isn’t meant to be spent on a dull treadmill. It’s meant to bring you joy and learning, new horizons and fresh opportunities
This is a good day to start acting like it.
What are you waiting for? The door is open. Go explore now!
Big Bad Wolf
Remember when I told you about the National Museum of the American Coverlet and how it’s in an old school in Bedford? Well, they have done a fantastic job of preserving that old school and some of its unique features.
The front hallway features a folk art mural of the town as well as this mural of the Big Bad Wolf spying on the pigs. Isn’t it fun?
Here’s a bigger picture view of the history mural and the pigs.
These odd and random things we run into out in the world are more or less what I live for. The coverlets in this museum are amazing but I found myself sometimes distracted by features of this old building. How fortunate were to get a peak inside!