Category Archives: Happiness

The Smallest Of Joys

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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!

Around Here

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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

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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!

Keep Looking

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There is always something beautiful to be found in this world. Can’t see it? Keep looking.

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Silent Sunday: Colors

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Back Home

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I’m home after a few days of adventures with my Pittsburgh pal. She gives me the insider tour of her city and, this time, we also took a day trip over to historic Bedford, Pennsylvania.

This was my first real adventure of the year and it didn’t come a moment too soon. I was feeling restless, deprived, and yearning for something more interesting than my own four walls. I have a good life but it’s better when I step away occasionally to see what else the world has to offer.

We did a book crawl, ate at a historic tavern, and looked at art and historic buildings. We shopped, contemplated the sacrifices made by our veterans, and browsed a middle eastern food market near her home.

It is never lost on me how different her life is from mine because of where we live.

There are about three dozen independent bookstores in the Pittsburgh area. There are radio stations that play more than top forty country and pop music. I listened to some jazz radio while in the area and was sad to lose the station as I traveled away from the city. There are markets and restaurants that cater to ethnic cuisines and her very nice neighborhood of tree lined streets is filled with people who have come from afar. There are more jobs, more money, more educational opportunities, more museums, more of everything really.

The contrast between urban and rural is surprising sometimes.

Yet, where I live is beautiful. We have a shared sense of community that comes from everyone attending the same high school, shopping at the same grocery store, and being so small we tend to know each other.

Where I live in the country, there are no sidewalks or streetlights. There’s also no traffic unless you count school buses, farm equipment, and the occasional road construction.

I can hear a variety of birds and frogs in my yard and my closest neighbors are far enough away I don’t really hear them.

Quality of life is awfully good in many ways here but it’s also nice to leave and to have different experiences.

At one point, I stood before a mirror in the ladies room at Bedford Candy. My hair was a mess and I had the wild eyed look of someone who was so busy running around and looking at stuff that time didn’t matter.

It’s true, I spent almost the entire trip without any idea what day it was or what time it was. I was in my element and didn’t give a gosh darn what the clock said.

I have missed that version of myself. Planning and schedules have nearly crowded her out.

Yet, all good things must end. I’m home safe. The people in my life are thrilled to have me back. My little house panther couldn’t be happier. I keep catching him staring at me like he just wants to make sure I’m really here.

I am really here, a country mouse tucked away in my country house with a few stories to share and a mess to clean up. Not only do I need to unpack, there are groceries and fun purchases that still need to be put away today.

For now though, I can take my time, enjoy my little cat’s company, and savor the memories of experiences that helped me remember who I am.