A sunny visit in a new coffee shop with an old friend
Words on the page…and finding old words that remind me of the value of ritual and routine and returning to oneself
Sofia’s rainy day list of things to do-those small sincere joys we can give and reciprocate
The power company’s lineman who repaired my transformer in a steady rain
His genuine and almost surprised tone You are most welcome, ma’am
Which left me considering how small it is to say thank you and how rare for some of us to hear it
Taylor Swift’s new album and the student who met me as I arrived on campus with the news of that. Words as gift. More on this I’m quite sure…but a quick one thing I admire about Swift is her bullshit detector and her refusal to be a victim. More of us doing that, please and thank you.
Seven good things in a brief lineup here…so many more. When we start noting, we are rewarded.
I hope you are rewarded in the coming week. Be good to yourself. Listen to someone new. Thank somebody.
Another birthday in the books last week, and gratitude for family and friends who honored the day with special moments. 🎂
Granddaughters who are currently enamored with the magician’s code and how one keeps pulling all manner of objects from my ear. The best part is her reaction to my reaction…is there anything more joyful than a child’s laugh? Listen for that in your comings and goings this week. Notice it as the gift it is. 🪄 🎩
Wildflower bouquets. Receiving one and knowing these moments are simply a window of time. Children grow and become busy with so much; when someone offers a wildflower bouquet, I hope you recognize the gift of that. Added bonus: a child who agrees to a picture. That sometimes is fleeting, too. 🌸
Beautiful offering
Funny stories told and shared… 🤭
Daily routines and rituals…and freedom to choose how our days will run in the background of life… 📝
Spring’s gifts of puddles and purple irises this week. 🌧️ 💜
Knowing how to prepare a meal and realizing that, too, is worthy of praise. 🍽️
I hope in this month of April (oh, it’s National Poetry Month…I’ll add one as a bonus 😊 below), you’ll honor the gifts of your life. I hope, like me, you’ll never exhaust the list. The more you notice, the more arrive. 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
A Gift
By Czeslaw Milosz
A day so happy. Fog lifted early, I worked in the garden. Hummingbirds were stopping over honeysuckle flowers. There was no thing on earth I wanted to possess. I knew no one worth my envying him. Whatever evil I had suffered, I forgot. To think that once I was the same man did not embarrass me. In my body I felt no pain. When straightening up, I saw the blue sea and sails.
—-
And, as all things are connected it seems, this poem reminds me of a young man who read the poetry of Milosz to me in Prague…and how that moment’s memory has always stayed with me.
Easter greetings to the Christian readers here… I hope you’ve had a lovely day and made good memories. The bloom in the picture was only a bud the afternoon of Easter Saturday…what a difference a day makes, right? 😉
That full bloom iris greeted me this morning and reminded me how much good can come in a truly short time. Always be on watch for it.
It’s been a busy few days here with grandchildren dyeing eggs (and that brought back memories of my children doing the same— as well as my mom doing the same with me so many decades ago. Memories hang with us.) Traditions. ❤️
Little Easter baskets and fillable eggs and cascarones and children’s happy voices …
…and those children coming in with pre-birthday gifts as we were able to celebrate together this weekend…
The mailbox has been a treasure trove of happy mail recently, and I will always marvel at the magic that seems to bring a card or parcel from place to place. Today, it held homemade baked goods, too…all the ways friends show up with love and light.
I sent some good mail of my own during the past few days: a stitched contour portrait is on its way to Australia thanks to India Flint and her ever busy way of connecting creatives through stitch or words or art.
Friendships…and the ways we witness one another through good times and bad 🌟
Full moon glow a few days ago that led me to stand in wonder…the beauty of this world…
Books and journals and coffee cups and flowers…all the usual suspects that bring joy 🦋
Recipes…and time to make them…
And as I enter a new year, I honor the tradition of staying up to meet the day—happy to see another year and hopeful for the good it will bring…
So many times I wanted to post because I knew I missed last week, but I decided a catch up today would do. The message really doesn’t change:
Find beautiful moments. Surround yourself with good people. Learn from a child. Laughter is life. Carry on.
“A grateful person will never be poor. The grateful heart sits at a continuous feast.” —Ancient Wisdom
Nice words to start this week’s post—ones I believe and I hope you do, too.
What feasts did you enjoy this week? It seems that there are always so many to recall:
Children burning energy at the playground…
The public playgrounds/parks available for our use…
Recent show try-ons with little girls jumping up to test run their choices—-shouldn’t we all be doing that? When does that see how it feels to run in them become only memory? I prefer their ways 😉 👟 🏃🏽♀️ …
Making it to the early voting line with a child in tow—and the welcome she received from all around her. Children being out the best in us…and honestly, more of us might show up to vote if we received the welcome she did. 😊
The first red geraniums of the season on my porch …
The markings I put on corners of the fitted sheets so I get it right the first time 😅🤣…if you have battled that hot mess you know 😂😂
…
life. Today I sat in the March sun and stitched a meditation (thank you for teaching the process, Liz Kettle.) I used indigo dyed wool from a years ago workshop in NM. I smiled as the dye still stains fingers after all this time. I was present, calm, focused. 🧵 🪡 ☀️
Three years ago the landscape here was much different…18” of snow and frigid days tested these beauties…but they are slowly returning. Patience ✅
A precious grandson arrived during those days, too, and he was celebrated again this weekend. Birthday hugs and “kisses to grow on”✅
And while we expect high 70s this week, we did have a brief flurry on the radar after dark this weekend—little surprises to make us smile ✅
The Lenten book from my sister and some quiet time to read and reflect✅
Needles and threads and returning to stitch practices ✅
Finally, some good words from Joseph Campbell:
“You must have a place to which you can go in your heart, your mind, or your house, almost every day, where you do not owe anyone and where no one owes you – a place that simply allows for the blossoming of something new and promising.”✅
I know it’s not really Sunday or the 21st, but here I am bringing seven good moments from last week, and maybe the day-date isn’t that big of a deal. 😉
Birdfeeders. Aren’t they glorious inventions ? The backyard was busy all week with eager visitors, and it was lovely to sit and watch. I had picked up an extra bag of seed before our little winter event that ended up being mostly sleet, and the birds were grateful. ✅
Parchment paper that one bakes bacon upon. Or slides cookies off of. ✅
Little handwritten notes on their way to people near and far. I know postage is going up again, but I still think finding real mail in one’s box is a lovely gift. Holding out hope more of us make a return to the writing of the letter. ✅
Stillness—I know being at home for several days might sound like punishment for some, but I adjusted to waking to no alarm, checking on the animals, feeding the fire. One of the days—lost track now of which—I read most of the day away. Little luxuries/no regrets. ✅
Speaking of reading… A Book of Luminous Things, edited by Czeslaw Milosz (his introduction and collection of selected poems make this a keeper of a book)…easy and accessible to dip in and out of. If you like poetry, I highly recommend this one.✅
Glass jars of my homemade vegetable soup in the fridge which brought my Aunt Mary to mind…and how she would bring jars of vegetable soup to her sister, and we would all enjoy it so much. Traditions/rituals/the carrying on of good simple acts. ✅
Waterproof boots—because the ice is gone, but rains have arrived. ✅
This year, I hope to continue posting seven small (and big) things from recent days that I’m grateful for, but in addition to that, I’m planning to add a line or quote or verse from some current read.
This week’s choice has been in my stacks for years and includes many rich poems, but today I choose “Return”…maybe because a new year is similar to a re-entry after a vacation. Maybe we have been celebrating. Maybe now we have to come down. Maybe the poem has nothing to do with that. I’ll post it and maybe you’ll give it a read:
Return by Naomi Shihab Nye
Build my home here
On the spot of old time.
I’m sure I have failed you
One thousand ways,
You ancient clock,
You stockpot of moments.
Look how the first thing I do
Upon entering the house
Is remove my watch
It’s in your honor.
Fuel by Naomi Nye
So, poems. Other goodnesses lately:
Chex mix aka “trash” in these parts —delectable, savory, spicy treat.
Homemade pound cake —all the holiday food remnants beckoning for a few more tastes
Jon Batiste —musical genius
Camelias, winterberries, holly—all the winter bloomers
Forecasts for snow—still brings a smile
and those long airport hugs and kisses that have to last awhile—-grateful for daughter time this season.
Be kind to yourself this year, wherever you find yourself on 2024’s map.
I adopted a new artist word for the year: capacity. For me, it means paying attention to all I need and want, and all I hope to (and have to) let go. 🙌🏼🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟✨
It’s Advent — week 2–and the theme is peace. Ahh. The ultimate goal-Miss Elusive we might say. But then, we receive her in passing moments: glitter of sun on leaves, snowflake falling afar, a handshake/hug/child’s kiss upon our hand. She’s near. We have to seek Her.
Peace visits when we make the smallest decisions, one after another. Let go of expectations. Honor with love the simple things. I hope you find your version of her this week. Maybe your her is a him. That is ok. 😉
Some peace that visited me this week in physical forms:
Double A batteries and the light they help bring to a strand of lights…
A new friend bringing felt sliders and helping me move a too heavy cabinet, which led to progress in so many ways…
Shopping with children and hoping they never lose their joy and generosity…
Saying no to the events I don’t want to attend 🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️🕊️…
And looking forward to invitations from treasured friends and our traditions 🎄❤️🎄…
The note and gift card left by a shy student on the last day of classes…
Wearing those crazy Christmas boots again this year—and remembering the fun of a dear friend miles away…
Here she is…and she’ll fly by fast, so enjoy these December days.
She’s given me lovely gifts plus more this week—here are seven or thereabouts:
live holiday music at a local arts market
surprise arrivals of family and friends at art event
that thermos of hot coffee — gift and timing
candy canes lining my driveway thanks to a thoughtful son
creativity streaks
the man singing carols in Home Depot today
grocery store flowers —really underrated
…and a random decision to buy a Sunday paper. May become a habit.
Today Advent starts. I meant to post a candle flickering…but just imagine. I’ll light it later tonight. Say a prayer for us. Know rituals sustain and matter.
A blog reaching out to victims of abuse and others in need, providing insight about abuse, hope for the future, and guidance to see THE LIGHT that lead Secret Angel out of the darkness of her own abusive situation and helped her to not only survive but to overcome.
agnestirrito 