Scraps of Joy

The Simple Woman’s Daybook – March

Posted on March 1, 2021 by Joy / 11 Comments

Hello Friend,

Welcome to March! I don’t know about you, but for me there’s something so satisfying to my sensibilities when the first of the month lands on a Monday. It’s like the possibilities are endless and everything can start over fresh. All is right with the world.

There have been a few things this past month that have threatened to capsize my February peace; circumstances, discouragements, disappointments above and beyond those related to pandemic worries and restrictions. I think I spent most of February on the brink of tears, which is unusual for me. It’s all so wearying.

I’m weary. Are you?

But now, I’m taking a deep, deep breath and letting it out slowly. It’s March 1, and it’s Monday. The perfect time to start fresh.

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One thing The Simple Woman’s Daybook does for me is to help centre my thoughts and get me writing, especially in times when the writing hasn’t been as often as I’d like. I know I need the time and space to be quiet with my thoughts in order to put words on paper coherently. Since I haven’t had that recently, the Daybook is a welcome prompt. Many thanks to Peggy for beginning this venture years ago.

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For Today

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Looking out my window …

It has been snowing. Judging by the pearl grey sky (and the weather app), it’s going to snow some more. My world has been clothed in fresh white. It’s as though a Great Cake Maker has taken a spatula to smooth the icing on house and vehicle roofs, windshields and driveways, but has forgotten to smooth over the pattern of divots left on the front yard by our friend, Rabbit (who may be here even now, hiding in plain view, his ears flattened against his snow-white body).

I am thinking …

That we’ve come a long way since last March, and I wonder how future generations will perceive 2020. Will it be a nostalgic picture in the way that our generation looks back on the 1920’s?

I am thankful …

For the sunshine this past month. No matter how cold it gets out there, if the sun is shining life is hopeful.

One of my favourite things …

Reading to my grandchildren. Even before the pandemic, I read to them on video chat. They request their favourite books, and these days Little Munch barely says hello before it’s “Read the brown-bear book.” The most delightful thing of all is when I only turn the pages and they “read” it back to me.

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I am creating …

Some mock-ups for picture books about Jubal and his adventures. I have shared some of his shenanigans here.

I am wearing …

Black pants. Blush pink boat-neck sweater with three-quarter length sleeves. Tennis bracelet. Pink lipstick, called Cindy.

I am reading …

Beautiful words strung together: Wendell Berry, Robert MacFarlane, Mary Oliver, Shawna LeMay, Sarah Clarkson, John O’Donohue. I read them in books and Instagram posts. In snippets, here and there, not cover to cover. They feed my soul.

A bird the size
of a leaf fills
the whole lucid
evening with
his note, and flies.
Wendell Berry

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I am watching …

This … and understanding that very hard times have come before now. At least my pantry is full, and I’m not hiding in a bomb shelter night after night.

I am listening to …

Bluebird by Alexis Ffrench.

I am hoping …

We can do an actual in-person walk-through of the wedding venue soon. A video tour just isn’t enough.

I am learning …

That planning a wedding during a pandemic requires Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Plan D, Plan E …

In my kitchen …

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In my garden …

All is quiet under a blanket of snow, waiting and listening for the first signs of spring: sap running and new roots digging deep. Waiting is a posture we have all been in for what seems like forever. But it isn’t forever, and soon … someday … one day, the waiting will be over.

Shared Quote …

Sometimes, especially on the longest days, I feel that I walk from tiny grace to tiny grace, my daily bread taken bite by bite and to my astonishment, for this moment, it is enough.
Sarah Clarkson

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A moment from my day …

Yesterday, with Babe, in the enchanting quest to find her wedding gown.

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Closing Notes …

Pretty lace on a beautiful gown, the sweet voice of Little Munch reading to me, vivid petals on the flower in my kitchen window, sunshine, beautiful words, and soothing music … these are the tiny graces I walk among in what could otherwise be an overwhelming world. And the only thing required of me is that I notice them; that I give them my attention and dive deep in the moment. And, I find it is enough.

Thank you for stopping in today. Bye for now, and stay safe out there. Happy March!

Joy

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Feature Image by Maja Cvetojević from Pixabay

Living the Moment/Tea Time

January Quiet Blooms

Posted on February 5, 2021 by Joy / 6 Comments

what we need
is here. And we pray, not
for new earth or heaven, but to be
quiet in heart, and in eye,
clear. What we need is here.
Wendell Barry

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Hello Friend,

Are you up for a quiet chat? I’ve just baked some lemon cupcakes, and the tea, Crème Caramel Rooibos, is ready. It’s a luscious combination, as you’ll see.

Come on in.

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I’ve been quiet for a while, here at Scraps of Joy. I told a friend recently that I’ve discovered I like to disappear in January. I used to think it was because I needed the down time after the busyness of the Christmas season. But this past Christmas was abnormally subdued, and still I seemed to need to disappear in January.

What I’ve learned since then is it’s not so much disappearing as it is looking for quiet.

I know, in these times it seems we have nothing BUT quiet – stuck in our homes, unable to gather with friends and loved ones. New restrictions and lockdowns every day, it seems.

But I mean the quiet of no outside voices – the voices blaring at us from news stations, and social media. Even good old fashioned newspapers.

And the quiet of no warring voices inside our heads either. The ones telling us about deadlines and all the lists and things we need to accomplish. To “keep up.”

Keep up with the news. Keep up with the latest trends. Keep up with the Jones’s.

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Quiet is an invitation to discover a lasting and internal abundance that we, in our hurry and distraction didn’t even realize was there.
Sarah Clarkson

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I feel like I was allowed a luxury, to take the entire month of January to become quiet, to be introspective, to ponder the question,

How is it with my soul?

Following an exercise my sister-in-law sent me, I started by thinking about all the things from 2020 that I was grieving. It was a surprising list. Surprising in that the list was so long. I’d had no idea I was walking through my days on these bruises and losses. And it took a week or two to work through them.

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The next step in the exercise was thanking. Making a list of things I’m thankful for was easy for me, I’m generally a thankful person.

The last step was entrusting: looking at the uncertain year ahead, all the things out of my control, and entrusting them to God, who knows the beginning from the end. It’s hard, isn’t it, to admit to ourselves all the things that are outside our control? We seem to have an inherent need to be in control of what concerns our lives.

There is so much hype in our current world to take charge of one’s life, point it in the direction you want it to go, and march ahead, conquering all obstacles in the way.

And often, it’s the obstacles that are out of our control, isn’t it? I wonder what would happen if we started treating these obstacles less as annoyances or interruptions to trample over one by one, and more as opportunities to notice and welcome as part of our journey.

I’ve found that entrusting what I can’t control, as well as what I think I do control, is what brings me peace.

And just like that, my January quiet has brought me to February peace.

Thanks for stopping in today. I look forward to our next Tea Time. Stay safe out there, and see you next time.

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Feature Image by Olga Krikliva from Pixabay

Tea Time

Comfort and Joy, and Jubal

Posted on December 19, 2020 by Joy / 8 Comments

Hello Friend,

Come in, come in. I’ve been waiting for this little visit.

Yes, it is looking Christmassy in here isn’t it? Truth be told, I haven’t put out as many Christmas decorations as I normally would, but there are corners that sparkle. And they do bring me comfort and joy.

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Now, have a seat right here while I pour. Help yourself to cream and sugar, and please, try these beautiful Christmas chocolates. Aren’t they the prettiest things? Delicious too. I’ve been saving them for you.

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I have been having so much fun this week. You know, The Cowboy and I can’t be with our grandchildren this Christmas, but I came up with a way, quite out of the blue, to keep in touch with them every day.

A few weeks ago, The Cowboy gave me a long-legged snowman to add to my collection. I absolutely love snowmen. They’re so jolly. Well, one day as I sat looking at him sitting on the little chair usually reserved for a beloved little person, I decided to bring the snowman to life.

I named him, gave him a pet reindeer and began his adventures.

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This is Jubal, and his pet reindeer, Reggie. Jubal is very curious and has been exploring my house. Every day I find Jubal somewhere new. I take photos of him and send those, along with a little story about Jubal’s daily adventure, to our daughters, who read it to the kids. Jubal has quite the adventures!

One day I arrived just as Jubal was trying to get in the hot tub. Thankfully, Reggie was smart enough to know he shouldn’t do such a thing, and was holding him back by the seat of his pants until I got there. As Sweetie read the story to her sons, and got to the part where I ask, “Do you know what would happen if a snowman got into a tub of hot water?” Bright’s eyes grew as big as saucers.

Another day, Jubal found my display of framed photos of the grandkids. “Can they be my friends?” Jubal asked. “Yep,” responded Little Munch immediately upon hearing.

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I have found Jubal at the dining table with coloured markers and papers everywhere as he busily wrote letters to his new friends. I’ve found him in the truck, waiting to deliver Christmas presents. He’s been in my study, reading one of the kids’ favourite books …

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… and once, I found him stuck in Gramps’s Christmas stocking.

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Every day’s story ends with Check back tomorrow to see what Jubal does next. It has kept this grandma busy, I can tell you, but it’s fun and rewarding to hear the kids’ responses, and have them call to tell me what they think Jubal will do next. I understand they’ve mailed letters to Jubal. We can’t wait to receive them.

Speaking of which, God bless the young post office clerk who allowed me to photograph him yesterday, accepting from Jubal the letters written at the dining table. As I was leaving he said, “Have a great day … what am I saying, you’re already having a great day!” He was such a good sport.

And he was right, my days have been great – filled with comfort and joy as I pivot from inner disappointment to outward fruitfulness.

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Thanks for visiting today, I’ve enjoyed sharing Jubal’s adventures with you. Stay safe out there, and see you next time.

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Feature Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay

Tea Time

Warm Lights and Festive Drinks

Posted on December 13, 2020 by Joy / 4 Comments

Hello Friend,

I’m so glad you stopped by. I’ve been meaning to have you in for a warm festive drink.

I don’t have marshmallows for our hot chocolate, but whipped topping is ever so much nicer. Add a few sugary sprinkles on top and voila! The last word in festive drinks. It’s dessert!

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The world won’t get more or less terrible if we’re indoors somewhere with a mug of hot chocolate …
Kamila Shamsie

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I was up last night “in the wee hours,” as a friend calls them. Wide awake. So I sat up, switched on my bedside lamp, and pulled out my book. I was barely four pages into the chapter, and just finding out what happened to Peggy, when there was a little spark, and my Lamp. Went. Out.

As I sat there in the pitch dark I had two thoughts:

Wait, what happened to Peggy?
Wow. This is very dark.

I dug in a drawer for a book light – you know, the kind that clips on to your book so the little light shines over your page. Well, it sputtered and faded in and out, but I persevered through all of that to finish the chapter and see Peggy to the other side of her troubles.

It’s amazing the difference a tiny light can make, even when it sputters and fades.

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I’ve been thinking a lot about light lately. Maybe it’s the time of year: where I live it starts getting dark at about 4:30 in the afternoon, and we’re switching on our lights much earlier.

Or maybe it’s the season. As we get closer to Christmas, people are putting lights on their houses, lighting Christmas trees. City streets are being lit up with Christmas decorations. I put up some twinkle lights in the bookshelves of my newly rearranged study.

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I think it has more to do with what’s going on in the world right now, though. Things are pretty dark. Life feels heavy. It’s like the light is going out all over.

In our province, new restrictions were put in place this week. It is now definite that we won’t be having kids and grandkids come to stay for Christmas. In other provinces, households are restricted to their own household as well. It’s not the Christmas we hoped we’d have.

Yet, I still see little lights everywhere.

When The Cowboy shovels a neighbour’s driveway. When a stranger out walking her dog calls hello from the other side of the street. When the barista says, “This one’s on me,” with a smile wide enough to reach the eyes above her mask.

Lights of kindness, of goodness. Of faith, hope, and charity.

Maybe you think your light is going out. It’s sputtering and fading. But, could it be just enough light to brighten the path of someone else whose own light is dim? All alone, our little lights barely twinkle, but together we can illuminate a room, a neighbourhood, a city.

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Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 5:16

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My thoughts turn to Christmas. A Christmas made more quiet, more still than past years, perhaps. But not more dark. The Christ of Christmas reminds us that no matter how dark the world may seem, the Light has Not. Gone. Out.

Thanks for visiting today, it was lovely to have you. Bye for now, and stay safe out there.

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“I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
John 8:12

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Featured Image by congerdesign from Pixabay.

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Scraps of Joy

The Simple Woman’s Daybook – March

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January Quiet Blooms

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Comfort and Joy, and Jubal

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Warm Lights and Festive Drinks

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