{yargh, I wrote this whole thing on my phone, and the app lost it. You know I won't be able to write it like that again. Sigh.}
I am newly back from Canada.
I am struggling with things that I can't talk about here.
I am grateful for family.
I am making meditation part of my everyday (finally).
I am back in my art journal (finally).
I am making big decisions.
Today I needed this. I am trying to be more faithful to you, dear readers, and more faithful to me. I saw Liz's post from yesterday, a reminder to herself, in challenging times to find the little moments of joy and peace. I really need to catch my breath, and so I share with you, five really good things (no photos for now - the website is arguing with them):
1. Leaves on the pavement - unlike the woman in the advert (is it Canadian Tire?) that screams when the first leaf of autumn falls to the pavement. Oh how funny, my Canadian-raised/UK-living self was so confused when writing that sentence. A glimpse into my brain then would look like this: the woman in the advert/ad/commercial-no-advert that screams when the first leave/no-leaf! of fall/autumn/you-can't-say-fall-falls to the pavement-um-sidewalk-um yes pavement. Anyway, it makes me grin when I find them.
2. A kind and listening husband - nuff said.
3. Graze.com boxes - healthy little treats that keep me away from the biscuit box. If you're in the UK, use code 85XN82G3 and snag yourself a free box. Nothing like a snack-sized portion of dried pineapple, or salsa cashews to get you past the 11 o'clock energy dip. And they make me smile once a day.
4. Brunch - a meal invented for pleasure, lying in, meeting friends, lingering over coffee and being out in the world. All good.
5. Snuggling down with books - nothing quite like it for getting out of your own head.
(oops - never posted this, work got super hectic the day after I wrote it!)
This makes me so happy. I've had some sort of journalling block of late, in great part due to not feeling settled in a journal. This journal is one I made a year ago, and blogged here. It's the softcover one with mad kyuuto Japanese fabric. It feels just right for carrying around in a bag and working on here and there. I've got some pages prepared with watercolour and crayoned edges. I'm planning to add some images ready for whatever words come. This is my lounging, sleeping cat, drawn in a single line, then enhanced and coloured with Sharpie and Copic Sketches - drawn on a printout from a recent 750words.com entry. I'm using 750words.com as relaxation and checking in with myself, in the spirit of morning pages.