"Sacred Lingering"

My friend Dana turned a walk in closet into an art studio....and she's thinks about it as her special space for sacred lingering. I love that concept.

I have a few other fun projects in the works...and dozens in my head. But mostly I've been doing a lot of sacred lingering with my Words of Encouragement project/fundraiser. In case you're new to this space.....I describe the project in detail in this post.

It's been an overwhelmingly powerful and joyful experience for me during this very dark and difficult period in our country. And it's been a labor of love.

The second shipment of underwear arrived today....106 pairs of men's and women's this time.

With this shipment I got to the 256 pair I reported a few days ago. I currently have enough money to possibly purchase another 75 or so and I still hope to reach my goal of 500 pairs. We'll see.

If anyone has any interest in tags or kits, please reach out. I will send a few tags at no cost, and for a small donation I will send a kit and few extra tags. And to clarify...the kits are not to make tags, but to promote creating community by paying the tags forward. See the link above for more information about the contents.

Comment Update:

Connecting with others brings me tremendous joy. I love hearing your stories, seeing your projects, and learning about the joy that lands in your day. I just learned today that Ellen buys and donates socks to her local agency that helps those in need....and her last donation was 104 pairs! Way to go Ellen!

You can reach me by email (joyfulputtering@gmail.com)...or by commenting at the bottom of the blog. Starting with yesterday's post, I added an extra recommended layer of security and now can screen comments before they are published. So when you make a comment on the blog...I will get an email and will publish the comment as soon as I give it a quick check. So there might be a bit of a delay before you see you comment displayed.

I don't mind criticism and constructive feedback, but I cannot tolerate hate and violent speech. So only offensive and unproductive comments will not published and deleted.

If you follow this blog by email and want to make a comment....I would love to hear from you. At the bottom of the email....click "link to blog" taking you directly to online version of the post. Scroll down to the comment section at the bottom.

Thank you for making it to the end of this one!

Human Hands

I did a volunteer shift at Maine Needs this afternoon....and that always feels good. One of the things they tell us as we are shopping for individuals is to always try and include something extra. If they asked for kids clothes or boots...be sure and include a few books and toys too. If it's a man or woman asking for warm clothes...maybe include a new toothbrush and toothpaste. The little extras remind the recipient that the bag was packed with human hands.

I was excited to deliver the first 150 pairs of underwear. They just fit into a shopping bag that can be used to fill a small order....because they are always in the need of bags.  

I didn't shop for any children today...so only went into the kids room to get water. It was so nice to see them taking such care with their human hands to repackage the underwear in packs of seven....enough for a week. 

Now they're ready to go directly to kids in need.   

Each of my Words of Encouragement kits contain a card that I've carefully stitched on a piece of Margie's coloring...with my human hands.

Sometimes joy looks like loving one another doing things with our human hands. 

Fruit of the Loom

It was a whirlwind of a day which included a delightful lunch with a friend. But I don't think there was anything else more exciting than the big box that was waiting for me when I got home.

Joy sometimes looks like the first 150 pairs of new Fruit of the Loom children's underwear ready to deliver to Maine Needs.

Parade of Stamps

I'm guessing I'm not the only one with a stockpile of out of date stamps from before the Forever Stamps. And I have plenty of 1 cent...and 2 cent that we used to need to fill in the gaps.

I was so excited when I came up with the idea of puzzling these odd stamps together for my tag mailings. In some ways it's going to feel like the mailings are free!       

Here are my current stats:

256 pairs of underwear ordered.

30 kits mailed or delivered as of today.

Approximately 150 tags distributed.

I'm so pleased.

This little parade of stamps on these envelopes tickle me pink.

Do you know what else tickles me? I cut off the blooms from the first amaryllis stem today. They are as dry as they're going to get...and just look how beautiful they still are. 

As is the color combo that landed on this tiny hope tag. They just make me happy!

Connections

Just a few connections today...and a whole lot of puzzle joy! Just warning you.

A few days ago I attached this set of roses to the edge of the border there on the left. In that very moment I knew I had to connect this side with the other...making a path across the middle.

I know it's a silly little thing that I do...but sometimes the silly little things are just the right things.

This morning while I finished my coffee...

...the connection was complete.

Then while I was eating lunch (I always eat breakfast and lunch at the puzzle table...and dinner with Paul.) I saw that I was close to connecting the top to the bottom also. I filled in the yellow daffodils...and saved the pink flowers until after dinner....another ritual at the puzzle table with my very tiny dessert.

Now this fabulous puzzle is connected top to bottom and side to side. And I also got to connect another chunk of blue! It was a good connecting day at the puzzle table! 

I connected with Alyson with our photo exchange....she shared her gutter ice on the left...and I shared my crusty ice lace on the right. I think her bubbly gutter ice montage is just fabulous!

I connected with Tracie...who sent me this bit of love she spied on the sidewalk.

Then after sharing this close up of my ice lace with her, she noticed the tiny little heart I had missed it. But I see it now. Do you see it?

One could argue that there are two hearts here!

We see what we want to see!

Here's to happy connections and silly little things.

Joy Stuff

 "Our purpose is hidden in our joy, our inspiration, our excitement. As we act on what shows up in our life our purpose shows up." James King

Yes! 

This project showed up in my life at just the right time....and was hidden in my joy. 

Speaking of joy....looked what showed up at my door yesterday. Cinnamon was literally on my grocery list...and Becky had me covered.

And it came with Tasty Tips for Joy. My favorites were: 

Understand what connects us is far more important than what separates us. 

Through cooking, we discovered real strength comes from welcoming others in. Through cooking we discovered the JOY found in caring about others. 

Thanks Becky!

And....Becky shopped her stash for a couple projects I'm going to do for her. 

This is just the top layer...there's a whole lot of goodies in this stack of ephemera and you'll have to stay tuned for what's to come. It may take me awhile...but I'm excited about getting my hands on this joy stuff. 

Rattled....

 ....but not broken.

I am excited to report that with the money that I have raised so far I was able to order 150 pairs of children's underwear today in all sizes for both boys and girls. I can't wait to deliver them to Maine Needs next week.

Inspired by Dotty...I clipped a small branch from one of the forsythia bushes in the neighborhood and it's been sitting on my kitchen window sill for a few weeks. It opened up today....just the sign of hope and joy I needed. 

I got a scam email late yesterday that rattled me to my core. I've gotten them before so I mostly know how to identify them....delete...and report them as a scam. But at first this one seemed like it could have been a genuine request for Words of Encouragement.

At the top was a short and somewhat awkwardly written note telling me my kind words brought him joy followed by an address in Minnesota....also awkwardly written. But something about it felt off.  

I looked at it several times before finally scrolling down a little further finding clear evidence of scam linking my tag project to a charge that was going to be made to my Paypal account unless I immediately took action. I deleted and reported.

I cried for a bit...and was ready to just throw in the towel on everything last night. With so much chatter about people having access to our personal information out there right now....this felt more of a real threat than usual. And this time it also felt very personal. It felt like a low blow to a simple project of a woman with a glue stick trying to spread some words of hope and joy while doing something good for people in need,

I went to bed rattled...but with Paul's help...I gained perspective this morning. And after checking my accounts several times I know that everything is OK.

I am not broken....and I am not throwing in the towel. 

And speaking of towels...I do want to find a couple of brand new towels I have tucked somewhere that I want to donate. Towels are always in need...and we have more than we need.

Here is an excerpt from a powerful essay I read today by Rebecca Solnit called THIS IS REALLY HARD (BUT WE ARE NOT QUITTING): REFLECTIONS ON KINDNESS AND RESOLUTENESS. where she talks about the distinction between feelings and commitments.

"Emotions are the weather that swirls around and changes and changes again. Commitment, principles, are the mountain on which the sun and the rainstorm fall, and it remains a mountain. Pay attention to your storms and rays of light and pay attention to the mountain on which all those things fall."

There were dozens of passages I could have chosen to share from Rebecca's essay including her reflection on kindness....and comfort. So if you are interested....I encourage you to read her whole essay to see if there is anything that might resonate with you. 

https://www.meditationsinanemergency.com/this-is-really-hard-but-we-are-not-quitting-reflections-on-kindness-and-resoluteness/

And Dotty shared this powerful poem with me today reminding me to stay open.

Self Talk

by Rosemary Wahtola Trommer

Because I know in my body
the power of spaciousness,
I command my heart, Stay open.
Stay open, I growl,
as it clenches and hardens
and granites and steels,
but my terrified heart
keeps clenching anyway,
tighter and smaller and stuck.
I said, Stay open,
my voice a demand,
as if with intensity
I could force a release.
And the heart curls in,
intent on survival, like a pill bug,
like an armadillo, like a heart
that has learned before
it is not safe to love.
And it hurts to be small.
And it takes so much energy
to clench, that finally
it’s exhaustion that helps me
to hear the softer voice
beneath the command,
the quiet voice that arrives
like the slightest of waves, the voice
that arrives like low morning sun,
and the voice enters the clench of me
like gentle rain meeting dry earth,
and it says, Of course, you’re afraid.
For now it’s enough to remember
the possibility of opening.

Tickled

I've had the second amaryllis stem in water for a week or so now....and the first stem is nearby in all its wabi-sabi glory. You can see how much smaller it has gotten compared to the fresh one.

They both sit on the dining room table along with the leaves from the bulb where I can keep an eye on them while working on my tag mailings. 

This is the pile of tags on my table right now!

And I got this fun photo while Paul was on an early morning walk.

I'm tickled that he noticed...and tickled he sent it to me. 💖

Do people say tickled pink anymore?

It's Time for Blues

I couldn't love this one of a kind Colour Collection puzzle from Philippa more!

I remember having a conversation with Margie about how we both thought the reds were always the toughest part of a full color spectrum puzzle.

I started with the reds at the top....but now I'm going to work on the blues...and it feels like a reward! 

Oh how I love a gentle wabi-sabi curl.

Comforted

Even the browning is wabi-sabi beautiful!

And the way this bit of red and orange landed on this tiny peace tag is beautiful too. It's just random strips of greeting cards...but it became a precious little art piece.

Sometimes there is magic on the back of the tag....one of you might recognize this handwriting.

And this sentiment landed perfectly on the back of one strip just by chance. There seems to be a lot of loss these days.... 

....but I continue to be comforted by this process.

Moment of Magic

I continue to spend a few minutes every day looking my wabi-sabi amaryllis blooms from every angle. Some of the petals on those first blooms are completely dry...but still very beautiful. 

This 4th bloom on the first stem is just starting to die back. Do you see the little moment of magic? If I hadn't taken the time to look closely....I would have missed it. 

I hope you had a moment of magic today.

Joy Nuggets....

....from some of you.

I've gotten some thoughtful quotes and images from some of you...and I always like to share them forward. So here are some of your nuggets of joy that have been showing up on my screens that brought me some hope.

This was a fun Valentine's Day message from Anne....

....and so very clever! 

Love AND Peace! 

Yes please.

When we were there...and I took a photo of the same view of their winter garden space in the evening light. Pure magic!

Margaret Y. created this beautiful page in her morning journal earlier this week.

I love the notion of "wide sight" and "soft eyes." 

"Don't get fixated on the direct threats. Instead, remind yourself to look toward the edges of your field of vision. What's there? What not immediately obvious? Is there something on the periphery that is helpful, healing or hopeful?" Diana Butler

Yes! 

I loved this quote on a recent post (no name was given)....and I thought it was worth sharing here.

Today as we face the challenges of the world, I urge you to remember that hope is not lost. Cling to it fiercely, with every fiber of your being. It's easy to be consumed by the darkness, and feel small in the face of adversity. but you are not small. You are powerful, strong, and capable of rising to be your best welf. You can find strength in your faith, in your truth, and in the light that shines within you. The world needs that light more than ever. It needs you. Take a moment to reflect on who you are, what you believe in, and what your stand for. Hold onto to hope, stay true to yourself, and never let anyone bury your story. Your voice matters and your story needs to be heard. Today, I implore you to be that light, to shine brightly amid the darkness and never give up on the hope that lives within you. Don't' let them busy our stories.  The quote is from Don't Let them Bury My story by Viola Fletcher 

And Becky sent me this Instagram Masterclass video...here's the message:

With all the darkness that's going on in the world, you can look at the darkness. Don't stare. It will make you crazy. It will make you cross eyed. It will make you what IT is. The solution is to create magic, dance, sing, love, create environments where you can find joy. Because you can create joy.

And her husband David send mt this photo of Becky making a snow angel. 

It seems she is creating a little magic as she dances in the snow!

Tracie sent these photos a week or so ago. Her husband Loon was on a skiing trip and paused to notice this remarkable tree! (pun intended Tracie 😉)

 

Roseanne created this incredible art piece of some of the special doors in her life.

I just love it...and so glad she shared it with me.

Here are a couple of Alyson's photo montages. She loves photographing the snow. 

And a few weeks ago Dotty shared some forsythia branches she forced...infusing a little spring into the winter. 

That prompted me to put a few on my window sill...but they haven't opened up yet. 

Thank you everyone for sharing your hope and joy with me! 

And finally....my wabi-sabi amaryllis photo of the day: