Surprised by Delight

The Advent week of Peace began today. Working my way through these four Advent themes is going to ground me a bit this Christmas season. I will keep hope in my heart...and move on to peace.

This morning I read a substack post by Claudia Cummins called Small Wonders. It helped me shift from reading the news to the peace that can be found in noticing small wonders....one of my favorite things to do. 

Here is what Claudia shared:

The world spins into scary and uncertain territory and our bodies quake with angst. We so easily lose our footing. Our minds tend toward gloom and perhaps even despair.

And then we stumble upon a moment that shakes us out of melancholy and startles us back into the beauties of the here and now. 

We pause. We marvel. We sigh. We crouch closer to the mystery.

We whisper thank you to whatever force it was just now that stopped us in our tracks. and opened our eyes, when we might have trampled over another small miracle., another moment of amazement and awe. 

And when the swoon has passed and we return to the world's challenges and woes, recommit to keeping our eyes and ears open to these soul-filling moments of uplift and delight. We commit to becoming a hunter-gatherer of those tiny packages of light that keep us wakeful, hopeful and whole. 

We open our hearts just enough to receive the improbable and the lovely. And we broaden our minds in ways that allow them to be perfectly poised to be surprised by delight.

Here's to finding peace this holiday season while being surprised by delight! 

A few days ago Lynn from Maryland sent me a photo of a couple of red rosebuds trying to bloom despite the cold and snow. 

This is one of those tiny packages of light that keep us wakeful, hopeful and whole. 

Thank you for taking the time to crouch closer to take a look Lynn!

And a few days before that Ann from Lexington sent me this photo looking up through her skylight where she saw a thousand points of light. Thank you Ann!

Really Cool Toy

Everything we need is here, now, around and within us. Our clear-eyed presence and awareness will teach us how to fall in love again with the whole wide world. Claudia Cummings  

Claudia's whole Sunday substack post called The Beautiful Now can be found here.

I bought a toy a few weeks ago....a really cool toy. I've see the Chomp Saw advertised on social media for months...and was so intrigued. It a VERY safe saw that cuts thin cardboard, tag board, felt, and even vinyl. Sam says it's actually works like a router and there is no way even the smallest of fingers can get hurt while it's running.

I didn't think I should actually bite the bullet and buy one because it was a little expensive. But I had a conversation with Kelly and found out that she would use it with her middle school students. That was the only nudge I needed.

Kelly made the zebra, and a couple of her students made the other animals and the cactus? There are more projects she didn't photograph.

Ayla loved it! It didn't take her long to get the hang of it...and she could go to the studio on her own and saw away anytime she wanted to. She made a free standing cat treat structure using cut pieces and cardboard tubes. She also made a little bookshelf to hold some of her little treasures. 

We were so busy I forgot to take photos of those finished pieces. This was the first little animal she made...and she gave it to me.

I can think of all kinds of uses for it...and any kid (or adult) who comes into my home can give it a try if they want to. And I know Kelly will make good use of it at school.

I will likely collage this cardboard joy with paper or fabric.

Pure joy....to share.

If you want to see it in action, check out this Comp Saw link.

Just As They Are

I checked on Bessie today...the beloved hackmatack tree I visit on a regular basis...and she seems happy and healthy. 

She's a quirky little tree...with lots of character. 

And I do adore her tiny pinecones.

 I get a weekly substack post from Claudia Cummings. Today's post was called Happy Right Now, Contentment Amid the Chaos and can be found here. 

Claudia pointed out how much time we spend searching for comfort and trying to "get things just so we can relax and be happy." She advocates for having "a deep and abiding love for our lives just as they are. A love of rain as well as sun, a thankfulness for mistakes that teach us how to live, an appreciation for bumps and bruises, and smiles and friendships, all rolled up together in this messy play of life." 

I have places and spaces in my life that are always a bit chaotic and messy....and sometimes I get a little frustrated that I can't quite get things under control. But mostly I have come to understand it's just how I roll. Claudia advocates "cultivating contentment amid the chaos, not in spite of it. It offers us so much hope. It's messier, but more beautiful too. And it feels honest, and quite possibly even doable. And so very filled with love." 

I do believe that my messy places are filled with love....just as they are. And I'm working on being happy and content amid my chaos.

Peace...

...is an inside job.

Paul and I had what might have been our last happy hour on the patio...but you never know. We don't mind bundling up.

It gets dusky pretty early these days....and the light was just lovely through the bare trees.

The Fabulous Free Motion class has continued...and is acutally winding down. I'm behind...but I have lifetime access to the course so I'm not worried. I have had a few sewing sessions here and there and it feels good to be back doing some of the things I enjoy.

Just yesterday I used a granite stitch to create this ornament in honor of Margie. She was a peace and justice lady...so this seemed like the perfect image to practice the technique.

This was actually the side I stitched on using a multi-colored variegated thread. The granite stitch is a lot of free motion tiny circles used to fill in an area creating a bit of relief. I stitched it on a piece of red wool...which I felted from a thrifted sweater a while back.

I had green in the bobbin...and in the end I like the backside much better. I'm going to put a hook on it and hang it on the Christmas tree this year in honor of Margie.

Claudia Diller, an artist I admire, thinks about PEACE as an inside job. While she paints her Peaceful Places....she heals.

Messy and Beautiful

I seem to have dozens of things going on all at the same time....but it's hard to think of anything I'd let go. This is my real life. I'm just busy.

So Claudia Cummins' reflection called "Happy Right Now" was just what I needed to read this morning. She talked about how we may be confusing our comfort for happiness. She talked about redefining happiness....and making peace with things just as they are. Not a new concept...but it's good for me to hear it again and again.

"I smile when I consider the possibility of cultivating contentment amid the chaos, not in spite of it. It offers us so much hope. It's mesier, but more beautiful, too. And it feels honest, and quite possibly even do-able. And so very filled with love." Claudia Cummins

There was a full moon last night and I was so tired I forgot to head out and look for it. I actually think I was in bed before it even rose. 

But I did a little experiment today in honor of the full moon....and turned it into a simple card.

The experiment was fairly successful...

but think I could have done better with my plant choice and placement. And there were a couple other missteps.

To make the moon I placed a smaller punched white circle on the prepared paper before I placed the plants and the glass...which means it would stayed white.

After a few minutes of exposure I taped a slightly bigger tissue circle over the moon to create and give the illusion of a halo. (I put a piece of tape on the back to hold it in place)

I should have placed the larger moon sooner than I did so it would have been a lighter blue...the difference is pretty subtle. I also think I should have used a regular piece of paper for the larger circle as the sunlight might have gone through the tissue more than I thought it would.

I'll try it again....but basically the full moon experiment was a success! It's part of my chaos that is both messy...and  beautiful.

I had the idea of placing something on top of the glass as I was reading about how people get layers of leaves in their prints....which I also experimented with today.  Here I placed the first layer of leaves down under glass for just a minute or so in the sun. Then I put another layer of leaves on top of the glass...and added second piece of glass on top. The lighter blue leaves are the prints from the second layer. 

I let the whole thing set in the sun for about 5 more minutes....and this is what it looked like right before and after I rinsed it. It worked pretty well....there's so much potential here!!! 

I have been doing several quiet tasks around our condo association lately. I feel lucky to live here...and I want to feel a sense of pride and participation in tending to things that need attention. This is my home.

I snapped this photo when I put my feet up after weeding at the pool early yesterday morning. And now I realize that I was cultivating contentment amid the chaos for these few quiet minutes.

And then I got to go for a swim. How lucky am I!

Delight

Roseanne sent me a link to an article called Happiness, Here and Now...Finding Delight Close To Home by Claudia Cummins. I found the article compelling....and you can find it here. 

"The world longs for us to be happy. It invites us to live in delight, to revel in the smallest beauties and widest wonders that etch themselves so casually into our days ."  Claudia Cummins 

We've had several days of rain...and cooler cold temperatures.  I've not minded actually....we desperately needed the rain and I'm quite content in my sweatshirts and wooly socks. But it stopped today so Paul and I got out for a walk....and I reveled in the beauty of the raindrops on the petals.

Colors just pop on an overcast day.

I'm going to pull out a few quotes from the article here and there to add to my art journal....starting with this one for my recent doodle page. 

The red and coral leaf print seemed like the perfect background to extend the image.

Since I took these photos....I did add Claudia's name to the page. 

I always want to give credit where it's due.

Thanks Roseanne for the hook-up!

Bedroom Tour

Colorado boasts 300+ days of sunshine a year.....and although it's been chilly....the sun has been out every day I've been here supporting their claim.

There's been a hard frost here....but some of the tough plants are still hanging on....and you know how much I love the wabi sabi seed pods and flower heads. 

Today was my last full day here in Colorado and it may take me several days to fully share some of what I need to share. Today I'm giving a bedroom tour.  It's not done....but it's far enough along that Liz can take it from here.  

It has a very different feel from the rest of her place. It's soft and feminine....with a soothing color scheme accented with purples and greens somewhat inspired by her love of iris.  Years ago I made this custom stained glass piece that fit perfectly in the window in the bedroom in her last home.  She brought it to this new place and just made it work.  

She had the room painted a soft gray which leans just a bit to blue and purple.  

As you enter her room....one of the first things you see are some of her reader calendar pages framed in this window frame.  I've been making her reader calendars for 9 years.

This leads right into her reading corner there in the back....with a cozy white chair.  Margie...this is where Liz is sits every Sunday when she calls you.  We talked about possibilities for curtains and auditioned this purple scarf. We liked the pop of color and the simple framing of the window....and we found several options online.  She has some of her childhood furniture...and some thrifted pieces....and it all has the same vibe. Now she can shop for a new bedspread.

Opposite her bed is a "Maine wall" of sorts

The purple frame on the far left is just a placeholder....image yet to be found. The red shelf will be painted white and her handyman will retrofit the scrolled shelf for the top.  She will style the shelf after it's painted. The tree was a thrift store find....but flows with a lot of "scrolly" things in the room.  Alyson pointed out that the tree makes the bench feel like a park bench...the perfect place to sit and put on her shoes.

The Maine wall includes the fabric piece I made for her in Maine....a Maine coastal moon photo I took....and a calendar page from Maine artist, Claudia Diller. Liz loves trees.

Next to her bed we created this little vignette.....

and may be one of my favorite little moments.

Sitting on the shelf is a little torn paper card I sent her that she had framed.  

Around the corner is an oak cupboard she (with the help of Langston and Alyson) painted white....with a sea glass green inside which I had fun styling today.  The three framed pieces are all readers....done by an artist who is mostly blind.  They're just precious. 

The bedroom tour wouldn't be complete without one of my favorite little secret moments in Liz's closet.  

I found a book of vinyl clings at a thrift store.  It came with all all kinds of images including birds and butterflies....and flowers and fauna.  I included several pages in Eliza's art box for her to share with her brother.  But I saved the giraffes for Liz.....and I created a little whimsical moment in her closet. It's like a little secret....and something to make her smile.

Tomorrow is my travel day.  It's time to go home.

In Between Time

I was quite struck with Claudia Dilller's Facebook post this morning about this "in between time of year. " When the calendar says fall...but things are mostly still summery green....with just touches of color and a bit of chill.

It was so evident on my after dinner walk.

Claudia wondered if trees think like women do this time of year .....when it's time to put away the summer clothes and pull out some fall colors.  We might just dabble with it to start.....maybe a pop of orange....

...or maybe a touch of red. This sumac leaf looked like it was wearing red lipstick.  

I've never worn lipstick in my entire life....but if I did...I would wear red.

Do trees like to tease us with just a hint of color....a few highlights?  

And do some go all out right away and ask....does this color look good on me?  

Claudia got me thinking about all of these things.

This maple is one street over and I've been watching it for weeks.  It's not messing around with in between....it's just going for it! And in case it was wondering...these colors look great on it!

I have admired Claudia's art for years.... and you can see some of of her work that I own here in these posts: https://joyfulputtering.blogspot.com/search?q=Claudia

Here are a couple of her fall paintings that caught my eye.

http://www.claudiadiller.com/

And finally....a fun little story from today.

I visited Margie this morning and she was excited to show me this apple.  My photo is terrible...but the tiny apple stem has a cute little curve.  She's been paying attention....it IS all about the stem.

And it's also about a beautiful finished puzzle on her table....with touches of gold. I'm looking forward to doing this one!

Blue Cupboard Wall

Here's where I am with the blue cupboard wall featuring Claudia Diller's dancing sunflower painting and the repurposed calendar page.  The painting in the middle is an original acrylic done by a retired teacher.  I will keep tweaking the shelves...because that's what I do....I may need to edit a bit.  I'm still fond of the oak drawers I found by the side of the road...and the cupboard I got from my friend Linda.

At my home in Lexington I have another one of Claudia's original paintings I bought many years ago. I love the funky border, the whimsical sky detail, and the mix of town and country. It's one of my favorites.

It hangs in my dining room.

And finally....here's the June page of my small "Peaceful Places" calendar sitting in my work area off the kitchen featuring some grazing cows. 

I look forward to what Claudia will do next! I love her "Peaceful Places!"