Life for me can feel both small and unhinged as COVID rages and my nation implodes. I work as a therapist from my basement and need miles and miles of walking each week to shake off the effects of back-to-back Zoom meetings and the log jam of alarming news reports.
So, I walk. I bake. I knit. I read. I do housework. I watch a show here and there. I hang out with my family. I correspond some with friends.
Whether I credit or blame my introverted nature, life feels rich and layered during these days as I move more slowly and take the time to attend to it. The disciplines of Noticing and Gratitude calm my anxieties. I will miss my close friendship with them when these days pass.
I thought I’d share–for the sake of us both–some of the sprinkles of abundance to be found in days which can look bland and ordinary to the jaded soul.
Summer wouldn’t be summer without hot dogs. Here is one very hot dog cooling his privates. Yes, he can get out of his box. He just likes it there, fortuitously located under the ceiling fan. He feels cozy and safe despite his demented expression. On top of the box, you see another of my pops of Happy– a small knitted bag drying after being felted in the washing machine. Oh, I just noticed that small UFO at the top right of the photo! It is the toe of a hand-knitted sock which has been blocked and is hanging to dry. I had not realized until this very moment how very much of a knitting nerd I had become.
Below is the finished “Charlotte” Felt Handbag after the pattern of the same name by Claire Fairall. You can find her on Ravelry. Charlotte is so cute I just want to kiss her. Of course, always wanting to experiment, I did not use the recommended yarn; and the bag is too small even to fit a cell phone. This dainty may end up in the Christmas stocking of a young friend.
Next is an old fire hydrant I often pass on my walks. I enjoy this particular street at dusk because its country ways and the angle of the sun produce perfection.
This is my favorite evening walk, and so I must continue with this old mail box…
and these flowers. I think they must be buttercups. I didn’t think buttercups grew so tall but theses are a particularly jubilant patch!
I’ll save some more Happy to share another day soon. Things might get worse before they get better, and we’ll need some to help us remember what is good and true in this world.
Until then.
Family Rules 