Month: September 2022
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The big picture . . .
Funerals are one particular point at which we stop, look back, and consider a life. The obituary is a condensed recitation of the deceased’s odyssey, and in my experience these small and intimate biographies, declaimed from the lectern above the casket, can convey surprising breadth and understanding of where the beloved has come from, how…
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Luxury of warmth
It was down to 2º outside last night. The auguries for a hard winter are becoming impossible to ignore, and so many people are facing complete destitution, having to choose between eating or heating, or neither. How, one might ask, can we be complacent in our delight at the warmth we may personally experience, when…
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Vicarious road trip joys
I’m nicking our daughter’s road trip experience for a little bit of vicarious joy this morning. Although the driving hours were on the long side, the joy of zipping through the French countryside, the vineyards, Air BnBs, tiny hotels and auberges, a balconied suite in Monaco and an eventual delightful destination on a remote Tuscan…
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Family stories . . .
Images can capture a lifetime of memories in s single frame. My mother loved her family’s ‘sugar bush’ and she conveyed, onto a canvas, her childhood experience of maple sap collection and its semi-magical rendering into syrup. I think she used a postcard of a late winter scene from a farm near Toronto as her…
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Soft clean lines . . .
The soft lines of our hedgerows echo the undulations of the fellsides across the valley. This sight is such a joy, especially with the straggly hawthorns trimmed into a presentable state. This was work that was beyond my capacity, so we inveigled a local handyman to work throughout yesterday, to finish today, and to charm…
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Half-way joys . . .
It was a challenging day, but this morning, with any luck, will see the final finessing of the cluttered office into a place to display with pride. Imagine a home office with such a view of the valley beyond! Well, the reflection plays havoc with the view, and the internal bounce-backs are interfering with the…
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Joys of clearance
Our task today, since it’s damp and dreich outside, probably too wet for hedge trimming, will be to clear out the little porch. This porch has been my own domain, for my DIY tools, my writing space, and my LEGO studio, for the past decade anyway. But now we’re more interested in revealing the glorious…
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Blackberry season
With any luck, if the sun shines this afternoon, after we’re diligent with a bit of house cleaning chores, and locally-contributive with a visit to a Producers’ Market, we’ll take a little amble into the New Galloway edge of the Ken-Dee Marshes on a blackberry forage. We’ve been promising ourselves, for some time, that we’d…
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Relief from pain is a kind of odd joy, but gratefully received!
I seem to be losing teeth at an increasing rate, these days! Soon I shall be like ageing Plough, denizen of the field in front of Elpha Green above Sparty Lea, a grand old man of the equine tribe, who finds it challenging to pull up grass and hay. But he copes, and so do…
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Temporary hiatus . . .
Until I get my wisdom tooth seen to, I hope before the end of today, it’s hard to find joy in the moment: tooth hurty! I’m sure I’ll be laughing later, just not yet.
Roads to Joy 