Butterfly weed, a wildflower here.

Butterfly weed, a wildflower here.

Joy lives in the simple things.

Homegrown tomatoes… tempting wildflowers left in place… the sound of moving water… the shade of a venerable tree.

A sister’s laugh… a mother’s hug… a song that uplifts… a meal made with love.

Catnaps in the middle of the day, with the blinds drawn against the heat.

Catnap.

Leo catnapping in the laundry pile.

An old china teacup with a chip in the rim… the scent of dried lavender… the mysterious green of a leaf.

Getting comfortable in a familiar chair… opening a new book… staring out the window.

Birdsong, and daydreams.

Sunshine, then rain, then sunshine again.

Rain and sun.

A bit of rain, a bit of sun...

A grateful heart… cicada music… the first taste of a ripe peach… juice dripping down your chin.

Putting your feet in the water… cloud-watching… folding laundry as a meditation.

Every moment as a meditation.

Meditating statue.

The train’s mournful whistle… an echo of time… ruins lost in kudzu vines… a lone brick chimney, rising.

Arriving home after dark, a light in the window… a welcoming embrace… bubble bath… clean white sheets.

Purple morning glories swirl open at dawn.

Bright, sun-drenched love.

Zinnia = bright, sun-drenched love.

Zinnia = bright, sun-drenched love.

Today’s Simple Things is a celebration for my friend Christina Martin over at Soul Aperture.  You really owe yourself a visit, if you have not been to her blog world before — and if you have been, you surely want to go back.  Christina’s words have the ability to slow my heart down, to help me remember to take a deep breath and enjoy this moment.

Her photos are a perfect  illustration of how the heart of the photographer gets into the beauty the lens captures.  I’m still not sure how that happens.  I just know that it does.

Happy Birthday, Christina!  May your heart be filled with joy today, and may you know just how precious you are.

I hope you enjoyed your surprise party.  Isn’t it amazing so many bloggers were able to keep it quiet??

What are some of the simple things that give you joy?

I’d love to hear a few of your own “simple things” in the comments.

May your weekend be filled with simple things and joyful moments!


(Many, many thanks to Se’lah, who passed word of the surprise party along to me so kindly.)

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The color of springtime is in the flowers; the color of winter is in the imagination.

~ Ward Elliot Hour

It’s so true; isn’t it?  This time of year, my heart and mind naturally turn to imagining new possibilities in all the different areas of life.  Swirls of inspiration seem to rise with the steam as homemade soup simmers away on the stove.  The landscape of my interior, itself, seems to match that outside my window, revealing to me the bare bones and what might be done to alter their growth pattern a little in the coming year.

Do I need to prune, or fertilize, or prop up, or plain ignore this or that aspect of myself?  Might this winter gaze, a moment of awareness unburdened by activity, be a way of nurturing the garden that is me?

The mere act of sitting quietly and keeping warm under a blanket with a mug of something hot seems to give more subtle dreams courage to rise up from their quiet nests.

Are the colors of your imagination now blossoming in winter’s caress?  I would anticipate this effect is exaggerated in those climates where you’re under several inches — or feet — of snow.

Sending you fuel for your imagination and a wish that you be warm, body and soul, wherever you are.

Namasté, y’all.

[Update 1/13/10:  This photo is my entry into the Gardening Gone Wild Picture This monthly contest for January.]

Fuchsia blooming in hanging basket, window.

Something very exciting is happening today.  But it’s still a secret.

I’ll tell you about it tomorrow.

Thinking about it, I’m feeling just all pretty and blushed, like the dangling blossoms in the photograph.

By the way, this is the hanging basket of fuchsia that hung on our front porch, showing a bit of the window that my desk faces as I work.  Or don’t work, as the case may be.  Going all the way back to elementary school, my teachers were convinced it was a bad idea to seat Meredith by the window, almost like giving me an engraved invitation to daydream… and then they found out I could still manage it sans window, too.  No problem.

Nowadays I’ve made peace with most of my innate tendencies, and learned to appreciate what they can do for me if I set up my life to take advantage of them.  And luckily, F. seems to appreciate them, too.

Everyone have a great Friday!  It’s a special one.  I can feel it.

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