LOOKING BACK AT THE SPRING THAT'S BEEN
I love Spring - I think I even prefer it to Autumn. It's so nice when the cold, rainy Winter days start to slide into warmer, sunny times. It's wonderful to get up on a Spring morning and to take a stroll around the neighbourhood, seeing more people out and about, flowers blooming, and the sun shining - it just feels joyful.It's been three months since I wrote my last update and today I wanted to share a few of the highlights from the family, the blog, and life in general - I hope you'll enjoy them too.....
TIME WITH THE FAMILY
I just love time with our family - living 2 hours away means we don't see them as often as I'd like, and so every time we get together in one place for a few hours, my heart is just beyond happy. We headed up to see them all a couple of weeks ago and they were kind enough to sit for a group photo - which now graces my Facebook page as my cover photo. I thought I'd share it here too because it's always lovely to keep the memories recorded here for posterity.
MY BIRTHDAY
It seems to get harder and harder to come up with anything I'd like for my birthday - I feel like there's nothing at all that I want (how lovely it is to have reached this point of contentment!) Seeing my dilemma, my lovely husband took it upon himself to book us onto the Hotham Valley Tourist Train for a ride through the Australian bush, and followed it up with coffee and lunch at a lovely little cafe in the town. It was a very pleasant day out and fun to have done something to mark the occasion.
BIRTHDAY GNOMES
An added fun element for my birthday celebrations was this little two pack of garden gnomes that my husband and I spent a couple of fun hours painting - they turned out to be a little bright spot in our afternoon. Now to find them a happy home in our backyard...
AND THE DELIGHTFUL GRANDGIRLS
Every school holidays the grandgirls come for a visit for a few
days. With the sun shining, we took the girls walking through the wetlands opposite our house, they had fun on the beach, and of course there were the usual visits to the shops and to other kid-friendly places and all
the memory making that happens. They are such a joy and we love spending these precious times with them.
BLOGGING
It's been another three months of Monday blog posts. I'm beginning to feel like I'm running a little dry on ideas, but that seems to happen towards the end of the year. Just as I start to think I have nothing more to say.....along comes January and a new Word of the Year, and off I go again.Next week I'll be sharing my ten year blogging anniversary and a little stroll down memory lane, then there's an final look back at 2024's Word of the Year (Equanimity), and then it will be time to think about Christmas and taking a little blogging break before 2025 rolls around - time is just flying by. In the meantime, here's a few of my favourite posts from the last few months in case you missed them:
DABBLING
I finished my latest book of collages over Spring - the final half
included "found poetry" a new literary activity that I've really
enjoyed tying in with my cutting and glueing. I wrote a complete
blog post on my collaging
last month, so I thought I'd add a video here of the collages that
included poetry. All the poems were from
Ullie-Kaye
originally - I just love her way with words and she was kind enough
to allow me to share them here.
AND A SPRING EQUANIMITY QUOTE TO FINISH WITH
Being grounded ties in beautifully with my
WOTY Equanimity - I think the words "I am calm, strong, centered and peaceful" sum up what living with equanimity feels like, and how I want to feel through this second half of life. It's an intentional process that I'm putting time and care into cultivating.
BEFORE YOU GO:
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It looks like you've had a lovely Spring, Leanne, with a birthday thrown in and a wonderful family visit. That is a gorgeous family photo! <3 Donna (for some unknown reason my comment kept defaulting to annonymous).
ReplyDeleteHi Donna - Google and Iphones don't play well together in comments for some reason - so it might be that - and yes it was a lovely Spring and all the more special for being able to squeeze in a few visits with the kids and grandgirls - my heart is happy :)
DeleteLeanne, thank you for another lovely post. It's nice to see a little corner of your world. The family photo is beautiful and now I can put a face on the people that you talk about. Love the gnomes. You both did a wonderful job of painting them. Here, we're preparing for Winter. Fall has been one dreary grey day after another. We seldom see the sun which is not good for my mood. A sunny day makes all the difference in the world for me. Light over Darkness. In the meantime, I will keep reading your posts which bring sunshine in my life.😊
ReplyDeleteHi Yvonne - I'm sorry your Autumn hasn't been all warm and golden - the in-between seasons seem to be getting shorter, while Summer and Winter feel like they'll never end. I hope you get a few more sunny days before Winter sets in. It's already heading into the 30's temps here in Australia and I feel like Summer is rushing in.
DeleteI love being able to share the occasional family photo - the kids are fairly okay with it as long as I keep names and anything embarassing out of it! :)
Forgot to mention how I love your book of collage. It's beautiful! You must be so proud of your work. It's so inspiring!
ReplyDeleteOhh thanks so much - I love the mindfulness of the deconstructing and reconstructing - it takes me out of my head and brings me a lot of quiet joy. x
DeleteI am calm, strong and at peace, as well, Leanne. Thank you for sharing this beautiful post with us. ♥️ Christina Daggett
ReplyDeleteThat's so good to hear Christina - you've certainly been through some upheavals this year, and it's good to know that you're coming out the other side with grace and peace - the world needs a lot of that at the moment. x
DeleteLove the happy, serene, family togetherness in your post. Thank you for sharing
ReplyDeleteHi Judith - it always feels good to remind myself of my blessings now and then. I am so very content with my life - and I never forget how much I longed to be in such a lovely contented season - it's arrived and I've earnt it :)
DeleteI know I've said it before, but I love your collage... but not as much as I love the gnomes! happy belated birthday.
ReplyDeleteThose gnomes gave us so much joy - Ross did such an excellent job on his that it made me lift my game. They're now living near our front door so that visitors can get a smile from them too. And thank you for the kind comment about my collages. x
DeleteYou are making the most of all life brings and that is so admirable. There is an 'equanity' feel all the way through this post Leanne. Congratulations on your birthday. I miss lovely days with younger grandchildren and know you make the most of them too. Take care,
ReplyDeleteDenyse x
Hi Denyse, I really feel the need to spend quality time with the grandgirls while they are of an age where it's easy and where they love it as much as we do. The relationship will change as they become teenagers and then adults - my hope is that we'll find ways to spend time together that may change, but still be joyful - especially with the added complication of distance - no quick drop-ins for us....
DeleteYou sound so settled Leanne and I love that final quote. Your gnomes are very cute! I did that with my grandkids a year or so ago and they didn't turn out nearly as neat as your painting of them! That's a fabulous family photo and one I'm sure you cherish.xx
ReplyDeleteHi Deb - Ross did such a good job on his gnome that I had to lift my game to not be completely outdone! Life really is very calm and settled - others might find it boring, but I love being in an unforced rhythm that I choose and can change whenever the whim takes me - I never had that when I was working, so I savour it now.
DeleteI love this, Leanne. First of all, your comment about liking spring more than autumn got me to thinking. While overall, I believe I still like autumn best, those early days of spring when flowers start to bloom and you can step outside without layers of outerwear truly are fabulous and maybe my most joyful days. I'm glad you got to spend time with your family, especially those cute granddaughters, and your birthday celebration sounded perfect. Like you, my husband and I have reached the point in our lives where we no longer want a lot of new things and instead enjoy having fun experiences together.
ReplyDeleteHi Christie - I think my life always comes back to family - I could happily live very simply as long as I had regular contact with those I love - and I'm also hugely grateful for life with Ross who just gets me and has a similar view on living life quietly and calmly. We'll never be the life of the party, but that's perfectly okay with me :)
DeleteI enjoyed this post. It has been a sublime spring, indeed. I so want to try my hand at that found poetry thing. Thought about introducing the idea to my writing group. May I show them your poetry and collages? Such a thoughtful, beautiful way to create.
ReplyDeleteGlad to see everyone together on the couch. And then the granddolls with you guys for a few days on holiday. So nice that they have each other to play with. My 2 grands here in El Paso are just getting to an age that they play well together. My poor grandson really doesn't have anyone. It makes me sad for him.
The train excursion was a wonderful way to celebrate YOU!!
Hi Leslie - it's so lovely when family gets together and enjoys it and there's no friction - I'm grateful for it every time we spend time together - and the grandgirls are always delightful. They're the only grandies I'm getting, so I'm trying to enjoy every moment of them.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have a go at the found poetry thing - it's really enjoyable. I think part of the secret is to find a poet whose words already speak to you in some way and who writes enough that you can pull it apart and put it back together - you can do it with a page of prose too, so I think the librarian in you would really enjoy it.