MY JULY DELIGHTS
As I mentioned at the beginning of January when I chose "Delight" as my Word of the Year, I thought I'd round off each month with three little delights. July is the middle of Winter here in Australia - lots of rainy days and cooler temperatures, with a sunny day thrown in here and there to break up the bleakness. Today I'm sharing for July a grandgirl delight, a birthday delight, a published delight, a (bonus) dabbling delight, and a quote about living delightfully.So, without further ado here are my delights from July...
DELIGHTFUL GRANDGIRLS
A DELIGHTFUL BIRTHDAY
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| his new bird-feeder with camera (some assembly required!) |
A DELIGHTFUL CONTRIBUTION
https://inflowmagazine.gumroad.com/l/Issue14
Enter ‘0’ in the ‘name a fair price’ field (top right corner) to get it
for free.
Click ‘I want this’ and follow the prompts.
If you'd like a sneak peek, this is my article:
Click ‘I want this’ and follow the prompts.
If you'd like a sneak peek, this is my article:
DELIGHTFUL DABBLING
For those of you who are interested in seeing how my collaging is
progressing, I started another book a while back that combines images of
extinct birds, fish, and animals from "The Doomsday Book Of Animals"
(one of my thrift book finds) with fairies, elves and pixies. It's been
fun to play around with.
A QUOTE ABOUT LIVING DELIGHTFULLY TO FINISH WITH
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Hi, Leanne - These are wonderful delights. Your grandchilldren are gorgeous. Congratulation on your publications and wishing a very happy birthday to your husband!
ReplyDeleteHi Donna and thank you. It was a quiet, wintery month, but still one full of little highlights that it's good for my soul to reflect back on. x
DeleteYour article in the magazine is excellent, Leanne! It also strikes a chord with me. For me, proving myself to others is under the ‘people pleasing’ category. I still catch myself doing this and I need the reminders. We have discussed in the past how we also have the ‘oldest child’ voice inside our heads, in common. I am happy you share more of your gems in various places. You often don’t know when you make a difference.
ReplyDeleteYour ‘delights’ warm my heart. I love the photos you share. I can see the changes in your granddaughters. Precious time together. Happy birthday to your husband and many more years of doing life together 💕 Erica
Hi Erica - people pleasing and trying to prove my worth are the baggage I've carried with me my whole life - and are definitely carryovers from being an oldest daughter I'm sure! I like that I finally see some of it and can be more intentional in my responses - it takes a little of the self-imposed pressure off.
DeleteAnd yes, the grandgirls are growing fast - but I love how they still want to spend time with us in the holidays building memories and having fun. Grandparenting is such a joy isn't it? x
Hi Leanne. It sounds like you are having a beautiful summer. Your collages are amazing, and so whimsical, my favorite type of art. ♥️
ReplyDeleteThanks Christina - I like that collaging feels 'arty' without putting pressure on me to try to create something perfect or even "understandable". It just lets me pull things apart and put them back together again in pretty ways that make my heart happy. :) x
DeleteThose really are some fabulous delights for the month!
ReplyDeleteNothing big Jo, just little joys that add together to make up a very pleasant life. I do feel very blessed. :)
DeleteI love your collage book. Do you share it with your granddaughters? The bird feeder with a camera is ingenious. Now, you just have to assemble it for him to complete the gift :-) Your article reaffirms and is consistent with the message of your blog. Self-care first. Your granddaughters are becoming beautiful young girls. I know your time with them was precious.
ReplyDeleteHi Suzanne - he did the assembly and by the end of it was really onboard with the idea - he does like birdwatching (a trait of middle aged men apparently). And yes, the grandgirls are growing and still enjoying their time with us - they really like my collages - pretty pictures that are a bit fairytale-ish, so it's a win with them - they have a couple of them that they've asked to keep, and that was really special for me. x
DeleteWhat you call "dabbling" I call wonderful creative art. Your collages are amazing!!!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Judith - I'm never sure if they're creative or just cutting and glue-ing, but I just love doing them and they make me happy - pretty things and order out of chaos - two favourites of mine :)
DeleteAnother lovely post! The role of caretaker can also apply to the youngest in a family as in my case. No sisters only brothers who didn't have a care in the world. Very traditional family, I might add. I am a perfectionist who's slowly learning to let go of what's expected of me and I made a lot of progress regarding people-pleasing. It all depends on how I am feeling on a particular day. I decided that if I do something to please me, at least one person will be happy and that's me. Love your collage. Happy to hear that you're healthy, therefore able to enjoy doing things with the grandchildren. Happy Birthday to your husband! That bird feeder is a lovely gift. Congratulations on your inspiring article! 🧡
ReplyDeleteHi Yvonne - I'm actually thinking that "oldest daughter" is just as appropriate as "oldest child" because daughters tend to end up with the nurturing role - especially if the mother of the family isn't that way inclined and the "boys are being boys" approach runs through the family - that was certainly the case in my family dynamic.
DeleteLetting go of the people pleasing and perfectionism is definitely an ongoing task for me - Brene Brown's Gift Of Imperfection book made inroads into me finally understanding that perfectionism isn't something to seek, it's just a way of trying to control my environment - and it was time to let some of that go. I'm glad you're figuring it out too - it's our time in life to have a little joy and self-care. x
I simply adore your collages. It makes me want to try to do it myself. (but not right now as I don't have the space to purchase and store various books.). It amazes me the images you craft!
ReplyDeleteOh Pat thank you so much - I love doing them and they feel "arty" to me, and for someone who never felt remotely creative all their life, it's such a joy to do something that draws different elements together and comes out cohesively into something new.
DeleteI really enjoyed reading this, Leanne. The photos of your Grandgirls are gorgeous!!! Sounds like you had a fun time together. Hope your husband had a lovely birthday. I really like the idea of going out for morning tea to celebrate! Your article looks fabulous. And your collaging is beautiful, thanks for sharing it. Thank you for an uplifting read.🩷 ps I hope you enjoyed the coffee with the friend you reconnected with.
ReplyDeleteHi Sue - the coffee date is on Thursday and I'm sure it will be good to catch up. I'm thinking I might make it an annual event to take the pressure off both of us, but to also keep the connection. I don't think we'll be close friends, but it would be nice to not lose touch completely. Thank you for the motivation to reconnect. x
DeleteHi Leanne - Indeed a delightful July it was for you. Nothing like spending quality time with grandchildren. Please convey my best wishes to your husband on his birthday! I am just back from a two-week road trip to Kerala. I will be blogging about the trip. Take care, and wish you all the best.
ReplyDeleteHi Pradeep, thanks for your good wishes and I'll certainly be popping over to read about your latest road trip - you've certainly been getting out and about since you retired.
DeleteHappy birthday to your husband!
ReplyDeleteYou had a lovely July, indeed full of delights! Your time with your grandgirls sounds so cosy and pleasant but must be, as you say, also exhausting at times.
I'm glad to hear you write for that publication. The world needs more of your words.
And your collages are stunning!
Hi Susanne - thank you so much for your kind and encouraging words. I was surpirsed and honoured to be asked to contribute to the magazine, and then to be asked to contribute regularly - it's nice to have another outlet for what I write. And thanks for your encouragement about my collaging - words like that keep me cutting and glueing. :)
DeleteGosh the grandgirls are growing up fast Leanne! It sounds like you've had a good month with outings, publications and birthdays to celebrate. Enjoy August!
ReplyDeleteHi Deb - yes they seem to have shot up and are more and more similar each time we see them - in personality and how well they get on together. It's always a joy to have them visit (even if they shared their cold germs with us both - kind of expected I guess...)
DeleteHi Leanne, what a delight it was to read this post. HB to your husband too! And I think your grandgirls are growing up fast! The creative part of you in lovely to view too. Thanks for sharing…and I still cannot work out how to sign in on the iPad. Denyse x
ReplyDeleteAnd look, here I am...back as me!!
ReplyDeleteYou did it! Mac products and Blogger don't love each other - but once you figure the trick out, you get to appear again - lovely to see your face :)
DeleteWhat a lovely bunch of delights. And that birdfeeder... I want one now!
ReplyDeleteHi Jo - I picked the wrong time of the year to buy it for him because there's not a lot of birds around in the middle of winter, but it'll be fun when they come back in summer :)
DeleteI just loved your grandgirls photos. It looks like you had a lot of fun. I couldn't agree more that grandchildren being the ultimate reward! Happy birthday to your husband!
ReplyDeleteHi Christie - it's always lovely having them visit - children are so uncomplicated and easy to please. And I'll pass on your birthday wishes. x
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